Best Songs Over 8 minutes - Part 1

I left off live versions of songs, instead using the actual album releases. There's a unanimous rock and roll bias - 'cause that's the type of guy I am.

Honorable Mention:

Only in Dreams, Weezer (7:59)
An admittedly arbitrary single second too short for this list. Love this closer to their best album.

And now, on with the list . . .

21. Fools Gold, The Stone Roses (9:54)
Used (too abruptly) toward the end of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, it (like so many below) has an amazing hook and some tremendous guitar work.

20. Prick, Tripping Daisy (9:19)
The unusual (Eastern?) chords give this a uniqueness on the list. The sillier, slower part nearly drops it off completely.

19. November Rain, Guns N' Roses (8:57)
The accusations that the group was trying too hard to go epic are not unfounded. Still doesn't take away from the quality or the fact that they are actual musicians (unlike all of their hard rock contemporaries).

18. Free Bird, Lynyrd Skynyrd (9:10)
A classic rock staple; it feels more honest than the rest of their songs combined (except maybe Tuesday's Gone).

17. In A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Iron Butterfly (17:05)
Obviously too long, but a great groove and its inclusion during the climactic scene in Manhunter makes it immortal.

16. Achilles Last Stand, Led Zeppelin (10:25)
The opening track from Presence, an unusual but essential disc.

15. American Pie, Don McLean (8:27)
Overplayed but still refreshingly sincere in our age of irony.

14. The End, The Doors (11:41)
Used in the opening of Apocalypse Now, and still hypnotic after all these years.

13. In the Light, Led Zeppelin (8:46)
An underrated gem from Physical Graffiti with the four at their tempo-changing multi-style best.

12. Voodoo Chile, Jimi Hendrix (15:00)
Not the version used near the beginning of In the Name of the Father (which is "Slight Return"), the long one is the epic bluesy version.

11. Echoes, Pink Floyd (23:29)
More like 3-4 songs in one, but they return to the beginning at the end to make it circular and referential. It encompasses many emotions - alienation, hope, fear, motivation. The section beginning at 7:01 is terrific, but the slow-burn from 14:45-18:15 is flawless.