Albums where the first track is also the longest

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Examples: Labradford's "Fixed:Context" begins with a 20-minute track, as does Tortoise's "Millions Now Living Will Never Die".

More bands should put the epic track first on their albums, and I'm not just talking about post-rock bands. But it's done very rarely, isn't it?

I was thinking about this while listening to Animal Collective's "Feels" and wondering why the album doesn't start with a fifteen minute version of "Banshee Beat" (which is how they begin some of their live shows).

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 12 December 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

Oval - 94 Diskont

― login name (fandango), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

David Bowie, "Station to Station"

and a near-miss: Grace Slick's "Theme from Manhole" follows a 2-minute instrumental opening track.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

"Achilles Last Stand" —Presence

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:05 (twenty years ago)

Grandaddy Sophtware Slump, song : He's simple he's dumb, he's the pilot
Fiery furnaces Blueberry Boat, song: Quay Cur

― Jibé (Jibé), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Tears of Rage: The Band (Music From Big Pink)

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

Shellac - Terraform - "Didn't We Deserve a Look at You the Way You Really Are"

Epic.

― KPH, Monday, 12 December 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

"endless, namless" is the longest track yo

― detoxyDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:17 (twenty years ago)

Miles Davis, Get Up With It. Opens with the 32-minute "He Loved Him Madly," also the best thing on the album.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

Theme - Public Image
Albatross - Metal Box

― Black Arkestra (Black Arkestra), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

'I Trawl The Megaherz' the title track from Paddy McAloon's album of the same name is a classic example of this. All but dwarfs the rest of the record in every sense.

― Dead Kenny (Dead Kenny), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts 1 - 5)" - Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

xxpost: "Fodderstompf" is the longest song on "First Edition"

― detoxyDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party by John Fahey immediately sprung to mind as an album that pulls this off wonderfully. Definitely an underused format. Is this more common in jazz?

Feels might be better with an extended Banshee Beat opening but I think it'd still be overblown and kind of like Mercury Rev or something equally horrible. I like my Animal Collective excited and noisy not basking in awe of their own almost mystical poignancy.

― Ogmor Roundtrouser (Ogmor Roundtrouser), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:32 (twenty years ago)

"The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" is the longest track on Morrissey's "Southpaw Grammar."

― svend (svend), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

two that come to mind are:

first track on Ghost's Hypnotic Underworld, and it's just 1 of a 4 track suite!

and "Maggot Brain" of course

― Euler (aarana), Monday, 12 December 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

Faust IV

― am0n (am0n), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Haha!

Faust IV is a great example because I don't think any other track on there would have made a good opener.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa (Easy Lee)
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (Europe Endless)

― 31g (31g), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

Dead C. - Harsh Seventies Reality

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

pharoah sanders- karma

― nervous (cochere), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

Mercury Rev - Boces ("Meth of a Rockette's Kick")

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

Re: TEE, I consider the title track + "Metal on Metal" to be one track.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:53 (twenty years ago)

Godspeed You Black Emperor, Fuck Infinity, "The Dead Flag Blues"?

― Mugged Outside the Jabberjaw, 1993 (Bent Over at the Arclight), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:56 (twenty years ago)

I guess we're also blurring the distinction between albums that happen to start with the longest track ("Alcohofa") and those that begin with a track that is far longer than anything else on the album (i.e. the epic that distinguishes itself from every other track precisely because it is so long).

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 12 December 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

Ariel Pink's masterpiece LP "Worn Copy" starts with the song Trepanated Earth, which is 10 minutes and 53 seconds of unbelievable majesty.

― Max Tundra, Monday, 12 December 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

Brian Eno, Discreet Music
Kraftwerk, Autobahn
Neu!, Neu 2
Yes, Close To The Edge
Yes, Relayer

― Deluxe (Damian), Monday, 12 December 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

I guess it's easiest to think of prog examples, since those often have at least one really long song, and every now and then it'll be placed first.
So:

Univers Zero - Heresie & 1313
Art Zoyd - Generation Sans Futur
Ozric Tentacles - Erpland
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane
Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn (pretty sure the first half of Tubular Bells is longer than its second half too)

― Øystein (Øystein), Monday, 12 December 2005 22:53 (twenty years ago)

Godspeed You Black Emperor, Fuck Infinity, "The Dead Flag Blues"?

"The Dead Flag Blues" is actually the shortest song on the album!

