We don't even think twice when a jazz piece runs 8-10 minutes. In rock, though, such pieces/songs tend to be absolutely epic. Yes, there are plenty of bloated songs--and in rock that could set in before the 4-minute mark. But many of rock's greatest artists have produced fantastic long tracks, and I wanted to consider several that run at least 8 minutes (many more would make the cut if I took the minimum down to 7). I tried to ensure that no one appeared twice, but I just had to put in two Dylan songs--he is is the all time greatest spinner of lengthy song narratives.
My top 10:
1. Jungleland—Bruce Springsteen
2. When the Music’s Over—The Doors
3. Maggot Brain—Funkadelic
4. Like a Hurricane—Neil Young
5. Wonderful Remark—Van Morrison
6. Hurricane—Bob Dylan
7. Desolation Row—Bob Dylan
8. I Heard it Though the Grapevine—CCR
9. Paradise by the Dashboard Lights—Meat Loaf
10. Yours is No Disgrace—Yes
Whenever I hit a jukebox in a bar I always go for these as value for money:
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand
Led Zeppelin - In My Time Of Dying
Metallica - Master of Puppets
The Doors - The End
The Doors - When The Music's Over
Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin'
Bob Dylan - Desolation Row
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Live Version)
The Allman Brothers - Whipping Post (Live Version)
Q: 'How do you start free improvising?'
A: 'Well I usually start on D as a matter of fact'
"I wandered alone in the desert and cried "Oh Lord! Oh Lord! What hast thou done, lately?"
"Thought is not a saffron-robed monk pissing in the snow"
"Bitterness slowly crept into the marriage and by the time Lovborg was six years old his parents exchanged gunfire daily"
Elvis Costello - I Want You [doesn't quite make the 8 minute cutoff but whatever]
Drive Like Jehu - Sinews
Drive Like Jehu - Luau
Bob Dylan - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Bob Dylan - Desolation Row
Bob Dylan - Highlands
Stereolab - Refractions in the Plastic Pulse
Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline
Yo La Tengo - Night Falls on Hoboken
Yo La Tengo - Big Day Coming [the slow version / doesn't quite make the 8 minute cutoff but whatever]
10 that haven't already been mentioned, and in no particular order:
Fairport - Matty Groves
Neil - Cowgirl in the Sand
Jimi - Voodoo Chile
Jimi - 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
Mayfield - Move on Up
Mayall - California
Yes - Roundabout
Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Who - My Generation (f/Live at Leeds)
Bowie - Station to Station
Blindness : The Fall
Empire State (Son House In Excelsis) : Mercury Rev (falls short by 30 secs)
Helen Said This : The Dead C
The End of Radio : Shellac
Sidewalking (extended version) : The Jesus and Mary Chain
Gun : John Cale
Wheels of Confusion : Black Sabbath
Last edited by john williams; April-10th-2012 at 05:37 AM.
purple haze jimi hendrix
pink floyd comfortably numb
dire straits money for nothing
lynyrd skynyrd free bird
Bob Dylan Sad Eyed-Lady Of The Lowland
Led Zeppelin In my time of dying
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
This is my list...
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Originally Posted by BlueMiles
