Ayreon/Arjen Lucassen Thread (Star Three on the way)

[Ben_Jamin]

My Earbook arrived.

I like how he has the lyrics in quote bubbles with the Comic page next to it. As I opened the comic book, first page "For Maximum enjoyment, read this comic while listening to the companion album", This just confirms to me what Arjen agreed with, it's a musical comic book. With the album containing more of the dialog.

If I had to pick a favorite track, I guess it would be Message From Beyond (Loving that Marty Friedman solo and the nod to Waking Dreams which this oddly sounds like to me)

I don't know if it's a mistake or not, but Abby in Transitus starts off with a full band intro then goes into the narration and ends up calm different from the full band section.

[gmillerdrake]

I've only got two full listens in......I dig some of the music and like the story but it's just not grabbing me yet. It's a lot to digest though so I'm holding off giving up on it and will make sure to give it it's proper chance to ferment.

[Ben_Jamin]

I watched the DVD. Now I see why he chose these group of Singers. He wasnt basing just on the Singing Capability, but the ability to Act in the voice, giving the voice a character. Tommy, and Simone are perfect. Dee Snider is great for the Father role. Arjen was thinking ahead for this album, or more Concept.

The video for Listen To My Story, made me want the entire album to be like that. Damn you Covid....Makes me want to start a fund to get Arjen to be able to produce this Theatrically. Or better, fufill his dream of making this a sci-fi film.

[ronnibran]

IT'S HERE!! I was only expecting a regular jewel case + the comic book because my pre-order total was like $26 and some change, but I forgot exactly which edition I ordered. Lo and behold I pulled up and saw a rather large package sitting in the mailbox... The hardbook is huge, loaded with color pages, and it has 2 CDs behind the front cover, and 2 CDs + DVD behind the back cover. This is awesome!! I have a special box edition of The Human Equation I got in a trade on MP.com, and a really nice digibook special edition of The Source, and now this - Ayreon packaging rules!

The same thing happened to me, ordered the 2cd set and they sent me the 5 disc thing.  Got an email last night (this is a couple weeks later) from Mascot "asking me to return" my Ayreon stuff because they screwed up.  So they want me to go to the store and buy some packaging stuff and then go to the post office and waste all this time mailing my Transitus back so they can give a used copy a month late to someone who ordered it? Uh... ok... 

[The Letter M]

IT'S HERE!! I was only expecting a regular jewel case + the comic book because my pre-order total was like $26 and some change, but I forgot exactly which edition I ordered. Lo and behold I pulled up and saw a rather large package sitting in the mailbox... The hardbook is huge, loaded with color pages, and it has 2 CDs behind the front cover, and 2 CDs + DVD behind the back cover. This is awesome!! I have a special box edition of The Human Equation I got in a trade on MP.com, and a really nice digibook special edition of The Source, and now this - Ayreon packaging rules!

The same thing happened to me, ordered the 2cd set and they sent me the 5 disc thing.  Got an email last night (this is a couple weeks later) from Mascot "asking me to return" my Ayreon stuff because they screwed up.  So they want me to go to the store and buy some packaging stuff and then go to the post office and waste all this time mailing my Transitus back so they can give a used copy a month late to someone who ordered it? Uh... ok...

Well, that explains what happened to my Earbook.
I emailed them yesterday because I got a shipping notification on Sept 22nd, but as of the 28th, it had no changes in shipping. So I got this email this morning:

Dear Marc,

Thank you for ordering the new Ayreon ‘Transitus 4CD + DVD Earbook’ from the Mascot US store.

We are incredibly sorry but due to a logistical issue we do not currently have enough stock to fulfil your order. We are doing all we can to find a solution so we can fulfil your order and will be in touch again as soon as we have more information. As an apology we will shortly be sending you a free exclusive Ayreon item of merchandise.

We thank you for your patience and apologies again for any disappointment caused by this delay.

Should you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact us at support+mlg@onelive.com

Best regards.

