When You Buy The Whole Album And Only Like One Song.

Spotify.

Singles.

 

I would say that I bought Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" album mainly for 1 song, but it's not even my favorite song on the album any more.  Now I like ... every ... single ... song.   More often than not, if you hear an album enough times, your experience and impression changes.

 

@bdp24 

Every location you name rings a bell. I saw Quentin Tarantino at the Bob's, one lunchtime. George Clooney, Julia Roberts, etc. etc.  In any case, I was fully ready for retirement when WB and my union mandated it.

larry5729

..uh, Larry...it’s pretty obvious today you can select individual songs via streaming.

The original post is regarding albums we bought prior to the internet age with no way to audition the entire album before purchasing it.  Also, a lot of those albums purchased on vinyl were never released on cd or in any digital format.

 

One easy solution is to stream music.  You can sit down and select individual songs from various albumns and perhaps create play lists by genre.  

I probably have over 6,000 cd's and albums, far too many sit unused and stashed away all over house due to excessive filler and or changing musical interests. Not a very utilitarian use of resources. I find much greater utility in streaming, I only have to press buttons on tablet to skip tracks, albums, no more putting up with filler tracks. Much more enjoyable listening sessions these days.

I've been buying records since 1973 and could never bring myself to do something like that.

@edcyn: I loved living in that end of Burbank. I walked my dogs over to the Bob Hope Park everyday and let them sniff around awhile. You know The Safari Inn on West Olive? Lucinda Williams stayed there while recording one of her 2000’s albums.

Did you ever eat at Don Cuco’s? Best Mexican food I’ve ever had! Around the corner is Bob’s Big Boy; open 24 hours, so that’s the place to go after a late night gig (some of mine went to 1 or 2 in the A.M.). On Friday nights there is a Vintage Car Show in the Bob’s parking lot; lots of pompadours and ducktails, cuffed blue jeans, and chicks with short bangs and tats. Love it!

By the way, David Lynch says it was in Bob’s that he sat all night during some of the time he was working on Eraserhead, drinking coffee (and no doubt eating cherry pie ;-) and working on the script. He has a home in the Hollywood Hills now of course. ;-)

I appreciate our 'new era' of streaming, streamcasting, Spotify, et all...

No more buying an album, tape, or CD to find the 1~3 cuts that caught my ears were the only ones of interest.

Since FM has mostly become pointless, what with the rotations run (I can do my own, thanx anyway...) or the 'genre' played...not to mention locationlocationlocation of being in a 'mountain town'.

...antennas on towers with rotators seemed to make the reactionary 'neighbors' think you were a weird spy-type or in touch with the aliens.  It didn't matter whether of another country or the 'off-planet' sort....

Now, a bookmark list that scrolls long enough to span my 'Noises of Interest' short term memories of the this 'n that of my past, present, and where to go next.

Gotta love the Future....you're There constantly...;)

@bdp24 I worked on the WB lot for years. Before that, I worked at Universal but those cheapskates parked me and my fellow story analysts in a crummy motel across the street behind the post office. We probably crossed paths a couple times.

 

In any case, in time the internet finally developed to the point where we could work remotely from home.

@bdp24 

Yeah; I've read somewhere that many of the Funk Brothers considered themselves Jazz players.  

Ginger Baker's roots were definitely in Jazz: 

 “Four drummers in my life who were my absolute heroes: Phil Seamen was the first one, Max Roach, Art Blakey and Elvin Jones. All four of them became my friends, and I mean dear friends. That is worth more to me than anything in the whole world,” he said once"

And, of course, he recorded Jazz albums, including the excellent "Coward of the County" featuring compositions by trumpeter Ron Miles. 

Rock drummers like to tout their Jazz-influenced chops (basically knowing the rudiments), but Mitch Mitchell actually put his to good use (saw him live twice). A current guy doing the same is Steve Gadd.

Earl Palmer is best-known as the drummer on early Rock ’n’ Roll hits by the likes of Little Richard (as well as a lot of Pop studio work, including on Phil Spector recordings, even Frank Sinatra), but he considered (R.I.P.) himself a Jazz musician (he came out of New Orleans). In his last days he had a trio that played in the bar at the steak house (now shuttered) directly across the street from the NBC studio in Burbank where the Tonight Show is filmed. I and a lot of other locals sat in the bar to watch a master at work. My house was two blocks away, so I could walk there.

