Greatest Outro

[minlokwat]

Which song features the greatest outro?

As for the criteria: the outro has to take the song in a different direction- but still remain true to the song. It must be catchy in its own right and almost be worthy of being considered a separate song in and of itself. Two immediate examples that come to mind are the outros from Hey Jude (the Beatles of course) and Layla (Derick and the Dominoes, a.k.a. Eric Clapton and company).

But you know what? I find both of these outros a bit repetitive. I mean they're great and all that- but they fall far short of being dubbed the greatest.

Therefore, I officially and brazenly declare that the greatest all-time outro to a rock song since the history of the universe belongs to…….(I know this will make one poster happy) is ELO's Mr. Blue Sky.

By itself, the song can stand with the best of them. However, it doesn't quite bring it home until the outro - where the orchestra kicks in, picks up and then brings it down for a soul-satisfying closure. Were it not for the last minute or so, the song would remain great but not a masterpiece. With the kick-ass ending, it remains one for the ages.

Let's see someone try to top THIS one!

[rackensack]

Not sure it tops it, since it really isn't an "outro" at all, but I always liked the ending of Sparks' "I Predict":


And this song will fade out
Yes this song will fade out
And this song will fade out
I predict
(repeat many x)


Of course, the song ends cold.

[AwSnappity]

Guns 'N Roses' "November Rain" where they start with the "Don't you think that you need somebody" part.

Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

[DoctorJ]

When I saw the question, only one song came to mind:

Phish, "The Squirming Coil".

Dr. J

[frock75]

Faith No More- "Epic"
The piano at the end just makes the song. Without it I don't think it would have been half the song it was.

[psylocke]

REM - Leave

[Laughing Lagomorph]

I've got a couple, but I don't know if any of them are as good as the two minlokwat mentioned:
1. "Love is Like Oxygen" by Sweet. An oldies station here in Boston was in the habit of playing this one fairly late at night in its entirety once a week or so. The damn song goes on for like 10 minutes, and just when you think it's over and a new song has started, you realize it IS the same song.
2. "Little Red Corvette" by The Artist Formerly Known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. The edit that is often played on top 40 stations is about 3 1/2-4 minutes (going from memory here) but the album version is longer, and IMHO MUCH better. The song doesn't even really get going until it's about halfway into it, and the second half could almost stand on its own as a different song, but with the same chorus.
3. I taped the Live Aid concerts (I think) off the radio way back when, and Dire Straits did a kick-ass version of "Sultans of Swing" that ended with a bridge to a long, slow saxophone solo. Then the sax started to pick up, and it and the guitar (Mark Knopfler) were trading riffs back and forth for a good 3-4 minutes. Much better than the studio version, or any other live versions of the song I had ever heard.

[Max Harvey]

Chicago - "Hard To Say I'm Sorry". Kinda schmaltzy, but it r0x.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

"I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!!"

[dalovindj]

Sublime - Free Loop Dub from the album "Robbin' the Hood". It's a heavy Dub-Reggae tune, and at the end they switch into some gangster sounding hip-hop. Bad-Ass. Also. . .

Another Sublime song - DJ's off the album 40 Oz. to Freedom. They end the song with a riff that the Specials used, but is really from an old reggae tune - "Stop your messin around, time to straighten right out, better think of your future, or you'll wind up in jail"

DaLovin' Dj

[xanadu]

The end of the live version of "Katmandu" where Bob Seger says "Good night everybody!!" (You really have to hear it to appreciate it.)

[Mudshark]

I Want You (She's So Heavy) by The Beatles.

[capacitor]

"Red Red Wine" by UB40. The reggae ad-lib at the end.

[casdave]

The last bit of 'Hit me with your rhythm stick' by Ian Dury and the Blockheads.

Part two of 'Oh well' Fleetwood Mac(the real one)

[warmgun]

Originally posted by Mudshark
I Want You (She's So Heavy) by The Beatles.
Second that!

[broccoli!]

