How Many Is Too Many?
 

So what are all yalls thoughts on cd lengths? My band and I are trying to wittle down the list of songs for our first full length and Im having a hard time deciding this.
It seems for most bands a good cd is about 10 songs, right now we have about 12, and we are currently writing 2 more. is 14 too many for a first cd? What are some of your favorite albums and did the number of songs have anything to do with that? I dont want people to get bored, and at the same time I dont want anyone to feel cheated either.

is this a stupid thread? will batman and robin escape the clutches of the wicked Joker? does it even matter anymore because noone listens to new music? tune in next time, same bat channel same bat hour!

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I would say around 45-50 minutes its a good album.

One of my old bands put 17 songs on a CD once and now we all wish it had been a five-song EP.

45 minutes, yeah.

yeah first I just wanted to release maybe three eps with about 4 songs each or so, or do like a 7 song ep. But I think it'd be better just to release a full length so we can phish it to labels. so the basic consensus is less about the actual number of songs but the length of the album?

Yeah, is not how many songs there is, but how long it is.

Definitely about playing time.
Our upcoming LP has three songs and clocks in at about 40 minutes.

I prefer CD's to be around 30-50 minutes long. Sure it is nioce to have lots of music, but not at the expense of having people get "tired" of the album

i say make it the record around 180 minutes long. just stretch out the songs a little.

another vote for the 40 minute mark

i enjoy longer CDs but these are usually compilations where every track is guaranteed to kick ass

Compilations are usually guaranteed to have a few tunes you don't like too much in my experience.

Shorter. Better leaving the punters wanting more.

sure but the density is pretty good

for example, while im not a big fan of bowie albums in general, i love the changes compilation-- maybe there's 1 altogether cruddy song and the whole thing contains 18 tracks. i love it on road trips, it keeps me awake.

there are other things like that. generally speaking.

ps- also nuggets

also hot rocks 1964-1971. 21 songs -- best 99 cents i ever spent. (though it's a double lp, not a cd)

i'm gonna go w/ it shouldn't be more than an hour long.

Right on, yeah roughly with 12 songs it's about 34 minutes long. So maybe I'll add the other two, just have to see for sure once we go into the studio. Might be nice to keep it semi-short like in utero.

less than 40 mins, better too little than too much, you can always put the other songs out another time

oh secret songs were always my favorite part of the album. I figure if we have a song that doesnt quite fit the rest of the record or if we want to do something completely different that'll be the secret track. endless nameless is probably my fav hidden track of all time.

It depends on what the band can do given the length.

Daydream Nation is the perfect length for a CD.

Short CDs often seem like a ripoff. Especially if it's only 30 min or something lame like that.

depends on your music.

if it's like short songs then, more than 20 minutes-worth is a double album.

if you play longer jams, 50-60 minutes is awesome.

if it's regular lenght songs (3-5 minutes each), then 30-50 minutes is adecuate for a first album.

if it's like a demo or something, as short as possible.

I say put as many songs on as will fit. It costs the same.

usually 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 minute songs
www.myspace.com/rememberthatband has rough demos

haha if its a double album according to you, maybe we can name our first album "greatest hits" I've always wanted to do that haha

don't put limits on yrself, put out whatever mix feels together as a solid record. If it is six songs with length do it! if it is twenty eight songs that fit do it! what ever mix is the album, I would go with, dont restrict your creativity for public opinion. You are the artist, you create what we should think, we just interpret yr creation!

About 40 minutes and with no more than 7/8 songs on it.

Punk-rock / Power Electronics - Definitely less than 40 mins, preferably less than half an hour.
Drone acts - 40-50 mins tops
Improv / Free Jazz - Depends, but extended blowouts aren't always entirely enjoyable to listen to.
Classical - can go on for as short or as long as required.
Indian classical/ragas - Should ideally be released as 6 x LP box sets, but alas a 70 minute CD will do.

“Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing, and playing what you want. "

 

there's no perfect time limit, less than 1 hour is correct I think.

I would just go with what you feel is best, forget what everyone else thinks.