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It takes two

In light of Roger Waters performing The Wall in its entirety next week, Winnipeggers weigh in on their fave double albums

By: David Sanderson

Posted: 05/26/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

In light of Roger Waters performing The Wall in its entirety next week, we asked Winnipeggers to weigh in on their fave double albums. Here, Kenton Larsen holds The Clash's London Calling. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

Twice as nice

LAST year, Rolling Stone magazine put together a commemorative issue announcing its top 500 albums of all time. Listed among the selections was a flood of four-sided classics. Here are the top 10 double albums, according to Rolling Stone's critics.

1. Exile on Main Street -- Rolling Stones (1972)

2. London Calling -- the Clash (1979)

3. Blonde on Blonde -- Bob Dylan (1966)

4. The Beatles (The White Album) -- the Beatles (1968)

5. At Fillmore East -- Allman Brothers Band (1971)

6. Electric Ladyland -- Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

7. Songs in the Key of Life -- Stevie Wonder (1976)

8. Trout Mask Replica -- Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band (1976)

9. Physical Graffiti -- Led Zeppelin (1975)

10. The Wall -- Pink Floyd (1979)

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Ray Giguere with Kiss's Alive! (WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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George Belanger with The Beatles' White Album. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

Once upon a time, every Tom, Dick and Harry Chapin put out a double album.

During the 1970s -- the heyday of the genre -- four-sided soundtracks like Saturday Night Fever dominated the charts, duking it out with concert sets like Ted Nugent's Double Live Gonzo, concept albums like Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and long-winded compilations like Kiss' Double Platinum.

A lot of that changed after the invention of the compact disc; suddenly, artists were able to release up to 80 minutes of music on a single album, rendering the need to issue two separate volumes largely unnecessary.

"I was thinking the other day about how there don't seem to be as many double albums anymore," says Scott Armstrong, the general manager of 92 CITI-FM, a classic rock station whose playlist is peppered with songs from the double-album epoch. "Instead, you see a lot of CDs released with DVD counterparts, or some other kind of multimedia offering."

Later this week, Armstrong will be among those who witness Pink Floyd's double album opus The Wall live at the MTS Centre, as performed by its chief bricklayer, Roger Waters.

The Wall, originally released in November 1979, is not only the bestselling double album of all time; it's also the fourth biggest-selling record of all time, period.

"We're constantly testing the music we play and Floyd and The Wall rate as high today as they ever did," Armstrong says, noting that the first double record he ever purchased was Elton John's 1973 masterpiece, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. (When he was growing up in Ontario, Armstrong spent the majority of his allowance on 45s. But when Goodbye Yellow Brick Road came out, he and his older sister pooled their money and picked up a copy.)

This weekend, 92 CITI-FM will have The Wall on heavier rotation than normal, as it counts down the days until the Waters shows on May 31 and June 1. On May 28, the station will air The Wall in its entirety, as part of its Turntable Classics series, as hosted by Howard Mandshein (favourite double album: the Who's Quadrophenia).

But since music lovers cannot survive on one double album alone, we recently polled some prominent Winnipeggers and asked them what their preferred choice would be. Here's what they had to say...

London Calling, the Clash (1979)

"I ONCE had a heated five-hour debate with my friends about whether London Calling is pop or punk. We eventually settled it with 'Who cares?' By either standard, the songs are brilliant. If I was forced at (Tommy) gunpoint to choose a handful of favourites, I'd select the title track, Death or Glory, Clampdown, Lost in the Supermarket and Train in Vain (Stand By Me), written and sung by Mick Jones, the Paul McCartney to Joe Strummer's John Lennon. London Calling also has my favourite album cover of all time: a photo of Paul Simonon smashing his bass at the Palladium, New York, Sept. 21, 1979 -- my 12th birthday."

-- Kenton Larsen, instructor, Red River College

Alive! Kiss (1975)

"ALIVE! may not be my favourite -- honestly, who can pick a No. 1 anything? -- but it's the one that keeps bringing me back to my misspent youth. I love everything about the package: the band logo on the inside cover, the colour booklet, the picture of the archetypical '70s fans holding up a homemade Kiss banner on the back cover.... Years later we found out that most of the killer live versions were overdubbed but back then we didn't care. We just wanted to rock and roll all night."

