I thought the programme was ok as far as it went and I did enjoy it generally speaking. But no way was this the last word
The problem was that it was far too limited in scope and ended with a sort of bang when punk came along, like 'and then it all ended for the album'. Erm......well......actually, no, they kept going for a fair bit longer doncha know.
By petering out when it did the programme missed out the whole indie scene of the 80s / 90s. That's 20+ years of vinyl, in a scene where vinyl was the preferred format for most of that period. So none of what you could justifyable claim to be serious labels got a look in - Factory, Creation, 4AD to name just three indiginous greats. Indie as a vehicle for album production was pretty much ignored. And where was any spokesman for that era - Noel Gallagher hardly counts, it was his lot who loaded everything decent into the coffin and started banging the lid down
.
So it wasn't really the history of the LP at all, it was a partial potted history with the emphasis on the major labels. I.e the music industry endorsed version - what a refreshing change
For me dance music has never fitted comfortable into the album format. Thinking of a few artists who have released material on LP such as Way Out West, Chicane (not saying I love these BTW!) it gets a bit samey samey track after track for me. You don't really get taken on the journey that you do with guitar based music or ambient techno, it doesn't build. Dance music is better suited to the 12" format IMO where a DJ mixes it up and the journey is created by the swapping and changing between artists track after track. The DJ makes the whole out of disparate parts.
Favourite albums for me would be difficult to define precisely. I've got a hell of a lot of stuff - probably like most others on here - and I tend to chop and change over time as to what I'm into. What I can't get off the turntable one month can then be shelved for years sometimes before I revisit it. But a few perennial faves would be-
The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
Ministry - The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
Happy Mondays - Pills n Thrills and Bellyaches
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
Leatherface - Mush
Lush - Spooky
Autechre - Incunabula
LFO - Frequencies
And as soon as I post this I'll regret leaving something off that wholly inadequate list.....phones:
I suppose theoretically I should include Crass - Christ, The Album. That was a hugely influential album for me and the lyrics are still as powerful today as they ever were but I think it's fair to say that musically it's shite.