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End of the Year, End of the Album
As we approach the end of another year, I’m reminded of listening to the last song of an album. Not sure in this era of digital downloads one can still enjoy a really good final song. Often they are as good as anything on the album. Most of the time these songs are not released as singles. Usually they are relatively unknown.
What a great experience to be greeted by an unknown gem. It ties the whole package together, like a dessert after a good meal. When you listen to the album again, you know you will be rewarded with that last song.
I can think of a handful of albums that have a great finale. A couple of examples favorites of mine are:
- “Tour of Duty” from Jason Isbell’s Here We Rest
- “Top of the World” (written by Patty Griffin) completed the Dixie Chick’s Home
- “Last Resort” from the Eagles’ Hotel California (don’t hate on the Eagles, Dude!).
- “Her Majesty” and “Day in The Life” from the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper, respectively.
I’m sure there are others I am forgetting, but what are your favorite final songs?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Coolidge on -
King Harvest Has Surely Come- The Band
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Permalink Reply by RobertBock on -
There are so many good ones, but one I'd like to mention is "I Dream a Highway" - Time (The Revelator) by gillian welch. It's so long and epic. The lyrics are amazing. I just love the way gillian and dave sound.
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Permalink Reply by Derek on -
Major oversight here:
Chris Knight's "Enough Rope." Great way to end a great album.
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Permalink Reply by steviedal on -
Tom Waits - Ruby's Arms . Superb closer to his album Heartattack & Vine.
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Permalink Reply by Jerre Yeager on -
Fred Eaglesmith's "Trucker Speed" from 6 Volts. The consumate Fred song - trucks, highways, lost love and loneliness.
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Permalink Reply by Jack on -
Pete Townshend - Come To Mama, a rousing closer to White City, a really good record. Here's the song, no video.
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Permalink Reply by Brendan Cooke on -
I've always thought Jackson Browne has had some great closers to his albums but especially "My Opening Farewell" from his 1972 debut ; "For Everyman" from the album of the same name;likewise the title track "The Pretender" and "Before The Deluge" from Late For The Sky.
Must also mention "Caroline No" frm Pet Sounds....great closing track. Oh and Steve Young's "Home Sweet Home (Revisited) from the excellent Renegade Picker.
From 2012 I would pick "Ships" by Anais Mitchell's closing Young Man In America.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Filippazzo on -
In my hour of darkness, from the album 'Grievous Angel'..it's prophetic too, sadly :(
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Permalink Reply by Rev. Eryk Pruitt on -
This is a great subject. Excellent post.
"Worms" by The Pogues on If I Should Fall From Grace with God and "Going Home" by the Stones on Aftermath are my two contributions.
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Permalink Reply by Easy Ed on -
Mothers of Invention's 1966 Freak Out ends with the classic "America Drinks and Goes Home".
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Permalink Reply by Paul Wilner on -
Um...."Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands'' was pretty good...
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Permalink Reply by David Wesley Williams on -
Good examples here. "Tour of Duty" is outstanding, and I think it's actually the first song on the new live record. "Last Resort," may be the only Eagles song (well, along with the cover of "Ol' 55") that I love. Great song. ... Not a Beatles fan, either, but "Day in the Life" is undeniable.
Some others? How about ...
"Sara," from Dylan's Desire.
"Lawyers, Guns and Money," From Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy.
And more recently, the title track from Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires' There Is a Bomb in Gilead.
My blog on music and writing: The Soundcheck & the Fury
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