― aaron d.g. (aaron d.g.), Monday, 12 December 2005 23:12 (twenty years ago)

Hawkwind - In Search of Space -- "You Shouldn't Do That"

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 12 December 2005 23:24 (twenty years ago)

Atom Heart Mother by The Floyd

― Mr. Snrub, Monday, 12 December 2005 23:31 (twenty years ago)

"Godspeed You Black Emperor, Fuck Infinity, "The Dead Flag Blues"?
"The Dead Flag Blues" is actually the shortest song on the album!
-- aaron d.g. (justanotherstory_100000...), December 12th, 2005."

Damn it! I guess I just wanted to participate in the thread. To finally be a part of something. To be accepted. But I fucked up, like always. Seriously, though, I wonder why I thought that?

― Mugged Outside the Jabberjaw, 1993 (Bent Over at the Arclight), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 00:04 (twenty years ago)

"First Wave Intact" from Now Here is Nowhere by the Secret Machines

― Dan Floss (Dan Floss), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 00:30 (twenty years ago)

dire straits "tunnel of love" from the 'making movies' lp

― ZionTrain (ZionTrain), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 02:44 (twenty years ago)

Islands, "Return to the Sea" and Destroyer, "Rubies" both open with uncharacteristicaly long (9 and a half minute) tracks.

― Simon H. (Simon H.), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 02:50 (twenty years ago)

These all open with 10+ minute tracks - the only such epics on their respective LPs:

Funkadelic, Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
King Crimson, Lark's Tongues In Aspic
Hawkwind, Doremi Fasol Latido
Sir Lord Baltimore, s/t (only not REALLY, 'cause supposedly the record company screwed up and reversed the sides, making the 11-minute "Man From Manhattan" open the first side rather than the second against the band's wishes. It was corrected on the CD reissue.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

Herbie Hancock: Crossings

Goldie: Saturnz Return. The first track is so epic it needed a disk of it's own - quite handy, since after the first listen you never need to touch the damn thing again.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 10:01 (twenty years ago)

Stone Roses, "The Second Coming" (another rare(?) non-prog, kraut, or post-rock example)

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 10:06 (twenty years ago)

Marlena Shaw: Spice of Life. Begins with a six-minute, epic-for-a-soul-tune "Woman of the Ghetto".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 10:11 (twenty years ago)

Harmonia, Deluxe
Tangerine Dream, Atem
Tangerine Dream, Phaedra
Amon Duul, Paradieswarts Duul
Popol Vuh, Bruders des Schattens, Sohne des Lichts
La Dusseldorf, La Dusseldorf

... I think you're getting the picture that it's not uncommon in "Krautrock" circles

― We Buy a Hammer For Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

The Wedding Present sort of do this on Take Fountain, cos the first track is only an intro to the second, really. And then the second is enormous and great and sounds like nothing else they've ever done.

Also, Jean Michel Jarre, Magnetic Fields. And maybe Zoolook too.

― JimD coulda been anything that he wanted to be (JimD), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

Air 'Moon Safari'

'La Femme D'Argent' is the longest and best.

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

Stone Roses 'Second Coming'?

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Only 5 posts late with that one steve

― We Buy a Hammer For Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 11:37 (twenty years ago)

Wire -- Pink Flag

"Reuters"

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

"Pink Flag" itself is longer tho surely?

― We Buy a Hammer For Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

PRESENCE

― Sundar (sundar), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:29 (twenty years ago)

xxpost: "Fodderstompf" is the longest song on "First Edition"

theme is 9:05, fodderstompf is 7:40.

― petesmith (plsmith), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:32 (twenty years ago)

Neu! - Neu! (Hallogallo)

― latebloomer: Deutsch Bag (latebloomer), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

"endless, namless" is the longest track yo

That song isn't on my copy, dawg.

Guided By Voices: Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox is the longest song on Propeller

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

Joy Division - Closer
Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

― jz, Tuesday, 13 December 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Prince - Lovesexy - the CD version.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

"Pink Flag" itself is longer tho surely?

D'oh! You may be right. I'm just going by memory and odds (odds are that a 4-minute song on a Wire album will be, usually by a wide margin, the longest song on it).

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 15:24 (twenty years ago)

Deltron 3030 (sort of, the first track is Damon Albarn briefly monologuing)

― BARMS, Tuesday, 13 December 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

Vision Creation Newsun, Boredoms.

― giboyeux (skowly), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

television - marquee moon

― lf, Tuesday, 13 December 2005 15:59 (twenty years ago)

ariel pink "worn copy"

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

television - marquee moon

What copy of "Marquee Moon" do you own?!?!?!?!

