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Top 50 Epically Awesome Long Songs

Long as defined as 10+ minutes in duration. It is going to take you well over 2,000 minutes to listen to this entire article. You may want to supplement your listening with some....



Ah, ah, ah, you're going to get me in trouble.


  1. Maggot Brain by Funkadelic (10:20)


    I was lucky enough to grow up in Cleveland, where Maggot Brain was played every weekend, right at midnight.


  2. Marrow by Yob (18:48)


    Arguably one of the most beautiful songs ever written of any length.


  3. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis (27:00)


    The definitive statement in Jazz Fusion. Think about the musical journey that Miles had to take to get from the Birth of Cool to Bitches Brew.


  4. Cicatriz ESP by the Mars Volta (12:24)


    The Mars Volta never found the mainstream success that it deserved, though the band members seemed to shun the spotlight.


  5. Time Has Come Today by the Chambers Brothers (11:03)


    This song is an anomaly, not patient or expansive, but urgent from start to finish.


  6. Eclipse by Arenna (11:14)


    Sadly, I didn't find this band until after they had broken up. The song is a really slow burn, but well worth your patience.


  7. 3 Days by Jane's Addiction (10:47)


    It doesn't matter if it says that the band is Jane's Addiction, 3 Days is nothing but Classic Rock Gold that transcends eras.


  8. 2112 by Rush (20:32)


    Young Fred learned in Sunday School that RUSH stood for Ruled Under Satan's Hand. Adult Fred realizes there is nothing Satanic about Rush. (Even though they are one of Martin Popoff's favorite artists!)


  9. Weight by Isis (10:46)


    Disclaimer: Isis the post-metal band, not Isis the terrorist group. Isis the terrorist group sucks and has no artistic vision.


  10. Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd (13:22)


    Pink Floyd's ode to their founding member, Syd Barrett. Barrett walked the thin line between genius and insanity during his youth, only to succumb to a self-imposed exile in his later years.


  11. The Diamond Sea by Sonic Youth (19:37)


    The short version was a college radio hit. The long version was an experimental masterpiece.


  12. The End by The Doors (11:42)


    Between the movie and being a Classic Rock staple, this is probably the FIRST song you thought of when you clicked on the article.


  13. Coma by Guns N Roses (10:12)


    If you sliced off the last 2 and a half minutes of Coma, that rapid-fire ending would have been a hit.


  14. Welcome to the Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (13:40)


    Arguably the greatest long pop song ever written. The other thing that hindered its accessibility, besides its length, was the fact that it was an Ode to Gay Sex.


  15. Third Eye by Tool (13:53)


    Tool's first great long song, before they became constipated and only wrote long songs.


  16. Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Extended Version) (10:07)


    Classic Rock Americana. You can still see Lynyrd Skynyrd perform today, but from the plane crash forward, there's a lot of deceased members that have fallen by the wayside.


  17. Pigs (3 Different Ones) by Pink Floyd (11:27)


    Pink Floyd evolved quickly in its first decade of existence as no two epic songs sounded alike. I could've put a half-dozen Pink Floyd songs on this list.


  18. Rapper's Delight by the Sugerhill Gang (14:35)


    An almost 15-minute slice of time that revealed the birth of rap.


  19. In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson (10:02)


    Timeless. This song set off the 50-year legacy of King Crimson.


  20. In My Time of Dying by Led Zepplin (11:05)


    Part of me is sad that Robert Plant never looked backwards. Part of me respects Robert Plant for only moving forward.


  21. 7 Skies H3 by the Flaming Lips (1,440:00)


    The Flaming Lips get on the list due to pure ambition. A 24-hour album? On a flash drive inside of a human skull? There is also a shorter, 50-minute vinyl of the marathon session 7 Skies H3.


  22. Change by Boingo (15:58)


    By Oingo Boingo's last album, Danny Elfman had scrapped the brass section and dropped the Oingo, but Change was the symbolic shift from Elfman the Rock Star to Elfman the Composer. (Oingo Boingo trimmed Change to a more manageable 8 minutes during their final show.)


  23. Change by King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard (13:03)


    King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard will be remembered as the most important artist of their generation. From YouTube: "If this band existed in the 60's/70's, they would've been one of the most well know bands on the planet."


  24. So What (Live) by Ministry (11:29)


    When I took my son to see Ministry in the 2020's, I told him the gimmick of the fence. Back in 1990, it wasn't to protect the band from the audience, it was to protect the audience from the band.


  25. Mogwai Fear Satan by Mogwai (11:54)


    Post-Rock at its finest. Mogwai continue to be very popular in Europe, their last album As the Love Continues, was the Number # 1 album in the United Kingdom when it came out.


  26. Close to the Edge by Yes (18:38)


    I originally had Roundabout in this slot, but it was "only" 8 and a half minutes long.


  27. Do You Feel Like We Do (Live) (13:46) by Peter Frampton


    For one brief summer, Peter Frampton was one of the biggest Rock Artists in the entire world.


  28. Atomic Dog (Original Extended Version) by George Clinton (Technically 9:58)


    Okay, I broke my own rule. George Clinton was 2 seconds short, but I put him on the list anyhow because he's the Godfather of P-Funk!


  29. Waka/Jawaka by Frank Zappa (11:16)


    In the early 1970's, Miles Davis attacked Rock from the Jazz perspective. Frank Zappa, on the other hand, attacked Jazz from the Rock perspective.


  30. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly (17:05)


    The short version of the song was a Top 40 hit in America. The long version was the musical equivalent of a cult classic that allowed the band to tour behind it for 50 years!


