Three Favorite Three-Song Stretches

I write this with the intent not of making a definitive list of the best three song stretches, but my favorites (that immediately come to mind as I sit down to make this).  In the past few years, I have become increasingly fascinated with the idea of albums as cohesive musical projects as opposed to simple collections of songs.  I have developed a great appreciation of the artistry that goes into creating a collection of songs bridged together narratively, thematically, musically, or otherwise.  

It’s impossible to listen to a single song off of Pink Floyd’s The Wall (or at least genuinely appreciate it) without listening to at least the few songs that come before and after, just like it’s impossible to listen to a single component of the Abbey Road medley.  I can definitely see this approach to creating albums, while not in any way “superior” to other approaches, becoming a lost art in coming years as streaming takes over, and one can listen to any individual song separated from its original context easier than ever.  

So with that, I will list some my favorite three song stretches on albums that I think exemplify the points I have just mentioned, while simultaneously introducing my unusual music taste consisting almost entirely of classic rock and modern hip-hop. 

In no particular order:

The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Any Colour You Like / Brain Damage / Eclipse

“And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes
I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon”

“Any Colour You Like” opens up carrying on the triumphant momentum of “Us and Them”, beginning with dominant, bright, and smooth synth notes played over a subdued guitar riff that sounds like it’s being played underwater.  The synth slides back and forth, overlapping itself along the way in brilliant harmonies that feel like cold, refreshing water washing over your parched ears.  The psychedelic jam continues for the rest of the track before transitioning perfectly into “Brain Damage”, a haunting song continuing with the same musical ideas with the addition of lyrics that detail a slow descent into insanity experienced by former band member Syd Barrett. The final song in this stretch is the album closer and climax, “Eclipse”, which ends the album on an energetic note that incorporates all the musical themes developed throughout the album, along with the band’s characteristic enigmatic lyrics that warn you “the sun is eclipsed by the moon” and make you want to listen to the whole thing all over again.  All great songs which build upon and blend the sonic landscape developed throughout the album.

Abbey Road (1969)

Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End

“And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make”

This one is kind of cheating because it’s part of the great medley I mentioned before, but it’s just too good not to include.  It shows off some of The Beatles best qualities in three songs that perfectly complement and transition into one another.  “Golden Slumbers” let Paul McCartney do what he did best, with a catchy piano piece melody, expressive yet finely honed vocals, and lyrics based on an old poem that almost commanded you to sing along.  The song builds into a climax, which is actually just the next song.  “Carry That Weight” has all The Beatles singing together in an anthem that builds upon the major musical theme developed throughout the album, primarily in “You Never Give Me Your Money”.  The End logically ends the album (not counting Her Majesty of course) with banging drum and guitar solos and excited but poignant vocals.  It serves as a final “goodbye” from The Beatles; it was the last song recorded by all of them together. I got to see the medley done live at a McCartney concert (brag) and it definitely lived up to the hype in person.

Madvillainy (2004)

The Illest Villains / Accordion / Meat Grinder

“Living off borrowed time, the clock ticks faster”

“The Illest Villains” might not actually count as a song (more of an album opener), but the next two songs are so good that its position as an introduction to what’s to come instills it with enough importance that I will classify it as one.  It opens up with a series of discordant noises that slowly become more patterned and rhythmic, forming a chaotic beat that underlines a series of vocal samples cut from a 1931 trailer for Frankenstein.  Madlib’s genius shows as he cuts up these various vocal samples to form a speech introducing him and MF DOOM as Madvillian, and prepares listeners for the horror they’re about to witness: “the worst of all was Madvillain / They had no code of ethics…” The chaos leads into “Accordion” with a hypnotic accordion sample that loops throughout the rest of the song with a slow and minimalistic machine in the background, emphasizing but not distracting from the star of the show: DOOM’s lyricism.  It’s cryptic and clever while simultaneously catchy in a bizarre way that I haven’t heard replicated anywhere else.  The song transitions into “Meat Grinder”, another brilliant display of Madlib’s production with DOOM’s next-level raps as he rhymes entire lines with entire other lines in his trademark maniacal yet relaxed tone: “Tripping off the beat kinda, dripping off the meat grinder”.  This album introduced me to both DOOM and Madlib and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since.