These songs start slow, build and end with a bang! We polled the KLBJ staff and came up with the best climaxes in classic rock.
12) Slow Ride
11) Won’t Get Fooled Again
Though the song is about so much more, it is hard to listen and not think about Horacio on CSI Miami.
10) Hey Joe
09) Cowboy Song
08) Paradise City
07) One
06) Love, Reign o’er Me
Love, Reign o’er Me starts with the sounds of a rainstorm and builds with each chorus.
05) Comfortably Numb
A song that tells the story of drug addiction leading to a cosmic collapse.
04) Stairway to Heaven
Stairway was apparently conceived during an LSD trip in which demons came out of a fire and drew the lyrics.
03) Gimme Shelter
As legend has it, the Stones called up singer Merry Clayton in the middle of the night to sing the chorus. She showed up to the studio sick, in curlers, and nailed the verse in a few takes.
02) The Chain
The Chain is the powerful crescendo right in the middle of Fleetwood Mac’s legendary “breakup” album Rumours.
https://youtu.be/JDG2m5hN1vo
01) Freebird
If there was a song that could epitomize Skynyrd and rock musicians at the time, it is Freebird. The track starts off at a slithering pace and ramps up to a full sprint. Nothing has more of an epic climax which is why it tops our list.