Mascot US store customer service team

Needless to say, I was fairly livid about it, and even more so now knowing what happened to them.

My only consolation is some random Ayreon merch which I may or may not already own, since I got t-shirts and clothes bags with previous Ayreon orders.

  

-Marc.

[ronnibran]

IT'S HERE!! I was only expecting a regular jewel case + the comic book because my pre-order total was like $26 and some change, but I forgot exactly which edition I ordered. Lo and behold I pulled up and saw a rather large package sitting in the mailbox... The hardbook is huge, loaded with color pages, and it has 2 CDs behind the front cover, and 2 CDs + DVD behind the back cover. This is awesome!! I have a special box edition of The Human Equation I got in a trade on MP.com, and a really nice digibook special edition of The Source, and now this - Ayreon packaging rules!

The same thing happened to me, ordered the 2cd set and they sent me the 5 disc thing.  Got an email last night (this is a couple weeks later) from Mascot "asking me to return" my Ayreon stuff because they screwed up.  So they want me to go to the store and buy some packaging stuff and then go to the post office and waste all this time mailing my Transitus back so they can give a used copy a month late to someone who ordered it? Uh... ok...

Well, that explains what happened to my Earbook.
I emailed them yesterday because I got a shipping notification on Sept 22nd, but as of the 28th, it had no changes in shipping. So I got this email this morning:

Dear Marc,

Thank you for ordering the new Ayreon ‘Transitus 4CD + DVD Earbook’ from the Mascot US store.

We are incredibly sorry but due to a logistical issue we do not currently have enough stock to fulfil your order. We are doing all we can to find a solution so we can fulfil your order and will be in touch again as soon as we have more information. As an apology we will shortly be sending you a free exclusive Ayreon item of merchandise.

We thank you for your patience and apologies again for any disappointment caused by this delay.

Should you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact us at support+mlg@onelive.com

Best regards.

Mascot US store customer service team

Needless to say, I was fairly livid about it, and even more so now knowing what happened to them.

My only consolation is some random Ayreon merch which I may or may not already own, since I got t-shirts and clothes bags with previous Ayreon orders.

  

-Marc.

That sucks.  I hope they get this all resolved.  If they actually send me stuff to ship my merch and give me what I actually ordered, I do plan on sending the earbook back (even though I can't imagine they'll actually give it to somebody else).  Knowing they screwed up and some people got screwed does not bring me joy with what I have (and I'll probably never touch it anyway after having ripped the cd's to mp3).

[The Walrus]

Holy shit lol

[ErHaO]

Damn, that sucks. My package has arrived apparently (gold vinyl and the source vinyl), hopefully it is what I ordered. The delay was because the source was out of stock.

I got the earbook in a store here, it is very nice.

[Ben_Jamin]

IT'S HERE!! I was only expecting a regular jewel case + the comic book because my pre-order total was like $26 and some change, but I forgot exactly which edition I ordered. Lo and behold I pulled up and saw a rather large package sitting in the mailbox... The hardbook is huge, loaded with color pages, and it has 2 CDs behind the front cover, and 2 CDs + DVD behind the back cover. This is awesome!! I have a special box edition of The Human Equation I got in a trade on MP.com, and a really nice digibook special edition of The Source, and now this - Ayreon packaging rules!

The same thing happened to me, ordered the 2cd set and they sent me the 5 disc thing.  Got an email last night (this is a couple weeks later) from Mascot "asking me to return" my Ayreon stuff because they screwed up.  So they want me to go to the store and buy some packaging stuff and then go to the post office and waste all this time mailing my Transitus back so they can give a used copy a month late to someone who ordered it? Uh... ok...

Well, that explains what happened to my Earbook.
I emailed them yesterday because I got a shipping notification on Sept 22nd, but as of the 28th, it had no changes in shipping. So I got this email this morning:

Dear Marc,

Thank you for ordering the new Ayreon ‘Transitus 4CD + DVD Earbook’ from the Mascot US store.

