Favorite Epic Songs

by **ProgRocker53** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:27 am

An epic song is a song with multiple parts and movements, at least 8 minutes long that typically tells a story or illustrates a concept.

What are some of your favorites? I'm listening to "Supper's Ready" by Genesis right now and realize that this is one of the fastest 23 minutes of my life.

I also love Porcupine Tree's "Anesthetize" and "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here," Pink Floyd's "Dogs," Rush's "2112" and "Cygnus" series, Symphony X's "The Odyssey," and the entire Yes album Tales From Topographic Oceans.

Gotta dig the "standards" too. Zep's "Stairway" and "Achilles Last Stand," GNR's "November Rain," Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," and all those.

The closest Journey came to truly having an "epic" song of this ilk was "Look Into the Future," which if you ask me, was one of the most brilliant Journey songs of any era.

Well, that, and any live version of "Wheel In The Sky." I love it when that song has a long soft vocal/acoustic intro, the usual song, then the rocked-up riff session, followed by insane solos, and finally the "Round.... 'round and round....." part.... insane prog rock....

by **conversationpc** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:57 am

Boston - Walk On Medley
Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 1
Dream Theater - Learning to Live
Dream Theater - A Mind Beside Itself
Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
Dream Theater - Home
Dream Theater - Endless Sacrifice
Dream Theater - In the Presence of Enemies
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Toccata
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Karn Evil 9
Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
Fates Warning - The Ivory Gate of Dreams
Genesis - Firth of Fifth
Genesis - Supper's Ready
Genesis - The Battle of Epping Forest
Helloween - Halloween
Iced Earth - Dante's Inferno
Iced Earth - Gettysburg
Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Iron Maiden - Caught Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden - Heaven Can Wait
Iron Maiden - Alexander the Great
Iron Maiden - Ghost of the Navigator
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick (Part 1)
Jethro Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery
Jethro Tull - Baker St. Muse
Kansas - Journey From Mariabronn
Kansas - Lamplight Symphony
Kansas - Song for America
Kansas - Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman
Kansas - The Pinnacle
Kansas - Magnum Opus
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand
Liquid Tension Experiment - 3 Minute Warning
Kerry Livgren - Ground Zero
Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force - Icarus' Dream Suite Op: 4
Metallica - The Call of Ktulu
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Metallica - ...And Justice for All
Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5
Queen - The Prophet's Song
Queensryche - Roads to Madness
Queensryche - Suite Sister Mary
Redemption - Desperation
Redemption - Sapphire
Redemption - The Fullness of Time
Redemption - Window to Space
Rush - 2112
Rush - Natural Science
Rush - The Camera Eye
Rush - Xanadu
Yes - Starship Trooper
Yes - Roundabout
Yes - South Side of the Sky
Yes - Heart of the Sunrise (my favorite epic tune)
Yes - Close to the Edge
Yes - Siberian Khatru
Yes - The Revealing Science of God-Dance of the Dawn
Yes - The Gates of Delirium
Yes - Awaken
Yes - Machine Messiah
Yes - Mind Drive

by **epresley** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:02 am

ANY old Deep Purple songs...........they're all about 20 minutes each. Jeez, I bought "Made in Japan" about a 100 years ago, double album set, has about 3 frigging songs on it.

by **conversationpc** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:18 am

epresley wrote:ANY old Deep Purple songs...........they're all about 20 minutes each. Jeez, I bought "Made in Japan" about a 100 years ago, double album set, has about 3 frigging songs on it.

The Yes album "Tales From Topographic Oceans" is 80+ minutes and has four total songs and those are the studio versions. :lol:

by **ProgRocker53** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:19 am

Dave, GREAT call on Kansas' "The Pinnacle."

Forgot all about that one. Quite possibly one of the coolest songs of all time. Listening to it makes me wanna pop in an RPG or a medieval war game.

by **Triple S** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:21 am

The End - The Doors
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding - Elton John

. . . and on a lighter note :wink:

Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf (great fun sing along when you're drunk duet :lol:

)

by **ProgRocker53** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:22 am

Triple S wrote:The End - The Doors
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding - Elton John

. . . and on a lighter note Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf (great fun sing along when you're drunk duet )

Forgot ALL ABOUT friggin' Meat Loaf. All Meat Loaf songs seem to be the ultimate epic tune....

