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Post by greatsoundingmaracas on Jan 25, 2021 10:21:38 GMT
I have no idea where to post this but anyway...
I've always wondered why the original 1992 "Live At Wembley" LP was only a double LP, although the running time is about 1h50. I always thought a double LP's running time is about 90 minutes. But now I'm wondering, if 1h50 fits on 2 LPs, why are "Live At The Bowl" and "Rock Montreal" pressed on triple LP, although they clock in at 1h45 and 1h40. On top of that, why didn't they make "Live Killers" a bit longer, if a complete show would technically fit on a double LP.
I hope someone has an answer...
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Nuppiz
Tatterdemalion
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Post by Nuppiz on Jan 25, 2021 10:55:12 GMT
A vinyl LP can be made longer than 45 minutes, but sound quality starts to suffer as a result (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LP_record#Exceptions ). So in 1979 when Live Killers was released, they didn't want to risk making the record sound bad (also 90 minutes is one of the standard cassette tape lenghts so there's that to consider as well). My guess is that in 1992 it looked like vinyl would soon be permanently replaced by CD, so EMI figured there would be no point in spending more money to make Wembley a triple LP release and instead accepted a slightly worse sound quality. Bowl and Montreal were released in the 2000s when vinyl started to have a resurgence as an audiophile format, so pressing them on three LPs was necessary to retain the best possible audio quality. |
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Lord Fickle
Global Moderator 
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 25, 2021 10:55:40 GMT
Interesting question. You do tend to lose some of the bass when trying to squeeze anything much more than about 23 minutes on each side of a vinyl LP, but I've not heard LAW on vinyl so I don't know if that is the case with that one.
With LK, who knows why they missed tracks off? I guess two of them (STL and It's Late) were both longish tracks, so that may be one reason, but I'm just guessing. I'm sure someone will be along with better answers soon. 🙂
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Post by ThomasQuinn on Jan 25, 2021 11:00:01 GMT
There is no real 'hard limit' to how much you can fit on an LP in terms of running time, but there's a big 'but': the longer the running time, the closer the grooves need to be, and to fit grooves closer together, you need to lose audio quality - specifically: low end, dynamic range and overall volume. Another downside is that such lp's get damaged from poor styluses or excessive pressure on the stylus much more easily, and, conversely, that they skip much more easily. So, short version: fitting it onto two slabs of vinyl meant sacrificing a lot of sound quality, re-issuing it on three meant much better audio quality was possible.
Edit: I do have a copy of Todd Rundgren's Utopia (1974) on vinyl - it runs for just over 59 minutes. It still sounds pretty good, but the limited dynamic range is very noticeable. I don't know how Wembley sounds on vinyl, but I'd guess it's probably similar.
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Lord Fickle
Global Moderator
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 25, 2021 11:04:58 GMT
One of the examples that demonstrated this perfectly to me was when I heard some early Genesis albums for the first time on CD. I previously had Trick Of The Tail and Wind & Wuthering on vinyl, and always found them lacking in bass, each clocking in at around 26 minutes per side. When I heard them on CD, it was a real revelation to hear those bass pedals for the first time!
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Jan 25, 2021 22:17:16 GMT
Poor audio quality = a surprise that the 60 minute GH1 was so popular.
Lack of robustness = everyone having to keep buying fresh copies of it!
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