Releasing a great double album was much easier before the intrusion of the CD. Back in the day, if a record was over 45 minutes long then it would be cut over four sides, with a glorious gatefold sleeve added for good measure. With the advent of the digital age, the capacity for data on a CD was much greater and overnight the potential length of a single album suddenly doubled.
Muddying the waters, it now meant that CD double albums would more than likely be extended to a triple album on vinyl, which is certainly the case for Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and NIN’s The Fragile – hence their exclusion. Conversely, many long single albums cut onto a CD may well have previously qualified as double vinyl albums.
This, in part, explains why the majority of the albums selected in this Essential were released in the golden age of vinyl, before the interloping CD was introduced. Another reason is that, following the success of Bob Dylan’s trailblazing Blonde On Blonde in 1966, the double album was regarded as a serious, sprawling statement of artistic intent. As you’ll see from the LPs listed, many of the doubles use the four sides to tell a story (The Wall, Quadrophenia), while others use the platform to showcase a diversity of musical styles (London Calling, Sign ‘O’ The Times).