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

 

The creative explosion unleashed by the birth of modern music in 1963 gave rise to the very rapid artistic development of numerous groups and songwriters. In that fateful year, the Beatles and Bob Dylan defined the song form and the structural elements through which countless different musical genres will soon spring.

By the middle of the same decade, sound experimentations began to follow one another seamlessly in terms of arrangements, instruments and structure of the songs themselves.

In the latter category, among the changing elements we find song’s length, which in some cases began to extend. The two and a half minutes or so that had characterized the song form until then became just a starting point for exploring the new musical possibilities granted by a longer minutage.

This occurs only 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 45’s.

The move to longer tracks would become common in the second half of the 1960s both in England and the United States, with the Doors themselves including "The End" (11.41 minutes) on their debut record: "The Doors", January 1967. In September of that same year "Strange Days" was released, the band's second LP which ends with "When The Music's Over" (11.00 minutes).

Other bands from '67 onward also followed this trend, but the first signs of a significant lengthening of songs initially occurred as early as 1964 with "The House Of The Rising Sun" (The Animals' version, which lasts 4.29 minutes). The ensuing year Bob Dylan took a step forward with "Like A Rolling Stone" (6.13 minutes).

However, the watershed after which the boundaries previously imposed on modern songs finally come crashing down is 1966. In this crucial year for the evolution of modern music, there are two examples of how the desire to create something never heard before takes the form of remarkably extensive songs.

The first one in chronological order is the Rolling Stones' "Goin' Home" (11.18 minutes), contained on their April '66 LP "Aftermath". This Rhythm and Blues written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards stretches over eleven minutes, driven by three main elements: Keith Richards’ electric guitar distorted with the tremolo effect, the harmonica played by Brian Jones, and Mick Jagger's relaxed vocals.

The second example, again from 1966, but this time in October, is the Seeds' "Up In Her Room" (14.46 minutes), released on their album "A Web Of Sound". Here we witness a perfect example of Garage Rock, a subgenre of Rock and a musical niche typical of the mid-1960s.

The track is more compelling than the previous one and is dominated by two electric guitars. One is transformed by the fuzz effect into a harsh current of sound that ramps up with edgy notes; the other one repeats the main riff with a more rounded sound, which intervenes in a focused and circumscribed manner.

From here on, examples of songs that go beyond the canonically accepted two or three minute length quickly add up. Along with them increases the number of bands inclined to extend the format of the pieces they were writing and recording.

“When The Music's Over” comes around this time, the summer of '67, adding to its considerable length (11.00 minutes) various changes in atmosphere, rhythm and melodies. An innovation that a few years later would be integrated as a distinguishing feature of Progressive Rock and other musical derivations of Rock itself.