LP album
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Long Playing (LP), either 10 or 12-inch diameter, "33" rpm (actually 33⅓) vinyl gramophone records, first introduced in 1948, were the primary release format for recorded music for about 30 years, from the late 1950s until CDs effectively replaced them in the late 1980s. The primary competing format at this time was the audio cassette, which were gradually replacing reel-to-reel tapes. Music industry pundits and audiophiles of the era argued both for and against the audio quality of each format, some aspects of which are discussed below. Both formats were analogue, as digital music recording was not technically feasible on any significant scale.
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[edit] Physical aspects
Between 1948 and 1955, the majority of LPs were 10" in diameter, matching that of 78 rpm singles. Eventually the diameter was increased to 12" (matching higher-priced classical 78s), and 10" records were relegated to the status of EPs (extended play). At first, LPs played for approximately 45 minutes maximum, divided over two sides. (LPs were generally provided 30 minutes of programming). However, in 1952, Columbia Records began to bring out LPs that played for as long as 52 minutes, or 26 minutes per side. These were used mainly for the original cast albums of some Broadway musicals, such as Kiss Me, Kate and My Fair Lady, or in order to fit an entire play, such as the 1950 production of Don Juan in Hell, onto just 2 LPs. But the 52-minute playing time, even for an LP, was rare, and most LPs continued to be issued with a 30- to 45-minute playing time, even as late as 1980.
This play time was a significant improvement on that of the previous dominant formats, the 45 rpm record and reel-to-reel tapes, and hence the name. At around 15-20 minutes per side, there was enough time to enjoy a recording before having to flip sides. Some record players could play a 'stack' of records piled upon a mechanism atop the spindle, but this could prevent correct ordering of sides of each album in question, unless two sets were used, or if a multiple-record set were released in "automatic sequence". This was an established practice for 78rpm albums. In that format, a 4-disk set would have Side 8 opposite Side 1, Side 7 opposite Side 2, Side 6 opposite Side 3, and Side 5 opposite Side 4, so that the first four sides would play without the listener's intervention, though not without interruption as the changer lifted and cleared the pickup arm, dropped the next disk onto the constantly spinning turntable, and the pickup arm was lowered to the beginning of it.
Having an A-side and a B-side did give users some accessible modular flexibility, without having to individually line up tracks, as most record players (turntables) could not provide a per-track programmable interface, and so re-ordering tracks or selecting individual tracks was a somewhat arduous process, which required dexterity that was not always available in the type of atmosphere where music might be played. Mishaps could easily result in a scratched record surface, which would incur a 'click'ing sound on playback, if it did not abort playback of one or more tracks entirely, due to physical mis-tracking of the record player stylus, a probe that normally sat in a groove on the rotating surface, finely balanced by a counter-weight so that only a fraction of its actual weight was holding it down.
The large surface area of the record, being vinyl and therefore statically charged, would attract and hold smoke and dust particles suspended in the air, as well as any similar substances which might be spilled onto the record, and therefore a ritual usually reserved for the owner of the record was to clean the record carefully using an appropriate record cleaner and optionally some antistatic record cleaning fluid. [1]
Brittle, as well as deceptively heavy for their size, people were less inclined to lug the significant weight of a 'stack' of records around with them, for example when visiting friends or when travelling, than a similar quantity of music compiled onto 90-minute cassette compilation-tapes—or in comparison with today's digital formats.
So-called record Disc Jockeys (or DJs) were required to however, as there is no efficient way to cue tracks from cassette tapes -- which was a DJ's original raison d'être. The term DJ has since come to encompass also those with a specialist-level of skill in mixing dance music and perhaps even rapping or playing musical instruments, but the original DJs task was relatively passive: simply to mix each track through to the subsequent one between songs, and perhaps make occasional announcements and chat with patrons in order to take requests in between, while songs were actually playing.
Modern DJs still may lug vinyl, but a variety of digital formats are also in use. DJ cases are available for this purpose. Note however that DJs in the analogue days were in most instances very-much less impressive than well-known modern-day DJs like the Chemical Brothers, Dave Seaman, Freq Nasty, or Carl Cox, and therefore correspondingly less well paid. An analogue DJ may have been liable to resort to any available crate of the correct aspect, plastic milk crates perhaps being popular [2] when they had become available. Such milk crates could be stolen from milk delivery companies (at the cost of a little guilt), who were unlikely to monitor the individual locations of their low-cost crates.[3]
[edit] Artistic aspects
LP albums were of sufficient size, as well as artistic and commercial value, to merit significant artwork for the record sleeve. [4] [5] Fans would often reflect on the visual art of the covers of albums while listening to the music, a kind of accessible form of meditation which is not effectively provided for in packaging formats provided by current systems of digital music distribution. [6] Books consisting entirely of record album cover art have been released, and are of independent merit. [7]
The 45-minutes-in-two-sides format led inevitably to the advent of the concept album, and diminishing significance of the single. Without a suitable, convenient music album format it is also arguable that we would never have had prog rock (progressive rock).
[edit] Technical aspects
The audio quality of LPs was good, arguably still superior to that of CDs, although perhaps exceeded by the recent advent of Super Audio CDs (SACD), and hence the modern DJs preference for vinyl (in fact 45rpm which is still commonly used for shorter recordings, allows even greater audio fidelity).
Many early LP records were mono (monaural), but stereo LP records were available at least by the end of the 50s. [8]
[edit] See also
- main entry at Gramophone record