We are incredibly sorry but due to a logistical issue we do not currently have enough stock to fulfil your order. We are doing all we can to find a solution so we can fulfil your order and will be in touch again as soon as we have more information. As an apology we will shortly be sending you a free exclusive Ayreon item of merchandise.

We thank you for your patience and apologies again for any disappointment caused by this delay.

Should you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact us at support+mlg@onelive.com

Best regards.

Mascot US store customer service team

Needless to say, I was fairly livid about it, and even more so now knowing what happened to them.

My only consolation is some random Ayreon merch which I may or may not already own, since I got t-shirts and clothes bags with previous Ayreon orders.

  

-Marc.

I would message Arjen and tell him about your situation. He's good at relying to fan questions and he'll definitely answer this one. I'm sure he'll figure out something.

[Fritzinger]

I know humans make mistakes but how in the hell could this happen? First, the normal CD and vinyl releases didn't include the lyrics. And Transitus IS A ROCK OPERA! Then this... This is an album of such big proportions and so much effort was put into it... and then the distribution and release are just screwed up like this.

[The Walrus]

I am pretty flabbergasted they forgot to include the lyrics.

[The Letter M]

The Ayreon FB page just posted this 15 minutes ago:

Hey Ayreonauts,

Due to a mistake made by Mascot Label Group's fulfilment partner in the US, some of the Earbooks were sent to the wrong people and we’ve had to ask them to send them back.
Our deepest apologies for the mixup.

We’re currently doing everything we can to make sure everyone who ordered an Earbook will receive one. As a token of good will we’re sending everyone involved a tote bag with Ayreon goodies.

We’re sorry for testing your patience, we’re doing our very best to get your correct order shipped asap.

- Team Ayreon -

I did contact Arjen yesterday and he seemed to have already known about the issue, and didn't seem pleased about it either.

-Marc.

[MirrorMask]

I am pretty flabbergasted they forgot to include the lyrics.

I've seen mentioned on another musical page that they made them available for everyone to download, I noticed a WeTransfer link going around.....

[Ben_Jamin]

I know humans make mistakes but how in the hell could this happen? First, the normal CD and vinyl releases didn't include the lyrics. And Transitus IS A ROCK OPERA! Then this... This is an album of such big proportions and so much effort was put into it... and then the distribution and release are just screwed up like this.

Arjen explained that too...

Hi all, a serious note from me for a change... I want to sincerely apologize for not including the song lyrics in the CD and vinyl versions of Transitus. The lyrics are important, and not including them definitely wasn’t intentional. I admit it was a pretty spectacular screw up :-(

I know it’s always easy to blame Corona, but the pandemic was really kicking off right when we were working on the artwork and everything got pretty chaotic. And yes, extremely rushed.

Nevertheless I take the final responsibility for letting this happen. Anyway... hope you’ll forgive me. And I swear... it won’t happen again! For those who missed it, you can download the lyrics here: https://we.tl/t-UiDOMy6uzJ

It's very unfortunate they had to Rush production and Rush deadlines due to these facilities being closed. It's never good to rush things through, as is proven here.

Even the Guide Vocals credits were forgotten in the chaos.

Arjen is a good man and a great leader taking the blame, even though it wasn't his fault in anyway what so ever.

[The Walrus]

I know how this is going to be judged by some but it's no skin off my nose: I'm not sending mine back. I know there's an ethical argument to do so, as technically it's a version of the product I did not order, but legally I'm pretty sure I can keep it, and unfortunately it became damaged a little bit earlier this week when the cardboard packaging slipped from a table and the earbook and comic slipped out, slightly creasing/damaging the corners on one side of each. I smoothed them back out but it's still there if you look.

And, of course, I'll own up to being selfish and just wanting to keep it, but combined with how they magically forgot to include lyrics, I think this fiasco is entirely on them.

[Fritzinger]

I know how this is going to be judged by some but it's no skin off my nose: I'm not sending mine back. I know there's an ethical argument to do so, as technically it's a version of the product I did not order, but legally I'm pretty sure I can keep it, and unfortunately it became damaged a little bit earlier this week when the cardboard packaging slipped from a table and the earbook and comic slipped out, slightly creasing/damaging the corners on one side of each. I smoothed them back out but it's still there if you look.

