Epic song thread.....

[JackReacher]

Enter Sandman. Perfect for a wedding!

 

[kickoff-time]

Probably too mainstream for an epic list, but listening to Hotel California (especially the first few chords) always brings me to a special place.

 

[I Should Coco]

When I think epic songs, I think long songs with contrasts, changing tempos, lots of complex chords, riffs ...

In other words, prog-rock!

A few favorites off the top of my head:

"Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" -- Genesis (these guys have dozens of "epic songs")
"Natural Science" -- RUSH (ditto)
"Jesus of Suburbia" -- Green Day
"... And Justice for All" (the song) -- Metallica
"Bohemian Rhapsody" -- Queen
"Misunderstood" -- Wilco
"Country Girl" Crosby, Stills, Nash and (mostly) Young
"Heroes and Villains" -- The Beach Boys
"It's All Too Much" -- The Beatles

and, last but not least,

"Through the Eyes of Ruby" -- Smashing Pumpkins

 

[jr/shotglass]

"End of the Road" -- Boyz II Men
"Paradise By The Dashboard Light" -- Meat Loaf
"Pumped Up Kicks" -- Foster The People (hey, you wanted to get them moving. This will.)
"Daughters" -- John Mayer (father-daughter song for a wedding)
"Shout" -- The Isley Brothers
"Bang A Gong" -- T-Rex
"Everybody Wang Chung" -- Wang Chung
"The Middle" -- Jimmy Eat World
"Just The Way You Are" -- Billy Joel

 

[Bruce Leroy]

Chameleon - Herbie Hancock
Maggot Brain - Funkadelic
Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa
Theme from Shaft - Isaac Hayes
Flashlight - Parliament

 

[Buck]

Tribute - Tenacious D

 

[Boom_70]

Is it epic if the masses have not heard of band or song?

 

[Dick Whitman]

When I think epic songs, I think long songs with contrasts, changing tempos, lots of complex chords, riffs ...

In other words, prog-rock!

A few favorites off the top of my head:

"Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" -- Genesis (these guys have dozens of "epic songs")
"Natural Science" -- RUSH (ditto)
"Jesus of Suburbia" -- Green Day
"... And Justice for All" (the song) -- Metallica
"Bohemian Rhapsody" -- Queen
"Misunderstood" -- Wilco
"Country Girl" Crosby, Stills, Nash and (mostly) Young
"Heroes and Villains" -- The Beach Boys
"It's All Too Much" -- The Beatles

and, last but not least,

"Through the Eyes of Ruby" -- Smashing Pumpkins

If you're going to include "Through the Eyes of Ruby," you have to include "Soma."

 

[Boom_70]

We need to tighten up "the epic " definition. We're all over the lot now.

 

[doubledown68]

Tribute - Tenacious D

I ****ing love this song. Especially Black's Demon voice.

As for me and epic..
Little Lion Man -- I won't ever tire of that album. Ever.
Don't Look Back in Anger and It's Getting Better, Man! -- Oasis (I'm an unabashed Oasis homer).
Green Day's cover of Working Class Hero
Somebody to Love -- Queen
This Time of Year -- Better Than Ezra
Head Full of Promise/Road Full of Doubt; I and Love and You -- Avett Bros. I thank Pandora for getting me more familiar with these guys.

 

[Starman]

"Good Morning, Good Morning/Sgt. Pepper Reprise/A Day In The Life," The Beatles

"Visions of Johanna," Bob Dylan

"Kashmir," Led Zeppelin

"Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," Elton John

"Love Reign O'er Me," The Who

"Lucky Man," Emerson, Lake and Palmer (the ONLY song of theirs I could ever stand)

"Sloth," Fairport Convention (narrowly nosing out "A Sailor's Life")

"One," Metallica

"Any Colour You Like/Brain Damage/Eclipse," Pink Floyd

"Man On The Moon/Nightswimming/Find The River," R.E.M.

Side Two, "Born To Run," Bruce Springsteen (I count it as a 23-minute song).

 

[Beef03]

Copperhead Road - Steve Earl
Bat out of hell - Meat Loaf
Fortunate Son - CCR
Stop Children What's that Sound - Buffalo Springfield
Suspicous Minds - Elvis Presley
New Orleans is Sinking - Tragically Hip
Mr. Jones -- Counting Crows
Standing outside the fire - Garth Brooks
Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins
Losing my Religion -- REM
Superman is dead - Our Lady Peace

Off the top of my head

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

To me, "epic" doesn't have to do so much with the time the song takes, so long as you're just thinking "Holy ****" at the end of it.

So, my list while trying to only add new things...

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End - The Beatles (Although you really could just do the whole back half of Abbey Road)
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths
Change Gonna Come - Otis Redding
Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
Knights of Cydonia - Muse (If you haven't heard it before, stop whatever you're doing and go.)
Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - James Brown (Pretty much any kind of live JB performance)

 

[Huggy]

New Orleans is Sinking - Tragically Hip

To me, the Hip songs that would fit this would be "Wheat Kings" and "Nautical Disaster".

 

[Dick Whitman]

"Visions of Johanna," Bob Dylan

Also from him:

"Desolation Row" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)."

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

I don't think I've seen "Masters of War" yet.

 

[Dick Whitman]

A song I always thought of in this category is "Chest Fever" by The Band, with the way it slowly builds at the beginning, announcing to you that this is a centerpiece song in their repertoire.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Epic is in the ear of the beholder.

 

[I Should Coco]

Copperhead Road - Steve Earle

Off the top of my head

Absolutely, that's a great song.

And if I were to pick a Buffalo Springfield song, it might be Bluebird. But there's plenty of great ones from a short period of time.

 

[Beef03]

New Orleans is Sinking - Tragically Hip

To me, the Hip songs that would fit this would be "Wheat Kings" and "Nautical Disaster".

New Orleans is Sinking was my introduction to the Hip and what turned me into a fan. Wheat Kings and Nautical Disaster are also solid tunes.