FEATURE:
It Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings:
PHOTO CREDIT: Unsplash
The Best Album-Closing Songs
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AN album can succeed or fail simply because of the order…
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 Beatles – A Day in the Life
Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Year of Release: 1967
Muse – Knights of Cydonia
Album: Black Holes and Revelations
Year of Release: 2004
Björk – Play Dead
Album: Debut
Year of Release: 1993 (Reissued Version)
Joni Mitchell – The Last Time I Saw Richard
Album: Blue
Year of Release: 1971
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Album: Electric Ladyland
Year of Release: 1968
Glassjaw – Convectuoso
Album: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Year of Release: 2009 (Remastered Version)
Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Album: The Bends
Year of Release: 1995
The Jam – Down in the Tube Station at Midnight
Album: All Mod Cons
Year of Release: 1978
Kate Bush – A Sea of Honey
Album: Aerial
Year of Release: 2005 (Re-release)
Oasis – Champagne Supernova
Album: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Year of Release: 1995
Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
Album: Brothers in Arms
Year of Release: 1985
Beyoncé – Formation
Album: Lemonade
Year of Release: 2016
David Bowie – Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide
Album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Year of Release: 1972
Bob Dylan – Desolation Row
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Year of Release: 1965
Pink Floyd – Eclipse
Album: The Dark Side of the Moon
Year of Release: 1973
PJ Harvey – We Float
Album: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Year of Release: 2000
Nirvana – All Apologies
Album: In Utero
Year of Release: 1993
Fiona Apple – Hot 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
Sufjan Stevens – Impossible Soul
Album: The Age of Adz
Year of Release: 2010
Joy Division – Decades
Album: Closer
Year of Release: 1980
Fleetwood Mac – Gold Dust Woman
Album: Rumours
Year of Release: 1977
Prince and The Revolution – Purple Rain
Album: Purple Rain
Year of Release: 1984