Bat Out Of Hell
The Monster is Loose
I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)

All prime tunes...

by **youkeepmewaiting** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:23 am

Staying the Meat Loaf theme, Bat Out Of Hell

by **Ehwmatt** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:31 am

Chicago - Ballet for a Girl in Buchanon
Dream Theater - Octavarium
Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
Dream Theater - Learning to Live
Dream Theater - In The Presence of Enemies Pt I/II
Dream Theater - Trial of Tears
Dream Theater - The Spirit Carries On
Dream Theater - Finally Free
Dream Theater - The Spirit Carries On
Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (the song)
Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (really some of the coolest guitar sounds I've ever heard this side of shredding, lots of great taste)
Kansas - Song for America
Yes - Starship Trooper
Yes - Roundabout
Yes - Close to the Edge
Yes - I've Seen All Good People/Your Move
Rush - 2112
Rush - The Camera Eye
Styx - Suite Madame Blue
Styx - Castle Walls
The Raspberries - I Can Remember
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (I'm beyond sick of this song by now, but you can't deny how amazing it is)
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Pink Floyd - Dogs
Opeth - To Bid You Farewell
Neil Young - Like a Hurricane
Neil Young - Down by the River
CSNY - Carry On
Little River Band - It's a Long Way There
Zepp - Achilles
Alan Parsons Project - Sirius/Eye in the Sky
Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good
James Gang - The Bomber
Genesis - Home by the Sea/Second Home by the Sea (live)
Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Genesis - The Knife
Derek & The Dominoes - Layla
Elton John - Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Billy Joel - Piano Man
Billy Joel - Captain Jack
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road
Boston - Foreplay/Long Time
The Beatles - Hey Jude
Ayreon - Day Two: Isolation

by **conversationpc** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:36 am

ProgRocker53 wrote:Dave, GREAT call on Kansas' "The Pinnacle."

Forgot all about that one. Quite possibly one of the coolest songs of all time. Listening to it makes me wanna pop in an RPG or a medieval war game.

Everything came together on that one song, in my opinion: awesome vocals by Walsh, deep & meaningful lyrics by Livgren, and great performance on all instruments by all the guys.

"With glory and passion no longer in fashion
The hero breaks his blade"

by **Rockindeano** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:20 am

Not much beats Skynard's Freebird, especially live. That is the anthem of the South. But no hicks, you aren't rising again. :lol:

Also, REO's 157 Riverside Avenue is nails. Long fucker with Cronin talking a lot and telling a story about Ricrath puffin on joints.

by *Laura » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:32 am

Any song from Queensryche's "Operation:Mindcrime".In fact,the entire album is one big unparalleled (d'oh!) epic song.

"Another Brick In The Wall" ranks pretty high on my list, too.

by **Saint John** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:37 am

Layla
Master Of Puppets
Freebird
La Raza Del Sol

by **Sarah** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:46 am

I'm too ADD to listen to anything over 6 min. lol

by **JrnyScarab** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:49 am

"Stranger in Your Soul" from Transatlantic's "Bridge Across Forever CD". 30 minutes of brilliance.

In case you don't know them, it's Mike Portnoy of "Dream Theater" on Drums, Neal Morse from "Spock's Beard" on keys & guitar, Roine Stolt from "The Flower Kings" on guitar and Pete Trewavas from "Marillion" on bass.

Great progressive stuff.

by **JrnyScarab** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:50 am

Sarah wrote:I'm too ADD to listen to anything over 6 min. lol

Well, go take your meds any try again!

by **dabstudio** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:53 am

Green Grass & High Tides - The Outlaws
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
A Quick One (While He's Away) - The Who

While not just a single song, but several songs you can't overlook TOMMY & QUADROPHENIA by THE WHO which set the stage for Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime.

by **LyricalLady** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:04 am

I'm about to age myself ........sigh

I know there are lots of EPICS out there...some good, some bad, some ugly.....but for me....CREAM was it.

I was 17 - the world was going to hell in a hand basket ...or so we were told...so lovin everyone ya met was a must. I had flowers in my hair, fringe on my brown suade jacket and love beads in every pocket I owned.....IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!!

Cream "TOAD" - Ginger Baker/Eric Clapton....OMG!

Cream "SPOONFUL" - 16:44 of sure fire trippin' !!!!

by **SF-Dano** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:13 am

Well most of the one's I thought of have been covered above.

So I'll go with a couple of Woodstock gems.

Soul Sacrafice - Santana
Goin' Home - Ten Years After

by **youkeepmewaiting** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:19 am

JrnyScarab wrote:"Stranger in Your Soul" from Transatlantic's "Bridge Across Forever CD". 30 minutes of brilliance.

