10 Perfect Prog Rock Songs That Are Ridiculously Long

When Pink Floyd first started to get big, they weren't necessarily strangers to the long song format. Going as far back as Meddle, the song Echoes pretty much set up what the band would become later down the line, aiming for great bits of rock and roll while also experimenting with different loops and ambient noise in between their songs as well. They had finally reached the top of the prog rock world with Dark Side of the Moon though, and not everyone was particularly happy about that.

Coming back to the studio tired and barely on speaking terms, Wish You Were Here is practically a document of what happens when a band gets thrust into the rock and roll machine and spit back out. Though you can make parallels to many of Floyd's members here, the one musician coating this album is Syd Barrett, who had left a few years prior after losing his mental health on the road. While Syd turned up during the sessions for this album, the band already had him on their mind with Shine on You Crazy Diamond.

Bookending both sides of the album, this song feels like the band trying to capture their friendship with Syd into one epic piece, from David Gilmour's guitar riff echoing the ghost of Syd to the triumphant chorus which wishes that Syd be at peace at some point down the line. Given all of the baggage that came with making this album, there was no choice but for a song like this to be this long. Enough miles had been put on their soul, and hearing Floyd play this song feels almost cathartic to listen to.