Odd that noone has mentioned Stairway to Heaven.. figured that would be the first. I will say Pink Floyd - Wish you were here.. the entire album, because I have to listen to it all in one sitting.
Also...no Free Bird? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBtClQEykxw]YouTube - Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd[/ame]
Epic long songs have to be over 10 minutes, in my book. Hey Jude, Layla, Stairway, and Free Bird don't make the cut.
Doesn't the live version go 11 minutes? Swerved, great choice on 2112. Even better than one exceedingly long song is 7 short ones that carry a melodic theme and tell a heroic story. Truly epic.
In My time of Dying by Zepplin...and Grand Funk and the Allmans had Long songs but until i have another flashback i wont be able to remember the names. :grin: Damn Forgot Vodoo Chile from Hendrix and My Sister was a Big Van Morrison fan and there was a song she played that went on forever.
The first song on his first album. I bought this when I was 19. STILL blows me away. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4RIIoZuBhU]YouTube - Fall of the House of Usher Part 1 (Updated)[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65tVSUhYxgs&feature=related]YouTube - Fall of the House of Usher Part 2 (Updated)[/ame]
I think it is all about the lay-out of the song. It can be a bit shorter than 10 minutes but most epic songs have a strong tempo change...it's a change for the normal format of a 3-4 minute song. A lot of early Metallica or bands like Queensryche had songs that followed that pattern. I agree that Hey Jude is a stretch but it's still a good example. A lot of later Beatles stuff was pretty epic.
'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' - Iron Maiden [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf36F_gptqg&feature=related]YouTube - Iron Maiden - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (part 1)[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8LPloc0qGM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL"]YouTube - Iron Maiden - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (part 2)[/ame] Oh by the way, Steve Harris is the best bassist of all time.
Kick ass song right there. When we were in iraq we would always start off the day with Maiden in the morning.
I don't know what's better - this really funny post or your selecton of Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond for greatest epic song. I would have picked the song and I wished I had written the post. My other choices would be Floyd's Echoes from Meddle and; YES, 'Gates of Delirium' from Relayer. I wish Bruford was still with the group at this time but . . still good.
