Yet Another Redundant "Double LPs" Thread...but with a fairly interesting variation

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When they still existed, double albums were useful for performers who wanted to experiment. With four sides of vinyl available, they could afford to throw one away by trying something different. So the challenge is to find examples of those: Double albums with at least one obviously distinct side. Examples:

Husker Du, Zen Arcade ("Reoccurring Dreams" fills nearly all of Side 4)
ELO, Out Of The Blue (Side 3 is apparently a "Rainy Day Suite"
Todd Rundgren, Something/Anything (Side 4 live-in-the-studio with a band, whereas the first three sides featured Todd alone)

More?

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 10:36 (twenty years ago)

Genesis - Three Sides Live

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 10:43 (twenty years ago)

Ummagumma obv.

― mzui (mzui), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

Nirvana's "From the muddy banks" has side 4 of "Bits between songs"

Gray Parker "The Parkerilla" 3 live sides, one side of "Hey lord dont ask me questions" but elongated.

Oh, and don't get me started on "The Continuing Story of the Hersham Boys"" Sham 69...

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 10:47 (twenty years ago)

"When they still existed, double albums were useful for performers who wanted to experiment."

They still exist!

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 11:20 (twenty years ago)

harumi! first album is a bunch of charming, poppy little numbers. second contains two side-long tracks: "twice told tales of the pomegranate forest" and "samurai memories." (and wouldn't you just know it, i searched on google to be sure i got the first title right and the first thing i hit is scott's blog.)

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out

― bahtology runs amok, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

Joe Jackson - Big World. Three sides of songs, one side of blank vinyl.

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 13:09 (twenty years ago)

Exile on Main St has a country/acoustic side (side 2)

― Keith C (lync0), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

My memory is hazy on this, but I think most or all of one side of the Byrds' -Untitled- was taken up by a 16 minute version of "Eight Miles High" (the double album was half studio material, half live).

― James, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

... also, wasn't all of side four of -Blonde on Blonde- taken up by "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"?

― James, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:19 (twenty years ago)

Black Flag - Everything Went Black

Side 4 was all radio spots for Flag shows.

― Edward III (edward iii), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

pavement - wowee zowee (4th side didnt have any music)

― petesmith (plsmith), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

One side of 1999 is taken up by, what, "Lady Cab Driver"?

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 14:51 (twenty years ago)

Amon Duul 2's Yeti has a 4th side of improv

All Legendary Pink Dots CDs since 1997 have been released on vinyl with extra 4th sides of (usually) long experimental tracks

― sleeve (sleeve), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper was released as a double album with one (two?) sides of Jeff's mixing skills.

― Tony Bleach (blackshoeswhitesocks), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

Electric Ladyland's side 3, with "1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn To Be)" fits the bill.

Don Juan's Reckless Daughter has "Paprika Plains" on one side, which definitely went farther in the direction of Mingus than the rest of the album.

I disagree about Exile on Main Street, though. Side 2 isn't that different from anything else, taking into account pacing etc, and the Stones did a lot of acoustic and/or country stuff on prior LPs.

― Vornado, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

If you want to disagree with Mick Jagger, that's up to you.

― Keith C (lync0), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

"Joe Jackson - Big World. Three sides of songs, one side of blank vinyl."

Johnny Winter "Second Winter" does this, too.

― Chuck B, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

Devo's Now It Can Be Told: Devo at the Palace was a double album that had one blank side with etchings by the band.

― Tony Bleach (blackshoeswhitesocks), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Thurston Moore's "Psychic Hearts" and Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods" both use the fourth side for a decorative illustration - Moore's is etched into the vinyl, S-K's is silkscreened on. Both pretty cool IMO.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

When they still existed, double albums were useful for performers who wanted to experiment."
They still exist!

-- scott seward

Yeah, if you live in Chicago, with easy access to all the finest vinyl emporiums!

(20 miles north of Toronto might's well be 200 miles if you currently ain't got wheels. Or a license, even.)

― Myonga Von Boondocks (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

Hmmm, Carlos Santana released one of those 3-sided records too. Can't recall the title...it had Miles Davis's '60s quartet playing on parts of it.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

canned heat living the blues has that (almost) sidelong cut with fahey and mad jews harp. and that 40 minute boogie track.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

The 2-LP of Brian Wilson's Smile has bonus instrumentals on the fourth side.

― dali madison's nut (donut), Thursday, 15 December 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

The second Chilliwack album is the bomb wrt this phenomenon. No, really. Features a thirteen-plus minute sectional composition on side 2. Side 3 is "Music for a Quiet Time" which features sections entitled "Shine," "Claps/Chants," "Whistle/Flute Pads," "Antiphony," "Traveling Music," and "Sleep Music." It was "performed by Bill and Claire sitting in an echo chamber for a couple of hours." Side 4 is a seventeen-plus minute track called "Night-Morning" that is said to be "the result of a studo full of instruments and microphones set up to record any free-form music we might want to play. Ross sat at the organ and started to play sounds with hands, head and elbows. Bill and Claire joined in with piano, flute and vocals and the piece grew from there."

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 15 December 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Side D., Side Mike, Side George, Side Chaff...?

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 15 December 2005 01:05 (twenty years ago)

ohhh yeah chilliwack. such a bizarre album.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Thursday, 15 December 2005 11:33 (twenty years ago)

Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Welcome To The Pleasure Dome (Entirety of Side One devoted to title track)
Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music (Side Four employs locked groove to make infinite play a possibility.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Saturday, 24 December 2005 09:39 (twenty years ago)

Side D., Side Mike, Side George, Side Chaff...?
-- I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (crump...), December 15th, 2005.

This was well-timed: After 20 years of curiosity, I just last week learned the reasoning behind those personalized sides:

Another double album, Pink Floyd's Ummagumma, inspired the track sequencing of the original album. Each member of the band selected the tracks, sequenced them for their own respective side of the album, and included a solo cut in their sequence -- D. Boon's cut was the acoustic guitar instrumental "Cohesion", Watt's was the spoken-word with music cut "Take 5, D." (so named that three other guitarists, rather than Boon, play on the cut), and Hurley's was the multi-tracked percussion and scat-singing composition "You Need The Glory" -- with the leftovers being put on side "Chaff" (the fourth side of the album). Each side of the album began and ended with the respective Minutemen members' car engines being revved; the fourth side has all three cars going.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Saturday, 24 December 2005 09:54 (twenty years ago)

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