Long, Long Songs

 Posted by
Dec 242013
 

I was adding Kurt Vile‘s “Walking On A Pretty Daze” to my “most played” 2013 playlist the other day and realized it’s by far the longest song to make the cut. If you haven’t heard it — it comes in at about 9 and half minutes or so. I used to routinely put longer songs on mix tapes and CDs, but in the age of iTunes and eMusic, I’ve been doing less of it.

One my favorite Zep songs is “Achilles Last Stand,” at 10-plus minutes, Derek and Dominos have “Layla ” at 7:05 and a version of “Key to Highway” at 10 minutes and change. Lots of prog rock bands have album cuts that take up a side or most of a side of an LP. What is the cream of that crop? I thought The Clash put some long ones on Sandinsta!, but looking back, nothing over 6 minutes — for some reason I thought  “The Call Up” and “Charlie Don’t Surf” were really long, but they probably just seemed long to me because of all 2 minute songs I was listening to at the time.

Anyway — what are some of your favorite longer tracks — just to be arbitrary — clocking in at 7-plus minutes?

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  20 Responses to “Long, Long Songs”

  1. “Charlie Don’t Surf” seems about 2 hours long!

    My favorite long song will forever be “Marquee Moon.”

    I wish XTC let “Travels in Nihilon” be an album side-length song, as Andy Partridge say he originally envisioned it to be.

  2. Just off the top of my head…

    “Dance Yrself Clean”, “You Wanted a Hit”, “All My Friends” – all by LCD Soundsystem.

    “Eric the Gardener”, by the Divine Comedy.

    “Marquee Moon”, of course.

    “Transatlanticism” by Death Cab for Cutie.

    “Blue Monday”.

    “The Bagman’s Gambit”, “I Was Meant for the Stage”, “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”, “California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade” by the Decemberists.

    “Jungleland”, “Incident on 57th Street”, and “American Skin (41 Shots)” by Bruce Springsteen.

    Oh, and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, I guess.

  3. Oh, and “Thick as a Brick” by Jethro Tull, and “21st Century Schizoid Man” and “The Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson.

  4. cliff sovinsanity

    Add to that list of The Decemberists songs “The Tain” running at about 18 minutes.

  5. Oh, yeah, forgot about that one. Really good though.

  6. cliff sovinsanity

    Pink Floyd’s 23 minute epic “Echoes” is their finest hour notwithstanding their 15 minute+ live freak out versions of “Interstellar Overdrive”.

  7. ladymisskirroyale

    I’m a big fan of Camper Van Beethoven’s 7+ minute version of IO:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVnqHkm65XQ

  8. ladymisskirroyale

    I’ll think of some more, but the first that comes to mind is Buffalo Daughter’s “li303ve” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5LNNSdJLDc

    It’s like a Kraut/Japanese Rock Moog Fashion Tubular Bells

  9. ladymisskirroyale

    As our household consists of a dancer and a painter, there are plenty of long, long, long songs playing around here. Slim will come on later and share his favorites, but here are the some from my first scan:

    Neu! – Hallogallo
    Stereolab – Metronomic Underground
    Arthur Russell – Let’s Go Swimming
    Boards of Canada – Happy Cycling
    LCD Soundsystem: Losing my Edge; Sound of Silver
    Underworld – Pearl’s Girl; MMMM Skyscraper I Love You
    Specials – Stereotypes 1 and 2
    Super Furry Animals – Slow Life
    Love and Rockets – Dog End of a Day Gone By
    Tame Impala – Runway, Houses, City, Clouds
    !!! – Me and Giuliani Down By the School Yard

  10. Really don’t mind if I sit this one out.

  11. Oh gosh, top of my head, in no particular order:

    Maggot Brain-Funkadelic
    Djed-Tortoise
    Winter HIll-A Certain Ratio
    Anagrama-Sonic Youth
    Albatross-PiL
    Lark’s Tongue In Aspic, pt.1-King Crimson
    Guitar Trio, Brooklyn-Rhys Chatham
    Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls-Godspeed You! Black Emperor
    Mogwai Fear Satan-Mogwai
    Freedom Flight-Shuggie Otis
    Intro/Sweet Jane-Lou Reed
    Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light-Earth
    Loaded-Primal Scream
    Jenny Ondioline-Stereolab
    Good Morning Captain-Slint
    Alice-Sunn O)))
    1/1-Brian Eno

  12. Except for this Melbourne band named the Sand Pebbles:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig5lefBeyJ8

  13. 2000 Man

    I like a lot of 7 plus minute songs. Midnight Rambler is the first that o=comes to mind, and Close to the Edge is second. But the latest long song I can think of is Death Machine by The It*Men. They were a local Cleveland good time hard rock thing. Death Machine is over twenty minutes, and they aren’t the kind of band you would think could pull off something like that, but I think it’s fantastic. Dunno if you can find it online, but the album, Greatest Its is a lot of fun.

  14. A long playlist . . . Great for a marathon runner!

  15. Nice — You’d have to shave again after listening to this list!

  16. H. Munster

    I still listen to Sister Ray and Inna Gadda Davida every now and then.

  17. Zimmy had quite a few and probably distinctive in this category in that they are filled with lyrics and not guitar solos – Visions Of Johanna, Sad Eyed Lady, Hurricane, Desolation Row, Idiot Wind…

  18. mockcarr

    I assume we are eliminating the medleys that have one name like A Quick One from the Who, right? Space is at a premium on the ipod, a cursory look revealed

    Hey Jude – Beatles
    Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan
    The Days of Wine and Roses – The Dream Syndicate
    Du Ar For FIn For Mig – Dungen
    Isn’t It A Pity – George Harrison
    You Say You – The Verlaines

    I Am Trying To Break Your Heart and Sunken Treasure by Wilco just miss the 7 minute mark

  19. Suburban kid

    Sister Ray – VU
    Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang
    Merry Happy – Kate Nash
    B-Boy Bouillabaise – Beastie Boys
    The End – Doors
    Cowgirl in the Sand – Neil Young
    That’s the Joint – Funky Four Plus One
    Theme – PiL
    Susie Q – CCR
    The Band Played Waltzing Matilda – the Pogues
    Sex Bomb – Flipper
    Fun House – Stooges
    Talkin’ Loud Sayin’ Nothing – James Brown

  20. diskojoe

    I usually don’t care too much for long songs, but here’s a couple:

    1. Tam Lin-Fairport Convrention
    2. The Sky Children-Kaleidoscope UK

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