-- Ray Giguere, owner of Argy's Collectibles

The Roxy in Stereo, Bruce Springsteen (1978)

"THOUGH I'd just discovered Springsteen two months earlier, I was already more than a fan when I sent away for this mysterious live album, recorded in Los Angeles, advertised in the back of Trouser Press magazine. I couldn't bear to read another glowing review of one of Bruce's epic live marathons without at least hearing one for myself. So what did I get? A Buddy Holly cover (Rave On), three songs so new they hadn't been released yet, and a 10-minute version of Growin' Up that would colour me obsessed for the rest of my life."

-- Stu Reid, host of Twangtrust, CKUW 95.9 FM

Frampton Comes Alive, Peter Frampton (1976)

"BECAUSE I've been in a Beatles and Stones (tribute) band for 32 years, everybody would naturally assume that I'd pick one of them. But Exile on Main Street and the White Album are not my faves. Instead, it's a tie between The Wall and Frampton Comes Alive. Floyd is Floyd: totally amazing; and Frampton always sounded better live than he did on his studio stuff."

-- Wayne Hlady, Free Ride

Wheels of Fire, Cream (1968)

"The first double album I ever purchased was Cream's Wheels of Fire in 1968. I was a huge fan and loved the fact that one of the albums was live and the other was studio recordings. I spent hours in my bedroom listening over and over, trying to work out Clapton's lead guitar licks on Crossroads. The live album only had four tracks; two per side. That was very cool and really gave an indication of what Cream was all about: long jams. A double album was quite a novelty at the time; I wasn't aware of any others preceding it."

-- John Einarson, instructor, author

Made in Germany, Amon Düül II (1975)

"DüüL II-fans generally pooh-pooh this one, preferring the German band's early space-prog blow-outs. But this opus is a true concept double album la Tommy, The Wall and Barry Manilow Live. The album is a kind of a wacky overview of German history with songs featuring Kaiser Wilhelm, Mad King Ludwig and even Hitler drumming on one tune, sort of. Released almost everywhere outside Germany as a chopped-up single LP, you really need the double to get the whole story."

-- Andy Morton, lead singer of the Wind-Ups

The Beatles (The White Album), the Beatles (1968)

"HANDS down, the best double album for me has to be the Beatles' White Album. The timing was perfect as I was experimenting with, shall we say, the 'psychedelic phenomenon.' From Helter Skelter's frenzy to the mellowness and flow of Sexy Sadie, it was amazing to me how everything seemed to fit so seamlessly. I remember the range of emotions the tracks put me through the first I listened to it; I was in awe of the Beatles' ability to move me from one dimension to another."

-- George Belanger, Harlequin

Use Your Illusion I, II, Guns N' Roses (1991)

"USE Your Illusion I and II were really awesome: not because of the pair of sweat socks that Axl Rose had stuffed down the front of his bicycle shorts, or Slash's unnatural ability to avoid starting his greasy hair on fire with the cigarette perpetually protruding from his face. These albums were awesome because they contained awesome songs. Don't Cry featured Axel at his high-pitched, screamy best. And I still can't even get out of the car when November Rain is on, without listening to the end part when Slash is all wailing and junk. Seriously, I was late for a meeting the other day for that exact reason. I told them it was traffic but really it was Slash."

-- Jeremy Williams, musician, reporter for Shaw-TV

The War of the Worlds (1978 studio cast)

"CHOOSING a favourite double album is like choosing between babies. A top pick would be Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds, which uses music, narration and sound effects to tell the story of an alien invasion. It's filled with '70s synth and orchestral sounds, guitar solos and progressive rock goodness. My dad would crank this on his stereo when we were kids."

-- Lisa Saunders, publicist, keyboardist/vocalist with Thrift Store Love

Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan (1966)

"THE album that comes to mind is Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde... played it for hours in the late '70s. The times they were a-changin', but Dylan had already very, very definitely changed. I love the loneliness and edginess the songs evoke. But I especially love the words sung in desperation, "sooner or later, one of us must know" (from the song One of Us Must Know). What better line to intrigue a young man trying to make his way in the world ?"

-- Dan Vandal, Winnipeg city councillor

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 26, 2012 E1

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