3 Long Songs From the 1990s That Are So Good, They Could Have Been Longer

Good things come to those who wait, or so the proverb says. And this maxim also applies to long songs. There are times, of course, when a terse pop song fits the moment—a quick sugar high when you want to get to feeling good right away. However, the slow-build tunes offer a different kind of reward. So, to the patient and unhurried listener, here are three long songs from the 1990s that are so good, they could have been even longer.

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“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica

For Metallica, the art of recording epics is just a continuation of regular operations. Remember, they landed a commercial breakthrough in 1989 with “One”, a seven-plus-minute war drama set atop a multi-movement thrash metal fantasia. Here, “Nothing Else Matters” reads like a James Hetfield diary entry about longing for home from the grueling road. Over gently plucked guitars, the track slowly crescendos until Hetfield’s despair becomes catharsis as he delivers his greatest “Yeah!” right before the guitar solo. Speaking of the solo, it’s my favorite from the band, featuring a soaring and emotional release from Hetfield. Both the solo and the song could have kept going.

“Only In Dreams” by Weezer

For the most part, Weezer’s Blue Album contains short, radio-friendly grunge-adjacent hits. A pop masterpiece, when the band’s debut arrived, it became one of the first significant alternative rock releases following Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994. But there was something different about singer and guitarist Rivers Cuomo. Behind the slacker persona lived a heavy metal shredder. “Only In Dreams” features one of Cuomo’s best guitar solos, but also sounds like Weezer jamming in the garage. You can imagine them playing it all afternoon as fellow slackers come and go, hanging out at their friends’ band rehearsal. Impressed by how well their friend plays guitar.

“Glory Box” by Portishead

Listening to Beth Gibbons singing jazz over a trip-hop groove and an Isaac Hayes sample never gets old. “Glory Box” closes Portishead’s excellent debut, Dummy. And as this piece focuses on patient listening, rarely do I let this album stop after “Glory Box”. It’s best just to let it cycle back to the beginning. Back to “Mysterons”, “Sour Times”, and eventually “Roads”. Dummy arrived, like an alien, amid grunge and Britpop mania. Gibbons, with Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley, created a heartbreaking masterpiece, blending old instruments with then-new technology. “Glory Box” feels like the emotional payoff of a long journey. You want it to keep going because often the journey is better than the ending.

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