Monday, March 1, 2010

Ultimate Climax



In the good old days (about 2 years ago) when musicians made albums to be listened to from start to finish I always used to (and still do of course) look forward to seeing what they were going to do with the final track.

Would it be a full-on wig-out like "Cop Shoot Cop" from Spiritualized's "Ladies and Gentlemen..." to send the album off with a bang or a downbeat and beautiful elegy like "Something In The Way" from Nirvana's Nevermind to wind the album down?

My personal favourites are the above mentioned tracks, "Mogwai Fear Satan" at the end of Mogwai's "Young Team" and the one on the Youtube clip which is the final track on Flipper's 1982 classic LP "Generic". After an album of absolutely awesome but pretty straight ahead early-80's sludgy US punk they suddenly unleash the chaotic free-jazzin' of "Sex Bomb" to finish off the album in style.


Of course my knowledge and tastes are extremely limited, so if you want to nominate some better ones, let's have 'em!

11 comments:

nilpferd said...

Think there was a GU thread on this a while back.. I went for The The's Soulmining- the original version ended with the monster Giant- and My Bloody Valentine's Loveless; the deadpan dancefloor loops of Soon an appropriate last word for the album (and the band).
Quieter ones- The Chills' Submarine Bells ends the eponymous album perfectly with images of Orcas in the untertow, and I always loved the snapping concision of .. DECEPTIVE TUNE!!! Pinocchio to end Miles Davis' Nefertiti.

sourpus said...

That's a fine question Japanther. You just made me realise that the last band to make me care about the issue of 'what would be the last track on the album?' was REM. And the album in question was 'Green'. I remember distinctly the thrill of listening to it on my walkman - goosebumps all the way. That they didnt even bother to give it a title just added to the bliss. As with all the albums prior to Green, it was manna from heaven to be an 'insider' to the details.

Its quite a revelation to realise that REM - a band I hardly think about anymore - were probably the last band whose every track choice (and the order they came in) mattered THAT much to me. Would the same fate have awaited The Smiths?

Shoegazer said...

We're all limited by our taste, but have always found JP to be very knowledgable & enthusiastic about what he likes & adventurous in what he explores. So there.

Donds for Soul Mining. Good epic closing tracks on Tindrstick's - Can Our Love & Talk Talk COS. Also very fond of Wonderful World (not that one) at the end of the 2nd Invaders of the Heart album - the one with Sinead on it. All the early Stranglers UA albums ended with a prog epic: Sewer, School Mam, Toiler, Genetix, Hallow, La Folie.

Exodus said...

'Goodnight Ladies' is the perfect end to Lou Reed's Transformer.

steenbeck said...

I like You're Wondering Now at the end of Specials.

saneshane said...

'come on darkness' at the end of camper van beethovens - key lime pie album.
there should have been a closing theme but the record was too long.. I'm glad.

GarethI said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GarethI said...

At some point, I think we should do a double album called The Beginning And The End (or something less pompous) and possibly put the closing tracks on side 1…
Anyway, my only disappointment with The Seldom Seen Kid was that the closing track didn't feel like the final track, unlike this from Cast Of Thousands or this from Leaders Of The Free World. The cavalry with tea and sympathy might be the finest line about friendship I've come across.

Makinavaja said...

Shoey beat me to it! Sewer, School Mam, etc. I'd go as far as to say Relentles from Suite XVI was a minor return to form. Ah...the Stranglers!

DarceysDad said...

Ah, now here's a DsD hobby horse. I bloody love epic finishes to albums, whether rousing crescendos or transcendental floataways. Donds for Mogwai Fear Satan, then!

Unfortunately, I'm far too tired tonight to think this through and justify properly, so I'll settle for a brief list:

Drive-By Truckers are ace at this. Angels & Fuselage on Southern Rock Opera; A World Of Hurt on A Blessing And A Curse; and particularly Goddamn Lonely Love on The Dirty South. Jason Isbell has topped even that one with The Last Song I Will Write on the 400 Unit album.

Micah P. Hinson & Gospel Of Progress - The Day Texas Sank To The Bottom Of The Sea.

Talk Talk - Time It's Time to finish Colour Of Spring.

Calexico - All Systems Red at the end of Garden Ruin.

Freebird is the last track on Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd.

Young Galaxy - The Alchemy Between Us, which touched Maddy in a similar way to me a while back.

UFO - Love To Love climaxes Lights Out.

Twilight Singers - Number Nine, actually track eleven at the end of Blackberry Belle.

Bell-X1 - Lampposts, at the end of Flock.

I Am Kloot - The Same Deep Water As Me.

Maria McKee - title track You Gotta Sin To Get Saved.

Jesu - Stanlow, at the end of Conqueror.

Guillemots - Sao Paulo, from Through The Windowpane. Cacophony as ecstacy!

Damien Rice had it in the palm of his hand with Eskimo on O, but dropped it big-style by adding the silence and the extra hidden tracks.

Even Status Quo got that one right a couple of times with Forty-Five Hundred Times and Mystery Song.

Don't get me going on this: I want to go to bed!!!

Luke-sensei said...

thanks to the incredible gift of Uncle Tinny's magic music machine i've spent the morning listening to as many of these suggestions as possible....some amazing songs here, despite the lack of album context in which I listened
The Camper Van Beethoven and DBT tunes were my favourites but all great.