Album List
The double album has long been labeled an egotistical, bloated exercise in excess. In many instances this accusation is apt. There have been some real stinkers during the past 40 years or so. There have also been cases where an ambitious multiple-album set is maligned at the time of its release, but upon re-evaluation, proves to be quite solid despite its overindulgences. Let’s take a look at some records that fall into these categories:
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Rattle and Hum by U2: Riding the wild success of The Joshua Tree, U2 took things a little too far with the film and double-album soundtrack, Rattle and Hum. It’s a God-awful mess of bland live tracks (”Bullet the Blue Sky,” “Pride”), embarrassing collaborations (with the like of B.B. King, Bob Dylan, and a gospel choir), self-absorbed stage banter, and dire covers (”Helter Skelter”). Although there are a few gems sprinkled throughout this 17-song set, Rattle and Hum finds U2 at the brink of implosion. It would take a 3-year hiatus and the stellar Achtung Baby for the biggest band in the world to regain its throne…and its credibility. |
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Sandinista! by the Clash: How do you follow-up one of the greatest albums (and a double album at that) of all time? If you’re the Clash you release a sprawling triple album. Just a year after the tour de force of London Calling, the Clash gave us Sandinista!, a highly eclectic collection of reggae, dub, backward tape experiments, partial song sketches, disco, rap, and a smattering of first rate Clash anthems. I have to admit that I really dig the wild inconsistencies and odd lack of focus of Sandinista! but it’s fair to say that the Clash missed the boat with this one. Casual Clash fans can download 10 or 12 of the stand-outs (among them “Somebody Got Murdered,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Police on My Back”) and they’d have a solid follow-up to London Calling, but attempting to sift through the mess that is Sandinista! can be an exercise in frustration. However, for more adventurous types, I think the triple-album can be a real treat. |
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Self Portrait by Bob Dylan: Perhaps the most beguiling release of all time, Self Portrait has often been described as Dylan’s deliberate attempt to confuse and anger his legion of fans. The ultimate “fuck you” to close out a decade of unparalleled brilliance and consistency. About half of the tracks on Self Portrait are Dylan originals that can be found elsewhere in far superior versions (”Like A Rolling Stone,” “She Belongs to Me,” “The Mighty Quinn”). The remaining tunes are covers that either pay homage to some of Dylan’s early influences (”Day of ‘49?, “Gotta Travel On”) or parody some of Dylan’s contemporaries (Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”). As critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine aptly notes, “(Self Portrait) isn’t a matter of deciphering cryptic lyrics or interpreting lyrics, it’s all about discerning intent, figuring out what the hell Dylan was thinking when he was recording…” For all its faults, that journey for the discovery of intent can be quite a ride. |
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Human Touch and Lucky Town by Bruce Springsteen: I know, I know, technically it’s not a double album, but these records, simultaneously released in 1992, make the list because for the first time they showed that the Boss was human. Human Touch was a dead on title, and coming from a rock God, that ain’t a good thing. Overproduced and uninspired, these albums are painful to listen to. Perhaps shedding the E Street Band and moving to LA turned Springsteen into just another high gloss hit machine. The warmth and depth of the man who gave us “Badlands,” “Thunder Road,” and “Rosalita” were largely absent, save “If I Should Fall Behind.” |
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Preservation Acts 1 & 2 by the Kinks: Initially released as two separate albums, the “acts” were always intended to comprise a unified whole. The Rhino Records re-release of Preservation restored the two acts to its double album status. So like the Springteen records mentioned above, I’ve taken some liberty and included it on this list. I’ve been a diehard Kinks fan since I was 12 years old. I still rank Something Else by the Kinks, Village Green Preservation Society, and Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) as one of the best three album streaks in all of rock and roll. But when Ray Davies conceived of Preservation Acts 1 & 2 in 1973, his unbridled ambition had eclipsed his good taste. Essentially conceived as a sort of vaudeville rock opera, Preservation featured female backing vocalists, “announcements,” instrumental interludes, unfinished sketches, and if you dug really deep, a few actual songs. Painful and sad because Ray Davies is one of the finest songwriters. |
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Blue Moves by Elton John: By 1976 Elton John was a bona fide mess. A cocaine addict of unrivaled proportions, exhausted from constant touring, and the epitome of rock star excess, Sir Elton needed to take some time off. Instead he dropped his second double album in three years. The success and critical acclaim of 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road make Blue Moves look like an exercise in hubris. Cited by Elton John as one of his favorite albums he ever recorded, Blue Moves certainly has its fans. I’m just not one of them. |
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Tusk by Fleetwood Mac: Some critics seem to think Tusk is a brilliant artistic statement, a beautiful mess that stands as a wonderful, if flawed, follow-up to the near-perfect smash of Rumors. Mess? Yes? Brilliant? Don’t think so. |
Trawl the crates and you’ll find many more double albums (and check out the JamsMatch game to see how knowledgable you really are when it comes to double albums and music in general). I’ve heard people criticize a few legendary two-fers – The Wall, Exile on Main Street, The White Album, The River, Quadrophenia – as being too indulgent for its own good, thus weakening the collection as a whole. Those are pretty bold accusations, but part of me agrees with them. There’s something to be said for a lean, mean album that keeps you wanting more. Were the Stones, Pink Floyd, Springsteen, the Beatles, The Who and for that matter, Smashing Pumpkins, Guns ‘n Roses, Prince and other double album artists too excessive? Let’s re-evaluate!
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