And, of course, I'll own up to being selfish and just wanting to keep it, but combined with how they magically forgot to include lyrics, I think this fiasco is entirely on them.

I don't judge you. It would be hard for me to send that back too.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Ayreon FB page just posted this 15 minutes ago:

Hey Ayreonauts,

Due to a mistake made by Mascot Label Group's fulfilment partner in the US, some of the Earbooks were sent to the wrong people and we’ve had to ask them to send them back.
Our deepest apologies for the mixup.

We’re currently doing everything we can to make sure everyone who ordered an Earbook will receive one. As a token of good will we’re sending everyone involved a tote bag with Ayreon goodies.

We’re sorry for testing your patience, we’re doing our very best to get your correct order shipped asap.

- Team Ayreon -

I did contact Arjen yesterday and he seemed to have already known about the issue, and didn't seem pleased about it either.

-Marc.

I got Meta-Ninja'd by Arjen...

[Ben_Jamin]

I know how this is going to be judged by some but it's no skin off my nose: I'm not sending mine back. I know there's an ethical argument to do so, as technically it's a version of the product I did not order, but legally I'm pretty sure I can keep it, and unfortunately it became damaged a little bit earlier this week when the cardboard packaging slipped from a table and the earbook and comic slipped out, slightly creasing/damaging the corners on one side of each. I smoothed them back out but it's still there if you look.

And, of course, I'll own up to being selfish and just wanting to keep it, but combined with how they magically forgot to include lyrics, I think this fiasco is entirely on them.

I was going to say, it would be good look up the laws regarding this, because it's a really really big screw up by a major distributing company.

And it's not necessarily on them though, The Virus did screw everyone over, and they just happened to be working on the artwork at the time. What we are seeing with this product is the effect of having to rush things. Arjen, likely didn't even get to sign off on decisions as they had to be made there at that moment. So things are bound to get overlooked or not discussed at all.

I am not blaming anyone either. It's just an unfortunate situation that was bound to happen given the circumstances

[The Walrus]

According to the FTC, it's perfectly legal to keep something that was mistakenly sent, and you aren't required to send it back or pay if they come asking, so I feel okay about it.

But I think the virus as an explanation for lyrics missing from the product is a bit of a cop-out. I've ordered plenty of albums this year with no quality issues. That's just a big ol' classic fudge-up.

[Ben_Jamin]

According to the FTC, it's perfectly legal to keep something that was mistakenly sent, and you aren't required to send it back or pay if they come asking, so I feel okay about it.

But I think the virus as an explanation for lyrics missing from the product is a bit of a cop-out. I've ordered plenty of albums this year with no quality issues. That's just a big ol' classic fudge-up.

Well there you go then. No one to blame, but themselves. I am sure they are like a puppy with tail between it's legs when Arjen got a hold of them.

It's not and Arjen even states, it's easy to blame it on the virus. You have to consider, they were working on the artwork and everything that's incorporated, including lyrics and credits, and then suddenly had to make decisions as the place of work was going to be shutting down soon. Certain things can tend to unintentionally be overlooked, due to not having the time to ponder on choices and have to make certain decisions right at the moment you received word of the place shutting down. Arjen had certain deadlines to be met with his product, if he wanted to get it released without delay.

So as he said himself...Blame Arjen. 

[Kwyjibo]

Until now I didn't know that the lyrics were forgotten. I thought they were left of intentionally for those who didn't order the comic book version. My package has all the singers and instrumentalists with photos and an inlay/poster with the credits on one side and the transitus logo on the other side. Should there have been another booklet with the lyrics?

[Ben_Jamin]

Until now I didn't know that the lyrics were forgotten. I thought they were left of intentionally for those who didn't order the comic book version. My package has all the singers and instrumentalists with photos and an inlay/poster with the credits on one side and the transitus logo on the other side. Should there have been another booklet with the lyrics?

