Best album closing track?

[satiemaniac]

Bound 2

[LevonTostig]

Elton John- Goodbye
U2- All I Want is You
The National- Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
Fleetwood Mac- Gold Dust Woman
Bob Dylan- Sara
Beach Boys- Caroline, No
Elton John- Harmony
Vampire Weekend- I Think Ur a Contra
Tallest Man on Earth- Kids on the Run
Led Zeppelin- When the Levee Breaks

[Goodsir]

"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong"
/music

[AgainstMeAgainstYou]

Dream Brother (Jeff Buckley, Grace, 1994) is around as good as it gets for me. It's hard to think of a track that is both a 10/10 song and also encapsulates and concludes the emotional and lyrical attitude of its' album so perfectly.

Actually, Radiohead have hit the nail on the head pretty much every time with their closing tracks too. Street Spirit (Fade Out), Motion Picture Soundtrack, Life in a Glasshouse A Wolf at the Door and Videotape are five closing tracks that do everything Dream Brother does.

I'll list off a few more that I have the same thoughts about:
- Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (Marvin Gaye, What's Going On, 1971)
- Eclipse (Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973)
- Gouge Away (Pixies, Doolittle, 1989)
- All Apologies (Nirvana, In Utero, 1993)
- Hurt (Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral, 1994)

But, honestly, you know what my favourite closing track of all time is? None of those.

My favourite closing track ever is Farewell and Goodnight off of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I think The Smashing Pumpkins' biggest weakness throughout the years have been their closing tracks - other than Farewell and Goodnight, I think Luna is the only one they've done that has been nearly as successful - but on MCIS they just... they hit it out of the park and into the next city if you ask me.

I mean, think about it. The song is beautiful, by all accounts; "The sun shines but I don't/A silver rain will wash away" is one of the best climaxes Billy Corgan has ever written, amongst a discography where even his shortest songs end up being at least quasi-"epic" in stature and style. But the main thing is that, you've just heard possibly the best two hours of music there is to hear, and instead of going out with an explosion - X.Y.U. took care of that - you get five softer songs. And on the last of those you get those soft taps on a conga or maybe it's a djembe or something, and then that chord comes in on the acoustic...

It's just a fucking beautiful piece of music and I NEVER listen to it unless I'm hearing the full album (or at least listening to the second disc; the beauty of MCIS is that the individual discs work just as well as their own albums too). I'm in tears by it and maybe that's not a reaction everyone has but after the rollercoaster of emotions that MCIS takes you on it's just such a beautiful, perfect way to close things off.

[SleepDealer]

Radiohead's Street Spirit (Fade Out) is a great call even though I just can't bring myself to listen to this album anymore after overplaying it years ago.

Another contender I'm surprised no-one has mentioned yet (I think!) is The Diamond Sea on Sonic Youth's Washing Machine album.

Honourable mentions to Take Care on Beach House's Teen Dream, Unison on Bjork's Vespertine, Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires on the Cocteau Twins' Heaven Or Las Vegas, and Flight Of The Feathered Serpent on F*** Buttons' Tarot Sport.

But my spur of the moment pick today is: I Walk On Guilded Splinters on Dr John's Gris Gris.

[Anti]

I know it's just one track, but the combination of Feeling Yourself Disintegrate and Sleeping On The Roof on:

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The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
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...and for dessert!

[scottrosemeyer]

Grizzly Bear - Colorado on Yellow House
Elliott Smith - Kiwi Maddog 20/20 on Roman Candle
The Mars Volta - Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt on De-loused in the Comatorium
Pearl Jam - All Those Yesterdays on Yield
PJ Harvey - We Float on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Queens of the Stone Age - I was a Teenage Hand Model on Queens of the Stone Age

[zdwyatt]

[Kiki]

[nachosbob]

My Little Corner Of The World

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I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo
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Memo to myself:
Do the dumb things I gotta do
Touch the puppet head