FEATURE: It Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings: The Best Album-Closing Songs

FEATURE:

 

It Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings: 

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PHOTO CREDIT: Unsplash 

The Best Album-Closing Songs

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AN album can succeed or fail simply because of the order…

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IN THIS PHOTO: Nirvana in 1993

the tracks are placed. I have heard great records top-loaded and too eager to please: others end with their best songs and rely on a lot of patience for the listener to get that far. Programming and correct assortment is a vital – and very difficult – discipline to conquer. Of course, if you have an album with great material throughout, there is a golden rule: end with the best track and start with one of the better ones – sprinkle the rest in an order that will keep the listener hooked and guessing.

I take a look at albums that end with a real bang: those unexpected treasures that give you that last-gasp burst of brilliance.

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The BeatlesA Day in the Life

Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Year of Release: 1967

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MuseKnights of Cydonia

Album: Black Holes and Revelations

Year of Release: 2004

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BjörkPlay Dead

Album: Debut

Year of Release: 1993 (Reissued Version)

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Joni MitchellThe Last Time I Saw Richard

Album: Blue

Year of Release: 1971

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The Jimi Hendrix ExperienceVoodoo Child (Slight Return)

Album: Electric Ladyland

Year of Release: 1968

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GlassjawConvectuoso

Album: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence

Year of Release: 2009 (Remastered Version)

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Radiohead Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Album: The Bends

Year of Release: 1995

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The Jam Down in the Tube Station at Midnight

Album: All Mod Cons

Year of Release: 1978

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Kate Bush A Sea of Honey

Album: Aerial

Year of Release: 2005 (Re-release)

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Oasis Champagne Supernova

Album: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Year of Release: 1995

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Dire Straits Brothers in Arms

Album: Brothers in Arms

Year of Release: 1985

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Beyoncé Formation

Album: Lemonade

Year of Release: 2016

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David BowieRock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Year of Release: 1972

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Bob DylanDesolation Row

Album: Highway 61 Revisited

Year of Release: 1965

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Pink FloydEclipse

Album: The Dark Side of the Moon

Year of Release: 1973

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PJ HarveyWe Float

Album: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

Year of Release: 2000

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NirvanaAll Apologies

Album: In Utero

Year of Release: 1993

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Fiona AppleHot Knife

Album: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

Year of Release: 2012

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Sufjan Stevens – Impossible Soul

Album: The Age of Adz 

Year of Release: 2010

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Joy Division – Decades

Album: Closer 

Year of Release: 1980

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Fleetwood Mac – Gold Dust Woman

Album: Rumours

Year of Release: 1977

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Prince and The Revolution – Purple Rain

Album: Purple Rain

Year of Release: 1984