  31. The Ghost I Used to Be by Pallbearer (10:17)


    From the first note, all I hear is the darkness.


  32. Download by Skinny Puppy (11:01)


    This still freaks me out. More of a plunge into the abyss than a piece of music.


  33. Bitches Brew by NoMeansNo (14:59)


    I mean, a punk band playing a cover of one of the greatest jazz hits in history shouldn't exist, should it?


  34. A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld by The Orb (18:49)


    A nearly 19-minute single that actually charted in the United Kingdom.


  35. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone by the Temptations (11:44)


    The 7-minute single-version was one of the greatest songs in Rock History. The Temptations are still touring today, as the last remaining original member, Otis Williams, is a bit of a rolling stone himself.


  36. How About This for My Hair? by Laddio Bolocko (Live 2000) (10:58)


    It's hard to find Laddio Bolocko's music, their output borders on the mythical.


  37. Turn This Off Please by Nine Inch Nails (13:10)


    This song plays like a soundscape to a horror film. Trent Reznor is another artist that made quite an evolution from Rock Star to Composer.


  38. Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine by James Brown (10:48)


    The song is historically great, but I had a hell of a time getting through the google search. After I arrived at the correct destination, I saw the song was on the James Brown Channel. Where is that money going to? (You don't want to go down that alley, either.)


  39. Awakening From the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul) by Blood Incantation (18:02)


    The beginning of Hidden History of the Human Race is Death Metal. The end is some sort of fusion between Cosmic Metal and Prog, which would be Blood Incantation's path moving forward.


  40. Gareth Liddiard – The Radicalization of D (16:13)


    I am a huge fan of Liddiard's band Tropical Fuck Storm. Still not entirely sure what to make of this, but it won a bunch of accolades in Australia.


  41. Spoonful (Live) by Cream (16:46)


    You want to talk about taking a musical journey? The original Spoonful was covered by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and lasted barely 3 minutes long. Cream took that song and made it longer and longer every time they played live until this almost 17-minute version landed on their Wheels of Fire album.


  42. In Death - Is Death by Meshuggah (13:22)


    Technically a long MOVEMENT, within a very long song. I mean, Meshuggah just pummels you, then leaves you battered on the floor.


  43. Marquee Moon by Television (10:39)


    Sorry to be a buzzkill, but this song is now over 45 years old. It is strange to me that my kid owns this album on vinyl in a crate in his room.


  44. P.S.Y. by the Butthole Surfers (12:12)


    The Butthole Surfers remind you that, sometimes, it is a very thin line between music and noise.


  45. Just a Little Boy (For Chester Burnett) by the Swans (12:40)


    Make sure you listen to this song on a really good set of speakers. It is haunting, stabbing, and magnificent, all at the same time.


  46. Out of the Blue by George Harrison (11:13)


    A simple jam starts George Harrison's third album from his multi-platinum triple-disc All Things Must Pass.


  47. Phantom Limb by Dead and Gone (10:36)


    Side Note: YouTube auto-generated the wrong title. I think I'm one of about a dozen people who own the physical copy of the album God Loves Everyone but You.


  48. Trapped in the Drive-Thru by Weird Al (10:57)


    In the past, I have joked that this song is the story about a young couple "about 3 months before their divorce."


  49. Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie (18:15)


    The definitive Thanksgiving song. Arlo Guthrie made a statement about Real-Life Alice's Death last week: "Alice passed away a week before Thanksgiving. She was living in one of her favorite places – Provincetown, Massachusetts where she’d been for over four decades.


    I first met Alice in 1962 when she was the school librarian at The Stockbridge School (boarding school), in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. I was there beginning my second of four years. I also met, Rick Robbins, another student, and we’ve been friends ever since.


    Alice’s mother, Mary Pelky, bought the church in June of 1963 and gave it to Ray & Alice who began transforming it into a home. After the school year, my brother and I, along with Rick and a few others spent the summer with Alice and her husband, Ray on Martha’s Vineyard where they ran the Youth Hostel in West Tisbury. Alice always loved being on the Cape. It was home.


    I returned to The Stockbridge School after a most wonderful summer, playing music every night, and generally goofing off. Ray & Alice got busy at the church, making it into a home.


    For the next couple of years, friends would gather at the church from time to time, play some music, and generally enjoy a loose network of like-minded people. Then it all changed.


    Rick & I went to visit Ray & Alice for Thanksgiving in 1965. The rest is history. Alice went into the restaurant business and I began my years as an entertainer. We were, both in our own ways, successful. As well as being a restauranteur, Alice also became an author, and an artist. We worked together on various projects. During the next few decades we remained friends while our lives kept us busy. She was a no-nonsense gal, with a great sense of humor.


    This coming Thanksgiving will be the first without her. Alice and my daughter, Annie had spoken together recently and Alice, knowing her circumstances, approved an exhibit at the church to tell her own story. Alice and I spoke by phone a couple of weeks ago, and she sounded like her old self. we joked around and had a couple of good laughs even though we knew we’d never have another chance to talk together.


    A couple of years ago, Alice, Rick and I met up at the church, and from there went to Rick’s home for a Thanksgiving Dinner. Marti & I, along with a lot of old friends celebrated 60 years of friendship. Some couldn’t be there, as time has taken its toll. But, the spirit was all that mattered, and we got to celebrate it.


    This year we get to add one more to those whose life we celebrate – An important one. Alice was a lifelong friend."


  50. Thriller by Michael Jackson (13:41)


    Over a billion views on YouTube, probably just as many plays on the radio, Michael Jackson created arguably the most iconic Halloween song, outside of the Monster Mash, in history. Why is the song way down at # 50?


    (You know why.)



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