Like how is it laid out? Are there comic book sections? or is it just the singers and instrumentalists, that are in the linear notes?

The Deluxe Linear notes have the comic book sections and on the side of those, quote bubbles with who is speaking and lyrics.

[The Letter M]

I've been reading the thread that the Ayreon FB page posted this morning and there are a lot of upset fans, but many who understand that this is squarely on Mascot and not Arjen's fault at all, and others who don't blame fans who mistakenly received an earbook and do not want to send them back. Had the opposite happened, and earbook pre-orders received a 2CD set instead of the earbook, you can bet everyone would send them back to get the right one, but getting the better/more expensive version instead of the standard 2CD one you pre-ordered, I wouldn't blame a fan for wanting to keep it.

My question is, what happened to all the 2CD sets that were being stocked at Mascot? Did they not realize they had pallets full of those sitting around once the earbooks all went out? It's all very suspicious and I feel like one or two people just did their job poorly and sent the wrong pallet off to shipping.

Either way, at least a few fans in that FB thread said they were willing, ready and waiting to send back their earbooks that they did not pre-order, which is very kind of them. Glad to see there are some who are feeling a bit honest enough to know they shouldn't have it since they didn't pay for it, knowing that many fans who DID order the earbook have been waiting for this album since they pre-ordered it back in June (such as I did).

Ayreon is easily one of my favorite bands/projects and anything that Arjen has done over the last 15 years has been one of my most anticipated releases of that year, and Transitus has been no exception to that! I've been loving this album more and more as the week or so has gone on and have anxiously awaited getting the earbook, so I hope I'm able to get one...eventually.

-Marc.

[Kwyjibo]

Until now I didn't know that the lyrics were forgotten. I thought they were left of intentionally for those who didn't order the comic book version. My package has all the singers and instrumentalists with photos and an inlay/poster with the credits on one side and the transitus logo on the other side. Should there have been another booklet with the lyrics?

Like how is it laid out? Are there comic book sections? or is it just the singers and instrumentalists, that are in the linear notes?

The Deluxe Linear notes have the comic book sections and on the side of those, quote bubbles with who is speaking and lyrics.

I've got the 2 cd digipack version without the comic book. Most of the singers photos are on the inside of the digipack, and the there is the fold out poster, maybe the size of a normal sheet of paper. It's got some more photos, the credits and thanks and everything and the the other side the album cover in larger format. It looks complete as it is, but it has no lyrics. I thought it strange, but then not every record has lyrics in the booklet.

[ErHaO]

Honestly, even if fans decided to send the earbooks back, then other customers would be receiving basically used items with a broken seal? Not to mention how much it sucks for many people to properly send it back across the globe properly. And the waste of resources that would be.


I have gotten wrong items in the past and sent them back But I don't blame people who don't.


I thankfully got my order and the vinyl version looks great. Also nice surprise that The Source on vinyl has a nice little art book at full size in it. As much as I prefer the older Ayreon art, the sci-fi stuff in the booklet is very nice, as is the comic in Transitus. And the comic is actually really thick paper at good print quality, expected something flimsier.

[The Letter M]

Honestly, even if fans decided to send the earbooks back, then other customers would be receiving basically used items with a broken seal? Not to mention how much it sucks for many people to properly send it back across the globe properly. And the waste of resources that would be.

Except the earbooks aren't sealed because they were all signed by Arjen. Every signed item I've ever pre-ordered, not just from Arjen, is never sealed. It's usually wrapped in bubble wrap and then shipped in a cardboard container of sorts. I can't think of any signed items I've ever ordered that were shrink-wrapped sealed upon arrival.

The only indication of an earbook being "used" would be any cosmetic damaged to the book or discs themselves. Otherwise, if collectors properly take care of their items, sending one in gently-used condition wouldn't be any worse than if it came right from Mascot. I can't imagine many fans would carelessly handle an expensive earbook/limited edition item like that, but I suppose if they didn't technically pay for it, it doesn't really matter what happens to it.

