One track albums

[taminga16]

Hi Eric,
I have been away for a while and have just noticed your avatar, you are giving a a lot away :), but it made me think about other one track albums, so here goes....

Neil Young. ARC.

Greg.

[Octane]

Pete Namlook and Tetsu Inoue - Shades of Orion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkONXhPyMGE).

Magic.

H

[erick]

Interesting ask, Greg!

But one-track album, or one-track sides?

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (the track) was side two of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (the album)

If one-track sides: "Echoes", side 2 of Meddle - Pink Floyd

If one-track albums: "Thick as a Brick" - Jethro Tull (Yes, I reckon it can be argued that the track does continue from end of side one to side 2. I just checked - Wikipedia agrees.)

[Max Vondel]

Fripp and Eno ~ Evening Star - side two "an index of metals" -29 minutes
It changes so slowly that you hardly notice it!
Brian Eno "Discrete Music" side 1, 32 minutes
And some "Acid Mothers Temple" albums
:)

[MrB]

The original "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield
Part 1 - 25:29
Part 2 - 23:20

[gary]

In a similar vain, Eno & Fripp ~ No Pussyfooting with "The Heavenly Music Corporation"
on side 1 and "Swastika Girls" on side 2.

However, Eric's suggestion of "Thick as a Brick" is the one that instantly comes
to mind of what is essentially a single track that spans both sides. It was if they
only had to fade out on side 1 because of the limitation of the size of the vinyl.
In fact when you consider the LP's multi-page fold-out local newspaper cover,
arguably one of the most mind-boggling value-for-money LP covers ever produced,
it is as if the finite confines of the vinyl weren't enough as the whole concept spills
out into the third dimension of the packaging as well. Can't do that when your
album is distributed as an MP3 download. :lol:

[gary]

Hi Simon,

Indeed. And Oldfield's Amarok has a single 1 hour long tracking consisting of dozens of
movements.

[AstralTraveller]

In the vinyl era one-track albums were very rare. I can think of Thick as a Brick and Passion Play (both Jethro Tull). Tales from Topographic Oceans (Yes) was four one-side pieces that were musically and lyrically different but conceived as being related 'thematically', but how you could ever work that out from the lyrics has me baffled (nice album though). In the CD era I think there have been a few. There have certainly been some 'ambient' albums. There are also those that have distinct movements but which play continuously (eg Pat Metheny's This Way Up which is subdivided into Opening Part 2, Part 3 Part 4).

One-track sides were more common. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968) was probably the first. I used to think Echos (1971) was second but the folk group Pentangle did Jack Orion (on Cruel Sister) a year earlier. After that they were almost common. Yes were very fond of them: Close to the Edge, all four sides of Tales and The Gates of Delirium from Relayer. Genesis all but did one (Suppers Ready), both sides of Fripp and Eno's first album and the second side of the second, Eno's Discrete Music (and in the CD era Thursday Afternoon), A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers (from Pawn Hearts by van der Graff Generator) come to mind. There must be more. :shrug:

And there is!!

Frank Zappa - Lumpy Gravy (1967) Parts 1 & 2 now appears to be the first example of one-track sides and one-piece album. (How strange for Zappa to be seminal. :P)

Other examples include:

Miles Davis - *****es Brew (1969) Pharaoh's Dance and *****es Brew
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way (1969) Shhh/Peaceful and In a Silent Way/Its About That Time
Soft Machine - Fourth (1971) second side is Virtually Parts 1-4
McDonald & Giles (1971) second side is the Birdman suite
New Trolls - Concerto Grosso (1971) - Nella sala vuota, improvvisazioni dei New Trol
Deep Purple - Made in Japan (1972) - Space Truckin'
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness and Eternity (1973) Dream
Jade Warrior - Waves (1975) Parts 1 & 2
Tangerine Dream - Ricochet (1975) - Parts 1 & 2
Vangelis - Heaven and Hell (1975) Parts 1 & 2
Led Zepplelin - The Song Remains the Same (1976) Dazed and Confused
Vangelis - Chariots of Fire (1981) (title track)
Vangelis - Soil Festivities (1984) Movements 1-5

[gary]

... Eno's Neroli (single 57 minute track) and his Thursday Afternoon (single 1 hour track)

[Ausrock]

As an aside, JT/Ian Anderson has recently released (from the JT website..............."TAAB2 - Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock? - is a full length Progressive Rock "concept" album worthy of its predecessor. Boy to man and beyond, it looks at what might have befallen the child poet Gerald Bostock in later life. Or, perhaps, any of us."

Also, A Passion Play came about when Tull returned to the UK after some form of tax exile, they had already recorded an album but it wasn't released (then), instead they started a new project which became A Passion Play. The unreleased album was one CD of the two CD set "Nightcap", the other CD was essentially all unreleased songs.

[erick]

Still have it, but you had to pick your LP carefully - most were warped due to the packing. I saw one once that threw the tonearm off the LP as it went over the hump!

