3 20-Minute Songs From Iconic Classic Rock Bands for You to Zone out to the Groove

Generally speaking, most songs you’ve ever listened to range between three and five minutes long. Sure, there are the occasional short pop hit and the occasional six-to-10-minute jam band classic. But the range is about a handful of minutes and then it’s on to the next. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes songs can get to upwards of 20-plus minutes. Yes, it’s true.

Here below, we wanted to examine three examples of this phenomenon. A trio of tracks that actually extend well past 10 minutes, well past 15 minutes and into the stratosphere of 20-plus minutes. Indeed, these are three 20-minute songs from iconic classic rock bands for you to zone out to the groove and enjoy.

[RELATED: 3 Songs from Kraftwerk that Will Beep and Boop Forever]

“Echoes” by Pink Floyd from Meddle (1971)

This track, which clocks it at over 23 minutes and concludes the band’s 1971 LP Meddle, is incredibly not the band’s longest song. That title goes to their “Atom Heart Mother.” Fans may know “Echoes” from the group’s iconic live 1972 performance Live at Pompeii. As for the structure of the song, it begins with what sounds like a submarine’s sonar ping and develops into a dreamy, harmony-driven song that is very Pink Floyd. It continues to wend through different moods and concludes in a crash of classic rock prowess. On the tune, the band sings,

Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine

“Autobahn” by Kraftwerk from Autobahn (1974)

While there is a shorter, radio-friendly version of this song out in the world, the original “Autobahn” from the German electronic band Kraftwerk clocked in at 22:44. The song is named after the famed German highway where there is no speed limit. And the song sounds at times like what it to zoom down the road, wind at your back, beeps and boops flashing at various times. And on the tune, the iconic band sings,

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn

Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal
Die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn

Fahrbahn ist ein graues Band
Weiße Streifen, grüner Rand

“The Diamond Sea” by Sonic Youth from Washing Machine (1995)

This 20-minute tune concludes the 1995 LP from the New York City-born rock band Sonic Youth Washing Machine. Incredibly, perhaps as a move of subversion, the band released “The Diamond Sea” as the record’s lead single. It would stand to reason that radio stations weren’t exactly thrilled about that. But who cares! Thurston Moore has said that if he could, more of his songs would be in the 20-minute range. But he made it with this one. On the song, he sings,

Time takes its crazy toll
Mirror fallin’ off the wall
You better look out for the looking glass girl
‘Cause she’s gonna take you for a fall

Look into his eyes and you shall see
Why everything is quiet and nothing’s free
I wonder how he’s gonna make her smile
When love is running wild on the diamond sea

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