Shorter length CDs?

Hi Perfect Monster... and thanks for those personal insights into what may be causing that tiring effect in my listening experience. I understand totally what you mean. Yes, sometimes there are a lot of sounds to digest in some of Bill's (and others) music. In a way, I guess that The Police (and their trademark 'empty' sound) was a reaction to that 'full/cluttered' production, that had been prevalent before they came to be a popular band. So I guess I'm hankering for the sound of a 5 piece band recorded, mostly 'live' in the studio with a minimal amount of overdubs? Drums, bass, keyboards, and 2 guitarists... one or more of whom are vocalists! mind you the sound shouldn't be limited to those instruments. For instance, can you remember Fazier Chorus. They used a different assortment of instruments than the standard pop/rock band. Anyway, before the thread was sent off at a tangent...my thread was about the total length of an album coming in at about 45 minutes...a good length to sit down and listen to at one time. Don't misconstrue that I want to live back in the 1970s by saying that. Thanks everybody for all your responses. It's great that we've all managed kept it polite and adult.

There's another possible reason for what you said could be a "tiring experience". Production technique.

Well over 20 years ago, I was on a newsgroup (remember them?) dedicated to Deep Purple. I was complaining that I found one of their albums - 1987's "House of Blue Light" - tiring to listen to. And the reason, I said, was that there was literally and metaphorically "no space" in the music: that everything was overdub upon overdub, and any possible empty space had a guitar fill or a drum fill or something in it. Compared to their classic albums from the early 70s, there was, in telecommunications terms, much more information in the music. And hence much more for the listener to take in.

(BTW, this wasn't about the "loudness war" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war -, which would have been developing then. That was a different complaint.)

Much to my surprise, Purple bass player Roger Glover, who often wrote on the newsgroup, replied, and wholeheartedly agreed with me. IIRC, he said he wished he could get his hands on that album, and remix it.

Now I'm not saying that Bill's albums suffer from that problem. I'm merely suggesting it as an alternative cause. Your use of the word "tiring", which I think was exactly the word that I used all those years ago, is what triggered my memory.

great stuff guys. As for missing out Revolution #9 on The Beatles White album....I've never met anyone who actually 'enjoys' it

The era of the EP was fun I think although many of my friends found the format frustrating but I thought they were neat. I also liked how the EP often included a non-album track and/or different version/s of album tracks. A marketing trick but one that provided a different lens into things. Seemed to work best on vinyl although I’ve got no logical reason as to why that is!

I’m one of those children who sometimes did wolf down the chocolates in one go. I’m often that way with the Bill Nelson albums as well. 😁

What skip a Beatles track, How Dare You.

An album is an album whatever it's length, take it as it comes. I've always hated the idea now that you can actually buy individual tracks off an album, so in there ears there only listening to the tracks they actually like? That takes away from the how the artist perceives how he himself thinks the people out there should hear it and how the whole album should flow from start to finish. Bring it on 45 minutes or 90 minutes they all work for me

Thanks for the reply Bill. I wasn't suggesting that your albums contained lots of 'fillers'. It's just that to me, some of the more experimental tracks that you've committed to CD, such as : 'The revenge of the man in the burning the Icecream van' from 'Plaything' and similar tracks on other albums, 'spoil' the feel of the whole album, at least for me.... I'm sure that you very much disagree though. I call it the 'Revolution #9', effect. I guess most people always skip that track on The Beatles 'White Album'.! However, I was only putting a subject out there for 'discussion' on a forum, to see what response I might get. I very mush respect your pleasant and polite reply...thanks.

Well, what some people might think of as 'filler', others may think of as 'thriller.' So who is the judge of that? Ultimately, it's not up to anyone else to state what an artist may or may not include on an album. And for me, there is never enough room to get all the ideas across. It's sacrosanct.

All I can say is, if you feel the albums have too many ideas or too much music to take in at one sitting, well, just take it a bit at a time, or as much as you can manage to assimilate, I'm not asking anyone to digest it all in one go...that would be like wolfing down a box of delicious chocolates without a break!

No apologies: I don't feel I can hold back on music that just has to be stated when it needs to be stated. I don't give a fig for convention or whatever orthodoxy says you're supposed to do, or what anyone else thinks I ought to do. That's just me, that's how I am, take it or leave it.

I'll always follow what I believe the music actually deserves. I don't particularly care what anyone else thinks about it. I'm not in this for glory, fame or 'show business.' It's simply creativity, pure fun, self indulgence, but also a deeply personal statement, it's not about whether anyone 'gets it' or not, or what they'd prefer me to do.

However, I have no problem with anyone hitting the pause button whenever they feel a bit saturated by the amount of music being offered. It's not exactly compulsory to digest it all at once. Just take it in small bites. I recommend it! 😁