Karn Evil 9 is 29 minutes long and doesn’t waste any of them.
You can spend the best part of half an hour listening to Neil Young and only listen to 3 songs
what counts as long? If we consider the three minute mark as the “classic” length then perhaps over six minutes?
with that I give you “when the levee breaks” by Led Zeppelin, worth it for Page and Plant losing their shit from 2:30
Also, “Quadrophenia” by The Who, everything Townsend was about in one six minute piece of genius. It absolutely is operatic…without the opera.
And a few from Prince, “International Lover” (can’t link) is insane but worth it for the sheer audacity of Prince as a sexy pilot and as much sub-Benny Hill innuendo as you can handle. No-one else could carry this off with a straight face.
“Automatic” Effortless funk? check. Catchy hook? check. Gratuitous smut? check…welcome to Prince.
And of course “Purple Rain”. Overblown nonsense that is undeniable genius and the greatest live track that you never knew was a live track. I suspect most musicians would trade a major organ just to have the musical quality of Prince’s sound-checks.
Rush, “Xanadu”
Jethro Tull, “Thick as a Brick”
Rolling Stones, “Midnight Rambler” (Ya Yas version)
Zappa and the Mothers, “Inca Roads”
Grateful Dead, “China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider,” “Playin’ in the Band,” and others (e.g., Europe ‘72 versions)
Had to look up the OP’s selections. The first is by the Outlaws, the second by Deep Purple.
One of my fav oldies groups is “The Doors” because Jim Morrison’s voice was so God-awful sexy. Anyway, they had a song called, “Light My Fire”. There was a short version, which was probably for the limited attention span of teen radio stations, but there was also a long version that had great music between the opening and ending lyrics.
how about a bit of anthemic, pounding Krautrock? Weighing in at a teutonic ten minutes,
Neu! Hallogallo
Genesis - “The Musical Box”
Rush - “La Villa Strangiato”
Zappa - “Watermelon in Easter Hay”
Stones - “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” (don’t know if it’s really that long, but seems like it)
Wishbone Ash - “Phoenix”
Yes - “America”.
Close to the Edge, Awaken, Gates of Delirium… you can guess the rest.
However, side one of 2112 is generally regarded as a single song, so that might just win it for me.
The full version of “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vita,” of course, seventeen minutes of brilliance.
“Gold and Silver” from the first *Quicksilver *album and “Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder” from Shady Grove, both instrumentals.
Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn.”
Curtain Call by The Damned.
Album version is 17 minutes long and very hypnotic. Live is only 11
- I like the live version a little better because it drives home the point this is a punk rock band with an attention span greater than 2:30
- Trolling a punk audience (live video has audience spitting, stage crashing)–what’s more punk than doing what YOU want, audience be, well, damned.
- This song was produced as a symbol of the band putting the raucous 70s punk scene behind them as they grew artistically and transformed into actual musicians
- And that they were still Punk AF
Arbouretum has a 59 minute version of Sister Ray that is an epic groove. I pop it on now and then and crank it the fuck up!
Manfred Mann’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s Blinded By the Light.
The album version of the Chambers Brothers “Time Has Come Today” still smokes.
There are covers of the song that aren’t bad (by the Ramones and Joan Jett) but nothing beats the original.
- Still one of Lifeson’s best solos that moves me every time I hear it.
Grateful Dead…any live Help>Slip>Franklin’s Tower
Deep Purple…Space Truckin’ (live on Made in Japan)
The Allman Brother Band ….Jessica (the version linked)
Renaissance - “Song of Scheherazade” and “Ashes Are Burning,” both from the “Live at Carnegie Hall” album.
24 Hours at Time Marshall Tucker Band (Live version - Where We All Belong) - great solos- guitar, sax, fiddle, bass. I never get tired of this one. I think its one of the best example of southern rock that there is. Maybe my favorite tune of all time.
Also Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield“Bat Out of Hell” by Meatloaf
The 9:52 album version is a haul, but there aren’t really any draggy, boring parts.