Comment on The information density on a vinyl can be higher earlier in the record than later...
Rhaedas@fedia.io 4 days agoOr you have the bit rate high enough so you only max it out at the inner song and just don't need it at the start.
There's a lot pumped into a single groove, based on Technology Connections video on how stereo works on vinyl.
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
That depends on the quality of the turntable and the vinyl, and the rotation speed. Early on, the quality wasn’t enough for dense stamping, so vinyls played at 78 rpm. With time, 45 and 33 rpm became possible as the tech improved, allowing for longer play times per vinyl.
Regardless, from what I’ve heard back in the day the producers took care to put more demanding track on the outside, which led to the phenomenon of CDs suddenly having some busy and loud tracks in the middle of the album.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 days ago
As I said on another post, I’ve never heard of that sort of programming in over 30 years in the record industry.
During the vinyl days, albums were the art form, and artists and producers made great effort to program their tracks listings for the best listener experience. So it would usually start with a big banger to kick off the album, followed by a few fun songs, and ending the side with another banger, just maybe not as big as the opening track, but not always. The idea that it would have less bass, have less fidelity, or was a throwaway song that didn’t require decent sound quality is dumb.
Often the first side ending song was a big number, that would have required the best sound available. Perhaps the best example is Stairway to Heaven, which closes the first side of Led Zeppelin IV, and I defy anyone to call that a second rate track with poor fidelity, and that’s why it was relegated to the inner ring.
The second side is a restart, and often has an interesting opening track, like Within You Without You on Sgt Pepper. ELP’s Karn Evil #9, Part 2. (Part 1 closes the first side) Is probably the all-time best second side opener, with its Carnival Barker call: “Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends…”
But the biggest clue that the idea of the worst songs being relegated to the inner rings is nonsense is the fact that most albums try to have big finish. Again, Led Zeppelin IV perfectly illustrates the issue. It closes with When The Levee Breaks, featuring John Bonham’s thunderous drums, which have since become iconic. It certainly wasn’t a low fidelity track with Plant’s wailing keen, the screaming harmonica, and those monster drums giving it one of the widest dynamic ranges of any rock classic.
Without the side break, the side 1 closer, and the side 2 opener end up side-by-side. The fact that there is a big blast of “busy music” in the middle of the CD, contradicts the assertion that the side closers are lower quality tracks.
In the vinyl days, the programming of album tracks was a major artistic decision, and the fidelity of the track was never a factor. If a song wasn’t good enough that it required being put in a “second-rate” position on the album, why would they be putting it on the album at all?
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The examples of good closing tracks are indeed a better argument than “I’ve been in the industry since 1995, the golden age of vinyl”.
You claim to have been in the industry, and you never heard of selling albums full of crappy songs on the strength of the singles? Boy you have plenty of stuff to learn yet.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 days ago
I never said I’ve been on the record business since 1995, I said I spent 30 years in the record business, starting in 1977, the peak of the age of vinyl, cassette, and 8-tracks, and I saw the introduction of the CD, and the end of all those other formats. Recalculating, I actually spent another 7 years or so beyond that, on a consulting basis.
I know vinyl, I’ve got a huge vinyl collection, and I know the business from the inside. The fact that there were far more terrible albums than great albums has nothing to do with the silly idea that they programmed the shitty tracks on the inside because the sound quality was worse. That’s just stupid.