Wow, it feels like I was talking about the beginning of summer just a few weeks ago, and now I’m talking about its end! That’s right; this Labor Day weekend marks the end of the summer season for Ocean City. While this summer has been filled with many spectacular events like the Dew Tour, OC Air Show and Fourth of July, I think I can speak for many summer employees that this recent downturn in visitors is welcomed. We’ve all made some great memories this summer, but a little rest and relaxation is definitely needed! As this summer comes to a close, I’d like to share with you my six favorite album endings of all time.

 

America (2012)
By: Dan Deacon
Song(s): “USA I: Is a Monster,” “USA II: The Great American Desert,” “USA III: Rail,” “USA IV: Manifest”
    Baltimore experimental electronic musician Dan Deacon makes some of the weirdest, craziest, most beautiful music you’ll ever hear. America, his most recent album, is also his most ambitious, as the final four songs of the album are a symphonic suite with a full orchestra performing behind Deacon. The musician has extensively studied composing, scored his first film – “Twixt,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 2011, and has played many of his classical compositions at venues such as Carnegie Hall. His composing ability is on full display, as we’re taken on a musical trip throughout the landscapes of the United States.

 

Wolfmother (2005)
By: Wolfmother
Song(s): “Vegabond”
    Inspired by blues rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, this self-titled record is a concept album about a man’s troubles while he falls in love with a girl. The record begins with them meeting, and the lyrics of each song get more depressing as the relationship deteriorates. By the end of the album, the relationship has ended and the man is not in a very good mental state (as hinted not only by the lyrics, but dark tone of the music as well). That is, until the final song of the album. “Vegabond” surprises listeners with a lighter and more uplifting sound, as the main character visits a sorcerer (yes, a sorcerer; no one said this had to be realistic) to find out he will soon meet a new girl in the future. Gazing into the future, the sorcerer tells the man, “the left one was a dancer, can you see the answer.” Sure enough, three songs into the band’s second album, Cosmic Egg, our character meets a girl on a dance floor.

 

Days of Future Passed (1967)
By: The Moody Blues
Song(s): “The Night: Nights in White Satin”
    Nope, you can’t make me tell an X-Men joke here; deal with it. If you could tell by now, I kind of enjoy symphonic music. Back in ’67, The Moody Blues partnered with the London Festival Orchestra to make a concept album with a simple premise, to take us through a typical day. Beginning in the morning, the album ends with an epic track that is now known as the band’s most popular song. Although most songs of the album feature either the rock band or symphonic band prominently at certain times, this song achieves both playing together in a beautiful fashion. The orchestra provides a moving ending with an amazing closing poem written by drummer and songwriter Graeme Edge and recited by then keyboardist Mike Pinder.

 

The Resistance (2009)
By: Muse
Song(s): “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture),” “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination),” “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)”
    Coming from a huge Muse fan, this album is pretty “meh,” save for the epic space opera at the end of the album known as the Exogenesis Symphony. Written and composed by frontman Matthew Bellamy, this is the absolute epitome of the Muse sound. Guitars, drums, bass, vocals, strings, keyboards and classical pianos all come together in a story about astronauts who explore space to find a colony after Earth has been left to ruin. The song is mostly symphonic, with only a subtle rock twist and even a nod to classical composer and virtuoso pianist Frédéric Chopin in the intro of the second movement. OK, so yeah, I REALLY enjoy symphonic music.

The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
By: Pink Floyd
Song(s): “Us and Them,” “Any Colour You Like,” “Brain Damge,” “Eclipse”
    Many people would group only “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” as the ending, since the two basically are one song split into two parts, but each of these four songs flow so well into each other, I have always included all of them in the ending to this album. I assume most of you know about this album, so I won’t bore you with details that you probably already know. If you’re interested in a different perspective of the album, The Flaming Lips recorded their own version of the album called The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon in 2009. The songs are as strange as the title, but are very faithful to the original album and I like to believe that this is how Pink Floyd would have made the album if it was released in the 21st century.

 

Abbey Road (1969)
By: The Beatles
Song(s): “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End”
    Just last month, I talked to you about how much I love what’s commonly known as The Medley; a set of songs in a row that I believe are the greatest song transitions in music history. There is really not much more to say about The Medley. If you have yet to listen to this masterpiece of an album, drop everything you are doing and listen to it NOW.