User:Iae/album template

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Professional reviews
ALBUMNAME

Studio album by ARTISTNAME
Released	September 11 ALBUMYEAR
Recorded	??
Genre	GENRENAME
Length	??
Label	?? STR03
Producer(s)	??
All Music Guide link Pitchfork (8.4/10) [1]
ARTISTNAME chronology
?? (????)	ALBUMNAME (ALBUMYEAR)	?? (????)

ALBUMNAME is a full-length album from GENRENAME artist ARTISTNAME, released in ALBUMYEAR.

The basics should be in the first paragraph: title, artist, release date, record label, and a word or two about genre and critical reception.

Describe history, trivia, themes (musical or lyrical), a consideration of its specific influences, specific followers, where it fits in its genre and what leanings it may have toward others, reasons for the order of tracks (if any), etc. Also, synthesize the general critical reception of the album, being as detailed as possible. Be sure to note minority opinions as well, properly attributed (preferably with an external link). Also, any way the album affected the cultural consciousness of a society or culture.

There are various methods for writing album articles, but in the course of writing them two distinct styles of article (that are actually opposite ends of a spectrum) have emerged most prominently, either of which may be appropriate, depending on the album in question.

Include a paragraph on each song, describing its critical reception and relevance to the article as a whole. This may be more appropriate for concept albums, however loose, or albums written by people known for their songwriting. See Ziggy Stardust or Aquemini for examples.
Focus on the album as a whole, mentioning specific songs only inasmuch as one song provides an example of a topic of interest to the entire album. This may be more appropriate for albums that are largely musical, without lyrics to explain, such as much of prog rock (e.g. Styx, Deep Purple, King Crimson), dance music (Donna Summer, Paul Oakenfold, *NSYNC) or other symphonic bands like Metallica or Pink Floyd. See Highway 61 Revisited or Violent Femmes for examples.

Add a paragraph or two on how the album fits in the development of music. What does it sound similar to? What inspired the artists? Who listened to this album, then started a band of their own and became famous ten years later?

For an example of a featured article, see Illmatic by Nas.