“WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER” AND THE EXTENTION OF SONGS’ LENGHT IN THE 60s

 

The creative explosion unleashed by the birth of contemporary music in 1963 led to the rapid artistic development of many groups and songwriters. That fateful year saw the Beatles and Bob Dylan define the form and structural elements of the song, which would soon give rise to countless different musical genres.

By the middle of the decade, sound experimentation began to accelerate in terms of sonic effects, song arrangements, instruments, and structure.

Among the changing elements in this latter category was the length of compositions, which in some cases began to increase. The two-and-a-half minutes or so that had characterized the typical song form until then became just a starting point for exploring the new musical possibilities afforded by longer compositions.

This only occurred within specific albums; single records, on the other hand, were still constrained by strong commercial pressures and the physical impossibility of recording long compositions on 45s.

The trend for longer tracks became widespread in the second half of the 1960s in both England and the United States. The Doors included the 11-minute-long "The End" on their debut album: "The Doors", released in January 1967 (but recorded in August 1966). In September '67, the band released their second LP, "Strange Days", which ends with "When the Music's Over" (11:00 minutes of marvelous beauty).

Other bands also followed this trend from 1967 onwards, but the first signs of songs becoming significantly longer occurred as early as 1964 with The Animals' version of "The House of the Rising Sun" (4.29 minutes, link here). The following year, Bob Dylan took a step forward with 'Like a Rolling Stone' (6:13 minutes, link here).

However, 1966 can be considered the watershed year when the time constraints previously imposed finally came crashing down. This crucial year saw two examples (apart from the aforementioned "The End") of the desire to create something never heard before in the form of remarkably long songs.

The first, in chronological order, is The Rolling Stones' "Going Home" (11.18 minutes, link here), released on their April 1966 LP "Aftermath". This rhythm and blues song, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is driven by three main elements: Keith Richards’ electric guitar distorted by the tremolo pedal, Brian Jones's harmonica and Mick Jagger's relaxed vocals.

The second example, also from 1966 but in October, is The Seeds' "Up in Her Room (14.46 minutes, link here), released on their album "A Web of Sound". This is a perfect example of garage rock, a subgenre of rock typical of the mid-1960s.

This track is more compelling than the previous one and is dominated by two electric guitars. One is transformed by the fuzz pedal into a harsh current of sound that intensifies with edgy notes, while the other repeats the main riff with a more rounded sound that intervenes in a focused and circumscribed manner.

From this point onwards, examples of songs that exceed the canonically accepted two or three-minute length quickly become abundant. Along with them, the number of bands inclined to extend the format of their compositions increased.

The Doors' "When the Music's Over", as we already said released in the summer of '67, is a notable example of this trend, with its considerable length (11 minutes) and various changes in atmosphere, rhythm and melodies. This innovation would be adopted as a distinguishing feature of progressive rock and other rock music derivatives in a few years.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .mx, .it, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”