Twice the fun: Top Ten Double-Albums

By Broadside Style Columnist Andy Minor

Before the 70+ minute CD came along, artists who had managed to make more music than their typical LP records could hold were forced to expand. The result? The double album.

Usually, I find that most double LPs were produced by bands with great track records. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Wonder all had double LPs. Most bands, even some of the greats, never managed to put out a double album. So, this week I salute those bands that did. And please, if you haven't checked out a single one of these albums do it as soon as you can. These albums may be twice as long, but they're also twice as good and twice as classic.

10. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti

I may only be putting this album here for nostalgia’s sake, but when I take a step back from my well-loved copy of this CD, I begin to realize that it really is a good album. Zeppelin manages to break their “Stairway to Heaven” mold in more ways than one, going back to their folk roots with songs like “Bron-Yr-Aur” and also keeping with their towering rock sound during tracks like “The Rover” and “Custard Pie.” I really think that Physical Graffiti is a good glance at a Led Zeppelin that was approaching the end of their prime, but still had a ton of great music to get out.

9. The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs

I guess technically this is sort of a “greatest hits” album for Morrissey and the boys, but that doesn't stop it from being both a double album and completely awesome. I fell in love with this album the day I bought it, and it's the double LP responsible for sparking my unhealthy addiction to The Smiths. But beyond my own nostalgic reasons, I find that Bombs is a good survey of the band’s work. It’s got everything from emotional pop tunes to coming-of-age story songs to ballades like “Asleep,” possibly the saddest pop song I've ever heard.

8. The Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever

Not only are you constantly reminded during classic songs such as “It's Yourz” and “Triumph” that Wu-Tang put out a double LP, but these songs themselves make the album really, really good. The beats, the lyrics, the rhymes all flow openly and go together. It’s hip-hop at its finest, thanks to classic artists like Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the RZA, Method Man, Raekwon and tons of others. It's a classic album even beyond the world of hip-hop, and weighing in at more than 2 hours, it’s also a pretty long one. Regardless, you can never get bored with it. The saga continues, Wu-Tang.

7. Pink Floyd, The Wall

Not only is this classic a double LP, it’s also a concept album and a movie. It produced hits like “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” and “Comfortably Numb,” but at the same time it tells a pretty psychotic story of a man who builds a mental wall between himself and the world. Throw in the collaborative genius of Roger Waters and David Gilmour and you’ve got The Wall. Definitely a really lengthy, philosophically deep musical experience.

6. Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde

As far as I'm concerned, Bob Dylan makes this album great on the first track with “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.” But because the one-track album doesn't sell very well, Bob gave us the rest of Blonde, arguably his best album. It's a masterpiece through and through, crammed full of that nasal, folk-driven electric rock only Dylan can do. When the 14 minute final track, “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” comes on side four, it's a feeling that can only be achieved by hearing such a well-developed album.

5. Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life

What explanation could I give that would possibly do justice to Stevie? The hits from this album alone, “Isn't She Lovely” and “Sir Duke” are still some of my favorite songs ever. They're catchy, as well as musically deep. “Village Ghetto Land” has a synthesized string quartet feel, fitting in on an album that shows an artist expanding his understanding of music.

4. The Clash, London Calling

London Calling is one of those albums I learned track for track. I got it for Christmas one year, and really only liked one or two songs. Then, I discovered three or four more. Then, five and six, and pretty soon I was swimming in this album’s awesome punk power. Highlight tracks: “Jimmy Jazz,” “Guns of Brixton” and “Death or Glory.” I really shouldn't be picking only three, but that's really all I have room for. This album is a pure classic, and if you don’t own a copy, put down the paper and go buy one.

3. The Who, Tommy

Kind of like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Tommy is really a concept album, proving to Pete Townshend that he could write himself a pretty awesome rock opera. It’s a pretty sweet story and flows with the music really well, but if you want to understand really what The Who was getting at here, go rent the Woodstock DVD. The Who played most of the album at that show, and the album’s climax, “We're Not Gonna Take It,” came just as the sun was rising over Woodstock, New York. But I guess that’s just a fun fact, because the music on this album really does speak for itself.

2. Outkast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

I believe I was still in high school when the “Hey Ya” craze swept the nation before it finally faded away, but I never left that group of people who have a profound love for that catchy song. I loved it so much, I bought the entire double album it resided on. Little did I know that I was in for way more than a catchy pop number. Outkast members Big Boi and Andre 3000 each made one of the discs on the album, and while Big Boi’s side is chock full of great, funk-driven hip-hop, it’s Andre 3000 that almost takes the cake. His disc, The Love Below contains some of the greatest funk, jazz and pop from the last 10 years.

1. The Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Are there words to describe a masterpiece? This powerhouse is two discs of sublime musical genius, spanning the well-developed talents of the Smashing Pumpkins. I’m pretty sure this was the only album I ever needed when I was 16-years-old, because it nearly spans the entire spectrum of human emotion through the veil of 1990s heavy alternative. I’d begin to speak about notable tracks, but every single track on the album is solid and almost every one holds a special place in my heart.