Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photo album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33+1⁄3 rpm.
The album was the dominant form of
Most albums are recorded in a
History
An album (Latin albus, white), in ancient Rome, was a board chalked or painted white, on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in black. It was from this that in medieval and modern times, album came to denote a book of blank pages in which verses, autographs, sketches, photographs and the like are collected.[9] This in turn led to the modern meaning of an album as a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item.
The first audio albums were actually published by the publishers of photograph albums. Single 78 rpm records were sold in a brown heavy paper sleeve with a large hole in the center so the record's label could be seen. The fragile records were stored on their sides. By the mid-1920s, photo album publishers sold collections of empty sleeves of heavier paper in bound volumes with stiff covers slightly larger than the 10" popular records. (Classical records measured 12".) On the paper cover in small type were the words "Record Album." Now records could be stored vertically with the record not touching the shelf, and the term was applied to the collection.[citation needed]
In the early nineteenth century, "album" was occasionally used in the titles of some classical music sets, such as Robert Schumann's Album for the Young Opus 68, a set of 43 short pieces.[6]
With the advent of
By about 1910, bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album" was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than the records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them. In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78 rpm records by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on the front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight compositions per album.[7]
By the mid-1930s, record companies had adopted the album format for classical music selections that were longer than the roughly eight minutes that fit on both sides of a classical 12" 78 rpm record. Initially the covers were plain, with the name of the selection and performer in small type. In 1938, Columbia records hired the first graphic designer in the business to design covers, others soon followed and colorful album covers cover became an important selling feature.[citation needed]
By the later '30s, record companies began releasing albums of previously released recordings of popular music in albums organized by performer, singers or bands, or by type of music, boogie-woogie, for example.[citation needed]
When Columbia introduced the Long Playing record format in 1948, it was natural the term album would continue. Columbia expected that the record size distinction in 78s would continue, with classical music on 12" records and popular music on 10" records, and singles on 78s. Columbia's first popular 10" LP in fact was Frank Sinatra's first album, the four-record eight-song The Voice of Frank Sinatra, originally issued in 1946.[12]
RCA's introduction of the smaller 45 rpm format later in 1948 disrupted Columbia's expectations. By the mid-1950s, 45s dominated the singles market and 12" LPs dominated the album market and both 78s and 10" LPs were discontinued. In the 1950s albums of popular music were also issued on 45s, sold in small heavy paper-covered "gate-fold" albums with multiple discs in sleeves or in sleeves in small boxes. This format disappeared around 1960. Sinatra's "The Voice" was issued in 1952 on two extended play 45s, with two songs on each side, in both packagings.[13]
The 10-inch and 12-inch
The term "album" was extended to other recording media such as
Length
An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States,
If an album becomes too long to fit onto a single vinyl record or CD, it may be released as a
Tracks
Material (music or sounds) is stored on an album in sections termed tracks. A music track (often simply referred to as a track) is an individual
A track that has the same name as the album is called the title track.
Bonus tracks
A bonus track (also known as a bonus cut or bonus) is a piece of music which has been included as an extra. This may be done as a marketing promotion, or for other reasons. It is not uncommon to include singles,
Audio formats
Non-audio printed format
Commercial sheet music are published in conjunction with the release of a new album (studio, compilation, soundtrack, etc.). A matching folio songbook is a compilation of the
Vinyl records
Vinyl
Double albums during the seventies were sometimes sequenced for
8-track tape
8-track tape (formally Stereo 8: commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a
Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by
Compact cassette
The Compact Cassette was a popular medium for distributing pre-recorded music from the early 1970s to the early 2000s.[26] The first "Compact Cassette" was introduced by Philips in August 1963 in the form of a prototype.[27] Compact Cassettes became especially popular during the 1980s after the advent of the Sony Walkman, which allowed the person to control what they listened to.[27][28] The Walkman was convenient because of its size, the device could fit in most pockets and often came equipped with a clip for belts or pants.[27]
The compact cassette used double-sided
Compact cassettes also saw the creation of mixtapes, which are tapes containing a compilation of songs created by any average listener of music.[31] The songs on a mixtape generally relate to one another in some way, whether it be a conceptual theme or an overall sound.[31] After the introduction of Compact discs, the term "Mixtape" began to apply to any personal compilation of songs on any given format.[31]
The sales of Compact Cassettes eventually began to decline in the 1990s, after the release and distribution
Compact disc
The compact disc format replaced both the vinyl record and the cassette as the standard for the commercial mass-market distribution of physical music albums.
