10 Best Album Finales In Rock History
The Last Bows of Rock's Finest. So Long, Farewell, And Kick Out the Jams.
Any good album should feel like a good movie for the most part. Much like their brethren on the big screen, the experience of having a complete album experience should be able to tell the story of the artist's journey from one song to the next without incorporating too much unnecessary filler into the mix. While it might be good to open strong, it's a much more difficult task to bring the curtain to a close.
When working on tracks that you have been building up for the past hour or so, this last song is the final thing your listener is going to hear, leaving the final artistic impression. With that responsibility, it has to be good. On the other hand, the best artists have recognized this, putting every single ounce of energy up until the final chord rings out, whether it's bringing the story to a close or making one last gasp for air before snuffing itself out.
Whereas other artists might look haphazard and not know what they're doing, these are examples of artists who are able to sit in the sonic space they created and point a way forward. Even though it's just music at the end of the day, these songs make the world feel gargantuan after you're done listening.
10. Only In Dreams - Weezer
You can't really call Weezer a particularly threatening group of musicians. Even though a lot of their contemporaries in the grunge scene were milking angst and depression for all it was worth, this debut from these nerds was just the kind of lighthearted rock and roll that the world needed to move on after Kurt Cobain's death. However, what they lacked in emotional dread they made up for with one of the greatest guitar symphonies ever put to tape.
Up until this point, we've come to grips with the fact that Rivers Cuomo is a competent guitarist, with every solo on the album having a certain level of conviction laced within. Just when you think that this 8 minute long finale is going to be a somber acoustic piece to close things out, the guitars come roaring in one more time before leaving with the bass.
They're not done yet though, as the track continues with one distinct guitar layering on top of another until it creates this barrage of notes around your head. The result makes you feel like you're flying above the clouds up until the final licks come through, as the subtle bass line from Matt Sharp brings us back down to Earth. As opposed to the more dour and dark songs in the alt-rock pantheon, ending on a stadium rock finish like this was probably the most alternative thing these guys could have done.