I have been listening to the somewhat new...maybe new to me B.Fleischmann album Welcome Tourist.It is 2 discs of blissed out idm and some poppy harmonies.Very lovely and highly reccomended.

Well...The second disc encompasses 1 whole track.It is 45 minutes long.I have heard long songs before a certain Iron Butterfly song comes to mind among others.But this track is amazing...from beggining to end,it is cohesive it doesnt switch up every 5 mins,I dont know.Maybe i am just a stoner (wha??) who likes to hear something constant through a track.

Why doesnt more people try doing this.I am now going to look back at some of my favorite...umm...25 minute plus tracks.

I would love to hear if anyone else has a long song that they love...or at least that they like.Post it and say a bit about.Maybe it will refresh some memories.

It's ironic you should post this, Imprezu21, as I'm listening to Television's "Marquee Moon." At 10:40 it certainly comes in on the long side, especially for a band that's largely considered to be an essential part of the late 70s New York Punk movement.

Despite my grounding in jazz, I'm not generally a fan of instrumental jams in rock. I appreciate the virtue of brevity rock often embodies. One would have to have dead ears, though, not to be swept away by "Marquee Moon." It manages to be a virtuoso turn and elegant in simplicity of its overall structure, which is no small feat.

Now Playing: "Ooh Child" The Five Stairsteps The First Family of Soul: The Best of the Five Stairsteps (Buddah)

Ok...I am glad to hear that u like this thread linn...and i do plan on posting more longer songs that i like..but i really want someone else to comment on this track that noted...Hereis some more reviews that both praise it as "epic"...and trounce by callng it...ummm...crappy i guess...check it-

Almost Cool Review
Coke Machine Glow Review
Pitchdork review
Stylus Review
Tiny Review


Alright the song is called "Take Your Time".

I think I have listened to ot like 20 time sin the past day.
You can listen too it for free at Bleep

Or you can just buy it and download it for like 3 bucks...considering it is 45 minutes thats not bad?

I would really like to hear what all ya'll think...so listen to it or if u already have it post what u like.

The whole album is incredible...but that one track is insane.Maybe i am over-reacting...andmaybe i will grow tired of it...but right now...i cant stop listening to it.

Thanks!

I would respond to more of your posts Imprezu, but I'm on dial-up and it doesn't work very well at all for downloads or even listening to music. My computer plays music for 5-10 seconds, followed by 5-10 seconds of silence, and that repeats over and over.

As far as long songs, I've heard The Polyphonic Spree's "A Long Day", which, at 36 minutes, is probably about 35 too many for most people.

I think that the longest song that I have listened to is Led Zeplin's "Dazed and Confused" I think that comes in at 18 minutes.

The last song on Liars' first album, whose name escapes me at the moment, is like thirty minutes.

Of course, most of it is a continuous loop designed specifically to annoy people, but it's thirty minutes nonetheless.

I'm still a fan of the original Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly but I've heard they could stretch the live version out to a half hour. I saw The Mars Volta live and they played 3 songs for a 45 minute set.

Well, I think Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" counts as one song. If so, that's pretty long.

When I was growing up, I was a big Emerson, Lake & Palmer fan, so they have tons of long songs, including "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Pirates" from the "Works, Volume I" LP.

I never liked "Yes", but I believe their double album, "Tales from Topographic Oceans" has only one song per side.

On Led Zep's "In Through the Out Door" album, "Carouselambra" is a pretty long song that I think is very good.

Oh, I just remembered a great, long song, and one that is traditionally played around Thanksgiving. I'm of course talking about Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant."

BTW - Hate to disappoint Mike, but Led Zep's "Dazed and Confused" is closer to 8 minutes than 18 minutes. Although, because I don't think the song is that good, maybe it just SEEMED like 18 minutes!

asc, are you sure "Dazed and Confused" is only 8 minutes. Huh...Maybe it is 18 because I was talking about it on the BBC sessions cd two...let me check... yeah, I have it right in my hand and it is 18:36 minutes long. Guess it is different on the original cd, I can't recall.