@larsman

Yes, indeed. . . my wife and I enjoyed some wonderful evenings, there. They still offer Jazz occasionally, but rarely anyone we're willing to drive 2 hours+ to see. 

 

 

@stuartk - the club in Oakland you mention is Yoshi's, I assume?? 

@bdp24 - the Flamin' Groovies! I first met Roy Loney back in '73 when I was working at a record shop and he worked for ABC Records as an inventory-taker. I did some promo photos of the Phantom Movers as well. What a great guy; so sad when he died a few years back.... Danny Mihm used to hang out with a lot of the same people I did back in the 70's, too... 

@wolf_garcia 

"Jazz is about as popular as Polka and children's music...maybe less popular, but a treasure for those of us who like it...and I like it a lot."

👍

Mitch Mitchell has always been my favorite Rock drummer precisely because of his strong Jazz influence!  

 

 

I'm an old Rock and Roll musician and current live sound mixer, and my band in '69 actually opened a show for Zep (and others, luckily we had good management as my 18 year old self had no idea what I was doing). Met Jimi (got his cassette player working...he thanked me), and his drummer Mitch Mitchell sat in with us at a club...man...in any case, after seeing Monk open for Peter, Paul, and Mary at the Hollywood bowl when I was maybe 12 I had the seed planted for jazz. Later on loved hitting a late night jazz club after a noisy club gig. Now I've been in a "Jazz freak late in life beatnik" phase for decades it seems (smoke pot, ride a Bonneville). Listen to jazz mostly, and have worked the sound board for some of my faves in concert. Can't imagine anybody not liking Julian Lage, Bill Charlap, Vijay Iyer, Bill Evans...blah blah but I get it. Jazz is about as popular as Polka and children's music...maybe less popular, but a treasure for those of us who like it...and I like it a lot. From piano trios to Scofield and Arturo O'Farill and lots in between...and recently some brilliant Scandinavian piano trios I found on Tidal. Pop music now mostly bores the crap outta me (Wet Leg...really?), but the endless trove of great jazz out there should keep me stoked 'till I croak.

Playlists are awesome. Miss albums a bit but ease of use triumphs over tactile satisfaction. And as age creeps ever faster do we really own anything?

Male vocalists such as Armstrong, Torme, Cole, and Hartman rock for want of a better word. 

"That said, I still have not developed the taste for jazz and female vocals."

 

I love female vocals, Sarah Vaughn, Ella’s Fitzgerald, Helen Merrill, Nina Simone, Julie London, Rosemary Clooney, Billie Holiday...could go on and on...man, to not like any female vocals, you are passing up on a lot of great music in my opinion.

I too have gravitated more to female vocals in music. The female voice is one of the most beautiful sounds there is. But it is mainly because my system (not on my page yet ) is able to bring out the best in them. I’m not really a jazz fan but Diana Krall’s voice is amazing. All the different generes have amazing female singers. Whitney Houston ,Samantha Fox, Ellie Goulding, Shannon, Adele, etc. etc. all sound great. And the beauty of streaming is I usually only have two or three of their songs in my playlist so I can enjoy them all regularly. I like other generes as well. So much music so little time it seems. Happy listening!

Ron 

Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby?

i remember john lennon saying [paraphrased] that the problem with music today is that most albums have just one or two good songs on them, and the rest is often just filler ["crap" in his words]. what i do is i make [and have made many of such] compilation CDs with my fave songs from various CDs and LPs/45s/78s] combined on them. 

One genre that is heavy with "1-hit wonders" is the Garage Band music of the 1960’s. After The British Invasion took over the music business in 1964, every town and city in America witnessed an explosion of local bands who were inspired by The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Animals, Yardbirds, Who, etc. In my home town of San Jose, California, we had The Syndicate Of Sound ("Hey Little Girl"), People ("I Love You", a cover of The Zombies song), The Count Five ("Psychotic Reaction", an obvious, blatant, shameless imitation of The Yardbirds’ "I’m A Man", itself a pale, whitebread cover of the Muddy Waters original), The Chocolate Watchband (no hits, but three albums on Tower Records, and an appearance in the Roger Corman teensploitation movie Riot On Sunset Strip. I was in attendance at their first live gig. The Watchband’s drummer was a couple years ahead of me at Cupertino High.), and Stained Glass (no hits, but two albums on Capitol Records. Bassist/singer Jim McPherson left the group to join Copperhead, the band started by Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina. John’s brother Mario was later the bassist in Huey Lewis & The News.).

