When one thinks of double albums, some pretty famous titles come to mind.
For example: The Who’s Tommy (1969), Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979), Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti (1975), Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde (1966), etc. But not all albums are destined to be double, even when that might have been the original plan.
In many cases, record labels hesitate to approve double album releases because it’s a more expensive process for themselves, plus it means a higher price tag on the finished product, which can lead to lower sales. This is an especially important financial decision if the album in question doesn’t appear to yield any obvious hits – there is, after all, potentially a lot of money on the line that could be used to fund the next album.
In other instances, what begins as a double album actually reveals itself to work better as two separate releases, like Metallica’s back-to-back Load and Reload albums, released in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
READ MORE: Rock’s 20 Wildest Concept Albums
Below, we’re taking a look at 22 Albums That Were Intended to Be Double LPs — somewhere along the way, some serious editing down was done, resulting in one singular record. The good news, as you’ll discover, is that sometimes these albums have been given second chances years later, being released in their full, double-glory the way the artist initially intended.
22 Albums That Were Intended to Be Double
For one reason or another, these releases had some serious editing down done to them.
Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
