Marzzz Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Tales of Topographic Oceans. Aside from parts of the first side, I find it unlistenable. [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinredeye Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Age 15, first band. They asked me to join because I could play the whole long Light My Fire solo (7 minutes) on someone else's Farfisa. I'm glad I don't have to play that anymore. And there is a short version by The Doors (3 minutes). Played In-A-Godda-Da-Vida, too (17 minutes!). At least LMF was a little interesting. Quote Kurzweil PC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 I interpret the OP's question to be about songs that were good, but should have been ended much earlier. 1. "Abacab" is 6:55, but I don't need anything after 3:40. It could have worked if the instrumental solo led back into a climactic final chorus and/or verse, but without this the instrumental part just seems meandering. An example of where better producer input was needed (or needed to be heeded). 2. On Chicago III "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is 9:15, but it should have ended at 4:20. This is part of a bigger problem, which is that album should have been 1 LP instead of 2. It would have been a pretty good single-LP album. An underappreciated aspect of Chicago III is that their horns never sounded tighter, but the diluted songwriting compared to II or V obscures this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 ANY modern gospel song with ad infinitum choruses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBarker Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 My nomination would be Dream Theater's The Astonishing...The entire album. A 34 song, 2 hour and 11 minute concept album. AYFKM? How in the world are you supposed to digest this record? They played this entire album on tour? My problem isn't it's length, it's a concept album/rock opera, and many before it have worked. My problem is IT'S A TERRIBLE ALBUM! It's drab, is sorta Disney-ish but not hooky enough to be, sorta metal, but not heavy enough to be. It's the poor amalgamation of styles, none of which are done very well, and all come together in a muddy, unimaginative shade of brown. But speaking of hour-long songs and color shades, on the flip side, are you familiar with Fates Warning's "A Pleasant Shade of Gray"? Now there's a 55min song (broken into 13 tracks) that ABSOLUTELY works, and doesn't feel long at all. One of my very favorite concept albums and in running for favorite album of all time. As for Starship Trooper, see my above comment. The jammy bit is absolutely not too long, but no one ever remembers the vocal section before it. I wouldn't say it's "uninspired", but it's definitely not the masterpiece that Steve Howe's jammy coda is. Quote Puck Funk! Equipment: Laptop running lots of nerdy software, some keyboards, noise makersâ¦yada yada yadaâ¦maybe a cat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Do you Feel Like I Do - Frampton Live Stranglehold - Nugent Quote Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBarker Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 "Purple Rain" ...yes, I went there. Quote Puck Funk! Equipment: Laptop running lots of nerdy software, some keyboards, noise makersâ¦yada yada yadaâ¦maybe a cat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song80s Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 As for Starship Trooper, see my above comment. The jammy bit is absolutely not too long, but no one ever remembers the vocal section before it. I wouldn't say it's "uninspired", but it's definitely not the masterpiece that Steve Howe's jammy coda is. I thought Howes 'rockabilly ' guitar passage was clever. Very different from what most rock and blues guitarists were doing back then. Quote Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ? My Soundcloud with many originals: [70's Songwriter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moj Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me". Great song marred by the irritating repetitious vocal chorus ending and the studio chatter at the beginning of the full version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdAct Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Magic Carpet Ride -- although the song is only 4:20 min, 2 minutes of that is the never-ending "carpet ride" starting at ~2:00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Simons Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Any Kiss song. . . too long. Quote Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Another vote for American Pie AND Purple Rain. Weird Al's 'Albuquerque' is the best long song I like listening to. Quote The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Depends on what you mean by "too long", as the opposite can also be true. Back when my 80's tribute band was still active, we were about to drop "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls, but decided to give it one last try with the long album intro dropped in favour of the extremely short pre-vocal section on the single. It went from being our concert-killer to the song that got everyone on the dance floor (if they weren't already)! Contrarily, we were the only band that did the album versions of ANYTHING, in this region, and it drew an appreciative crowd as the parts that get dropped on the shorter versions are usually the very things that make the song sound less repetitive and make it unique. An example is "Love Shack". I despise the medley concept with