Re: advice on song length

[R.A.S. <richards...>]

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 06/03/2003 at 22:54 Bill Barabash wrote:

>>I have a song that I want to record.  The problem is that each verse will

>>take about one minute to get through, and there are 12 verses!!!! I 
>>generally like to present an entire song as an historical record, but at 
>>this rate it would take 12 minutes, obviously, and that's without any 
>>instrumental solos.
>>
>>What would you do?
>
>One possibility is to record a double album.

And (more or less) double production costs, without being able to actually
double the price (let alone "profits", such as they may be...).

But, it strikes me that relatively few of the albums we usually
discuss/come across here, make full use of the time available on CD. Many
tend to hover around or under 60 mins, while the standard CD is capable of
accommodating 75, as well as there being the option of 80 and even 90 mins.
So, from that perspective, I don't really see any particular problem in
accommodating a say 15-20 minute (or even more) song on a single-disc
album, but I rather suspect that that wasn't quite what Lorele was
referring to anyway.

Personally, I'd go by these criteria - does the song merit "full treatment"
in terms of both quality and historical/cultural heritage significance? If
not, then the question might arise, is it worth including in the first
place. If yes, then it would definitely be most desirable to do it full
length, even if, due to budgetary constraints on production costs, it meant
perhaps having to drop one or even two other songs. But, that's just my own
personal opinion. YMMV. :-)


Richard
(Renaissance Man)


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