[erick]

Good call, Simon!

[Bassnut]

I think these are one track albums.......

Thick as a brick, Jethro Tull. A classic.

Frances the Mute, The Mars Volta. One of the few contemporary prog rock outfits these days. Sort of Led Zep only tighter, faster, trickier and well........ better.

[Octane]

Here's a recent one, by the megagroup Transatlantic.

This is a 1 hour 20 minute track, titled The Whirlwind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWC2I9TNuco), performed live.

H

[Bassnut]

H, thats very good, thanks.

[Octane]

Fred,

You would appreciate their studio albums.

They're an incredible band.

Average track length on the first album was around 20 minutes, or so.

H

[Davi5678]

+1 on Frances the Mute, I was going to post that too, this could be renamed the prog rock thread

[Colin_Fraser]

Not quite, Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie 1967

[MrB]

HAH! I forgot about that one!

I don't want a pickle, I just wanna ride my motorsickle.
I don't wanna die, I just wanna ride my motorcy..... cle.

:lol:

[gary]

How about the other extreme? How about LP's recorded by a single artist or group
that had the most number of tracks and not counting "best of" style compilation
albums?

The first that pops into my head is The Residents Commercial Album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Album) which
when it appeared on LP in 1980, had 40 tracks, each exactly 1 minute long. :lol:

... plus they produced a video for every track.

Red Rider form the Commercial Album
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g5wFHK42IU

Medicine Man from the Commercial Album
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxyvPJvy2j4&feature=related

Amber from the Commercial Album
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFHs3Wzd19U

So are there any other LP's that meet the criteria I stated in the first paragraph that
have a very large number of tracks that you can remember?

I am impressed by how many single track albums AstralTraveller could recollect
so I would be interested if you know of many LP's with lots and lots of tracks?

[MrB]

Hmmm, not a whole LP, but there is a German 'Electronic' artist called "Console" that has a track called "Walk like a worm" which is split into 17 tracks on the album "Rocket in the Pocket"
The first sub-track is 4:50, the following 16 sub-tracks are 6 seconds each. The tracks play without gaps between each to maintain an uninterrupted piece.

Sadly, Youtube won't allow Australians to view/listen to the two versions that it has, so I can't share.... booooo youtube

[ngcles]

Hi All,

Being the prog rock tragic I am, I have most of these albums. A lot of Mike Oldfield's earlier albums (and some of the later ones) are de-facto one track albums split only by the limitations of vinyl. Ones that come to mind are Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Music of the Spheres, Tubular Bells II & III & Amarok. Several others are dominated by one long track and a small collection of minor pieces -- Platinum, Crises, Islands.

Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes (double album) is in a similar category with just four tracks over the two records. Several Tangerine Dream albums (particularly the ones from about 1973 to 1980 are similar as well.

Best,

Les D

[brian nordstrom]

;) Frank Zappa's " Hot Rats ", all the songs on this record merge one after another , a differant kind of music .
Brian.

[RB]

"Marcel Marceau - Greatest Hits" compilation album.

:thumbsup:

[kustard]

I don't know if it really qualifies but I'll put my vote in for Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds", it's kinda one track, kinda! ;)

Other than that I'll cast my lot in with the batch that Les posted :)

[Paddy de Klerk]

I,m sure a few Dead Heads in our community would be familiar with : Side 2 "Vintage Dead " Live At the Avalon Ballroom 1966. San Francisco. Being " The Midnight Hour . ( 18 ;23 ).
Also , on Live Dead , a double album has 2 one trackers ie " Dark Star "Side 1 (23;15 ) & Side 3 "Turn On Your Love Light (15;30)
A bit more rummaging through the vynil pile will bring a few more to light. Could prattle on a bit about the Dead but ....perhaps another time.

[Starless]

How about Tarkus and Pictures At An Exhibition by Emerson Lake & Palmer

[Starless]

A fwe more for the list:-
Nektar's Remember The Future
The three ...qatsi pieces by Philip Glass
Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip by Porcupine Tree
The New Language Of Jazz by Serge Ermoll's Free Kata
Rick Wakeman's Journey To The Center Of The Earth

[gary]

Hi Brian,

Two of my favorite albums, but personally I wouldn't count Pictures on the list.
It has 12 tracks. :)

One metric is that if you hold up the LP to the light, if you see those spaces
where to put down the needle between tracks then they really should be
regarded as individual tracks.

Side 1 of Tarkus is just Tarkus (20 minutes) and is a good example of a single
sided one track. (There are seven tracks on side 2.)


Definitely not!

Koyaanisqatsi - 6 tracks
Powaqqatsi - 18 tracks!
Naqoyqatsi - 11 tracks

Since they are the scores for movies, it is true they are played without a break when performed live, but each piece is distinctive.

The Primacy of Number from Naqoyqatsi by Philip Glass - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWJDjWTFAcc