Albums with instructions for playback (i.e. This Record Should Be Played Loud)

Rockpommel's Land by Grobschnitt has a blurb about the time and place of its recording as well as what tape equipment was used, followed by:

... therefore it deserves to be played

L O U D

 

Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'N All Gold CD - Sony Mastersound Gold CD remastered by Doug Sax and Gavin Lurssen.

It says something about turning up the volume because of its wide dynamic range.

 

Wasn't there a Joe Walsh/James Gang album where the run-out groove on side one repeated "turn me over" and on side two repeated "play me again"?

 

slaughter- fear no evil

the album states to play it at maximum volume

 

Ryoji Ikeda ‎– Test Pattern

"Caution!" This CD contains specific waveform, impulse and burst data that perform a response test for loudspeakers and headphones. High volume listening of the last track may cause damage to equipment and eardrums."

 

Drive Like Jehu's first album says "cd's really ****ing blow" on the top of the cd.

 

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention, We're only in it for the money, 1968(!)
liner notes/instructions for The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny:

1. If you have already worked your way through, "IN THE PENAL COLONY" by Franz Kafka, skip instructions #2, #3, #4.

• 2. Everybody else: go dig up a book of short stories & read "IN THE PENAL COLONY".
• 3. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS PIECE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE STORY.
• 4. After you have read the story, put the book away & turn on the record player [contemporary note: good luck, boys & girls!] . . . it is now safe to listen (DO NOT READ & LISTEN AT THE SAME TIME).
• 5. As you listen, think of the concentration camps in California constructed during World War II to house potentially dangerous oriental citizens ... the same camps that many say are now being readied for use as part of the FINAL SOLUTION to the NON-CONFORMIST (hippy?) PROBLEM today. You might allow yourself (irregardless of the length of your hair, or how you feel about greedy wars & paid assassins) to imagine YOU ARE A GUEST AT CAMP REAGAN. You might imagine you have been invited to try out a wonderful new RECREATIONAL DEVICE (designed by the Human Factors Engineering Lab as a method of relieving tension & pent-up hostilities among the members of the CAMP STAFF ... a thankless job which gives little or no ego gratification ... even for the chief warden).
• 6. At the end of the piece, the name of YOUR CRIME will be carved on your back.

 

Silver Apples' debut (1968) has the following instructions: Play twice before listening.

 

This reminds me the liner notes from The Flaming Lips Zaireeka:

Track No.6 "How Will We Know (Futuristic Crashendos)"

CAUTION: CDs No.1, No.3, and No. 4 contain extremely high and low frequencies that can cause a person to become disoriented, confused or nauseated. Each speaker contains a high and a low frequency. CD No.1's frequencies are 20hz and 14khz. CD No.3's frequencies are 10hz and 14khz. CD No.4 contains 7hz and 10khz. These tracks should NOT be listened to repeatedly at high volume. Make sure infants are out of listening range. This track should not be listened to while driving. CD No.2 contains the "ear friendly" part of this composition, it has a normal frequency range.. The reference for this song is the untrue "urban myth" that goes something along these lines: "being exposed to extremely high and low frequencies at high volume for extended periods of time has some strange psychological side effects - though their hearing was temporarily impaired the participants reported feeling as if they could predict the future"..?

 

Oh yes. Printed on the CD of The Jarvis Cocker Record (2007):

On the Use Of This Album:

Warning!
JARVIS should not be used as a sedative or an accompaniment to exercise.

You may sit if you wish - kneeling is really not necessary.

JARVIS can be broken into convenient bite-size pieces but probably works best when swallowed whole

Do not adjust your tone control, it's meant to sound like that. It's not LoFi or HiFi - it's MyFi and hopefully YourFi, too

A song isn't really a song until somebody hears it - so thanks for listening

Remember! As always, please do not read the words whilst listening to the recordings

 

Idiots who put labels on albums saying turn it up or play it loud, should therefore master it in a manner in which it dosent collapse when you do turn it up !! I.E Lay of the limiting!!
My apologies to those that do it correctly. The whole handful of you.

 

Moby Grape - Wow Play the last song at 78 rpm.

 

The one's the come to mind are spoken word. The "Play at a high volume preferably in a residential area" from Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" album has already been mentioned. The other one that comes to mind is from the Tubes Completion Backwards Principle: “As I mentioned near the close of the last record, this record you are now playing is another example of The Completion Backward Principle; if you can possibly manage the time, please play both sides at one meeting.”

 

Miles Davis -'Agharta' and 'Pangaea' both contain the instruction 'WE SUGGEST THAT YOU PLAY THIS RECORD AT THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE VOLUME IN ORDER TO FULLY APPRECIATE THE SOUND OF MILES DAVIS' - and it works believe me.

 

On the Mister Flip's Grasshoppers EP I mastered: "PLAY IT LOUD, THANKS."

 

Phil Collins No Jacket Required still came packaged in one.

 

There are several tracks on Jeff Beck's "Truth" with instructions to be played at max volume!!

 

I've always wondered why that was...

 

Always loved this in the liners, and the fact that it was all upper case was even better!

 

The James Gang: Rides Again.

Made loud to be played loud.

 

The B52's - S/T

 

Finally, an album that was made with the "loudness wars" in mind! So many of these releases, from Bowie to the Cure, have been so badly jacked up with their more recent remasters that there's practically no choice but to hear it extra loud. Kudos also to Mr. Eno for going against the grain here.

 

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - packaged like a pharmaceutical with indications for the proper dose (ie: how often to listen to the album) along with warnings regarding side-effects, etc.

 

I've always liked the warning on this CD.

'CAUTION! Digital Cannons'

Sounds so Ominous!

 

Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry 'PLAY IT LOUD, MUTHA!'