Anyway, Rock ’n’ Roll historian, critic, publisher (Bomp magazine), record company owner (Bomp Records), and Garage Band fanatic/collector Greg Shaw was (R.I.P.) about as hardcore a 45 collector as I am aware of. At the time of his death in 2004, his collection of 7" 45 RPM singles devoted to regional Garage Band releases numbered 100,000! That’s a lotta shoe boxes ;-) . By the way: when Greg was managing The Flamin’ Groovies, their fan club president was Mirian Linna, later the first drummer of The Cramps. I still have my Flamin’ Groovies Fan Club badge, handmade by Miriam. She quit The Cramps to join the NYC Rockabilly band The A-Bones, and has a coupla solo albums. Very cool chick.

I have bought  many, many albums/CDs for just one song, One of my favorite songs as a kid growing up in the 60s in Los Angeles was "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the ultimate example of a One Hit Wonder. I never owned the single or album when I was younger, I only heard the song on the radio. When I got into CDs in the late 80s-early 90s, there was a mail order catalog I used to get that sold  hard-to-find import CDs. One of those CDs was a Dutch re-issue of the original Crazy World of Arthur Brown album that contained the hit song Fire.Feeling nostalgic, I ordered the CD, which ended up costing around $25 with shipping. That was a lot of scratch for one CD at the time. The CD arrived, the first song was Fire, which was great, really happy to hear it again, but the rest of the CD was absolute dog feces. Painfully unlistenable. Spending $25 for that one song still ranks high on my All-Time Biggest Wastes of Money list.  

The internet is awesome.  You don’t have to buy entire albums to get the single song you want.  In my pre-internet days, as a newly-turntabled young man, I loved that I could buy “Alone Again, Naturally” on 45 and not have to own a whole Gilbert O’Sullivan CD or LP, or that the same could be achieved for “Voices Carry” by Til Tuesday, and many other one-hit wonders who had a humdinger of a hit.
I’ve indeed begrudgingly purchased entire albums for one song, but when that song became available in a digital form, I got rid of the crappy CD/vinyl LP containing 95% crap and talking up space and making me feel embarrassed to own 😜

However, there’s something fun about having something, something that’s good,  on a physical format that is currently unavailable digitally.  It feels special.

I love purchasing vinyl or cassettes and discovering a gem.

I grabbed a cool-looking Girl Groups compilation cassette at a record store a year ago.  It yielded a rare gem I’d not heard before: “I Can’t Let Go” by Evie Sands (eventually a Hollies single) and it knocked my socks off.  When I made a mix-tape and wanted to include it, I had to use YouTube as the source.   Couldn’t find a digital copy anywhere. That original 45 goes for $150-$300 in good shape.

 

OP… “The only tune I can listen to on that album is 'Snoopy's Search/Red Baron'.”
 

We completely agree!

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly would surely qualify for "bought albums because of one track...only to find out that one track was the only one on the entire album that was listenable"

@artemus_5 

"Because of my curiosity, this sparks my question of whether the OP (and others) are listening to it because it is the "in thing" to do. Or do they truly like it. If the later, then great. You seem to fit that group."

Curiosity is good and yes; I do fit the latter group, although, just like anyone else, I have my preferences. 

 

@artemus_5 

"I have no problem with what other's like to listen. For me, it just doesn't move me"

Sorry if I somehow gave you the impression that I perceived you as having a problem with what others listen to. That actually never crossed my mind. Your post did not strike me as critical or negative. It goes without saying that we all have our personal likes and dislikes, for which no-one can be faulted. 

"However there does seem to be an inordinate love for female vocals & jazz among audiophiles". 

I don't hang with many audiophiles so you may well be right. Here on the forum, I have definitely gotten the impression that female vocals are a popular listening preference. However, I haven't gotten the same impression when it comes to Jazz. Fusion, perhaps but Bop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Modal, etc? Not so much. Maybe a bunch of guys will chime in here and identify themselves as passionate Jazz fans.  That would be great, from my perspective! 

Streaming is essentially free if you choose. There is a free version of Spotify (with ads). It can be a great tool for discovery and listening before buying. As an example, if you find an "album" that is interesting to you, search for the album on Spotify. Click on the album, and you'll get a list of tracks, including how many times each track has been streamed. You'll often see that a popular track has been streamed many times more than the other tracks on the album. Spot check of few of the tracks. If you like them, stream the whole album. If you spot check the most popular tracks, and still don't like the album, move on. Lastly, if you like the album, buy it on your favorite format. I've added a lot of newer vinyl to my collection after first trying it on Spotify.

