10 Greatest Double Albums In Music History
When One Isn't Enough.
It takes a lot out of a band's heart and soul to create a record of material. You have to make something where every song speaks to each other while also being able to connect with you on a personal level. If you're really enjoying the work though, sometimes just one album doesn't quite cut it.
Looking to go above and beyond everyone's expectations, these albums went from just another record to ballooning into a mammoth experience, with most of them spread out across two separate discs. For any other band, this is the moment where it gets to be a little too much for the fairweather fans, with most of them just looking to have a decent set of songs that they can jam out to when they blast it in their car. Just because there's a lot more to sift through doesn't necessarily mean that the end result is going to be bad.
Although there might be some bloat on these albums here and there, there's never a moment where you feel like the band is phoning it in by any means. In fact, the best versions of these albums are where they use both sides to give you two separate listening experiences. You can call it a bit overblown, but that's just because there's so much that needs to be said.
10. All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
From a songwriting perspective, you really had to feel for George Harrison towards the end of the '60s. Since the songwriting enterprise of John Lennon and Paul McCartney steered the ship for the Beatles most of the time, it was always an uphill battle trying to get great songs like While My Guitar Gently Weeps brought onto a proper album. When they decided to call it quits though, The Quiet One had an endless supply of classics on All Things Must Pass.
Although this technically counts as a triple record accounting for the record filled with jams, the proper double album is where we see George really expanding his horizons as a songwriter. Most of these songs were originally intended as Beatles tracks, only to be left on the cutting room floor. Being a perfectionist though, George brought in Phil Spector to make sure the album reached its full potential, hitting you like a brick wall on songs like Wah Wah and What Is Life along with the more mellow cuts like Isn't It a Pity or Behind that Locked Door.
Considering the power behind some of these tracks, it's mind boggling how some of these couldn't have become Beatles songs, with the band choosing bluesy scraps like For You Blue for Let It Be instead of something like Beware of Darkness. While Paul got into DIY and John cleansed himself of his demons on their respective solo debuts, George got a reputation of being the most worldly Beatle with this record. He may have been the youngest, but these lyrics feel like sage wisdom in rock and roll clothing.