rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (03/18/85)
Well, as promised a while back, here's an edited summary of the responses
to the query I put out a while back. Comments from many people indicated
that they had a good idea of what I was talking about, and helped me define
the genre better--though I still lack a good name for it.
I did eliminate two sorts of responses (when I recognized them)--songs
which are merely long without a progression of theme/style/etc., and
concept albums. I'm not knocking either of these; they just don't fit the
category. Of course, somehow there's a progression of style from a longer
piece with a progression of themes through a seamless set of separate
songs to a concept album.
See Rich Rosen's article <677@pyuxd> for more discussion of classifying
various longer pieces.
I also filtered out some of the non-rock. There are probably some bad
calls here. (Yah, I know--what the hell IS rock, anyway?) I tried to zap
only broad categories and not split hairs.
OK--first the list by artist and title. There are a bunch I HAVE NOT
heard (and some artists I've never even heard of before), so don't quarrel
with me about the things that are here--if I didn't recognize it, I
included it. After the list there's a little more discussion.
Many thanks to the 40 or so people who contributed!
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Alan Parsons Project Fall of the House of Usher
Allman Brothers Whipping Post
Mountain Jam
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
You Don't Love Me
Amon Duul 2 Tanz der Lemminge
Anderson, Jon Olias of Sunhillow
(+Vangelis) Horizons
Ashra Tempel Join Inn
Beatles A Day in the Life
Golden Slumbers Medley (Abbey Road Side II)
Butterfield Blues Band East-West
Camel The Snow Goose
Canned Heat Refried Boogie
Fried Hockey Boogie
Chambers Brothers Time
Crass Yes Sir, I Will
Cream Spoonful (actually, this song invites a lot of
work from any decent band)
Crosby, Stills, Nash Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Dire Straits Telegraph Road
Tunnel of Love
Doors The End
When the Music's Over
The Soft Machine
Earth, Wind, and Fire Zanzibar
Electric Light Orch. Concerto for a Rainy Day
Emerson, Lake, Palmer Karn Evil 9
Froese Epsilon in Malaysian Pale
Genesis Supper's Ready
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (more nearly concept)
Grateful Dead Terrapin Station
Dark Star
St. Stephen
The Other One
Weather Report Suite (Let it Grow)
Grobschnitt Rockpommel's Land
Hillage, Steve Fish Rising
Iron Butterfly In-a-Gadda-da-Vida
James Gang Bomber Medley
Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick
Passion Play
John, Elton Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
FM Head Room
Border Crossing
Kansas Magnum Opus
King Crimson The Court of the Crimson King
Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven
Mandalaband Eye of Wendor
Mayall, John Room to Move
McLean, Don American Pie
Moody Blues Nights in White Satin
The Question
Mountain Nantucket Sleighride
Nektar Remember the Future
Phillips, Anthony 1984
Pink Floyd Echoes
Shine on You Crazy Diamond
Dogs
Procol Harum In Held 'Twas In I
Pulsar Strands of the Future
Rare Earth Get Ready
Renaissance Scheherazade (? - this was spelled so many ways
that I can't spell it right any more!:-)
Mother Russia
Rundgren, Todd; Utopia The Ikon
Rush 2112
Cygnus X-1
Xanadu
Hemispheres
Rutherford, Mike Smallcreep's Day
Soviet France Mohnomishe
Stewart, Al Nostradamus
Roads to Moscow
Super Session Season of the Witch
Throbbing Gristle 2nd Annual Report
Traffic Glad
Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys
Dream Gerrard
Ultimate Spinach Jazz Thing
War City, Country, City
Who Overture/Underture
Quadrophenia (?)
Won't Get Fooled Again
A Quick One
Yes Close to the Edge
Roundabout
(the four parts of) Tales from Topographic Oceans
And You and I
The Gates of Delirium
Awaken
Zappa, Frank & MoI We're Only in it for the Money
Absolutely Free
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Notes:
Some groups seem to create music which fits the category fairly often, just
as a matter of style. Pink Floyd was the most commonly mentioned group,
and I didn't include everything that was suggested. In particular, I left
out music from "The Wall", regarding that as a concept album. Yes was also
mentioned frequently, as was some of Jon Anderson's solo work.
There's a style (perhaps more common in jazz than in rock) in which each
musician in a group carries the music for a stretch. Sometimes this leads
to the effect I described--two examples which come to mind are the album
version of Rare Earth's "Get Ready" and the dread "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida".
Rich also commented on this.
Another style is simply jamming. The older Allman Brothers albums have
examples of this which are also some of the finest old rock there is.
(RIP, Duane...)
Mike Oldfield was mentioned a couple of times. It fell somewhat outside
what I was aiming for in the list.
There was little mention of Tangerine Dream--this surprises me. Many of
the pieces (say, Stratosfear) are completely one theme, but others (a
couple from the album Encore) cover a lot of ground.
--
Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086
...If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind.