So a while back I made a post with my five top album opening songs. This set me off on a train of thought (which was just prompted into action by none other than our very own Marburg) about other important elements to an album.
Bringing closure to an album is just important as opening it. A good album is far more than a collection of songs. It takes you on a musical journey. The end of that journey is just as important as where it starts.
On that note (no pun intended), I thought I'd make an a post dedicated to epic album closing songs.
In no particular order, I present my top five album closing tunes.
This song wonderfully sums up Hendrix's relaxed, half-improvised, psychedlic blues rock feel on this record. Bringing together themes and ideas from the previous songs into a single explosion of late 60s awesome. The song is a classic, and staple listening for anyone with an ear for rock.
Frankly, who doesn't want to stand up next to a mountain and chop it down with the edge of their hand... Anyone?
The perfect conclusion to an excellent album. This made the list partly due to the opening song on the same album 'Shadow of the Season'. The two bracket the album with distilled awesome. Drawing you into the sound of the band with Shadow of the Season and allowing it to culminate in Julie Paradise.
I included a live version of this because it's an excellent performance. However the studio version of this tune is an astonishing peice of music in it's own right. Managing to bring the entire hard rockin' album to a hard rockin' climax, before giving you some space to chill out at the end. Josh Homme's songwriting and playing is as brilliant with TCV as it has been with Kyuss and QotSA, however this is the first time since Kyuss that I feel he's managed to round an album off well. Providing a satisfactory (read mindblowingly excellent, in my opinion) conclusion, without resorting to making slightly annoying noises.
This song sits at the end of a complex, twisting and intricate album. One of the few peices of modern prog-rock that I find listenable (the other exception being pretty much everything by Tool). The album traces the story of a suicidal artist (a friend of the band), finishing up with this incredible peice of music. The first time I listened to this album, the final song caused me to sit in stunned silence for about an quarter of an hour after the CD finished playing. I was so astonished by the musicianship and completeness of the album. Sadly on most releases this song is followed by a bonus track, which I feel ruins the overall effect and power of the ending.
I don't quite know what to write about this song, so I'll just let it speak for itself.
That's the five... However I could have included songs by Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Jeff Buckley, Pink Floyd, The Prodigy, The Raconteurs... plenty of others as well.
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