Truly great records under 40 minutes

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Let's begin with:

John Cale's "Paris 1919"
Magnetic Fields' "The Charm of the Highway Strip"
The Stooges, "Fun House"

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Tangiers - Hot New Spirits
Tricky Woo - Sometimes I Cry

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Rubber Soul

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Minutemen What Makes a Man Start Fires?
Henry's Dress Bust 'em Green
Pipas A Cat Escaped

― brian patrick (brian patrick), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Morphine Cure For Pain

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Illmatic

― djdee2005, Monday, 22 March 2004 20:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Nas - Illmatic
Weezer - First two albums
The Ramones - The Ramones
Andrew WK - I Get Wet

I like short albums.

xpost

― Nick H (Nick H), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I had no idea CforP was under 40, but I'll second that in a gotchbeat!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

How do people feel about shorter albums. If I was to say, release a 30 minute CD of an awesome, crucial, influential, important but mostly unheard punk/post-punk band and sell it for normal CD prices(10 bucks from us, probably 11-13 in the stores) would people think it's a rip-off?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Nick Drake, Pink Moon

― Prude (Prude), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I would gladly pay whatever the going rate is for 30 minutes of good stuff, instead of less money for crap.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Thirty minutes is skirting the line for normal cd prices perhaps, but I do love short, tight albums.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Shorter is almost always better than longer. This thread is crazy though, cuz there are like 4 zillion great albums under 40 minutes.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Tangiers - Hot New Spirits
Tricky Woo - Sometimes I Cry

And why is it I take all the flak for Cancon?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

"Isn't anything" and "Odessy and oracle". Both 12 tracks, both around the 38 minute mark, both seem to deliver songs in batches of 3 - I've not known this of any other records other than these two - I always think of the songs in batches of 3.

― Rob M (Rob M), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

a thread about truly great records under 30 minutes might be useful and fun. but yeah, as scott says, around 40 minutes or under was once the norm, so what's the point? (and i wish it still was the norm!)

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I was gonna start a thread and ask this question (but i didn't): what's the shortest single in recent memory? Say, last 5 years. I thought of it cuz i was listening to some single by simon & garfunkel - can't remember which one - and it was a minute and a half long!! There couldn't possibly be a chart hit recently under even 3 minutes, could there? Feel free to ignore this. There is probably already a thread somewhere anyway.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Shortest single is probably that White Stripes blurt.

To limit down from 4 zillion, perhaps this thread shall seek truly great albums under 40 minutes from the CD age only?

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Come on, Noodles, those are two sweet albums!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Disco Inferno -- DI Go Pop
Black Sabbath -- Master of Reality

(The fact that Weezer and Andrew WK were mentioned before Sabbath saddens me.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Green Day - "Dookie"

― Kornél Kovács (Kornél Kovács), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Most recent really short hit I can think of is United States Of Whatever, which was a touch under one and a half minutes or thereabouts. I'm sure there's been a recent hit that was really shrot too, but I forget what.

Oh, and albums:

Clinic - Internal Wrangler

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

They're not from the "CD era," but Joni Mitchell's Blue and Court and Spark should definitely be in this group.

As for short singles, if there's already a thread on this, can someone direct me to it? Otherwise I'll just note Blur's "Song 2" and Liam Lynch's "United States of Whatever." But I don't think there's been a significant U.S. hit under 2 minutes since "Axel F" and "Miami Vice Theme" in 1985.

― Joseph McCombs, Monday, 22 March 2004 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't VU's s/t third album pretty short?
I think that one's my actual favourite.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 22 March 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

A Love Supreme

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

The Beach Boys *Wild Honey* -- their best album (pace, *Pet Sounds* fans)

― Not That Chuck, Monday, 22 March 2004 21:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Slayer - Reign in Blood
Black Flag - Damaged
Pixies - Doolittle

And too many others to mention, really.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I was just thinking yesterday about how few of the hiphop songs in my collection are shorter than three minutes. By the time you add the intro and the various guest stars, the thing's five minutes and counting.

― Hammy (hammy), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

But I don't think there's been a significant U.S. hit under 2 minutes since "Axel F" and "Miami Vice Theme" in 1985.

probably not as significant as, say, "axel f," but "fell in love with a girl" is a sparklingly short 1:50.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't even know if it charter in the U.S., but "United States of Whatever" is incredibly short.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

charter=charteD

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Shins-"chutes too narrow"
Meat Puppets-"II"
"Up on the Sun"

― stephen schmidt (stephen schmidt), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

though it's from the prehistoric 1970s, when people were shorter and records were therefore shorter too, a special award must go to willie nelson for "red headed stranger," possibly the biggest-selling album with the shortest songs in history. 15 tracks, 3 of 'em under a minute, 5 of 'em longer than a minute but shorter than two minutes, 4 of 'em in the 2 minute range (including the big single), and only 3 (out of 15!!!) that go on for longer than three minutes.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)

and another special award to the beatles, who, granted, come from a time when people were even shorter than they were in willie nelson's prime. they didn't record a single song that topped the three-minute mark until their fifth album ("ticket to ride," from "help"). some people will say that's right when they were hitting their stride. others will say that's the exact point where they started sucking.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Loads of soul albums, including:

Darrell Banks - Darrell Banks Is Here!
Larry Saunders - Stranger
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Howard Tate - Get It While You Can (under 40 if you don't add the bonus tracks of the legendary sessions)
Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You, Let's Stay Together, Call Me
Sam Cooke - Ain't That Good News, Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963, Night Beat

and many many more

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless

But really... is there a truly great 'straight' grind album that's OVER 40 mins? (and even this one has a little doom excursion, so it's not all grindgrindgrind... the end) And comps don't count.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 23 March 2004 14:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Sometimes I forget that A Love Supreme is so short because of how heavy a piece of music it is.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

DI Go Pop seconded with all my heart.

And:

The Cure - Seventeen Seconds
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Orb - Blue Room

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

The vast majority of truly great albums are under 40 minutes, aren't they?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Fast music = short albums
Slow music = long albums

An iron rule, people...

― Siegbran (eofor), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Whenever anybody has a '...under xxx time' thread, I'm constantly surprised that Wire's PINK FLAG is not the first mentioned.

― Sasha (sgh), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Short albums are overrated. Gimme a big bad sprawling double anyday.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 01:36 (twenty-two years ago)

The vast majority of truly great albums are under 40 minutes, aren't they?

I must admit this is one of those ILM threads where I just shake my head and wonder how everyone could have forgotten

― (Jon L), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 01:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Contact High With The Gods
Balaklava

CDs did nothing good for album lengths.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 06:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Country faves like "Loretta Lynn Writes 'Em and Sings 'Em" or "The Fabulous Charlie Rich" deserve mention here, but keeping it brief seems to be the traditional norm in Nashville. At the beginning of the CD era, country LPs were held to ten cuts, and then nine for awhile.

― lovebug starski, Wednesday, 24 March 2004 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

keeping it brief seems to be the traditional norm in Nashville. At the beginning of the CD era, country LPs were held to ten cuts, and then nine for awhile

that was actually a contractually mandated norm for most country artists, as nashville labels refused to pay royalties on more than 10 songs per album.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

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