Here’s an interesting article that has provoked much discussion over at the IndieHeaven forums.

The Death Of The Album

The author’s summary:

As for the act, the goal is a GREATEST HITS ALBUM!

Yup, release fewer tracks on a more regular basis. THEN maybe sell all your best at one cheap price...as a matter of CONVENIENCE!

I don’t want to hear about economics, I don’t want to hear about art, the album is history, FINITO! That’s not how people listen anymore. And the public is always right. You’ve heard that axiom, HAVEN’T YOU?

Do you agree or disagree?

I would disagree, while at the same time agreeing.  I have found that the singer/songwriters or groups that write their own music still put out complete albums, held together by a relatively tight theme and with songs that are enhanced by hearing those songs around them on the album.  A few recent examples: Sara Groves’ albums all have very tight themes; downhere’s new album Wide-Eyed and Mystified has a pretty good connectivity between the songs, based on a theme of continual amazement at the profound grace of God and the need to remember that amazement; Shaun Groves’ White Flag is of course the Beatitudes in verse; Jars of Clay’s Good Monsters has the strong theme of conviction of the “saints” who do nothing.  (Kat, I’ve read you comment several times about how much you love the song “Oh My God” from Good Monsters.  Personally, I don’t think the song has half the impact by itself as when heard immediately after “Good Monsters”, as arranged on the album.)

Now, when you talk about the performers - people who do not write their own music or who are weaker composers - I think the album is dead for them.  But that has pretty well always been the case.  It is much harder to pull together a cohesive theme when you are selecting from someone else’s musical compositions.

There was a time when it seemed the album reigned supreme; but I think that may be more of a retrospective opinion based on the good music that has survived the years coming from good albums.  These are not hard and fast rules, but some general observations I have made.  I can think of non-writers who work hard to put together a strongly-themed album; conversely, there are strong writers who just pen and record whatever comes to mind without trying to fit anything together.

Euphrony,
Yes, I think that the article is slightly over the top. I do think many artists will still create themed collections of songs, but I do wonder if the 12 song format will continue it’s dominance.

With digital downloads, an artist could release 4 songs that have a central theme or even 20 songs…

I have to admit, though, that I’m primarily a single buyer. I haven’t actually heard Good Monsters (the song) yet, although, it’s now on my list.

I wonder what we as listeners are missing as a result of this transition time period? Artists are still creating albums...but not all consumers are buying them as such.

Very interesting…

So, Euphrony, are you and album buyer or a single buyer...I have a guess…

Yeah, I’m an album buyer.  I’ll buy some singles, when I want a song and don’t want to wait to have the money to buy the whole album or when I’m getting something for Mrs. E, but mostly the singles I have are freebies.  I prefer to have the whole album, see where the songs I know and like fit into the big picture of what the artists may be trying to paint, read the liner notes, and examine the minutia.  In general, the music I tend to listen to and want to own is from people who try to craft albums, not just singles.

As to the changing album, have you seen Bare Naked Ladies Are Me? (Are Me => army) They released something like 28 songs, with a total of 40 or 50 versions they recorded, plus the bare tracks to encourage people to do their own mixes.  And they sold in all on a flash drive.  They are releasing CDs of the same music, split into two different releases (I may have missed a few of the facts, but the general gist is there.) So much for the 10-12 song album there.

The 4-6 song album seems to heavily benefit indies, as a way of getting their music out without heavy investment in a full-length production.  BNL admits they went a little overboard, but their manager encourages it and his advice made them from a regional band to a globally known one.  Who knows how the 10-12 song album will fair?

In general, I think a lot of good songs are missed by this buffet-style market.  At the same time, I also believe that a large part of many albums is dross fit only to be discarded into obscurity.  I look back over my older CD collection and pick out dozens of songs on albums that I skip regularly, despite liking or even loving many of the artists other songs.  An example that just shuffled through my iPod a few minutes ago: Tears for Fears.  Some catchy songs that lots of people know, but a also ton of real stinkers.