Best Closing Tracks, Pt. 3

#30: “When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

I’ve never been the world’s biggest Zep fan, but even a jaded, post-punk loving hipster can’t ignore the awesome power of this thunderous track. That shuddering stomp that John Bonham lays down is so raw and visceral that it’s no wonder generations of fledgling drummers have flocked to him as an influence. Simple and heavy as a ton of bricks, there’s very little you can do to fight it off.

#29: “Foreground”
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest (2009)

This album has only been around for a few months and I already know that “Foreground” is one of the most fitting and beautiful closing tracks I’ve ever heard. Grizzly Bear always seem to err on the side of wispy, ethereal drift, but it pays off to tremendous effect on this track, which grows out of a minor-key piano line and builds into a solemn, emotional hymn.

#28: “Soon”
My Bloody Valentine
Loveless (1991)

The monolithic wall of guitar that is Loveless is My Bloody Valentine’s greatest gift to the world and they close that album with one of their most complete, accessible songs to date. The skipping riff that pops up throughout the song is the little earworm that gets stuck in your head and the pummeling waves of distorted chords ensure that you never forget this fantastic track.

#27: “Ambulance Blues”
Neil Young
On The Beach (1974)

Few musicians close their albums as well as Neil Young. Perhaps it’s because he naturally drifts towards emotional, dramatic songs that are permeated with a sense of finality. “Ambulance Blues” is just one of his many great closing tracks, but it’s also one of his most memorable. His evocative images and wailing tone conjure up an abstract smorgasbord of Neil’s current targets, with his most pointed barbs aimed at music critics: “you’re all just pissing in the wind.” Yikes.

#26: “Threads”
Portishead
Third (2008)

Portishead’s recent album, Third, is a deeply unsettling, nauseating listen. I attribute most of this to the note the listener is left with when the album ends. “Threads” is long, clocking in over five minutes, dragging itself through a swamp of echoing guitars and eerie keyboards before finally concluding with a cacophonous siren-like bellow echoing through the silence.

#25: “Mass Production”
Iggy Pop
The Idiot (1977)

Almost identical to “Threads”, Iggy’s “Mass Production” is another song that finishes off a harrowing, creepy album. This one is even longer, slogging its way through eight-and-a-half minutes and, again, ending with that air-raid siren sound screaming out through the foggy silence surrounding it. It’s an effect that feels powerful, yet incredibly lonely.

#24: “Hope You Like The New Me”
Richard Thompson
Mock Tudor (1999)

English guitar master Richard Thompson is famous for his fiery axe-playing and insanely intricate folky ballads, but he also excels at writing tremendously creepy songs. “Hope You Like The New Me” is one of those, featuring a goosebump-inducing guitar figure that spiders its way across Thompson’s biting lyrics. Thompson’s sad, resigned tone only drives home the inherent darkness of a song like this.

#23: “Life In A Glasshouse”
Radiohead
Amnesiac (2001)

Skronking New Orleans funeral jazz might seem a strange fit for a band like Radiohead, but it suits their paranoia and modern era existential dread perfectly. Those blaring trumpets and whistling clarinets underscore Thom Yorke’s fear that “there’s someone listening in.” Radiohead, as they are so often want to do, manage to fit a wonderful, memorable melody line into the song as well.

#22: “Hiroshima Mon Amour”
Ultravox
Ha!-Ha!-Ha! (1977)

Before a mustachioed hack of a frontman named Midge Ure took the reins of control on British synth-pioneers Ultravox in 1979, they were fronted by John Foxx and his regal, commanding baritone voice. While Ultravox never quite hit their stride musically on those early albums, they did manage to create “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, one of the earliest and best synth ballads. The song has the forward-thinking, futuristic sheen of the era, while still retaining an older, traditional sense of class and romanticism. A winning combination if there ever was one.

#21: “LA Blues”
The Stooges
Fun House (1970)

Five minutes of howling, rhythmless noise wouldn’t be allowed on ninety-nine percent of albums released in the world. However, in the hands of the Stooges, it becomes one of the most important and inflammatory music recordings in history. Funny how these things work.