Prog Rock Epics ?

I was listening to The Gates of Delirium by Yes in the car today and was sort of musing on how prog ( whatever it may be ) has this rather cliched reputation of being all about 20 minute long epics when really the number of epics compared to the total amount of prog output isn't really all that high. Which led me to think...just how many prog epics are there ? So I wondered if we might rustle up a quick list. Picking an arbitary starting point of 20 minutes ( sorry 19 minute songs, you're just long songs that need to try harder ) what actually is out there ? Here's a few to start things off.....

The Revealing Science of God-Yes
Ritual-Yes
A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers-VDGG
Echoes-Pink Floyd
The Sky Moves Sideways-Porcupine Tree
Nine Feet Underground-Caravan
Tarkus-Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Lizard-King Crimson
A Passion Play-Jethro Tull
and theres plenty of songs I'd consider epics that are under twenty minutes. Like dogs, Grendel, Anesthetize and so on.

close to the edge is a nearly 19 minute long EPIC. that's right kids, with caps!

According to my WMP, all these tracks are over 20 minutes, from longest to shortest.

True epics are the various artist albums by Musea Records. Several come to mind.

The Spaghetti Epic
The Spaghetti Epic 2
The Spaghetti Epic 3
The Colossus Of Rhodes
Odyssey - The Greatest Tale
(The) 7 Samurai
Treasure Island

All of these are made up of 20-26min themed tracks, really excellant hence the good ratings they get.

looks like there's more than I thought !  I'll just have to buy more CD's I guess....keep 'em coming

I don't consider all songs longer than 20 minutes epics, to me it seems that a song should sound almost like a journey with a BIG finale (such as most of the Yes epics) ending with a big bang (Man-Erg by VDGG) or just fade away (All Of The Above by Transatlantic).

But several of the old bands had at least one of those and Yes did only epics for a few years.
And many of the new bands try to have one on each of their cd's.

One exception that comes to mind is Gentle Giant, their longest songs are 8 minutes long (not counting live-medleys) and some of those were in 2 minutes distinctly different parts (Glass House, Peel The Paint etc).

There are so many... but try 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' by Yes... a collection of epics.

copypaste from my foo

Green Carnation - [Light of Day, Day of Darkness  #01] Light of Day, Day of Darkness
echolyn - [Echolyn Live CD1 #01] Mei
echolyn - [Jersey Tomato, Volume 2 CD1 #01] Mei
Dream Theater - [Score #09] Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Beardfish - [Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two CD1 #07] Sleeping In Traffic
Incredible Expanding Mindf**k - [Have Come For Your Children #01] Untitled 01
Magma - [Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh #08] M.D.K.
Shadow Gallery - [Legacy #06] First Light
The Flower Kings - [Live In Nurnberg @ Hirsch CD1 #04] The Truth Will Set You Free
Marillion - [Brave (Bonus Disc) #11] The Great Escape (Sprial Remake)
Transatlantic - [Mike's Silver Hammer CD1 #03] Suite Charlotte Pike medley
Moon Safari - [Blomljud CD2 #04] Other Half Of The Sky
The Flower Kings - [Meet the Flower Kings CD1 #01] The Truth Will Set You Free
The Flower Kings - [Unfold The Future #01] The Truth Will Set You Free
Transatlantic - [SMPTe - The Roine Stolt Mixes CD1 #01] All Of The Above
Transatlantic - [SMPT:E CD1 #01] All Of The Above
Transatlantic - [Live In Europe CD1 #04] Suite Charlotte Pike Medley
Transatlantic - [Live in America CD1 #01] All Of The Above
Transatlantic - [Live In Europe CD1 #05] Stranger In Your Soul
Transatlantic - [Back In NYC CD1 #01] All of the Above
Marillion - [This Strange Engine #08] This Strange Engine
Transatlantic - [Live In Europe #06] All Of The Above
Magma - [Live At The BBC #02] Theusz Hamtaahk
Magma - [Köhntarkösz #04] Köhntarkösz Version 2
Transatlantic - [Bridge Across Forever CD1 #04] Stranger In Your Soul
Transatlantic - [Mike's Silver Hammer CD1 #05] All Of The Above
Transatlantic - [Mike's Silver Hammer CD1 #04] Stranger In Your Soul
Neal Morse - [Sola scriptura #01] The door
Neal Morse - [Lifeline CD1 #06] So Many Roads
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD04 #01] Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 43, I. Allegretto poco moderato - Presto
Rick Wakeman - [No Earthly Connection  CD1 #01] Music Reincarnate
Bondage Fruit - [Recit #05] R-it
Transatlantic - [Mike's Silver Hammer CD1 #01] Duel With The Devil
Parallel or 90 Degrees - [A Can of Worms #01] AfterLifecycle Sequence
Pineapple Thief - [What We Have Sown #06] What Have We Sown
Dream Theater - [Score #13] Octavarium
Magma - [Live At The BBC #01] Köhntarkösz
Yes - [Songs from Tsongas, 35th Anniversary Concert CD2 #11] Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil)
Deep Purple - [Turn Around, Live Long Beach CD1 #04] Mandrake Root
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD04 #03] Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 43, III. Largo - Allegro
The Flower Kings - [Meet the Flower Kings #02] Garden of Dreams, Pt. 1
Spock's Beard - [V #06] The Great Nothing
Miles Davis - [The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (disc 1) CD1 #02] Bitches Brew
Miles Davis - [Bitches Brew (disc 1) #02] Bitches Brew
Deluge Grander - [August in the Urals CD1 #01] Inaugural Bash
Transatlantic - [Bridge Across Forever CD1 #01] Duel With The Devil
Frost* - [Milliontown CD1 #06] Milliontown
Simon Says - [Tardigrade #09] Brother Where You Bound
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD07 #01] Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad', I. Allegretto
The Flower Kings - [Meet the Flower Kings #07] Stardust We Are
Transatlantic - [Live In Europe CD1 #01] Duel With The Devil
Guy Manning - [Ragged Curtain #08] Ragged Curtains: Flow/Sea/Waves/Stone/Tides/Sand/Undertow/Ebb
Kaipa - [Mindrevolutions #05] Mindrevolutions
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD10 #01] Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93, I. Moderato
Mike Oldfield - [Tubular Bells CD1 #01] Tubular Bells (Part One)
David Gilmour - [Live In Gdansk Shipyard CD1 #05] Echoes
Led Zeppelin - [How The West Was Won  (Disc 2) CD1 #01] Dazed And Confused/Walter's Walk/The Crunge
Pi2 - [The Endless Journey #04] The Endless Journey
Deep Purple - [California Jamming CD1 #06] Spacetruckin'
The Tangent - [A Place in the Queue #07] A Place in the Queue
Parallel or 90 Degrees - [UNBRANDED: Music From the E.E. Surplus CD1 #06] An Autopsy In Artificial Light
The Flower Kings - [Stardust We Are CD01 #20] Stardust We Are
Neal Morse - [Sola scriptura #02] The conflict
Moon Safari - [A doorway to summer #04] We spin the world
Frank Zappa - [Just another band from LA #01] Billy the mountain
The Flower Kings - [Unfold The Future #16] Devil's Playground
Renaissance - [Scheherazade and other stories #04] Song Of Scheherazade (Parts I - IX)
Genesis - [Seconds Out CD2 #01] Supper's Ready
Shadow Gallery - [Room V #05] Floydian Memories
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - [Symphony # 2 CD1] [2] - 07 - Francesca da Rimini
Dream Theater - [Live Scenes From New York CD3 #05] A Change Of Seasons
The Flower Kings - [The Sum of No Evil #02] Love is the Only Answer
Deep Purple - [Final Truckin', Live Osaka CD1 #06] Space Truckin
Nuova Era - [Io E Il Tempo #02] Domani Io Vecchio
Dream Theater - [Octavarium #08] Octavarium
Deep Purple - [Live In Denmark Cd 2 CD1 #02] Space Truckin'
Pink Floyd - [Atom Heart Mother CD1 #01] Atom Heart Mother
Noir Desir - [des visages des figures #12] l'europe
Yes - [Tales From Topographic Oceans CD1 #02] Dance Of The Dawn (studio run-
Pink Floyd - [Meddle #06] Echoes
Jethro Tull - [A Passion Play CD1 #01] A Passion Play
King Crimson - [Lizard #05] Lizard
Mike Oldfield - [Tubular Bells #02] Tubular Bells (Part Two)
Van Der Graaf Generator - [The Lost Live Tapes CD1 #02] Lost
Tomas Bodin - [I AM CD1 #01] I
Spock's Beard - [The Beard Is Out There - Live CD1 #04] The Water
The Flower Kings - [Meet the Flower Kings #04] Humanizzimo
Spock's Beard - [The Light #03] The Water
Dream Theater - [A Change Of Seasons CD1 #01] A Change Of Seasons
Led Zeppelin - [How The West Was Won (Disc 3) CD1 #01] Whole Lotta Love/Boogie Chillun/Let's Have A Party/Hello Marylou/Going
Van Der Graaf Generator - [Pawn Hearts #03] Plague Of A Lighthouse Keeper
Focus - [Moving Waves #06] Eruption
Magenta - [Metamorphosis #03] Metamorphosis
Camel - [Harbour Of Tears #13] The Hour Candle
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD08 #01] Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 'Stalingrad', I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
Genesis - [Foxtrot #06] Supper's Ready
Jordan Rudess - [The Road Home #06] Tarkus
Caravan - [In The Land Of Grey And Pink #05] Nine Feet Underground
The Tangent - [Not As Good As The Book CD2 #02] The Full Gamut
Jethro Tull - [Thick As A Brick #01] Thick as a Brick (part 1)
Yes - [Tales From Topographic Oceans CD1 #01] The Revealing Science of God (
Transatlantic - [The Transatlantic Demos by Neal Morse #07] Full Moon Rising
Unitopia - [The Garden #102] The garden
Parallel or 90 Degrees - [The Time Capsule #08] The Time Capsule
Marillion - [Popular Music CD2 #05] This Strange Engine
The Tangent - [Going Off On One CD1 #03] In Earnest
Daimonji - [Improg CD1 #04] Ombre Moned
Hansson & Karlsson - [Rex CD1 #04] Chateau Plaisance-68
Yes - [Relayer CD1 #01] The Gates Of Delirium
Yes - [Tales From Topographic Oceans CD1 #01] Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)
Deep Purple - [In Concert 1970 1972 Cd 2 CD1 #06] Space Truckin'
Dmitri Shostakovich - [Shostakovich: The Complete Sym CD11 #02] Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 'The Year 1905', II. The Ninth of January
Magma - [K.A #03] Part III
Magma - [1001° Centigrades CD1 #01] Riah Sahiltaahk
Kaipa - [Inget nytt under solen CD1 #01] Skenet bedrar
Osanna - [Palepoli CD1 #03] Animale Senza Respiro
IZZ - [My River Flows #08] Deafening Silence
Jethro Tull - [A Passion Play CD1 #02] A Passion Play
Tomas Bodin - [I AM #02] A
Mike Oldfield - [Hergest Ridge CD1 #01] Hergest Ridge (Part One)
Mr. Sirius - [Dirge #06] The Nile For A While
Daimonji - [Improg CD1 #03] Night Dust (Monosyllabic Sex)
Tomas Bodin - [You Are CD1 #07] Silicone Bimbo Run
Mahavishnu Orchestra - [Between Nothingness & Eternity CD1 #03] Dream
Deep Purple - [La Dernière Séance, Live In Paris CD1 #01] Space Trucking
The Flower Kings - [Paradox Hotel CD01 #02] Monsters & Men
Yes - [Relayer CD1 #06] The Gates Of Delirium (studio
The Tangent - [Not As Good As The Book CD2 #01] Four Egos, One War
Rick Wakeman - [Journey to the Centre of the Earth #01] Journey / Recollection
Miles Davis - [The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (disc 3) CD3 #05] Lonely Fire
Miles Davis - [The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (disc 3) CD3 #06] Guinnevere
Jethro Tull - [Thick As A Brick #02] Thick as a Brick (part 2)
Spock's Beard - [Don't Try This At Home #06] The Healing Colors Of Sound
Maneige - [Maneige CD1 #01] le rafiot
Fates Warning - [Still Life CD2 #01] The Ivory Gate of Dreams
Roine Stolt - [The Flower King CD1 #07] Humanizzimo
Harmonium - [En Tournée CD1 #04] Le Premier Ciel
Yes - [Tales From Topographic Oceans CD1 #02] The Remembering (High the Memo
Frank Zappa - [Studio tan CD1 #01] The adventures of Greggery Peccary
Van Der Graaf Generator - [World Record #04] Meurglys III (The Songwriter's Guild)
Phideaux - [Chupacabras #02] Chupacabras
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - [Tarkus CD1 #01] Tarkus
The Tangent - [Pyramids and Stars #06] In Darkest Dreams
Magenta - [Metamorphosis CD1 #01] The Ballad Of Samuel Layne
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - [Live In Montreux #13] Tarkus/Pictures at an Exhibition
Yes - [Keys To Ascension #02] The Revealing Science Of God
Hatfield and the North - [The Rotters' Club #09] Mumps
Focus - [Hamburger Concerto #05] Hamburger Concerto
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - [Symphony # 5 CD1] [5] - 05 - Romeo and Juliet Fa
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - [Piano Concerto No.2 in G, Op.44 #01] Piano Concerto No.2 in G, Op.44, I. Allegro brillante
Opeth - [Morningrise CD1 #04] Black Rose Immortal
Incredible Expanding Mindf**k - [Arcadia Son #07] Shadow of a Twisted Hand Across My House
Sylvan - [Artificial Paradise #09] Artificial Paradise
Daimonji - [Into A Blind Alley #01] Starstruck
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - [Symphony # 5 CD1] [5] - 01 - Symphony No. 6 in B
Pär Lindh & Björn Johansson - [Discus Ursi #06] Discus Ursi's Rapsody
Spock's Beard - [Live at the Whisky and NEARfest CD2 #02] The Light
Deep Purple - [Turn Around, Live Long Beach CD1 #03] Child In Time
Miles Davis - [The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (disc 1) CD1 #01] Pharaoh's Dance
Miles Davis - [Bitches Brew (disc 1) #01] Pharaoh's Dance
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - [Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor, Op.23 #01] Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor, Op.23, I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito
The Tangent - [A Place in the Queue #01] In Earnest
Andy Tillison Diskdrive - [Fog CD1 #05] Ersatzgebäude
Fromuz - [Seventh Story CD1 #02] Parallels
Parallel or 90 Degrees - [A Can of Worms #02] Four Egos, One War
Deep Purple - [Made In Japan Cd 1 CD1 #07] Space Truckin'

Not sure if this excellent one has been mentioned