Bah...
"endless, nameless" or "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" by Nirvana

best closing chorus/verse "please play this song on the radio" by NoFX

[saudade]

The Beatles' "Lovely Rita"...what was THAT all about? Also,
not quite an outro, but The Beatles' "Get Back" (album version), where John says "...I hope we passed the audition"
Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" - the mother of all piano based outros
AC/DC's "Back in Black", I like that better than the rest of the song, or any other AC/DC song.
Jimi Hendrix "Angel", it soars to heaven....

[ElwoodCuse]

Ben Folds Five--"Philosophy"

[Miller]

Beatles - Hey Bulldog, with (I think) John and Paul pretending to be dog and master.

[Fiddle Peghead]

Would the discordant, incessant rising of all the instruments of a modern symphony orchestra, followed by the crash of 50 pianos be considered an outro? If so, the Beatles A Day in the Life must rank among the best.

[Zweistein]

I agree with notcynical !
And "Lucky Man" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

[TheeGrumpy]

I don't know if it fits the OP, but all I can think of is Prince's Let's Go Crazy.

[tapioca tundra]

ALSO agree with notcynical~~!!!

although a lot of good ones are listed here

it seems like the Beatles were masters at
the outro, don't forget the DOG WHISTLE
does that even count? was it an outro?

[Purd Werfect]

The song White Trash Heroes by Archers Of Loaf. Ends with most of the instruments faded away, except for three guitars playing a beautiful harmonic refrain.

[Godfrey Daniels]

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End - The Beatles

[Nocturne]

"Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"--Fifth Dimension

I like the outro of "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles more than the actual song.

[Labdad]

"Loan Me a Dime" by Boz Scaggs. The first half of the song (the part where Boz sings) is done in 3/4 time, then the song shifts to 4/4 time and fades out in a glorious blast of horns and Duane Allman guitar. Duane's guitar in the first half of the song isn't shabby either.

In the same vein, Wilson Pickett's cover of "Hey Jude" also features some of Duane's best session work, and the Wicked Pickett's screaming on the outro always gives me shivers!

[Edward The Head]

Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph
3. I taped the Live Aid concerts (I think) off the radio way back when, and Dire Straits did a kick-ass version of "Sultans of Swing" that ended with a bridge to a long, slow saxophone solo. Then the sax started to pick up, and it and the guitar (Mark Knopfler) were trading riffs back and forth for a good 3-4 minutes. Much better than the studio version, or any other live versions of the song I had ever heard.

hmmmmm.... The way you talk it sounds just like he went from Sultans to Going Home which has that slow Sax part then picks up in the middle of the song.

[bordelond]

Jackson Browne's The Load Out/Stay deserves mention.

As does Pink Floyd's Young Lust, if it fits the OP -- being that The Wall is really like one long song.

I heartily second Sweet's Love is like Oxygen, whcih IMHO is one of the greatest songs of the rock era.

[Liberal]

Anything and everything by Wagner.

[eunoia]

Tomorrow Never Knows.

Strangely, not the Beatles' version, but the Mission (UK) version. Cool guitar, like you're drifting downstream or something...

[Diesel]

"Undone- The Sweater Song" by Weezer. It's like the shrooms have come for me and they have big teeth.

Somebody probably already mentioned this, but "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos. Wasn't that song about Clapton being in love with Ringo Starr's wife?

And the award for terrible outro that almost ruins a good song goes to "Glycerine," by Bush.

[bagkitty]

"We're not gonna take it" from The Who's Tommy (last cut). Wipe your mind clear of the Ken Russell abortion that was the movie, get the original recording, listen to the last minute, minute and a half, and try not to choke up... I dare ya.

[saudade]

Originally posted by Diesel

Somebody probably already mentioned this, but "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos. Wasn't that song about Clapton being in love with Ringo Starr's wife?

Good outro, the song was about Patty Boyd, George Harrison's wife.

[Elvis]

My vote is for "I Am the Walrus" with those interwoven layers of sound spiraling higher and higher until you don't even know what you're listening to, but it seems like it can reach the sky...