-Marc.

[ProfessorPeart]

I just started messing with my simple 2 CD set this weekend and was flabbergasted that there were no lyrics. Thanks to Ben for posting that link from Arjen with the whole giant pdf file. That is very helpful.

The thing that kinda got me a little hot was when I realized this double CD release was a whopping 81 minutes. 

I mean, c'mon, I had to shell out the money for a double disc set for an extra minute of music/talking? Just trim something somewhere. Oh well, I haven't even listened yet but I was also stunned when I saw the track setup. Seems more like little mini-scenes rather than actual full songs.

[Ben_Jamin]

I just started messing with my simple 2 CD set this weekend and was flabbergasted that there were no lyrics. Thanks to Ben for posting that link from Arjen with the whole giant pdf file. That is very helpful.

The thing that kinda got me a little hot was when I realized this double CD release was a whopping 81 minutes. 

I mean, c'mon, I had to shell out the money for a double disc set for an extra minute of music/talking? Just trim something somewhere. Oh well, I haven't even listened yet but I was also stunned when I saw the track setup. Seems more like little mini-scenes rather than actual full songs.

No problem...

The album is as long as it needs to be. I doubt Arjen cared about disc time. Most musicians don't at all, most end up writing more than what the disc allows, or have to trim something out because it's too long to fit on one disc, could even be an entire song.

Plus, it's all about the flow of the album. Even if he did trim it, it might end up feeling bloated, and then some people would say "Why didn't he just make it a double album"

Also, that is exactly what these songs are, mini scenes in a musical comic book. That is meant to be listened to as a whole, because it's a story. It's an entirely different musical experience than just putting on a song. That's why I love Rock Operas like this.

When I import Concept Albums, I usually join the tracks that flow together, tracks that are short in length but set up the next track, or Tracks that when grouped as one track can become listenable as it's own.

[IDontNotDoThings]

The thing that kinda got me a little hot was when I realized this double CD release was a whopping 81 minutes. 

I mean, c'mon, I had to shell out the money for a double disc set for an extra minute of music/talking? Just trim something somewhere.

I'm quite pedantic when it comes to album length, so that bothered me a bit as well. I could really live without some of the mini-songs, & you'd only need to cut one of them to make it a single CD. I would nominate Daniel's Vision &/or Lavinia's Confession, personally.

[Nick]

The thing that kinda got me a little hot was when I realized this double CD release was a whopping 81 minutes. 

I mean, c'mon, I had to shell out the money for a double disc set for an extra minute of music/talking? Just trim something somewhere.

I'm quite pedantic when it comes to album length, so that bothered me a bit as well. I could really live without some of the mini-songs, & you'd only need to cut one of them to make it a single CD. I would nominate Daniel's Vision &/or Lavinia's Confession, personally.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ayreon, but they are one of the biggest culprits of this. To me if you're going to do a double disc it should be at least 90 minutes long. Aside from the annoyance of having to go between discs there is also all those extra discs pressed that were completely unnecessary, it's just a bit wasteful.

[The Letter M]

The thing that kinda got me a little hot was when I realized this double CD release was a whopping 81 minutes. 

I mean, c'mon, I had to shell out the money for a double disc set for an extra minute of music/talking? Just trim something somewhere.

I'm quite pedantic when it comes to album length, so that bothered me a bit as well. I could really live without some of the mini-songs, & you'd only need to cut one of them to make it a single CD. I would nominate Daniel's Vision &/or Lavinia's Confession, personally.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ayreon, but they are one of the biggest culprits of this. To me if you're going to do a double disc it should be at least 90 minutes long. Aside from the annoyance of having to go between discs there is also all those extra discs pressed that were completely unnecessary, it's just a bit wasteful.