a passion, and don't get the point. Why work so hard on so many part-songs, miss what is unique about each, then jam them together with a similar beat, and often even the same key? It's the equivalent of a song that is too long and repetitive at that point. And it's a nightmare for sure, for the keyboardist, with the increased number of sounds that have to be reached and changed rapidly! I've had it explained to me that it keeps people dancing and that they would get bored otherwise, which I don't buy into. One example is a 10-12 minute Madonna medley, covering close to two dozen songs. Believe me, we had NO trouble at all, getting people to stay on the dance floor (we were careful to avoid breaks between songs) for the full-on 12" mix versions of "Borderline", a custom long mix of "Holiday" etc. Quote Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 One of my bands does Kashmir. Perhaps too long, unless you are the keyboard player...love playing those harmonic minor string lines. Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Ward Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 I always thought that "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was too long and repetitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me". Great song marred by the irritating repetitious vocal chorus ending and the studio chatter at the beginning of the full version. OTOH, Todd's original version with his group Nazz was succinct ear candy [video:youtube] . Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromedoggy Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Traffic- low spark of high heeled boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyNQ Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Bob Dylan - "The Hurricane". I actually quite like it as a poem - it's unusual in that it's very literal. But putting the lyrics to one side, 11 verses that sound musically pretty much exactly the same as each other is too much of a grind for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Do you Feel Like I Do - Frampton Live no no no no no... not long enough Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Mullins Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Grateful Dead's "A Touch of Grey"...at 5:50 (album version) and 4:35 (single version), both are at least 4 minutes too long Quote Yamaha CK88, Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, Moog Sub 37, Yamaha U1 Upright, Casio CT-S500, Mac Logic/Mainstage, iPad Camelot, Spacestation V.3, QSC K10.2, JBL EON One Compact www.stickmanor.com There's a thin white line between fear and fury - Stickman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Grateful Dead's "A Touch of Grey"...at 5:50 (album version) and 4:35 (single version), both are at least 4 minutes too long Every Grateful Dead song is too long. Except for Estimated Prophet, that length is ok Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quai34 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 In my old time, when I was a teenager, hey Jude was the perfect Lenght to have a slow with a girl that was "ending well" for me....So, no, never shorten Hey Jude... For Purple rain, we play it as the last song after 3 set of 16 songs, last song of our 3/4 songs encore and we play it until the weird strings part comes in, so, it's just a 5 mn song....which is good for the guys to catch up a girl too so, don't shorten it as well...Give them the time to "make it".... Quote Stage 2, C2, NL2X+TC Pedals, P08+Tetra+H9, P12+TC Chorus D50+PG1000, 2 Matrix 1K, Proteus 2K, TX802, Streichfett, Drumbrute. Guitars:G&L Legacy, Asat X2, Ibanez Artstar AS153.Bass: L2000, SR1200&2605. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Not true..Hey Jude released Aug 1968 7:11...MacArthur Park Richard Harris released April 1968 7:20..I know..I have both singles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillearning Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 One persons too long is anothers too short, methinks. I like Low Spark as it is, and think everything by Tom Petty needs to be shorter. Oh well. Quote I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient and I will get to you shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Depends on what you mean by "too long", as the opposite can also be true. Back when my 80's tribute band was still active, we were about to drop "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls, but decided to give it one last try with the long album intro dropped in favour of the extremely short pre-vocal section on the single. It went from being our concert-killer to the song that got everyone on the dance floor (if they weren't already)! Contrarily, we were the only band that did the album versions of ANYTHING, in this region, and it drew an appreciative crowd as the parts that get dropped on the shorter versions are usually the very things that make the song sound less repetitive and make it unique. An example is "Love Shack". I despise the medley concept with a passion, and don't get the point. Why work so hard on so many part-songs, miss what is unique about each, then jam them together with a similar beat, and often even the same key? It's the equivalent of a song that is too long and repetitive at that point. And it's a nightmare for sure, for the keyboardist, with the increased number of sounds that have to be reached and changed rapidly! I've had it explained to me that it keeps people dancing and that they would get bored otherwise, which I don't buy into. One example is a 10-12 minute Madonna