What makes for a timeless LP/CD?

[Scastles]

What albums can you sit through 20 to 30+ years later after hearing it for the first time, and you still haven't grown tired of hearing it? (Besides the Beatles, and for many they may not even count). I think there is a vast difference often between an iconic album and a timeless album. Where is the differnce in your mind?
What makes it timeless?

[jps]

Anything by Renaissance up through Song For All Seasons. The music is so creative and the musicianship works so well that this music does stand the test of time.

[beatlefreak]

What makes an album timeless? Probably the absence of qualities that tie it to a particular period in time - Be they vocal phrases or certain musical styles.

[manta]

My guess is that its a CD or album that brings back good memories or good times.

When Frampton Comes Alive (something like that) came out I was having a blast. I hear it and those good times come rolling back.

Of course, there have to be some good tunes on the set but I think its the memories associated with the disc.

Manta

[jimk]

What albums can you sit through 20 to 30+ years later after hearing it for the first time,...
What makes it timeless?

I'd say probably the lyrical content of the songs. Lyrics can be timeless if they are composed in such a fashion as to transcend time, that is that they lack specific references to a particular event. Country Joe McDonald's "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" is the exact opposite of the point I'm trying to make. Come to think of it, perhaps the vast majority of protest songs are by nature tied to time and place, whereas songs of a more romantic nature are not. I'm thinking of the Everly Brothers' "Dream, Dream, Dream" or Gene Pitney's "Hello Mary Lou."

Albums, .....well that's a little more difficult as they are collections.
JimK

[weemac]

What makes an album timeless?

Ur, de lack of dums and riddim and stuff............


I usually find that the timeless ones also have that thing where every time you hear it, you hear something new in it that you did not hear before. It's also often a special something in the production as well...

For me the first that comes to mind is Al Stewart's "Year of the cat"

+1 on Rennaissance too!

[shamustwin]

Van Morrison's "Moondance", good, moody stuff throughout.
Brian Ferry's "Boys And Girls", guaranteed to put her in The Mood.

[kiramdear]

For me nostalgia is a big part of it. Those old records just got way under my skin in a way that today's releases can't match. Maybe it had to do with how impressionable I was at a certain age (or am no more) but I return to some Sixties' albums like comfort food and try to feel as secure and happy as I did when I was a kid.

[antipodean]

I'd offer up "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers (though most of Bob's later catalogue could squeeze in). Great reggae just doesn't seem to age.

[kenposurf]

Guess it was the right music at the right time in our lives..but also certain records have that hard to identify magic..some of my choices would be
Duane Eddy-Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel
Johnny Cash-The Songs That Made Him Famous
Dick Dale-Surfer's Choice
The Yardbirds-Roger The Engineer
Jeff Beck-Truth\
Beatles=Sgt Peppers
Who's Next

[RutleDirk]

I'd say the following:

1. The recordings still sound good, despite the relatively limited resources available at the time.
2. The performances still stand out, even among all that has come since.
3. The lyrics are meaningful, and age well.
4. The level of musical creativity is still very apparent.
5. Lots and lots of people are still listening to it, without having to endure shouts of, "Turn off that old ****, Grandpa!"

As I write this, In my head, I'm hearing Rubber Soul.

[mikko]

"Powerslave" by Iron Maiden. I´ve been listening to it since it came out in 1984 and it still amaze me. That record has all that "RutleDirk" mentioned above. All 5 points. At least in my opinion.

[sowhat]

Restart function.
To add to the criteria mentioned above, i'd say (but i may be wrong) — it is important that the artist tells about what he really feels, not about what he thinks would appeal to the audience. Sincerity, if you like. Sort of "don't tell me what you think i feel/should feel (as if you think you know it better than me), tell me what you feel and i'll either sympathize with you or just pass by if i'm not interested".

[winston]

Dark Side of The Moon released in 1973 epitomizes what a timeless album is for me.................as does the album Led Zeppelin released in 1969. There are others of course..............like Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and so on.

[lennon211]

For me, representing someone born in the early 80's but is really into older music, it doesn't seem so deliberately like a time capsule when I listen to it. It feels fresh and not tied to something gimmicky of the past. I think that that's why there are so few that truly qualify as this. I think that when it comes down to it, there are albums like Revolver, Beggar's Banquet, The White Album, Dark Side of the Moon, and others that satisfy this. For me there is also a sense that I am always hearing and appreciating it for the first time all over again or there is something particularly tied to an album. There are newer albums that I listened to a lot during the summer after my sophomore year in college that will always put me back in that time and place where I can even see who was in the passenger seat riding around with me.

To take it in another direction though: it may be those albums that will constantly be discovered and carried on like some great olympic torch into the next generation of listeners while others will die off.