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"Epic" compositions worth giving a spin

Not concept albums, but a single LP side consisting of a work with some sort of unity/continuity.  Possibly with one or more recurring musical themes or ideas.  Could be vocal or pure instrumental and I would think in the 20-30 minute duration.  What made me think of this is "Supper's Ready," by Genesis, which I've listened to a few times recently.  It seems challenging to put together a piece that has repetition and variety such as this and I think they pulled it off nicely.  I especially like the concert version with the added visual interest of Peter Gabriel's costumes, gestures and mime routines, but for me this one works well with just the music.  Does anyone have a favorite one-side long-form piece to throw out?
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bdp24
9,487 posts
 
Rodney Crowell: The Houston Kid; Rosanne Cash: The List; Iris Dement: The Trackless Woods; Loudon Wainwright III: Last Man on Earth; The Fraternal Order of the All (Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman): Greetings From Planet Love; Bill Frisell: The Space Age!; Evan Johns: Moontan; The Ventures: In Space; Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks and/or Self Portrait; The Band: Music From Big Pink; The Band: The Band; The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds and/or Smile; Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle; Randy Newman: Good Old Boys; Neil Young: Harvest; The Traveling Wilburys: Vol.1; The Rutles: The Rutles.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,487 posts
 

Oh, okay, NOW I understand the premise! I’m probably less a fan of the "long-form" song than anyone else here, but there have been a couple I liked. Brian Wilson’s "Elements Suite" would have been a classic had it not gone down in flames, both figuratively and literally, with the rest of The Beach Boys Smile album. "In Held ’Twas I", the second side of Procol Harum’s Shine On Brightly album is a good one. I liked The Who’s Tommy when it was released (and saw the tour in support of), but that is spread over four LP sides. I guess each side could be considered a "movement" of the mini-Opera. A rock Group referencing their music to Opera about says it all, doesn’t it? Oy.

For the generation in High School in the early-to-mid 70’s, Progressive music was what was happening. I’ve played music with guys that age, and it has always amazed me how completely British influenced they are, knowing so little about American "Roots" music. The British-lead Prog Rock Bands discarded American Rock ’n Roll for Classical and Jazz as the ingredients for their music making. I was not and am not alone in finding the music made by these self-proclaimed and self-congratulatory "Classically trained" musicians pompous, pretentious, and shallow---an exercise in displays of empty virtuosity. "Pictures At An Exhibition" as performed by a 3-piece Rock Group? What an astoundingly bad idea! It’s execution is even worse. I saw Emerson’s pre-ELP Group The Nice live (and had their album), and nice they were not.

Around the same time The Kinks were able to come back to America, and I saw them twice in a year. Now THERE was a great British Band! They have two albums that qualify for inclusion in this discussion---The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, and Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). Great albums! I don’t know how they did it, not having any classical training.

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