[Oski]

Owing to my thread on music that is popularized by TV commercials, I finally picked up Nick Drake's "Pink Moon". As it turns out, this beautifully spare album is only about 28 minutes long in its otherwise rich entirety.

Another album that I really enjoy is Koop “Waltz for Koop”, which at a total playing time of just under 35 minutes is also similarly trim in its length.

What are some other full length studio releases that are similarly short or shorter in total play time?

 

[viator122]

Well lots of stuff recorded before CDs came about is real short due to the length limitations on vinyl.

Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin IV, for example, are both less than 43 minutes.
Zuma by Neil Young is under 37 minutes.
Disraeli Gears by Cream is less than 34 minutes.
Close to the Edge is less than 38 minutes.

More recently:
Parachutes by Coldplay: less than 42 minutes.
Goldfly by Guster: less than 43 minutes.
Amnesiac: less than 44 minutes.

I think that these days albums tend to be much longer than before there were CDs, so an album that is less than 45 minutes is fairly short, IMO.

 

[Asr]

Massive Attack - Blue Lines (less than 50 minutes if I recall right)
Laika - Silver Apples of the Moon (less than 50 minutes)

Thanks for reminding me that I really don't like CDs that are less than 1 hour, that always annoys me.

I just don't get why artists can't come up with at least 1 hour of music for a CD.

 

[kunuggs]

Weezer - Blue ~ 41 minutes
Weezer - Pinkerton ~ 34 minutes
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme ~ 32.7 minutes

 

[newbalance]

totally without a doubt

The Ramones self titled album...14 tracks in about 28 minutes

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Most of the original Gentle Giant LPs were about 30-35 minutes.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbalance totally without a doubt The Ramones self titled album...14 tracks in about 28 minutes

funny... that's the first album that came to my mind too. hey! ho! let's go!

another brilliant debut with a startlingly short running time:

Elvis Costello - My Aim is True
the original UK release timed out at a brisk 32 minutes. add in the track "Watching the Detectives" (included on the US release), and it fattens up to a whopping 36 minutes.

 

[FalconP]

A famous one, at least among Asian "audiophiles", is the soundtrack to the Taiwanese film City of Sadness, composed by the Japanese instrumental duo SENS -- 7 tracks clocking at 31'22''. Much of the music is of the theme-variation type, so the actual musical content is rather slim. The duo reportedly finished the whole project within one week.

What is special about the set is the main theme -- this is one of those rare masterstrokes that will haunt you for the rest of your life (hear it for yourselves at their site). As befit its "Audiophile" status, this short set has spawned such incarnations as a gold-plated CD and an SACD.

 

[viator122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr Thanks for reminding me that I really don't like CDs that are less than 1 hour, that always annoys me. I just don't get why artists can't come up with at least 1 hour of music for a CD.

Funny, I think the opposite. I think 45-50 minutes is the ideal length for an album. Too frequently, IMO, an album with an hour or more of music is not as "tight" as a shorter album and there is fat that could be trimmed.

 

[asmox]

Behold... the Arctopus - Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning - ~17 minutes.

They pack more music into 17 minutes than lots of other bands tend to manage in 60 minutes, though. Fans of jazz-infused freestyle experimental avant-prog/tech metal take note.

 

[trains are bad]

I always thought In the Aeroplane Over the Sea was short. I was surprised to find it's actually 40 minutes long.

 

[jonnywolfet]

i tend to get a little bored if an album drags on, unless its really good, which seems to be rare these days.

agoraphobic nosebleed; altered states of america, total play time for 99 tracks;19:56

orchid; Dance Tonight! revolution tomorrow!: play time 15:40

 

[Veniogenesis]

There seem to be quite a few albums which are relatively short. The one I'm listening to at this moment is an example.
Nightwish - Oceanborn (35 minutes)

 

[Denim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by viator122 I think that these days albums tend to be much longer than before there were CDs, so an album that is less than 45 minutes is fairly short, IMO.

I agree that album (CD) lengths have grown a bit. When cassettes were the popular choice for recording for home and car systems, very few albums exceeded 45 minutes. It was a common practice to use a 90 minute cassette and put an album on each side. It was pretty rare if an album didn't fit on one side of a cassette.

I don't know if studios took that into consideration when it came time to mastering. I'm glad we don't have the same limitations on length with CD's.

 

[fierce_freak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by viator122 Funny, I think the opposite. I think 45-50 minutes is the ideal length for an album. Too frequently, IMO, an album with an hour or more of music is not as "tight" as a shorter album and there is fat that could be trimmed.

I completely agree on that.

I'm getting used to short "full" lengths. A lot of albums in many of the genres I listen to clock in at 30-35 minutes (different kinds of metal and hardcore).

Funny side-note: I have two albums that have ridiculously long names but only have 20-30 minutes of music...always makes me think of a high letters in title to album time ratio, haha.