Why was "Passage" so short?

Status
Not open for further replies.

RainyDays

Active Member
I have often read that people were upset that Horizon was not as long as it could have been, but Passage has only eight tracks (and has only a few good ones). Is it to do with the actual time in minutes that Horizon is shorter? Maybe for Passage there wasn't enough material; probably because they were going for a whole new kind of sound.
 
HORIZON times out to around 34 minutes with a couple of very short tracks. PASSAGE totals up to around 39 minutes and has some very long tracks on it. 39 minutes is actually a decent length for an LP, coming up with about 20 minutes per side. They had to be careful in the LP days to keep albums short enough so that the grooves would not have to packed to tightly to cause distortion or skipping.

But HORIZON seemed really short, due I think mostly because of the book-ending tracks being so short. Most feel that one more track would have been better.

Harry
 
Passage is average length in the LP era in the 70s, actually. You couldn't easily cut more than 20 to 22 minutes per side without it getting distorted.

With one long song on the end of each side, it is no wonder there were only eight tracks on the album. Granted "Calling Occupants" could have been shorter--the DJ shtick and the extended fadeout on the ending both could have been removed.
 
Well, the CarpenterS album from 1971 has been short, too... Never really noticed Passage, though--but then again, w/ tunes like "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and "Don't Cry For Me AArgentina", I'd thought this album ran at a typical "long length"...


-- Dave
 
The longest album I ever heard of (in pop music) was Todd Rundgren's Initiation, which was over 67 minutes in length. There are plenty of 32-minute albums that seem much longer, due to low quality! :)
 
The longest album I ever heard of (in pop music) was Todd Rundgren's Initiation, which was over 67 minutes in length.

Did they cut that on a single LP? The bass would really have to be shaved off to make that possible. And I bet those inner grooves were really pinched! They would also cut it quieter, so there would be more surface noise.

The longest ones I have are from Genesis. Duke clocks in at over 55 minutes IIRC. I had A Trick Of The Tail on a US Atco pressing that sounded horrible, but the Mobile Fidelity pressing was perfect--the inner grooves really sound distorted and pinched on the Atco.

Joe Jackson's Big World was spread over three sides, and was over 60 minutes.
 
When I first purchased Passage (at its initial release), I also felt it was short, given the number of songs. That notion was further supported upon first listen, when I found very few songs with the traditional Carpenters sound. The Carpenters were undoubtedly experimenting with various styles. I was thrilled by the crossover (pop and country) success of "Sweet, Sweet Smile." But I found my comfort in "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song," "I Just Fall in Love Again," "Two Sides," and perhaps "Calling Occupants...."
 
I think I like most of the album since it "broke the mold" so to speak. I'll wait for our "official album review" entry before commenting further.
 
PASSAGE isn't short. The songs are long. The more minutes you put onto vinyl, the less sound you get from the record. Pay attention to overall length, not to the number of songs - that's the better approach (and is why some of the most brilliant albums are being reissued on vinyl but in 45 rpm and you get two records instead of one. 45 rmp (fewer grooves) puts out much better sound today.
 
RAINY DAYS-"Passage" is basically a full-length album,clocking in at 39 minutes.Only eight tracks were included on the album(instead of 10) because "Calling Occupants" and "Casa Rosada/Argentina" take up the space of four individual tracks-both clocking in at 7+ minutes.

But,there was no shortage of tracks recorded for "Passage".Unbelievably,there's enough outtakes to fill another 40 minute album.
 
Did they cut that on a single LP? The bass would really have to be shaved off to make that possible. And I bet those inner grooves were really pinched! They would also cut it quieter, so there would be more surface noise.

Yes, and it had a notation on the back cover saying the music was cut softer to make it all fit, and advising the listener to crank it up louder than usual.
 
Did it really say that?? I have a copy of the original vinyl and it doesn't say that on mine....... perhaps it was just on the American version and not other ones??

I wouldn't have thought that 20 minutes on each side was pushing it too much for an album......... Abba's greatest hits volume 2 is nearly 60 mins, that IS pushing it!
 
Did it really say that?? I have a copy of the original vinyl and it doesn't say that on mine....... perhaps it was just on the American version and not other ones??

I wouldn't have thought that 20 minutes on each side was pushing it too much for an album......... Abba's greatest hits volume 2 is nearly 60 mins, that IS pushing it!

I believe Mike was commenting on a Todd Rundgren album referenced earlier in the thread. There is not, to my knowledge, any such notation on a Carpenters album.

Harry
 
Sorry, that will teach me to make sure i read ALL of the thread before making a comment, duh!!

Thanks Harry,
Bob
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom