8+

"Jerusalem (Pt. 4)" by Sleep which clocks in at 10:28

The original post that I wrote for this entry was for a different version of this song. The FULL version that clocks in at 63:31. And the post was 6,331 words long. Yes, one song that's over an hour long (you can thank me later for editing the song choice as well as this entry) and you're missing a lot of it (obviously) by listening to the version posted here. But, I'm not sure what else to do. If I were to post the full song as it was composed by the band I'd basically be giving away an entire album for free. That's not what I'm trying to do (at all) and given the massive amounts of trouble which the band faced over this record-long song I think it more than criminal to just give it away for free. So instead I give to you this portion of Sleep's hour long opus "Dopesmoker". It's my favorite "movement" within the larger whole and you might want to remember that it's not actually supposed to end so abruptly like it does in this MP3. It's not supposed to be constrained by the boundaries which have been placed upon it in this version of the album, wasn't meant to be abridged the way it was in the film Broken Flowers, and isn't even supposed to be called "Jerusalem (Pt. 4)". Confused?

Wikipedia explains:

For their third record, Sleep took almost two years writing, re-writing, and recording with producer Billy Anderson, investing a large portion of their major label advance on the album. The result was a 63-minute song, "Dopesmoker", that left the managers at London Records confused and dismayed. The band reworked the song into the 52-minute "Jerusalem" but London Records still refused to release it. The band was subsequently dropped, and the resulting red tape contributed heavily to the band’s disbanding. "Jerusalem" was released as a bootleg by a friend of the band in 1998. The song was split into six tracks against the band's wishes. A year later it was officially released by The Music Cartel and Rise Above Records. The official release kept the song split into six tracks.

Thankfully, in 2003 Tee Pee Records released Dopesmoker in its full-length single-track form which you can now buy at the link below and thus enjoy Sleep's original vision.

Buy Dopesmoker HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
Elton John - "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding"
Jenő Jandó - "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2"
The Temptations - "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind"
Deerhoof - "Look Away"
Tan Dun - "Symphony 1997: II. Earth (Yi3)"
Jane's Addiction - "Three Days"
Joanna Newsom - "Monkey & Bear"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.