Did the CD-length album kill the album?

I don't blame long albums for delayed releases - artists were already moving away from one-a-year albums well before the CD format became dominant in the 90s.

I think the "longer layoffs" between albums occurred mainly because labels started to milk them more. In the 80s, you started to see albums that would spawn 4+ singles - that wasn't nearly as common in earlier years.

Remember that Prince was semi-rebuffed by his label because he wanted to release albums frequently! They wanted more time between releases!

 

I would have to point the finger really at the digital process which allows complete flexibility of track selection and sequence. Initially CDs aped the LP but over time I do remember lots of complaints about short CDs because of their higher prices. By 1990 the bloat was appearing quite widely. Customers responded by creating their own CD arrangements or compilations which started with cassette tape.

At this point the digital process is really shredding the CD itself as the latest Billboard sales figures show with tanking CD sales.

 

I have this problem with Michael Jackson 90's albums, there are some great tracks, but many too long, just to complete the CD time.

 

And we see many this today, for some studios albums that the length don't pass 50 minutes, but with no reason, the LP is double, only just to duplicate the price.

 

I agree with most people so far, nothing beats the 35 - 40 minute album. Anything past that gets fatiguing and I start to lose interest.
I even like a good 30 minute album, this way I normally replay it again because I found it very enjoyable.

 

There are albums with length of 30 minutes , which in a short time, has more to say than albums of 78 minutes even .

 

The more I think about it, I think that video killed the radio star, then the radio star's ghost killed the album...

 

How much do those sell for? I didn't see pricing.

 

And vinyl out-sold CDs at first because most people couldn't afford new CDs. I should have clarified that the process of CDs getting ever-longer was gradual over years, not immediate. I myself didn't buy a CD player until there were shops selling used CDs, because those were all I could afford.

 

I can recall a shop in my town that rented CDs! They had a great selection too. I'd rent them and copy them onto cassettes. That was about the same time that blank cassettes started coming in all sorts of oddball lengths, which was very handy for all the different album lengths on CDs. Anyone else recall those?

 

I felt this way until I started getting back into LP's and realized some of them sound terrific because of it. Also, Van Halen II. It gives you everything you need in like 32 minutes. And the next two Van Halen albums for that matter. Not a wasted moment. Top notch performances. I actually get excited about short albums now as it can mean there is no fluff.

 

I'd give anything to be able to buy albums again.

 

Great. I have some albums. I hope your anything is a really really big number. And don't be fooled by cheaper substitutes.

 

I find it so much more challenging to get a handle on a full-length new album these days because of the sheer volume of music available: whether it's from streaming services, tons of reissues, and one-off singles. If all this information was vying for my attention back in the '90s when albums seemed to average an hour in length, I'd have lost my mind.

So nowadays I'm relieved when a record clocks in at less than 45 minutes. I can devote that much time to focus my attention. I can respond to nearly every track, good or bad. It's ironic that even though I now spend twice as much on a new vinyl release that I don't want twice the bang for the buck.

CD-length albums didn't kill the "album," but it definitely damaged a lot of would-be classics.

 

That happened in L.A., too and I would rent them, record them.

 

Yes! I think it did.
Remember listening to American Caesar on headphones and thinking wow, this is long.

 

At home, I would never sit down and listen to a 70+ CD in it's entirety but it could be playing while we chill with a drink, web surf or make/eat a meal.
For long journeys you can really plunge into the music of a 70+ minute CD because your stuck in that chair for a long time. Local car missions chop the CDs up into shorter listening segments, which is good.

 

Back in the 70's Klaus Schulze had to cut down some tracks to fit on one LP side (eg. Sense from his 1979 album 'Live' was cut down from 50mins to 29mins) but when he released his work on CD he was able to restore the original track lengths. Most of his CD releases are close to the maximim available CD running time of 80mins.

 

"God Bless the CD length" said all classical fans. Blu Ray even better!

 

That's also true with a stylus and even if the record is 100% clean there will be distortion from the stylus contact (as Mr. Chiba states).

So would I.

 

And remember that back before CD's folks would usually play a side (15 to 20 minutes) a period of time that better allowed a chance of listening without interruption.

You've got a good point there. Beethoven may have actually rolled over when cd's came out. Keith Jarrett probably did cartwheels knowing that his solo concert recordings could be listened to straight through.

 

Yes & no. The CD's length helped albums that were multi LP's because you could put everything on one CD & listen to it completely. Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", The Who's "Tommy" & Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" for example. The way it hurt was by way of the extra space to put in throwaways & call them bonus tracks. because of this, artists got the idea that they could slap on anything (filler) with the hits & call it an album & the public would continue to buy them. Maybe it was downloads where we could pick & choose what we wanted without giving the albums a real chance to prove themselves. I'm sure there are other reasons & maybe it's a combination of them all. I just wouldn't put all the blame on the CD & it's length. My opinion.

 

Yes & no. The CD's length helped albums that were multi LP's because you could put everything on one CD & listen to it completely. Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", The Who's "Tommy" & Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" for example. The way it hurt was by way of the extra space to put in throwaways & call them bonus tracks. because of this, artists got the idea that they could slap on anything (filler) with the hits & call it an album & the public would continue to buy them. Maybe it was downloads where we could pick & choose what we wanted without giving the albums a real chance to prove themselves. I'm sure there are other reasons & maybe it's a combination of them all. I just wouldn't put all the blame on the CD & it's length. My opinion.

 

Yes & no. The CD's length helped albums that were multi LP's because you could put everything on one CD & listen to it completely. Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", The Who's "Tommy" & Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" for example. The way it hurt was by way of the extra space to put in throwaways & call them bonus tracks. because of this, artists got the idea that they could slap on anything (filler) with the hits & call it an album & the public would continue to buy them. Maybe it was downloads where we could pick & choose what we wanted without giving the albums a real chance to prove themselves. I'm sure there are other reasons & maybe it's a combination of them all. I just wouldn't put all the blame on the CD & it's length. My opinion.

 

Yes & no. The CD's length helped albums that were multi LP's because you could put everything on one CD & listen to it completely. Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", The Who's "Tommy" & Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" for example. The way it hurt was by way of the extra space to put in throwaways & call them bonus tracks. because of this, artists got the idea that they could slap on anything (filler) with the hits & call it an album & the public would continue to buy them. Maybe it was downloads where we could pick & choose what we wanted without giving the albums a real chance to prove themselves. I'm sure there are other reasons & maybe it's a combination of them all. I just wouldn't put all the blame on the CD & it's length. My opinion.