3 Long Songs From 1972 That Are So Good, They Could Have Been Longer

Reasonable people may disagree on what makes a song long. But for this list, I set the minimum at five minutes. That’s well past the radio-friendly mark. Plenty of time to bore us before you get to the chorus. Yet long songs aren’t always boring. And these lengthy bangers from 1972 are so good, they could have been even longer.

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“Do It Again” by Steely Dan

When Steely Dan released their debut album, the nondescript band arrived amid the rise of glam rock. David Bowie had introduced his alien alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, while Alice Cooper and Lou Reed each released landmark glam albums. However, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker looked like regular dudes. After working as professional songwriters, the duo grew bored with the gig and formed Steely Dan in a kind of antagonism toward contemporary rock trends. “Do It Again” opens their jazz-rock debut, Can’t Buy A Thrill. The groove is easy, hypnotic, lasts nearly six minutes, and could have been much longer. Decades before Taylor Swift became pop music’s antihero, Steely Dan proudly played the part of rock and roll contrarians.

“Snowblind” by Black Sabbath

It’s a small miracle that Black Sabbath’s second-best album, behind Paranoid, was even finished. But the metal gods must have been looking up—see what I did there—at the band, urging them forward as they plowed through mountains of cocaine to complete Vol. 4. The groove in “Snowblind” is so deep and remains one of Tony Iommi’s finest. And that’s saying something considering, you know, “War Pigs”, “Iron Man”, and “Paranoid”. Iommi could have burned this guitar solo for ages, and I’d be fine with it.

“Going Down” by Jeff Beck

Recording a cover of “Going Down” after Freddie King had also recorded the song was a bold move for the Jeff Beck Group. Then again, this was Jeff Beck in the prime of his powers. Beck’s version sounds more unhinged than King’s. With the instruments hard panned in the mix, you feel like you’re in the middle of a rehearsal room. The guitarist fills the right-side speaker with the kind of virtuosity that made fellow guitar legends collectively drop their jaws. I’ve had the opportunity to watch Beck play up close. I didn’t want the experience to end. For now, I’ll play this one on a loop.

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