[ScriptAnalyst]

"Cry If You Want," the last song on the last studio album by The Who -- Pete Townshend's guitar crashes and slashes one last time before the band calls it quits (as a recording entity, anyway)

Oh, and the ending of "Pure and Easy," another Who song, is pretty good too.

Steve Biodrowski
http://www.thescriptanalyst.com

[lieu]

Yes, I looked in Webster and Yahoo. Pardon my ig but what's an outro? Is it kinds like a little song within a song?

If that's it then my vote goes to

Joe Walsh & The Jame's Gang's
The Bomber.

[Azargoth]

Sepeltura's cover of "War" by Bob Marley, Just an insane song with a bunch of vocal tracks overlaid. It goes out with a tribal drum beat that speeds up and makes you think some insane heavy riff is coming and it just stops.

Black Sabbath's "Symptom Of The Universe" some really funky guitar at the end of a crushing song.

[El_Kabong]

Since no one seems to have mentioned it yet, I've got to throw in with my favorite Stones song of all time, "Can't You Hear Me Knocking". Starting off as an altered blues, after the last verse the song seamlessly shifts into an extended jazz workout with a wonderful, liquid bass line and a brilliant sax solo (BTW, who's credited with that part?)

[nineiron]

I second the motion on Sweet's "Love is Like Oxygen." Since they're one of my favorite bands, I have several CDs of theirs, including "Level Headed" which contains that song. However, a friend bought me a "Greatest Hits" sort of thing from Sweet and they just butchered that song. I never knew there was a shortened version until I popped in that CD and, "Hey! Where's the rest of the song?"

[Quasimodem]

As a deejay in my college days, I used to have to count the measures of the guitar riff at the end, and have the next song "cued up" and ready to go when the song ended "cold".

Quasi

[Soul Brother Number Two]

el kabong, thats bobbyy keyes. i vote for 'strawberry fields forever.'

[ScriptAnalyst]

Originally posted by lieu
Yes, I looked in Webster and Yahoo. Pardon my ig but what's an outro? Is it kinds like a little song within a song?

It's the opposite of an Intro. I suppose the proper term would be "coda," which is a final passage that brings a composition to a close. I supposed that, to be considered an "Outro," the passage really should be distinct from the rest of the song, not just a repetition of a verse or chorus.

Steve Biodrowski
http://www.thescriptanalyst.com

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Originally posted by Edward The Head
Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph
3. I taped the Live Aid concerts (I think) off the radio way back when, and Dire Straits did a kick-ass version of "Sultans of Swing" that ended with a bridge to a long, slow saxophone solo. Then the sax started to pick up, and it and the guitar (Mark Knopfler) were trading riffs back and forth for a good 3-4 minutes. Much better than the studio version, or any other live versions of the song I had ever heard.

hmmmmm.... The way you talk it sounds just like he went from Sultans to Going Home which has that slow Sax part then picks up in the middle of the song.

I'm afraid I don't know that song (Going Home). The outro/2nd song was entirely instrumental, no words. It really sounded to me like just riffing on the "Sultans" chords, but I am not enough of a musician to be sure. I could hum it for you but, well,...I probably have the tape somewhere but I have literally moved about 10 times since then, so laying hands on stuff like that is a project.

[octothorpe]

For all you old 'Beaker Street' fans: In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (from 4-Way Street) - CSN&Y

Broken Arrow - Neil Young

I agree that the Beatles pretty much had this mastered, but Pink Floyd, on Dark Side of the Moon, did a jam-up (no pun intended) job of it also.

_______________________________________________________
Dislike him? I wouldn't piss down his throat if his heart were on fire!

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[Amidar]

First post!

Hmmm, so many great ouros to choose from... But if I had to pick just one, it might be the outro to "I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever)" by Stevie Wonder.

He caps off maybe the best ballad he ever did by suddenly turning on some hard Clavinet funk. Coincidentally, the song also closes the album "Talking Book," which I suppose makes it my vote for best album closer as well...