Mike,

That would probably explain why we're disagreeing. I was only referring to the first Led Zep album...not the BBC sessions. I've quickly tried to search the Net for song length, but couldn't find it, although I'm pretty sure I'm right about the length of "Dazed and Confused" from their first album.

dazed and confused is like 6 1/2 minutes long.

I dont know about any live versions or bbc sessions...but on th eoriginal album it is 6:28.

It would be important to point out it's a live version first as just saying the song most would automatically default to the studio version. I'm adding Kraftwerk's 22 minute long Autobaun. I love that track. Decades ahead of its time.

The number of songs Zep stretched during live poerformances is rather high. You only have to check out "The song remains the same" to see how elongated some songs became, "Dazed and confused" being one, and of course "Stairway to heavan". But this was not uncommon. Check out the version of "Spoonfull" by Cream from the live "Wheels of fire". I don't think live workouts really qualify. As for tracks taking up whole sides, this is a tradition dating back to Dylans "Sad eyed lady of the lowlands" from "Blonde on blonde", and has continued through Yes to "Tubular bells", which perhaps would have been one complete song if not for the prevailing technology. Just about any prog-rock band has an epic time defying track, but I think the king of these is "Thick as a brick", by Jethro Tull, which once again was split into two only because of the constraints of the technology of the time. I love long songs,and I could go on naming 'em forever, but how about Rachmaninovs "Piano concerto No.2 in C Minor". This is as good as music gets.

Oh, and how about life? Thats a long song too, according to Jethro tull.

One of the true master of long running songs is Isaac Hayes.
He even managed to extend Billy Joels "just The Way You Are into a 9:17 reworking.

Other ones by Hayes worthy of this thread is:

By The Time I Get To Phoenix - 18:42
I Stand Accused - 11:37
Walk On By - 12:03

In fact, Hayes rarely did a song under 7 mins.

Tori Amos had 'Yes, Anastasia' on Under The Pink That was over 9 minutes and her cover of'Happiness Is A Warm Gun" on Strange Little Girls was almost 9 minutes. Neither song bores me, nor do I find them pretentionus or self-indulgent.

Jane Sibbery has a song that is approximateltty 30 minutes on one of her albums.

Pink Floyd-Echoes
Shakti-Joy
Metallica-Orion, Master of Puppets, To Live is to Die, And Justice For All
Miles Davis-Bitches Brew, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
So many more good long songs, these just came to the top of my head quickly.

the cure have a couple of long songs and a forest live has been known to stretch considerably i also like any version of dark star by the dead one of the best long songs ive heard

Thanks for mentioning Shakti's "Joy," Smenkharon. I like the other long tune on the first Shakti album, "What Need Have I For This--What Need Have I For That-- I Am Dancing at the Feet of My Lord-- All is Bliss-- All is Bliss."

Other great long songs:

Rush: "2112," "Cygnus X-1/Hemispheres," "Xanadu," "Natural Science"

Yes: "Close to the Edge," "And You and I," "The Gates of Delirium," "The Revealing Science of God," "Ritual"

King Crimson: "Lizard," "In the Court of the Crimson King"

Soft Machine: "Out-Bloody-Rageous" (although the violin solo is crap)

Caravan: "Nine Feet Underground, "For Richard"

Magma: "Kohntarkhosz"

Genesis: "Supper's Ready," "Watcher of the Skies," "The Musical Box"

ELP: "Take a Pebble"

Never really cared for most of ELP's long stuff, as they tend to ramble too much. Ditto most of Yes' "Tales From Topographic Oceans," although the other three pieces have their moments; only "...Science of God" really sticks together well. "Gates of Delirium" is awe-inspiring.

My first tabla guru told me that he once performed a single raga that was eight hours long.

I agree with you on the "Yes" comments totaly, but you've gotta consider "Mind drive" if you like all the others (as I do).

Oh,yeah, some Indian music can indeed be a marathon. Just check out "The concert for Bangla Desh", or "The concert for George".