― We Buy a Hammer For Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

Ghost Hypnotic Underworld
Funkadelic Funkadelic, Maggot Brain

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

― R. J. Greene, Tuesday, 13 December 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

Er...I'm pretty sure it's "Strange" that's the longest on Pink Flag. But I'm not gonna guarantee it!

[one trip to AMG later] Yep, "Strange" it is, at an epic 3:58 in length.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Love Kraft starts with the longest song, and I love the way it kicks off the album.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

Someone mentioned "Closer"...the last two tracks on that album are a little longer than the first one.

― 31g (31g), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

BLACK SABBATH - Paranoid
BLACK SABBATH - Vol. 4

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Mantra of Love: "La Le Lo" is 15 minutes longer than all the other tracks -- combined!

― Obsessing over the unobtainable and nonexistent. (Leee), Friday, 16 December 2005 01:10 (twenty years ago)

Melvins - Colossus of Destiny. It's a 2-track CD; Track 1 is around 50 minutes, track 2 is around 2 seconds. And it is amazingly good...

― Joe Bon Jonvi (Joe Bon Jonvi), Friday, 16 December 2005 04:11 (twenty years ago)

Prince - Prince

― R. J. Greene, Friday, 16 December 2005 08:00 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

Ride - Going blank again.
actually i searched for the thread "albums where the first track is the best" for this album,cause it's the defenitive exampe:the rest is crap.but it's the longest track too.so here you go

― coco the kid, Monday, 8 May 2006 23:07 (twenty years ago)

The title track of Goldie's Timeless is the first and longest, about20 mins IIRC, though it's split into 4 movements

― dr x o'skeleton, Tuesday, 9 May 2006 10:27 (twenty years ago)

Oops, Secret Machines just did it again.

"Alone, Jealous and Stoned" from Ten Silver Drops.

(I'm obsessed. So SUE me.)

― Vernon Jackson (kate), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 10:29 (twenty years ago)

Low - Trust

― mei (mei), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 15:55 (twenty years ago)

Talvin Singh - Ha

― scnnr drkly (scnnr drkly), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Built To Spill--Going Against Your Mind

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 16:21 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

my dying bride - the angel and the dark river
tom waits - alice
tom waits - small change
the rolling stones - beggar's banquet
pink floyd - wish you were here

er, that'll do

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

Rush: 2112

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 21:11 (nineteen years ago)

Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 22:46 (nineteen years ago)

Mike Love & The Beach Boys -- Smiley Smile

A Silver Mt. Zion -- This Is Our Punk-Rock, The Cornucopia is Filled With Grapeshot & Until Recently Montenegro Was Not a Sovereign Nation + Godspeed You! Black Emperor Will Soon Have an Exclamation Point After the Word "Black," Just a Heads-Up

― King-a-Ling (King-a-Ling), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 23:15 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.audiolunchbox.com/images/albums/50k/50626-500.jpg

― a.b. (alanbanana), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

In spite of all those long prog tracks, "Nursery Cryme" is the only "classic" Genesis album where this occurs.

Other examples:
Miles Davis: Sketches Of Spain
Rush: Hemispheres

Usually, in classical symphonies, either the first of the last movement was the longest one.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 21 September 2006 00:20 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

Mercury Rev - Boces ("Meth of a Rockette's Kick")

-- o. nate (syne_wav...), December 12th, 2005.

SNORRY MOUTH YOU MUPPET

Oops, Secret Machines just did it again.

"Alone, Jealous and Stoned" from Ten Silver Drops.

(I'm obsessed. So SUE me.)

-- Vernon Jackson (masonicboo...), May 9th, 2006.

DADDY'S IN THE DOLDRUMS YOU BUFFOON

Delayed pedantry: C/D?

Revive thread because the album I've just bought, Hum's 'Downward Is Heavenward', fits this category with 'Isle Of The Cheetah'.

So does *scrolls iTunes* Air, 'Moon Safari'
And The Crash Test Dummies, 'God Shuffled His Feet'
And The Cure, 'Pr0nography'
And Duran Duran, 'Rio'
And Elbow, 'Cast of Thousands'
And Slowdive, 'Pygmalion'
And The The, 'NakedSelf'
And XTC, 'Nonsuch' AND 'Oranges And Lemons'

God, I really am a mine of useless information today.

― You've Got Scourage On Your Breath (Haberdager), Monday, 13 November 2006 12:21 (nineteen years ago)

You mean, "Peter Pumpkinhead" is actually longer than anything else on "Nonsuch"? I never thought of that. Weird. :)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 13 November 2006 14:13 (nineteen years ago)

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