 

 

Yeah, I agree about 45's. I've got a shoe box of them.

Man, you must have some big feet!

lg1, 

I have to chuckle regarding the Billy Cobham 'Spectrum' album.

The only tune I can listen to on that album is 'Snoopy's Search/Red Baron'.

Nearly 50 years later, it is still the only cut on the album worth my time.

Different strokes for different folks.

@stuartk 

I have no problem with what other's like to listen. For me, it just doesn't move me. I've never really cared for female vocals but I tried to see what it might do over a good system. Again, it just doesn't move me.I like some jazz IE David Sanborn, Lee Ritenaur, & Joe Sample. But i suspect this is as much Pop as jazz. Even Dire Straits doesn't move me . But its mostly due to the melancholy nature of the vocals IMO. This doesn't mean that I do not acknowledge their ability. But it doesn't connect with me. And I'm sure there is music which I love which others don't get either

However there does seem to be an inordinate love for female vocals & jazz among audiophiles. Because of my curiosity, this sparks my question of whether the OP (and others) are listening to it because it is the "in thing" to do. Or do they truly like it. If the later, then great. You seem to fit that group.

@artemus_5

My wife and I used to drive to Oakland to hear live Jazz and most of the audiences were comprised of old white guys, some with female companions. That club was one of the finest venues for live Jazz in the country and now, very rarely offers it. Instead, they book smooth (so called) Jazz and contemporary R&B. Listening to the Allmans, Santana, Sons of Champlin, Boz Scaggs and the Dead led me quite naturally to Jazz. Duane Allman said he listened to Kind Of Blue every day for years and he was very fluent, indeed, at modal improvisation. So unlike you, I don't hear Jazz as something distant and or unrelated from/to Rock. And I find it very engaging, on many levels. . . different strokes. . . 

 

 

 

Two LPs that fit this description for me were Billy Cobham’s “Spectrum” and Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky”.  Bought both of these during the early/mid 70s…the Cobham LP purely on the strength of a short passage of the track, “Stratus” that I was enamored of enough to rush out and get the album after hearing the music-in-question in the wee hours of morning played over Houston’s “K101” (KLOL) by the muchly remembered DJ, “Crash”.  For years, I had no use for either disc save for the snippet/beginning of “Stratus” and Greenbaum’s signature single.  At 65, the entire Billy Cobham album is one of my perennial favorites though…….Jury’s still out on the “filler” material in the Greenbaum disc.  I’ll give it another listen later today and see if anything’s changed.

Even if you are a true music lover (many aren't) your musical taste buds must be trained just as your taste buds for food must be trained. The first time I heard Led Zeppelin in '69, I didn't care for it. But it touched something to the point that I said, "Lets play it again." I had the same reaction to every other Zep album, even though I am a big Zep fan and John Bonham protege.

That said, I still have not developed the taste for jazz and female vocals. I've tried and it just doesn't move me. So I don't buy anymore even though  Elusive Disk sends me emails with their latest audiophile music (jazz & female vocals) and tell me how fabulous it is. It isn't to me. Quite honestly it isn't to 98-99% of the US. But many audiophiles buy this stuff because they think the SHOULD like it. been there, ain't going back.I am a classic rock, blues  fan who bought my first album in 1963 (beach Boys Live) I had to train my musical taste buds at first,  to like most all the music on an album. I still like most all the music on an album I buy.

The question is are you listening to the right music? The right music is music you like, not necessarily what someone else thinks is posh or "sophisticated".

I have had that experience. I had pre-ordered the latest Roger Waters album, "Is This The Life We Really Want", what an utter disappointment. The entire album is pure rubbish. How many times does one have to say the F bomb in a song? I counted something like 12 or 13 times in one song. My wife was like that is the worst music she ever heard. It wasn’t just the swearing, it sounded like one big political statement that I don’t agree with, and had I known, I wouldn’t have bought it.

From my Avitar, its obvious I am a big fan of PF and all the individual artists within the band. I have everything they have done together and as individuals so when I say it's bad, trust me.  It is so bad, its embarrassing.

@bdp24 Yeah, I agree about 45's. I've got a shoe box of them. The trouble is that a good half of them are terribly pressed. They can possess alarmingly spitty sibilants and surfaces as noisy as an old 78.. Center holes can be hilariously off-center, something that results in near nausea-inducing wow. Because you have to cue them up so far into the center of a rapidly-spinning turntable, getting your needle into the lead-in groove can be the equivalent of brain surgery. The lead-in groove is almost always extremely short, commonly an eighth of an inch. The lead-in groove is also often beveled in a direction that wants to send your multi-zillion dollar Lyra cartridge zooming out onto your not-exactly welcoming high-end turntable mat. Okay...  I'll stop now....

