Favorite songs with an extended coda

A common feature of prog, the extended coda can most easily be traced back to the Beatles’ Hey Jude. (If anyone can name an earlier example, let’s hear it!)

Since I’ve never had any formal (or informal) musical training, those that do could probably describe it better, but to be a coda it has to be at the end of and distinct from the main part of the song, but still sound like a natural part of it. To be extended, it would need to go on for at least 2 minutes (IMO), and have some repetition but build to a crescendo or have enough variation within it to keep it from getting boring.

I’ve found that a lot of tracks that have them tend to be favorites of mine:

Ange – Au-Delà du Délire
Kansas – Incomudro—Hymn to the Atman
Kansas – Peaceful and Warm
Esperanto – Gypsy
Esperanto – The Prisoner
Esperanto – The Rape
Flash – There No More
Steve Hackett – Shadow of the Hierophant
Genesis – The Fountain of Salmacis
Renaissance – Ashes Are Burning
Caravan – Can You Hear Me
National Health – Elephants
Focus – Focus (Instrumental)
Focus – Carnival Fugue
Supertramp – Crime of the Century
Stackridge – Teatime
Strawbs – Down by the Sea
Strawbs – No Return
Quantum Jump – Something at the Bottom of the Sea
Quantum Jump – Love Crossed (Like Vines in Our Eyes)
Greenslade – Joie de Vivre
Greenslade – Spirit of the Dance
Yes – Starship Trooper
Rare Bird – Epic Forest
Roxy Music – In Every Dream Home a Heartache
Santana – Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)

A couple of non-prog examples:

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
Outlaws – Green Grass and High Tides

The thread about songs that fade out reminded me of some songs that have codas that might be too short to be considered extended, but would have probably improved the song had they been longer:

ELO – Shangri-La
Formula 3 – Bambina Sbagliata

The "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" coda is much better than "Hey Jude"!!

I'm not sure I remember every piece of music with this kind of description that I like, but since you mentioned Hackett's "Shadow of the Hierophan", yeah, that one might just as well be among my very favourite ones... it's just amazing and eerie.

Edited by Svetonio - October 01 2014 at 04:26

When I look down my list of favourite songs, a distinct Coda seems to be a very common feature. Here are 10 in my top 100.

Bowie - Cygnet Committee
Alex Harvey - Anthem (though this is a reprise of the opening)
Roxy Music - Song for Europe
Edgar Broughton - Evening over Rooftops
Yes - Starship Trooper
King Crimson - Epitaph
Pink Floyd - Saucerful of Secrets (especially the studi version)
Bowie - 5 Years
Rolling Stones - Time Waits for No One
ELP - Lucky Man

First thing that came to mind:

Michael678 wrote: ummmmmmmm..... does The Cinema Show count here??

I don’t think there are hard-and-fast rules on this, so I don’t see why not, even though it segues into Aisle of Plenty.

A few more goods:

Procol Harum – Robert’s Box
Beach Boys -- Cabinessence
Beach Boys – Surf’s Up
Chicago – Beginnings
Dire Straits – Telegraph Road


Edited by AreYouHuman - October 02 2014 at 23:34

I only want to say that Mike Rutherford's guitar work was economically excellent in Second Home By the Sea.

AreYouHuman wrote: ^ Svetonio: Not sure if your choices would be ECs in the strictest sense, but they’re all songs I like so I’m not going to split hairs about it.

Oh, okay..
What about Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat & Tears?