Great Medley Tracks
February 3, 2018 8:02 PM Subscribe
Was listening to the “Finale Medley” from Johnny Cash Live at MSG and was wondering what other great medley-style music there might be out in the world.
Searching through my own collection it seems Caetano Veloso did these occasionally, my favorite is “Nega Maluca / Billie Jean / Eleanor Rigby”.
Searching through my own collection it seems Caetano Veloso did these occasionally, my favorite is “Nega Maluca / Billie Jean / Eleanor Rigby”.
I've always liked Metallica's Mercyful Fate medley from Garage Inc. (1998), but it's not everyone's cup of tea. If you're an electric guitar player, the odds that you'll like it go up.
posted by smcameron at 8:46 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by smcameron at 8:46 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I think the working definition here is a single track with live changes, although multiple artists is fine. The pedant in me classifies Redheaded Stranger as more of a concept album. I should get to making a playlist of great country concept albums ...
posted by q*ben at 8:53 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by q*ben at 8:53 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Springsteen's Detroit Medley is a personal favorite.
posted by she's not there at 8:58 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by she's not there at 8:58 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's intended to be funny, but uh, Jonathan Coulton & Paul and Storm: "Soft Rocked By Me."
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:18 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:18 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
The last track on Elton John’s 1970 live album 11-17-70 is an 18 minute piece featuring his own Burn Down the Mission followed by My Baby Left Me (made popular by Elvis) and the Beatles’ Get Back.
It’s a rollicking performance made even more incredible when you realize the only instruments are piano, bass (Dee Murray RIP), and drums (Nigel Olsson, who still plays with Elton).
posted by The Deej at 9:26 PM on February 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
It’s a rollicking performance made even more incredible when you realize the only instruments are piano, bass (Dee Murray RIP), and drums (Nigel Olsson, who still plays with Elton).
posted by The Deej at 9:26 PM on February 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
David Bowie's Wild-Eyed Boy from Freecloud/All the Young Dudes/Oh You Pretty Things medley from the final Ziggy Stardust performance is fantastic (particularly the segue at around 3:00).
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 12:09 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 12:09 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Side 2 of Abbey Road was specifically written by the Beatles to "use up" a bunch of songs that were individually incomplete and all in different keys. So - I think it was intended to be a medley (in the sense of comprising the "best bits" of several songs using key changes as a feature) rather than as a concept album idea.
Elvis Costello's medley of "New Amsterdam" and "You've got to Hide your Love Away" comes to mind. He does several others.
posted by rongorongo at 2:50 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Elvis Costello's medley of "New Amsterdam" and "You've got to Hide your Love Away" comes to mind. He does several others.
posted by rongorongo at 2:50 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Graham Parker's Human Soul, from track 7 "Everything Goes" to the end, track 13.
posted by andreap at 8:50 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by andreap at 8:50 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Didn’t think to consider Abbey Road, that does make sense. In the same category is Fingertips by They Might Be Giants.
posted by q*ben at 8:59 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by q*ben at 8:59 AM on February 4, 2018
I'm having trouble finding a good link for it, but Barry Manilow does a fun medley of all the commercial jingles he's written over the years.
posted by Neely O'Hara at 10:41 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Neely O'Hara at 10:41 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I immediately thought of Jackson Browne's incredible Load Out/Stay medley which closes his album Running on Empty. Here's a live version from 1978. The version on the album and generally played on the radio is also a live version.
Upon listening to the Johnny Cash song you linked, I was reminded of Weird Al's Polkas. My favorite is his Polka Your Eyes Out from 1992's Off the Deep End. He amazingly puts a polka medley of contemporary songs on every one of his albums. I imagine that the polka medley from when you most follow popular music would be most relatable. His early polkas include classic songs, though I think the drum solo on Polka Your Eyes Out is pretty much unbeatable.
In that vein, here is Axis of Awesome's Four Chord Song.
Listening to the Caetan Veloso song made me remember one of my favorite medleys of all time, which is by a small independent band Jim's Big Ego, in which they rework Feelin' Groovy by Simon and Garfunkle together with Lodi Dodi by Snoop Dogg along with some of their own lyrics into a transcendent celebration that was released almost twenty years ago.
And then there is almost any live performance of Sly and the Family Stone where they medley various songs and sometimes even their entire set. Here's the medley "Dance to the Medley" from their second album.
And here's the another great medley from the 60s, Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In from Hair and released by The Fifth Dimension.
posted by GregorWill at 3:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Upon listening to the Johnny Cash song you linked, I was reminded of Weird Al's Polkas. My favorite is his Polka Your Eyes Out from 1992's Off the Deep End. He amazingly puts a polka medley of contemporary songs on every one of his albums. I imagine that the polka medley from when you most follow popular music would be most relatable. His early polkas include classic songs, though I think the drum solo on Polka Your Eyes Out is pretty much unbeatable.
In that vein, here is Axis of Awesome's Four Chord Song.
Listening to the Caetan Veloso song made me remember one of my favorite medleys of all time, which is by a small independent band Jim's Big Ego, in which they rework Feelin' Groovy by Simon and Garfunkle together with Lodi Dodi by Snoop Dogg along with some of their own lyrics into a transcendent celebration that was released almost twenty years ago.
And then there is almost any live performance of Sly and the Family Stone where they medley various songs and sometimes even their entire set. Here's the medley "Dance to the Medley" from their second album.
And here's the another great medley from the 60s, Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In from Hair and released by The Fifth Dimension.
posted by GregorWill at 3:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
The somewhat weird The Bob (Medley) from Roxy Music's first album (this link to a live version from a Peel Session) (which, apparently, from the youtube comments, is meant to be a 'depiction in music and song of the Battle of Britain.' huh, never knew that...)
posted by Bron at 11:14 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Bron at 11:14 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
(To my mind, the album is one song / one story, just broken into separate tracks.)
posted by whoiam at 8:23 PM on February 3, 2018 [2 favorites]