medley, covering close to two dozen songs. Believe me, we had NO trouble at all, getting people to stay on the dance floor (we were careful to avoid breaks between songs) for the full-on 12" mix versions of "Borderline", a custom long mix of "Holiday" etc. I am insulted by medleys. Hate them with a burning passion reserved for hell. Ive had 2 different bands propose we mash up a medley, i swore i would quit both times and killed the idea dead in the crib before it could breathe. Not judging others. I dunno, its just a thing with me. Lol Quote The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 How about green grass and high times- good song idea that didnt know it should end. Same can be said for free bird, which im surprised wasnt mentioned yet. I just listened to Bohemian Rhapsody with my daughter ... i guess its too long but its really 3 or 4 songs, none of which are too long. So ... no. Not too long. A lot of Yes songs were too long. I love Yes but hated that endless aspect of prog. I never got Dream Theater, never liked them. i dont know their songs well but Ive done 3 gigs we split the bill with a DT tribute, I thought every single song was too long. i dont get why a concert.bar audience wants to hear even a single one of their songs, i just dont know wtf that even is. Its musical, sure, but its not songs. Its definitely not for me. Quote The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanczarek Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 The very first really long song I ever heard was "Goin' Home" by The Rolling Stones from their Aftermath album in 1966. Bob Dylan had done some songs around five minutes long but the Rolling Stones song was over eleven minutes. The local AM Top 40 station in my hometown would play it late at night which led to the song gaining some popularity locally. [video:youtube] There is more to the story of how a long song like this came to be. The Rolling Stones recording engineer at the time was Dave Hassinger and it was probably due to his influence that they were allowed to stretch the song beyond the usual three minute limit. Hassinger had previously won a Grammy for best engineered record for his work with The Chipmunks. He was a recording engineer at RCA Records in Hollywood where The Stones often recorded in the mid-60's. Hassinger first engineered some of The Rolling Stones Now! album released in early 1965. He went on to engineer many of their biggest hits including "Satisfaction", "Get Off My Cloud", "The Last Time", "Play With Fire", "19th Nervous Breakdown", etc. For the Aftermath sessions Bill Wyman credited Hassinger with making them feel comfortable and allowing them to take their time to experiment. Not only is "Goin' Home" one of the first long songs the Aftermath album itself ran over fifty minutes which may have been a first. Hassinger's involvement with long songs doesn't stop here. Later in 1966 Hassinger engineered Love's Da Capo album which contained the 18:57 "Revelation" which was possibly the first rock song to take up the whole side of an LP. Also in 1966 Dave engineered The Seeds Web of Sound album which contained the 14:45 "Up in Her Room". He then produced the first Grateful Dead's 1967 debut album which had the 10:01 "Viola Lee Blues" and 1968's Anthem of the Sun which had the 11:20 "Alligator" among other long songs. Also in 1968 Hassinger produced the Canadian band The Collectors debut album which contained the 19:06 side-long epic "What Love (Suite)". Doors producer Paul Rothchild no stranger to long songs also producing Love circa 1967 called Hassinger "...one of the great engineers in the world today..." [video:youtube] [video:youtube] [video:youtube] Quote C3/122, M102A, Vox V301H, Farfisa Compact, Gibson G101, GEM P, RMI 300A, Piano Bass, Pianet , Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, Matrix 12, OB8, Korg MS20, Jupiter 6, Juno 60, PX-5S, Nord Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losendoskeys Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Love 'em or hate 'em, there are many tunes out there--often from the 70's--that are WAY too long. Maybe we enjoyed them back in the day but now, not so much. Sometimes people run out of the room screaming after just a few opening notes. Perhaps shorter versions would be more appreciated. Anyway, here are a few that come to mind: [video:youtube] [video:youtube]://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WUdlaLWSVM [video:youtube]://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_MjCqQoLLA Feel free to list your "favorites." You can't include prog in any such discussion - the length of the song usually defines whether something is prog or not. My view on songs that need to be shortened to zero: 1) Anything by Bruce "Don't Push Me" Springsteen 2) Anything by Santana 3) Anything by Don Maclean Quote Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-string-man Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Freebird. Too long before it starts. You do know that there is a short version of Freebird? Quote Occasionally, do something nice for a total stranger. They'll wonder what the hell is going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-string-man Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 I know its an iconic organ solo, but I get really tired of Light My Fire. Blasphemy? DEFINITELY blasphemy IMNSHO!!!! Quote Occasionally, do something nice for a total stranger. They'll wonder what the hell is going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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