You guys don’t own any 7" 45’s? I have about 600 of ’em, mostly by "non-album" kind of artists (early-60’s). "Maybe" by The Chantels---a stupendous, glorious Pop masterpiece, later covered by Dave Edmunds on his fantastic second album Subtle As A Flying Mallet. "Halfway To Paradise" (written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin) by Tony Orlando (yeah, THAT Tony Orlando), covered in 1977 by Nick Lowe on his 3rd Stiff Records 45 (non-LP) in a fantastic version

Another reason to own 45’s: Some of them contain non-album songs (such as the Nick Lowe above), or alternate versions/mixes of album songs. The original 45 of Dylan’s "Positively 4th Street" was mis-pressed, and actually contains his first recording of "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window", a very cool song. One recording of the song was done with his NYC studio band, the other with The Hawks (later of course known as The Band).

7" 45 RPM singles are cool! So are 12", one great one being "Would I Lie To You" by The Eurythmics, a killer song with drumming by Clem Burke (Blondie) and excellent recorded sound quality.

I will usually listen to a full offering by an artist(s) at least four times before I decide if I like it or not; at least by artist in genres I like. Even on artist I like I find I might not immediately like a new release upon first listen. I've spent time thinking about perception and things familiar are easier to like. That 'one cut' you like is often because you've heard it a few times. For myself I generally find if there's a cut I like I end up liking the whole thing.

It is however one of the selling points for me in going full digital. Streaming saves me the money and the storage of albums that truly end up being clunkers as well as being able to explore so much more.

@mitch4t we must be in the same age demographic as I too have had that experience. Lately I have found some additional enjoyable songs on albums that didn’t capture my attention at the time . As I age , I have also found artists I didn’t get or enjoy at the time who put out some really good music but I wasn’t ready for it. So much good music and so little time.

@russ69 

 "I buy full albums but I'm old school and don't stream". 

You're not alone, brother.  I too only buy "full albums"-- CDs in my case-- and then, only if I like every (or very nearly every) song. 

I grew up in the 60's/70's when an album was valued as a unified, discrete entity; I cannot imagine deriving any satisfaction from "play-lists". In fact, there have been posts on the forum in the past from converts to streaming who eventually gave it up. 

 

 

 

After fifty years of buying albums, really prefer the format. I have bought a few stinkers. But a good album is so much more than just a random collection of tunes.

I listen by far mostly to Qobuz. I will preview the first tune, if not hooked I’ll try the second… in no connection, I’ll move on. To me is like a symphony, a multiparty composition. A single tune… not worth it for me… I need substance.

Nowadays there are no more surprises....today, you can audition the entire contents of an album before buying it. Prior to the internet, there was no way to audition an entire album. For those of us that bought a lot of music from the 70’s thru the end of the century, we had to roll the dice and cross our fingers when buying an album.  

The only albums I buy today are ones that are out of print or unavailable via streaming.

Does anybody buy full albums anymore? (I do) Streaming has made artists put out one song at a time. I buy full albums but I'm old school and don't stream. 

For those that suggested that I listen to the whole album, of course I tried that with every album, ultimately, there was only one cut on the album worth playable. 50 years ago, there was no streaming, and you had no choice but to buy the entire album...bummer. Even so, the single good track was worth the purchase, and I have no regrets. On many occasions I've bought the original LP in the beginning, and when the cd came out, I bought a cd copy of the album with full knowledge that only one cut on the album was worth listening to. If the rest of the album doesn't measure up, I'm certainly not going to force myself to listen to music that I don't enjoy, too much good music available to spend time on the stuff I don't like.

LOL never has this been the case for me. But that is why I only have 1000 or so LP's and maybe as many CD's. 

One hit wonders you can stream or listen on the FM. 

This is what's so great about Qobuz et al.

If you listen to the entire album a few times you’ll find several that sound great. That has been my experience, you should try it😎

I've purchased more than my share of albums over the years to get that "one cut" only to discover that everything else on the record was, how shall I say, underwhelming.. It's one of the things that made me a regular at the used record store, getting rid of records I couldn't stomach seeing on my shelves.   Luckily, the internet has put that situation in the past tense.