Rock music has long been canonized and hip-hop recognized, while pop music often remains underappreciated despite many great pop songs falling within a 30-minute time limit.
James Murphy designed his “Work-Out Album” to mimic an exercise routine, featuring warm ups and cool downs as well as jogging tempos.
1. Hypno-Punko: In Pursuit Part II by The Vindictives
The Vindictives were an early pop punk band to emerge in Chicago prior to 1994’s rise of pop punk rock music. Led by Joey Vindictive, who delivered powerful lyrics that critiqued society while still offering catchy melodies, Hypno-Punko: In Pursuit Part II is sure to make fans laugh out loud with its humorous arrangements like Bing Crosby’s “Medication Time” reinvention and vaudeville concept album on hypnosis and counterhypnosis, making for great listening pleasure for punk fans everywhere!
Drummer Angel’s relentless back beats dominate this album. Bassist Johnny Personality adds power chords that define its sound while lead guitarist Billy Blastoff provides an impressive array of licks and riffs.
2. James Murphy’s “Work-Out Album”
Not counting obvious considerations like the limited fidelity of old 78 RPM ten inch singles (which could only store around 3 minutes of music per side before their quality began to degrade), radio stations relied heavily on three minute pop songs as an easier way to sell commercial time. Even with microgroove technology’s introduction, three minute songs remained standard until Iron Butterfly’s 1968 hit Inna Gadda Da Vida became an exception, nearly 20 minutes long and demanding of being heard first-hand to truly believe.
James Murphy was commissioned by Nike to compose “Work-Out Album”, an exercise-inspired set of tracks with warm ups, cool downs and jogging tempos that create an exercise routine in sound. Not only can this music provide motivation while working out; but it is also ideal for relaxing after working out or just lounging around at home.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other great songs out there in the 3-5 minute range, like “Pursuit” from The Vindictives’ 1999 album Hypno-Punko by way of Pachabel’s Canon in D with layers of vocal lines that would work brilliantly as their own separate song. I also enjoy “Breezein'” from K. NX which provides another excellent workout song complete with great samba beat and catchy hook; unfortunately though it never quite ends properly!
3. The Beatles’ “Like a Rolling Stone”
Early pop music songs were limited to about three minutes due to 10″ 78rpm record playback times and radio station strategies for increasing commercial time between records. One band that challenged this rule was The Beatles with “Strawberry Fields Forever”, one of their groundbreaking and memorable tracks ever written and performed by them.
The Beatles often experimented with long jam sessions during recording sessions, many of which made their way onto official albums. For instance, during rehearsals in January 1969 they played an extended version of “Like a Rolling Stone” featuring an eye-catching drum beat more impressive than Ringo’s standard swing rhythm; it continued for nearly two more minutes featuring vocal interplay between John and Paul as the jam continued for nearly two minutes longer; eventually 49 second edit was selected to appear on “Let It Be’s soundtrack album.
This song by The Beatles stands as one of their most notable experiments with long jams. Their version was first recorded for release as a single, which ultimately reached number two on the charts. Following its success, they decided to record it full-length for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; later featured are several tracks lasting over thirty minutes each such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the mesmeric “In a Gadda Da Vida.”
In many ways, this song by The Beatles serves as the perfect illustration of their long songs: they possess an hypnotic quality that draws listeners in and incorporate a range of influences to produce something uniquely their own. Furthermore, each long song often has an important message; whether one interprets “You’re only a Rolling Stone” as sad lyrics about loneliness or hopeful words will depend on how you interpret its lyrics.
4. Iron Butterfly’s “Inna Gadda Da Vida”
Iron Butterfly were one of the early hard rock bands to break through and find popularity with mainstream audiences, not necessarily as unique in terms of musical influences; but they stood out by pioneering an approach to improvisational music that would later be taken further by “heavy metal” groups. On its face value, 1968 sophomore album Heavy was almost entirely ignored; but its second single In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, an epic 17 minute track that took up most of side B of its vinyl LP, quickly rose through ranks to become popular.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida starts off as an electric organ-heavy piece before rising into an intense storm of treacherous drum hits and mesmerizing strings, becoming an irresistibly addictive song about exoticism and meaning – not solely related to the occult! Though its lyrics may not be particularly profound or meaningful, its sheer intensity of performance make this classic of pop music history irreplaceable.
Its 17-minute length also contributes to its continued success; though by contemporary standards this may seem excessive. Yet originally this song began life as a country ballad that only ran about one and a half minutes long; after being introduced into their set list by drummer Ron Bushy it took on its current form as an unlikely mutant seed and began growing exponentially.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida serves as a reminder that time is an asset in rock music, and that there’s nothing wrong with stretching an eighteen minute song out over seventeen minutes. Black Sabbath and Sunn ((()))) excel at this, while few groups have done it as successfully as Iron Butterfly from Italy. Don’t pass up this piece of musical art! Take the time now and listen.