This particular record is 57 minutes long.

Now that I think about it, in a way records are the best medium, because they can recreate the sound without any electronics. It would be magic!

is the #1 person to ask. He knows more about this than anyone.

During the oil embargo, records were reportedly recycled (label and all) so the vinyl was lower quality.

among serious music heads in that era. British LPs were always pressed on virgin vinyl back in the day, both classical and popular. And yes, that report was true.

I found these Taiwanese records at a junk shop for a quarter (Ike and Tina, and a couple Barry Manilows). Chung Sheng Records and Holy Hawk Records. The sleeves are a cheap paper covered with plastic. The sound isn't that great.

I know they are likely counterfeits. But are they worth anything?

Certain rare unreleased performances by famous bands can be worth a small fortune, though. There is a 1971 two-LP Pink Floyd recording of a BBC radio broadcast with Floyd performing live in the studio called "Rhapsody In Pink" (attributed to The Screaming Abdabs, an early name of what became Floyd) that features the first ever version of "Echoes". BBC-quality sound (outstanding) and pressed on surprisingly good vinyl. I've seen that go for up to $500. I only had to pay half that for mine.

That's kind of what I figured when I picked them up.

Although, I did find a first pressing of the Kinks "Face to Face" for a buck recently. It's in great shape too.

You could squeeze more time onto an LP side by reducing the amplitude of the signal. Todd Rundgren once jammed 28 minutes on to a single LP side, but the sound definitely suffered.

ETA - it was easier to get extra-long play times on classical LPs because of the variations in dynamics (loud to soft) whereas most pop/rock LPs were much more steady-state in terms of loudness.