YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 128 (Side-Long Songs)
(Originally finalized on March 9, 2025)
Preface: The concept is quaint by modern standards in streaming technology, but back in the days of '70s rock, even before CDs were introduced, albums were released on vinyl records, which were limited to about 20-25 minutes per side - which is as long as you could play music without a break in continuity. There have always been bands who recorded long songs, even in the days of two-and-a-half minute radio singles, but there's something special about the song that takes up an entire side of a vinyl record. Often (but not exclusively), the culprits were progressive rock bands experimenting with the creation of long-form sonic journeys. This week, we're going to explore some of the most prominent examples of the "side-long song". Settle in, because this is gonna take a while...
Monday: Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida [In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968] (17:05)
Comments: Stretching out for fully 17 minutes, and filling up the second side of Iron Butterfly's second album, is one of the most celebrated side-long songs in rock history. Its title is a slurred form of the phrase "In The Garden of Eden", and with its driving organ, overdriven guitar, prominent bass line, and infamous drum solo, it's not just a punchline - it's a masterpiece of psychedelic rock. I've been waiting for just the right excuse to share it on this music log ever since it was disqualified from my psychedelic theme because it wasn't released in '67. Rejoice, for its time has finally come!
Tuesday: Pink Floyd - Echoes [Meddle, 1971] (23:30)
Comments: Despite their reputation for composing long songs, a lot of Pink Floyd's extended epics are technically disqualified from being side-long songs, in some cases due to being split in half across an album, or sharing their side with much shorter track(s). Of the two qualifiers, Atom Heart Mother is worth a listen, but Echoes is among the band's most sublime masterpieces - and is an excellent demonstration of the band's more experimental period before they recorded Dark Side of the Moon and became a household name.
Wednesday: Yes - Close To The Edge [Close To The Edge, 1972] (18:43)
Comments: Being the straight-up proggiest band I count among my favorites, I couldn't fail to include Yes this week. Although they would record other side-long songs (including a double album consisting of four movements across four sides - I made a conscious decision to exclude album-long suites in this theme), Close To The Edge was the first - and arguably the best. Opening their fifth album (which, altogether, consists of only three songs), it was the followup to Fragile, which gave the world more radio-friendly hits like Roundabout, and Long Distance Runaround.
Thursday: Rush - 2112 [2112, 1976] (20:34)
Comments: Although I've never gotten into Rush in a big way, I found it interesting reading about the background behind this song (neither their first, nor their last side-long epic). Not so much the sci-fi narrative that plays out over its 20 minute runtime - I find it hard to follow (but then, I don't usually pay much attention to the lyrics of a song) - but the circumstances of its creation. The band was in the process of transitioning from their hard rock roots to a more progressive sound. Their previous album was in all respects a disappointing flop, and the band was on the verge of folding when they made one last push. Their subsequent album, 2112, was a huge success, and saved the band from premature dissolution.
Friday: Emerson Lake & Palmer - Tarkus [Tarkus, 1971] (20:59)
Comments: Featuring the unmistakable sound of Keith Emerson on the keys (piano, organ, synthesizer, etc.), here's the title track from Emerson Lake & Palmer's second album, a twenty-minute long lesson on the futility of conflict, supposedly involving a fight between an armadillo tank and a manticore. (Pretty imaginative, huh?). It's the band's first side-long song, but it wouldn't be their last - including the full version of Karn Evil 9 (not the truncated version you've heard on the radio) from Brain Salad Surgery, which is actually so long, it bleeds over into a second side!
Saturday: King Crimson - Lizard [Lizard, 1970] (23:25)
Comments: King Crimson was in flux during the recording of their third album, the entire second half of which consists of this jazz-inspired title track. Guitarist and founding member Greg Lake had actually just left the band to join Emerson Lake & Palmer. In a couple years, drummer Bill Bruford would defect from Yes and join this band (their singer Jon Anderson guests at the beginning of this track). To my knowledge, this is King Crimson's only true side-long song, but this was a band that was no stranger to experimentation, often composing long suites of songs in multiple parts, even to the point of not being afraid to test the listener's patience at times.
Sunday: Focus - Hamburger Concerto [Hamburger Concerto, 1974] (20:20)
Comments: It was a fortuitous discovery, during the course of my research for this theme, when I learned that Dutch band Focus - notorious for introducing the world of rock music to yodeling - was fond of composing side-long epics. One of them even bleeds over into a second side, just like Emerson Lake & Palmer's Karn Evil 9! The first, titled Eruption and adapted from an Italian opera, is on the band's second album - which features their breakout hit Hocus Pocus. But I'm giving the slight edge to the title track from their fourth album, inspired by Johannes Brahms.
Honorable Mention: Genesis - Supper's Ready [Foxtrot, 1972] (22:54)
Comments: I didn't really want to include an honorable mention this week, since these songs are all so long, but I felt like this song belonged on this list, despite the fact that it's technically disqualified by the presence of a less than two minute long guitar instrumental it shares its side with. Regardless, I think this song - by the band that, at the time, included both singer Peter Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins - fulfills the spirit of this theme, and its reputation definitely earns it a spot alongside the other songs I've shared this week.