With regards to "short" double albums, I think people only complain because of the format/medium. If CDs didn't exist, this Transitus would be a normal length double album on vinyl (think Pink Floyd's The Wall, which is just under 81 minutes anyway). Filling a double vinyl with about 20-ish minutes on each side is a pretty full double album, IMO, and anything between 80-95 minutes would be typical to me. Honestly, CDs don't get too much play by me anymore as most of my music listening happens through my phone (or my iPod at home), though I still have some CD-r wallets in my car every now and then, but when I listen to albums longer than a single CD, I will most likely used a digital format, just to listen to the whole thing in one go without having to change discs.

I'm not a vinyl collector or listening, but I can only imagine how people who complain about having to change discs for a "short" double album might react having to flip TWO discs, and change them halfway through the album, just to listen to 80-ish minutes of music.

Since The Theory Of Everything, it seems like Arjen is focused on creating albums with vinyl in mind, which is why TTOE was collected into four epics. The Source, likewise, was divided into four "Chronicles" of about 21-22 minutes in length. So even if Transitus ended up being just under 80 minutes in length, I bet Arjen would have put it on two CDs, because it would have been on two vinyls anyway, to fit the story anyway, as there is a plot-related gap between "Seven Days, Seven Nights" and "Condemned Without A Trial".

On the up side, at least the album is longer than 80 minutes, and warrants two CDs, unlike some recent double albums that have been UNDER 80 minutes. Now *that* grinds my gears.

-Marc.

[Crow]

the funny thing about the album length is that sufjan stevens released an 80 minute album the same day and it's on 1 CD

[425]

With regards to "short" double albums, I think people only complain because of the format/medium. If CDs didn't exist, this Transitus would be a normal length double album on vinyl (think Pink Floyd's The Wall, which is just under 81 minutes anyway). Filling a double vinyl with about 20-ish minutes on each side is a pretty full double album, IMO, and anything between 80-95 minutes would be typical to me.

I think this is a good point, and to go further: I think if he had released the vinyl and digital versions as-is, and then cut 2 minutes of music for the CD version to fit a single disc, a lot of people would be frustrated that some of the music was missing from that version.

[The Letter M]

With regards to "short" double albums, I think people only complain because of the format/medium. If CDs didn't exist, this Transitus would be a normal length double album on vinyl (think Pink Floyd's The Wall, which is just under 81 minutes anyway). Filling a double vinyl with about 20-ish minutes on each side is a pretty full double album, IMO, and anything between 80-95 minutes would be typical to me.

I think this is a good point, and to go further: I think if he had released the vinyl and digital versions as-is, and then cut 2 minutes of music for the CD version to fit a single disc, a lot of people would be frustrated that some of the music was missing from that version.

That's true. It's like with Tool's last album - they had those three little pieces between the longer songs, but they all had to be cut from the CD version to fit onto a single CD since the full album was nearly 87 minutes long.

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

Thanks for the vinyl comment Marc.

It's even more problematic for vinyl fans, when a 46 minute album is spread over two vinyls because the song lengths don't allow the album to be put on one (Haken - Vector, Kansas - The Absence Of Presence). Not only that 2 LP albums normally cost more, also I have to turn the LP over every 12 minutes or so  I even have one album that is 36 minutes long and spread over two LPs because - I have no clue why (it's Linkin Park's Meteora).
That's why I love albums that fit on one LP or even are constructed for the medium (Gungfly - Alone Together, all Tim Bowness albums, first two Coldplay albums, David Crosby - Here If You Listen, David Gilmour - On An Island, Rich Henshall - The Cocoon, last two Pineapple Thief albums). Also, many many bands in the 70s have proven that <50 minutes can be just enough to feature everything needed for a masterpiece.

So please, CD collectors, please don't complain about having to switch the CD after 45 minutes 

On the up side, at least the album is longer than 80 minutes, and warrants two CDs, unlike some recent double albums that have been UNDER 80 minutes. Now *that* grinds my gears.

-Marc.

First two things that came to my mind were Metallica - Hardwired and The Sea Within's debut. Just don't understand those decisions, but it actually doesn't affect me that much because I am a vinyl guy