In case you don't know them, it's Mike Portnoy of "Dream Theater" on Drums, Neal Morse from "Spock's Beard" on keys & guitar, Roine Stolt from "The Flower Kings" on guitar and Pete Trewavas from "Marillion" on bass.

Great progressive stuff.

You are a freekin' star! I loved the transatlantic disk, particually that beautiful ballad, .. wich I think was called Bridge Across Forever. Great disk that its. Neal Morse is a great writer, and SP were a great band (I believe hey are still going even though Neal left to do all his God stuff)

by **mikemarrs** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:22 am

locamotive-guns n roses
suite madame blue-styx
layla-eric clapton
freebird-lynyrd skynyrd
walk on-boston
black diamond live-kiss
ride on-ac/dc
midnight rambler live-rolling stones
hey jude-the beatles

by **JrnyScarab** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:26 am

youkeepmewaiting wrote:
JrnyScarab wrote:"Stranger in Your Soul" from Transatlantic's "Bridge Across Forever CD". 30 minutes of brilliance.

In case you don't know them, it's Mike Portnoy of "Dream Theater" on Drums, Neal Morse from "Spock's Beard" on keys & guitar, Roine Stolt from "The Flower Kings" on guitar and Pete Trewavas from "Marillion" on bass.

Great progressive stuff.

You are a freekin' star! I loved the transatlantic disk, particually that beautiful ballad, .. wich I think was called Bridge Across Forever. Great disk that its. Neal Morse is a great writer, and SP were a great band (I believe hey are still going even though Neal left to do all his God stuff)

Why thank you very much! It is a GREAT, highly unknown & underated CD. Spock's is still going. Not bad without Neal but not quite the same. Neal cranks this stuff out like mad. Seems he has a new CD out every 6 months or so. Even his God stuff like the "One" CD is incredible.

by **Gin and Tonic Sky** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:39 am

Alice Cooper- the Last Temptation, Schools out, and Welcome to my nightmare- in effect each one of those CDs are an epic on their own as the songs fit together perfectly as movements and tell a concept/story. Nothing else in the rock world can come close in terms of epic.

Rush 2112
Home by the sea - Genesis
THe wreck of the edmund fitzgerald - Gordon lighfoot
American Pie - DON MCLLEAN
Styx- Suite Madame Blue
Billy Joel - Miami 2112 /( seen the lights go down on broadway)

by **7 Wishes** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:14 am

"I Won't See You Tonight" by Avenged Sevenfold
"Space-Dye Vest" by Dream Theater
"Xanadu" by Rush
"Suite Sister Mary" by Queensryche
"The Final Cut" by Pink Floyd
"Ripples" by Genesis
"Engangled" by Genesis
"Mad Man Moon" by Genesis
"Child of Innocence" by Kansas
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

Anyway...that's just a few off the top of my head.

by **conversationpc** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:48 am

7 Wishes wrote:"I Won't See You Tonight" by Avenged Sevenfold
"Space-Dye Vest" by Dream Theater
"Xanadu" by Rush
"Suite Sister Mary" by Queensryche
"The Final Cut" by Pink Floyd
"Ripples" by Genesis
"Engangled" by Genesis
"Mad Man Moon" by Genesis
"Child of Innocence" by Kansas
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

Anyway...that's just a few off the top of my head.

"Child of Innocence" is 4 minutes or so in length. Good tune, though.

by **Saint John** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:27 am

Sarah wrote:I'm too ADD to listen to anything over 6 min. lol

Liar. You listened to me say the same shit over and over in Vegas while I was in a drunken stupor. You just felt sorry for me, huh? :lol:

by **7 Wishes** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:27 am

You're right. I overlooked that technicality because the song does change signature and key a number of times.

by **piecesofeight** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:56 am

Entire Grand Illusion-Styx

by **conversationpc** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:03 am

7 Wishes wrote:You're right. I overlooked that technicality because the song does change signature and key a number of times.

It's a great song...Very dark but great. Walsh's vocals are great on that tune and blend well with Steinhardt's and I quite enjoy the guitar work on it as well...Not sure if Livgren or Williams are responsible for it, though.

by **FormerJrnyFan** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:04 am

Kansas - Song for America ... And REO - Roll With The Changes (if that qualifies... :wink:

)

MR

Favorite Epic Songs

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