3 Really Long Songs

That are totally worth it

Peter Frampton - Fampton Comes Alive - Do You Feel Like I Do? (14:15)

Woke up this morning with a wine glass in my hand. Who’s wine? What wine? Where the hell did I die? Must’ve been a dream. I don’t believe where I’ve been. C’mon! Let’s do it again!

Few songs capture the party-til-you-drop culture of the late ‘70’s better than Do You Feel Like We Do? No album of its day outsold Frampton Comes Alive!

Right from the song’s git-go, Peter Frampton’s virtuosic fret-work is on full display. When the British guitarist simmers down, things get interesting.

Classically trained pianist Bob Mayo serves-up a jazz-flavored solo on his Fender Rhodes, setting the stage for Mr. Frampton’s party piece: the talk box. wikipedia:

A talk box directs sound from the instrument into the musician's mouth by means of a plastic tube adjacent to a vocal microphone. The musician controls the modification of the instrument's sound by changing the shape of the mouth, "vocalizing" the instrument's output into a microphone.

The “talking guitar” was a novelty back in the day (in its rocky mountain way). Frampton milks it for all its worth before ending the festivities end with a psychedelic solo. It’s long but never boring.

I don’t know how Mr. Frampton felt at the acoustic finish line, but I hope he felt like like I do: thrilled, chilled and satisfied.

Little Feat Dixie Chicken - Waiting for Columbus - Dixie Chicken / Tripe Face Boogie - 16:03

I’ve seen the bright lights of Memphis, and the Commodore Hotel. And underneath the streelamp, I met a Southern Belle. Well, she took me to the river where she casts her spell. And in that southern moonlight, she sang the song so well.

And so begins Dixie Chicken, a nostalgic tale of a Southern prostitute, complete with a sing-a-long refrain and vocal/guitar hook.

As with DYFLID, Dixie Chicken hits the brakes for an extended piano solo. Bill Payne’s musical journey takes us from funk to dixieland jazz – with an out-of-nowhere burst of New Orleans-style horns.

After a “guitar battle,” Lowell returns to continue the story – as if he’d never left. But where is he going? A jam session goes seriously sideways, then picks-up the pace and morphs into Tripe Face Boogie.

I’m no fan of TFB – it’s too frenetic and, well, loud. But no song captures Little Feat’s accessible eclecticism like Dixie Chicken.

Geoff Muldaur - Geoff Muldaur is Having a Wondeful Time - I Want to Be a Sailor / Why Should I Love You? - 10:32

You know, some boys want to be a thief, or a doctor or a lawyer or an Indian chief. But as for me, I have only one plan! To be a sailor man! The other fellows may desire to explore or fight a fire. But give me a gale, or give me a breeze, for I want to sail the seven seas.

Geoff Muldaur’s Disney-esque “I want” song demonstrates the Brooklyn-born composer’s complete command of elaborate orchestration. Its lush, soaring strings straddle the line between “twee” and charming. Your call.

If it all seems a bit infantile, hang in there. The song makes a sly, unforeseeable transition into a killer, sax-laden blues tune.

The piano solo’s slightly off-beat, and none the worse for it. The guitar solo is immaculate. And the singing? Well…

"There are only three white blues singers -- Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them." -- Richard Thompson

Geoff’s ex-wife Maria Muldaur had a huge hit with Midnight at the Oasis. Mr. Muldaur never topped the charts, but there’s an Emmy on his shelf. Judging from this production, well-earned it is too.

Suggestions?

If there’s an extended play song you love, please list it below (link to YouTube).