What is an Album?

I have previously discussed the different genres of metal and the listeners of the music. Now before we move on, I feel compelled to inform you of the history of records.  But how did the music companies get the music out for people to listen to? What were the different mediums used to get the music out to the public? Originally there was the live performance or concert, then came radio, the vinyl record, the cassette, MTV, CD, MP3, and now music streaming. The music went from being analog recordings to digital recording in less than 35 years. 

Since the introduction of the LP vinyl “album” in 1948 by Columbia Records, it set the standard for the music industry. The LP revolutionized the music industry. Now people could own music recorded by their favorite bands. They could listen to their favorite music when they wanted to at home. People didn’t have to wait for concerts or listen to the radio anymore. It was considered revolutionary.

Back in the day music was put on vinyl. A large two sided black disk with grooves that are imbedded into it. A turntable would spin the record and on a platter. An “arm” with a needle on the end would go straight in the grooves of the vinyl. The signal from the needle was sent to a receiver amplifier and out to the speakers. On a vinyl there were two sides, a side A and B or 1 and 2. There are also two sizes of vinyl, a 7” and 12”. EP’s and LP’s would be the 12 inch diameter run at 33 1/3 rpm, while Singles would be the 7 inch diameter run at 45 rpm.

Singles would contain two songs - one on each side. Side A would have the song that the artist is advertising, while side B may have another song from the album, a live recording, or an original song that usually has no relation to the main song or album. As for the terminology, there is the Single, the EP or Extended Play, and the LP or Long Play.

An EP is characterized as being significantly shorter than and LP, and usually having about 4 to 5 songs. There are longer EP’s that can contain 8 to 9 songs, but these are usually composed of cover songs. Finally, there is the popular LP. These are what we usually see when we put on a CD or vinyl.

An LP can have a number of different songs, but as far as running time goes they are usually 50 minutes to an hour. There are also a subset of LP’s called double albums. Traditionally these are two vinyl’s or CD’s that are the makeup of the album.

What is on an Album? An album contrary to what some might think is not just a collection songs strung together under one title. An album, record, LP, or sometimes referred to as just a CD, is so much more! An album is an experience, a musical journey from the beginning to the end, where each song leads into the other. The reason why classic albums like Pink Floyd’s “Dark side of the Moon” is hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time is because each song on Dark side is integral to the record. Each song flows into each other forming not a collection of different songs, but forming a collaboration, or entity, that emphasizes the theme of the album.

From the 1950’s through the 1980’s it was popular to collect all the LP’s of your favorite groups. People would have vast collections of vinyl. Today, people would rather just buy a song or two from an artist, cherry picking the “best” songs. People now collect individual songs instead of LP’s. This is why today’s music industry is called a single economy, because people would rather buy singles or EP’s rather than full length records.