MP3 albums, and similar
Most recently, the MP3 audio format has matured, revolutionizing the concept of digital storage. Early MP3 albums were essentially CD-rips created by early CD-ripping software, and sometimes real-time rips from cassettes and vinyl.
The so-called "MP3 album" is not necessarily just in MP3 file format, in which higher quality formats such as
Types of album
The contents of the album are usually recorded in a studio or live in concert, though may be recorded in other locations, such as at home (as with JJ Cale's Okie,[35][36] Beck's Odelay,[37] David Gray's White Ladder,[38] and others),[39][40][41] in the field – as with early Blues recordings,[42] in prison,[43] or with a mobile recording unit such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.[44][45]
Studio
Most albums are studio albums — that is, they are recorded in a recording studio with equipment meant to give those overseeing the recording as much control as possible over the sound of the album. They minimize external noises and reverberations and have highly sensitive microphones and sound mixing equipment. In some studios, each member of a band records their part in separate rooms (or even at separate times, while listening to the other parts of the track with headphones to keep the timing right). In the 2000s, with the advent of digital recording, it became possible for musicians to record their part of a song in another studio in another part of the world, and send their contribution over digital channels to be included in the final product.[citation needed]
Live
Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing or multi-tracking are termed "live",[46] even when done in a studio.[47] However, the common understanding of a "live album" is one that was recorded at a concert with a public audience,[48] even when the recording is overdubbed or multi-tracked.[49] Concert or stage performances are recorded using remote recording techniques. Albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts. They may include applause, laughter and other noise from the audience, monologues by the performers between pieces, improvisation, and so on. They may use multitrack recording direct from the stage sound system (rather than microphones placed among the audience), and can employ additional manipulation and effects during post-production to enhance the quality of the recording.
Notable early live albums include the double album of Benny Goodman, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, released in 1950.[50] Live double albums later became popular during the 1970s. Appraising the concept in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said most "are profit-taking recaps marred by sound and format inappropriate to phonographic reproduction (you can't put sights, smells, or fellowship on audio tape). But for Joe Cocker and Bette Midler and Bob-Dylan-in-the-arena, the form makes a compelling kind of sense."[51]
Eric Clapton's Unplugged (1992), over 26 million copies,[52] Garth Brooks' Double Live (1998), over 21 million copies,[53] and Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), over 11 million copies,[54] are among the best selling live albums.
In Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 18 albums were live albums.[citation needed]
Solo
A solo album, in
A performer may record a solo album for several reasons. A solo performer working with other members will typically have full creative control of the band, be able to hire and fire accompanists, and get the majority of the proceeds.[citation needed] The performer may be able to produce songs that differ widely from the sound of the band with which the performer has been associated, or that the group as a whole chose not to include in its own albums. Graham Nash of the Hollies described his experience in developing a solo album as follows: "The thing that I go through that results in a solo album is an interesting process of collecting songs that can't be done, for whatever reason, by a lot of people".[57] A solo album may also represent the departure of the performer from the group.
Compilation album
A
Tribute or cover
A tribute or cover album is a compilation of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may involve various artists covering the songs of a single artist, genre or period, a single artist covering the songs of various artists or a single artist, genre or period, or any variation of an album of cover songs which is marketed as a "tribute".[58]
See also
References
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External links
- The dictionary definition of album at Wiktionary
- Media related to Music albums at Wikimedia Commons