Pop Shots – 5 Long Songs for Your Long NYE Night

Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, with New Year’s Eve coming up tomorrow, this week Pop Shots is going to help you through that very long night – one where nearly everyone stays up until midnight – with five of the longest songs you can put on your NYE playlist.

Not surprisingly, all five selections come from the world of classic rock, a magical place where epic jams were far more prevalent. Because of those epic jams, these five songs, in total, add up to over an hour and a half of music!

So let’s get into this short list of very long songs, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

Grateful Dead – Playing in the Band, Seattle, Washington (46:24)

 

I am not a Deadhead, but I have friends who are, and I respect the contributions the band made to music. When I was conceiving this playlist I had a feeling the Grateful Dead would have something for it. I did not imagine that something would be 46:24 in length.

A jam session that was recorded on May 21, 1974 at a show in Seattle, this version of “Playing in the Band” is the longest continuous Grateful Dead song ever recorded.

A radio DJ could put this on, go to dinner, come back, and still have time to spare!

Vanilla Fudge – Break Song (23:27)

 

This is the song that sparked this column. I picked up Vanilla Fudge’s 1969 album Near the Beginning while digging through used vinyl last month, and noticed side two was just one, nearly 25 minute long, song titled “Break Song.”

“Break Song” was recorded live at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and each player in the band gets significant time to shine. It’s pretty much nonstop greatness, with one highlight coming at around 3:30, when drummer Carmine Appice, and guitarist Vince Martell keep speeding up to the point where you think they might explode.

Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (17:05)

 

You had to know this one was coming, right? Perhaps the most well known long song in the history of music, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is a psych rock classic with staying power. Two decades after its release it was featured in episodes of The Simpsons, and Home Improvement, and two-plus decades after those pop culture moments it’s still a song everybody knows … or at least knows of!

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Freebird (length varied greatly live)

 

“Play ‘Freebird!’” is something we’ve all heard a random, usually slightly inebriated person yell at a show. Over the years it became quite the running joke … except when it was Lynyrd Skynyrd on stage. The rock legends were always ready to break into one of their most enduring classics, and I would hazard a guess that they never played it the same way twice.

While the song has memorable lyrics, what people love most about it are the killer solos, and improvisation, which is why it could range in length from anywhere from ten minutes, to well over 14.

You know what, it was f*cking fantastic every time.

The Doors – When the Music’s Over (length varied greatly live)

 

The Doors are a band you either love, or are completely mystified by. Personally, I’m a fan, as I think the foursome are easily one of the best, and most important bands in the history of rock. That said, I understand why some folks might not be down with extended keyboard solos.

Sometimes, however, you just need to let the music take you someplace, and at over ten minutes in length, “When the Music’s Over” is a song that can take you to a lot of places … until the music’s over.

That’s all for this edition of Pop Shots, but come back next Monday for more shots on all things pop.