Eight classic releases that were originally supposed to be double albums

A double album is a daunting task. There have been very few artists who have pulled off the classic double album. Those who have, like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, still get pushback from fans over which songs should have been cut from Exile on Main St. or the Beatles' self-titled record, otherwise known as the White Album, respectively, to make them "more cohesive."

Here's the thing: fans aren't the only people who think this way. Label executives and sometimes even the artist themselves, second guess the idea of rolling out two albums worth of material in one go. It's led to several ambitious efforts being pared down at the last possible minute, and released in a single album form.

As the title of this article suggests, these decisions worked out. All of the albums mentioned here are classics or at least commercially successful releases from iconic artists, so it would be inaccurate to say they were wrong. Still, it's fun to look at the double albums that could have been and envision an alternate reality where they hit record store shelves in their original form.

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

Let's start off with a bang, shall we? The Who were one of the preeminent rock bands of the 1970s, and a large part of their legacy hinges on their 1971 masterpiece Who's Next. But the album looked radically different when it was originally being put together.

Pete Townshend and the rest of the band originally planned to make a double album titled Lifehouse, which would have served as an ambitious follow-up to their 1969 rock opera Tommy. Complications arose, both creatively and financially (manager Kit Lambert did not like the idea), so the band opted to repurpose eight of the Lifehouse songs for the more straightforward Who's Next, and the rest is rock history.

Paul McCartney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway (1973)

Paul McCartney & Wings dropped a universally recognized classic in 1973, and Red Rose Speedway was not it. Band on the Run, that album that followed Red Rose Speedway, was the breakthrough the band so desperately needed, but it's worth noting that its predecessor yielded a number one single with "My Love."

Red Rose Speedway was originally conceived as a double album, a return to the ambitions of Paul McCartney's Beatle days, but the tepid response to his solo work, and the first Wings album, led to the label requesting single album instead. Fortunately, for Wings fans, McCartney released the OG double album version of Red Rose Speedway in 2018. It's actually fantastic.

The Monkees - The Monkees Present (1969)

The Monkees were also victims of declining record sales. The band absolutely dominated the mid-60s thanks to a string of chart-topping singles, but the rub had come off by the end of the decade, due to label and the increasing disinterest of member Peter Tork.

The plan for The Monkees Presents was to release a double album in which each member had a side to themselves to showcase their talents. The four members were basically recording as solo artists by 1969, anyway. The band's "White Album" approach was undermined, however, by the exit of Tork. With only three members remaining, the decision was made to go back to the drawing board and drop a single album.

The Clash - Combat Rock (1982)

The Clash were all about sprawl. London Calling (1979) was a double album, and Sandinista! (1980) was a triple album that saw them indulge every musical impulse they had to fascinating effect. It was going to be more of the same for Combat Rock, which was originally set to feature 18 songs spread over two discs.

Personal tensions, coupled with the pressure to deliver a more commercial product, resulted in a single album version hitting the selves in May 1982. The gambit worked, however, as Combat Rock went on to become the band's best-selling album.

The Kinks - Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

The Kinks went from hard rockers to conceptual poets in the span of only a couple years. This transformation makes them one of the most fascinating bands of the British Invasion, and their 1968 release, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, remains for many their magnum opus.

The Kinks wanted to keep up with the Beatles and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, who were also working on double albums at the time, but (surprise, surprise) the band's label balked at the idea of selling two albums for the price of one. We got a classic so it's hard to complain here.

Lou Reed - Berlin (1973)

Transformer (1972) remains Lou Reed's signature solo album, but his follow up, Berlin (1973), remains his most ambitious. A rock opera that chronicles a doomed romance between drug addicts, it allowed him to delve into the salacious material he mined so effectively in the Velvet Underground.

Berlin was intended to be 64 minutes in length and span two discs, but RCA Records was not thrilled about the runtime, and demanded that Reed condense it to a single album. The fact that its power still shines through is a testament to the music itself.

Tom Petty - Wildflowers (1994)

Tom Petty had an incredible comeback in the late 80s. The one-two punch of the Traveling Wilburys and his massive solo album Full Moon River (1989) proved that he still had commercial might, but it was Wildflowers (1994) that proved he could still make transcendent rock music.

Petty was a songwriting machine during the Wildflowers sessions, as evidenced by the fact that the deluxe version of the album contains a staggering 70 songs. There was more than enough to make up a double album, which was Petty's original intention, but studio heads prevailed yet again.

Paul McCartney - McCartney II (1980)

Macca is back! Paul McCartney resumed his solo career once Wings disbanded, and he wanted to leave it all on the field with McCartney II. The album reflected the dual influences of punk and new wave, and the former Beatle recorded 20 songs that were to spread over two discs.

The official version of McCartney II only runs 11 songs though. This is where we would usually state that the label asked the artist to slim things down, but an official reason was never actually given for why McCartney opted for the less is more approach. We did get three of the scrapped tracks on the 1993 reissue, though.

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