Talk:Wire & Glass

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[edit] Single vs. EP

What constitutes a single vs. an EP? Pete Townshend has been calling Wire & Glass an EP when he's talked about it at concerts, etc (though to make matters more confusing, he calls it an "EP-single" in one of his diaries, and an "extended Mini-Opera" in another. The former uses both terms, the latter uses neither but suggests EP). Who fans have been referring to it as an EP for a few months. Independent publications & resellers have been referring to it alternatingly as a single, an EP, or just as a mini-opera. The Who's official site doesn't make any mention of it at all (adding to the confusion over the July 10, July 17, July 24th announced release dates; all of which were supposed to be CD release dates, one of which so far has manifested itself as a UK-only iTunes-only release), and The Who's Tour website, which is the only "official" (textual) mention of the release outside of Pete's personal diaries, doesn't use either term. I'm not sure how Ukrob12 can say it's "officially a single" (see his comment in the edit history regarding his reversion of my last change) given that the man who wrote it generally refers to it verbally as an EP, and no other "official" (from the band) designation exists. That, and a single is generally defined as a single track (hence the name), usually with a second track representing a B-Side. Most EP's I see are on the order of 5-6 tracks... just like Wire & Glass. The fact that the six songs come together as a mini-opera doesn't make them a single song - otherwise, Tommy and Quadrophenia are ~70-minute singles.

Long question made short - how is this six-song release specifically a single, and not and EP? -Erik Harris 12:43, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I've been wondering this myself. Editors keep insisting on caling it a single at The Who discography, but so far nobody's managed to fill in the {{Fact}} tag I put up on the 20th. I was at their Hyde Park gig on July 2nd, and I'm pretty sure the posters advertising it there were calling it an EP. MightyMoose22 ^{>Abort, Retry, Fail?_} 08:48, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Now that it's actually available from a number of sources on-line, I see that the six songs are being released as two tracks. The first five songs are a single track, and Mirror Door is a single track. Odd, since when they were doing the songs live, there was a noticeable pause between each song. Given that there are only two physical tracks (dunno if that'll be the case on the CD version), the "single" designation does begin to seem appropriate. But the track list, I guess, should probably be changed to reflect that there are 2 tracks instead of 6 (maybe worth waiting for the CD version before making the change) -Erik Harris 11:03, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I got the CD through the post this morning, and it's actually all one track, eleven & a half minutes long (similar to A Quick One While He's Away). Now I'm just confused. MightyMoose22 ^{>Abort, Retry, Fail?_} 11:49, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rock Opera?

this is a rock opera, is it not? granted a mini one, but still a rock opera