Extended Play - Defining EP

Defining EP

The first EPs were seven-inch vinyl records with more tracks than a normal single (typically four to six of them). Although they shared size and speed with singles, they were a recognizably different format than the seven-inch single. Although they could be named after a lead track, they were generally given a different title. Examples include The Beatles' The Beatles' Hits EP from 1963, and The Troggs' Troggs Tops EP from 1966, both of which collected previously released tracks. The playing time was generally between ten and 15 minutes. They also came in cardboard picture sleeves at a time when singles were usually issued in paper company sleeves. EPs tended to be album samplers or collections of singles. EPs of all original material began to appear in the 1950s. Examples are Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" from 1956 and "Just For You", "Peace In The Valley" and "Jailhouse Rock" from 1957, and The Kinks' Kinksize Session from 1964.

During the 1970s, Maxi-Singles, usually containing three reissued tracks, became fairly popular. Two examples are Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child from 1971 and David Bowie's Space Oddity, a single from 1969 that was reissued in 1975 in RCA's Maxi-Million series. Both these reached number one in Britain. The 12-inch singles on vinyl, which played at 45 rpm, were first sold in 1976, and commonly had extended-time or additional tracks not contained in the seven-inch 45 rpm singles. An example of one of these extended songs was an over-ten-minute version of the song Love to Love You Baby by Donna Summer, which took up one entire side of the record.

Twelve-inch EPs were similar, but generally had between three and five tracks and a length of over 12 minutes. Like seven-inch EPs, these were given titles. EP releases were also issued in cassette and 10-inch vinyl formats. With the advent of the Compact Disc (CD), more music was often included on "single" releases, with four or five tracks being common, and playing times of up to 25 minutes.

EPs of original material regained popularity in the punk rock era, when they were commonly used for the release of new material, e.g. Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP, which featured four tracks.

Beginning in the 1980s, many so-called "singles" have been sold in formats with more than two tracks. Because of this, the definition of an EP is not determined only by the number of tracks or the playing time; an EP is typically seen as four (or more) tracks of equal importance, as opposed to a four-track single with an obvious A-side and three B-sides.

In the United Kingdom, any record with more than four distinct tracks or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes is classified as an album for sales-chart purposes.

An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs is the mini-LP, which was a common album format in the 1980s. These generally contained 20–30 minutes of music.

In underground dance music, vinyl EPs have been a longstanding medium for releasing new material, e.g. Fourteenth Century Sky by The Dust Brothers.