# Songs with long instrumental sections **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129 "2006-05-09T21:19:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/21 "2006-05-10T04:27:04Z")
“Overture” and “Underture”, which are both on the _Tommy_ album by the Who, are two great examples. They’re best appreciated in the context of the album, which tells a story from beginning to end–the story begins in the end of Overture, and Overture introduces several leitmotifs that later weave throughout the album and are again summarized in Underture. Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” has an extra instrumental track that’s fantastic. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Okay, radio station, I understand they need to save time, but CDs? WTF, dude! They need to save time (for other hits) on best-of CDs, too. This is one of many reasons I don’t buy best-of CDs, ever, not ever. > [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > It has nothing to do with the radio, but Modest Mouse’s early work had, dare I say, most of the songs drift off into bizarre and enchanting musical numbers. A lot seemed to be some sort of dance-rock and disco numbers, done with any tool available to your average garage band hero (I suppose). There’s a chill-out/dream-pop/shoegazing/trip-hop/whatever group that did a great Modest Mouse cover album you’d probably like. The album’s title is from a line in one of the MM songs. Damnit, can’t remember the name of the record or the band…tonight I’ll try to remember to call in to [the best radio show ever](http://fm949sd.com/station/chill.cfm) and request a song from it, and thusly relearn the names you’ll need. BTW, the bizarre musical numbers are my favorite thing about Modest Mouse, hands-down. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/22 "2006-05-10T04:35:25Z")
Bluebird by Buffalo Springfield actually has a long instrumental section, cut out for the single and the album. The first Retrospective CD has the short version, I believe the long version came out on a later one. I have it from a WBCN rare tape night. There are a ton of live Cream songs with long instrumental sections - Spoonful, Toad, Politician, Sweet Wine, etc. etc. None really radio fare, at least not these days. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/23 "2006-05-10T05:47:33Z")
One song that deserved the editing was “ **Get Ready** ” by **Rare Earth**. I think their uncut version rambled on for 20 minutes. I could be mistaken but I believe it has never been played uncut on any radio station. (I could be wrong). The edited version is quite an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew\_Bug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andrew\_Bug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew_Bug)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/24 "2006-05-10T06:43:09Z")
Marquee Moon by Television ok thats I got right now. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew\_Bug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andrew\_Bug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew_Bug)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/25 "2006-05-10T06:55:45Z")
> [@Andrew Bug](#): > > Marquee Moon by Television > ok thats I got right now. that’s all I got. It’s late and I’m tired ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/26 "2006-05-10T12:46:26Z")
Big Country’s “In a Big Country” begins with a great drum solo- but that solo is cut from the version I suaully heard on all but “classic rock” radio stations. Genesis’ “Abacab” had a long instrumental section at the end, but that was removed from the single (and wasn’t included in the MTV video). ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/27 "2006-05-10T13:06:13Z")
Another Zeppelin song with a long instrumental portion is “The Rain Song” off _Houses of the Holy_. The instrumental bit takes up about four minutes in the middle of a seven-minute song. I’ve been playing it a lot on my iPod lately; the instrumental section features a pleasant orchestral arrangement and it (just) avoids the excess of their better-known songs. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/28 "2006-05-10T14:26:57Z")
“Come Sail Away” by Styx. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/29 "2006-05-10T15:16:33Z")
ZZ Top’s _La Grange_ and many others. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/30 "2006-05-11T17:02:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh, not only that, but they change “funky shit goin’ down in the city” to “funky kicks”. Even on the CD I bought. Dammit. It’s funny, growing up 100 miles away from NYC, I could hear their AM stations. WNBC would play “funky shit,” while WABC would play “funky kicks.” Perhaps it was vice-versa, but it was still kind of weird. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/31 "2006-05-11T17:07:53Z")
[XM radio.](http://www.xmradio.com/) I got sooo tired of all of the sins listed above. Now, I hear “Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida” in all its glory(?) on the way to work. The edit that always bugged me the most was mentioned in the OP: “Light My Fire.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/32 "2006-05-11T17:14:49Z")
Jethro Tull’s **Thick as a Brick** has a cut-down version that I’ve occasionally heard on Classic Rock stations, taking the 45+ minutes of the original and making it about 7-8 minutes. OTOH, the Kink’s **(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman** had a long instrumental section _added_ to the album cut. The tail end of **Paper Sun** by Traffic was cut off the single. It was originally put on the album – but at the end of the record, where **Paper Sun** was the first song. Later versions of the song includes the coda. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/33 "2006-05-11T17:17:49Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > One Night in Bangkok? The whole beginning is instrumental. > [@Misnomer](#): > > Oooooh, good one. Nitpick: That’s technically two songs. Every CD I’ve ever seen of both the American and London versions, as well as the score, list it as either “Bangkok/One Night in Bangkok” or “Golden Bangkok/One Night in Bangkok”. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/34 "2006-05-11T17:18:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Bluebird by Buffalo Springfield actually has a long instrumental section, cut out for the single and the album. The first Retrospective CD has the short version, I believe the long version came out on a later one. I have it from a WBCN rare tape night. 😕 Bluebird was often cut for airplay (before the guitar solo/banjo solo, final verse) but the long version was on the album, Buffalo Springfield _Again_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/35 "2006-05-11T17:24:11Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Bluebird was often cut for airplay (before the guitar solo/banjo solo, final verse) but the long version was on the album, Buffalo Springfield _Again_. That’s not the _long_ version. The rare one that **Voyager** was referring to is nine minutes long. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/36 "2006-05-11T17:31:08Z")
Another great one: Billy Joel’s Angry Young Man. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/37 "2006-05-11T17:34:02Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > That’s not the _long_ version. The rare one that **Voyager** was referring to is nine minutes long. Live version, though…right? I’d have to say that doesn’t count. There are many examples of songs that have 3:00 studio versions, but get padded out to 30 min in concert. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/38 "2006-05-11T17:54:10Z")
Ohhh, there’s plenty of Floyd songs that do this (besides SOYCD), Here’s the biggest “offenders”: Echoes The Narrow Way SSoSFAGTiaCaGwaP These songs also almost qualify: Welcome to the Machine Dogs Us and Them / Any Colour you Like / Brain Damage (which I always think of as one song.) Same thing with Speak to me/Breathe/On the Run, which always get played together on Classic Rock stations On of these days… (which doesn’t really qualify as it only has one line) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/39 "2006-05-11T17:54:11Z")
“Hotel California.” Both the beginning and the middle. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129/40 "2006-05-11T18:02:20Z")
It would be interesting to hear a radio edit of [this song.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2728595.stm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-long-instrumental-sections/356129.md?page=3)