Is 51 mins too long?

[Dave the bass]

.... for a single album to be released on an LP?

John Schofield made an Album with MMW in 1998 called 'A Go Go'. I remember it coming out on CD and loving it. Its now available on 180g LP but at £30 its not cheap. Its also a long album at 51 mins to fit onto 1 disc, has anyone heard it on Vinyl here? Quality still OK? Worth the premium price?

[Cressy Snr]

Download it off iTunes

No seriously.
As an R&B lover, I really like this album. Bought it on CD years ago and the guitar and hammond organ grooves are impossible to sit still to. Sound quality is great. 51 mins seems a bit long on one LP to be paying thirty quid for. I remember buying "Letter From Home by Pat Metheny" at over 50mins in 1989 and finding it a bit lacking compared to Still Life Talking, the previous album which was shorter.

I think the trend in the 90s was to cram as much as possible onto LPs to compete with the longer playing time of CDs and as a result the sound was compromised.

For £30 I would be wanting a double 45rpm set.

[IslandPink]

Sounds a bit long - remember, Tea for the Tillerman is about 36mins
On the other hand, would it still be better than 16-bit .... ? Not in the bass/dynamics, if it's squashed onto 1 disc, however the top-end should still better from LP if it's an analogue or 24-bit pressing.
£30 is a lot though.
Sometime you can find reviews/comment on specific re-issue LPs on AA Vinyl Asylum.

[The Stratmangler]

Bob Plant's last 2 releases came out on double vinyl, with only 3 sides having a groove.
The 4th side features a laser etched bit of art.
1 album is nearly 48 minutes long, the other is 50 minutes.
They both sound great, because there's plenty of space for the groove.

Bob's 1993 release (Fate Of Nations) was just over 78 minutes, and the vinyl release was on a single record.
It sounds OK, but nothing to write home about.
I live in hope that one day soon it will be recut with the same care as the last 2 albums, and as a double album.

Donald Fagen's Sunken Condos also came out as a 3 sided double album, this time on clear vinyl.
This too sounds great, although at 45 minutes length it might have been possible to get it on a single album.

So at 52 minutes, the John Scofield might be pushing it a bit. It might come up a bit short in the dynamics department.
It should be a double album.
It's been pressed by Pallas, in Germany, so it's been done at a decent pressing plant and has this in its favour.

[The Stratmangler]

A quick trawl around shows that £30.00 for that Sco album is a very good price - most vendors are charging significantly more, like 25% and more.

[thomas]

Wow- fantastic!
I just googled that album.
I actually saw Schofield live at the Barbican years ago but left very early on as the lady I was with at the time said the music was just a load of indecipherable guitar noodling….. I couldn't disagree at the time!
I seem to remember 48 minutes was considered about the limit for a single lp to retain reasonable dynamics and also avoid that 'ghosting', ie hearing a trace of the next groove. I guess 51 mins would mean its rather quiet?

[andrew Ivimey]

When I was 18 I bought a copy of Ludwig van's glorious 9th. It was crammed onto one LP. It might have been a 'classics for pleasure' I loved that LP. It combined musical I am not worthyto even comment musical genius with a weird presentation that suited my outlook on life.

Some time later, the myth goes, the head of Sony asked for a musical medium that meant you didn't have to get up &change the disc when enjoying the 9th. And so the CD was born.

[stevieg]

saw Schofield live at the Barbican years ago but left very early on as the lady I was with at the time said the music was just a load of indecipherable guitar noodling…..

I saw him in Leeds and also left....and I'm no lady.

Cheers Steve

[Dave the bass]

I'm not a laydee either but when it comes to shopping for LP's I can't make up my mind, especially music not originally released on LP!