No Masterpieces Here
Longtime readers of this column know that many of the songs that I like and want to share are usually longer than 6 minutes and that length usually allows the artist to stretch out a little.
Be it the triple guitars of “Green Grass and High Tides” or a single guitar riff that winds around a bit like “Jump into the Fire”.
A lot of the songs I have mentioned in past columns are truly great songs and they stand the test of time.
This column is not about a masterpiece per se. It is just a skimming over of some pretty good musical explorations that I listen to now and again.
The first journey into sound is Can’s “Halleluwah” from their Tago Mago album. I know I have mentioned this song before and here it is again. At 18 minutes plus this German band gets to experiment with pretty much every sound they could put on vinyl. They had a reputation for improvising pretty much any song in their catalog and turning a three minute song into 25 minutes of cowbells and synthesizers. One of the leading bands in the Krautrock era, Can never had much of a following in the US but they were pretty big for a while in Europe. Listen to this song and you will understand why Europe is different from the States and always will be. I also challenge anyone to read the lyrics and tell me what this song is actually about. Anyway, I find it mesmerizing in a way and like a lot of songs on this short list, it is not for everyone.
My next choice is a song I have mentioned before and it is way more approachable than “Halleluwah”. “Fools Gold” by The Stone Roses is a funky, fun song by this 70’s and 80’s Alternative band from England. Coming in at right under 10 minutes there is no way you can lose interest in this little ditty.
Typically, a list like this rarely includes song by very popular artists. It’s a challenge finding something in a catalog that hasn’t been widely played. While I think this next song has been on several progressive rock stations playlists I add it here because it is unusual in that it David Bowie tended to do shorter compositions and left the stretched versions to his live performances. “Station to Station”, I think is the longest song Bowie recorded and it really can’t compare to the rest of his work yet it still is an important piece of music. I like the driving sound throughout and the story behind the song is probably even more important. Bowie was having severe mental problems during the writing and recording of the “Station to Station” album and his new persona, The Thin White Duke”. The Duke was his escape hatch and this song explains that journey.
Like I said, there are no masterpieces on this list and this next song attempted very hard to be considered a masterpiece but it turned out to be an extended story that didn’t make sense. “Thick As A Brick” is very unique in that the album is just two songs,”Thick as a Brick, Part 1” and “Thick as a Brick, Part 2”. 43 minutes in total of a pretty well crafted musical piece with some gibberish lyrics that might have made sense to Ian Anderson in 1972 but the band lost me after about 5 minutes. Anderson was roasted by critics and the record company wasn’t thrilled but the album sold well and some engineers figured out how to parse it down to about 6 minutes and thats what you will here on Sirius Radio these days. If I am in the mood I will put this one on and strangely enough I know all the lyrics from the first side. I obviously didn’t have much of a life in ‘72.
Digging back into my Alternative record collection my next selection is by a band I felt I had discovered back in the day. None of my friends listened to “New Music” or Alternative so when I mentioned The Cure, no one knew what or who I was talking about. I have always liked this band and then after reading about frontman Robert Smith’s battle with Ticketmaster I appreciated him and the band even more. My choice is the extended remix of “Fascination Street”. Its a little dreamy but has some great guitar work and Smith’s vocals are perfect. He may not have the best voice in Rock but it doesn’t matter, he is unique.
My last song is a little different than the others. Stevie Ray Vaugh’s interpretation of “Little Wing” may not be a masterpiece but it is definitely a master class in guitar. Other versions of the song have lyrics but SRV cuts to the chase and shows why he may be the greatest guitarist that has ever lived. It only clocks in at under 7 minutes but it may be the best 7 minutes you will spend today.
For all you Deadheads and Allman Brothers Band loonies, I didn’t include any song by either because their extended versions are basically three minute songs with 20 minutes of jam. Not what I was looking for. There are hundreds or maybe even thousands of great jams.
Yes, there are plenty of great 10 to 17 minute songs that I didn’t include and thats where you, as readers, have the opportunity to let me know what I missed. I will cancel the subscription of anyone that brings up “Free Bird” or “Stairway to Heaven”, you have obviously missed the point.