# Fade-out Songs



## YaReMi (Mar 9, 2006)

I hate those fade-outs. I always had a problem with songs that cannot be finished properly. This scheme may belong in a movie score or a podcast but on a record it sounds like they just ran out of ideas ... It gets even more pathetic when a band is fading-out a song playing live. So .. you guys know how to play more and more and more quiet? Wow!!


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)




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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Mark Knopfler performed one live on the _One Night in London _DVD_. _Little smirk at the end.


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## Alan Small (Dec 30, 2019)

Peter Gabriel Secret World Live


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

It's particularly disappointing when there seems to be a decent jam happening.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Walk This Way


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

Our band specifically looks for live versions in order to find an ending. Crazy Little Thing Called Love comes to mind.

Jump to 3:30


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

DaddyDog said:


> Our band specifically looks for live versions in order to find an ending. Crazy Little Thing Called Love comes to mind.


Our band does that too. Fun song to play, eh?!


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## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

Love fade-outs. Ok, not live, but otherwise yes. I grew up on a steady diet of Zeppelin, and the fade-outs were the parts where you got the vocal ad libs, the craziest drum fills, and interesting guitar solos. I always enjoyed listening to those parts right down to the last moment, trying to make out that last guitar lick, or whatever.
Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On
Gallows Pole
Black Dog
No Quarter
Kashmir
Ten Years Gone...


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I love the occasional well-done live fade, but too many studio fade outs seem like they just didn't know how else to end the song.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Every song should have a beginning, a middle and an end. Period.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Van Morrison 
The endlessly repeated refrain -- keeps it repeating in your head.


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## JivRey (Jul 2, 2016)

Mooh said:


> It's particularly disappointing when there seems to be a decent jam happening.


I think to fade out a song the right way is an art. It should end up with the greatest part of the song and exactly leave you on your appetite, almost sad you'll never get to hear what was coming next.


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

One of my old bands used to do a live fade in to start the 2nd set. The drummer would wander up 1st, and start making some noise. It would slowly evolve into a beat, where the bass player would start walking. Eventually some form would develop with the singer joining in. One by one, the rest of the band would wander up. By the last verse all 9 of us would be up there.

And that is how I used to play the world's most annoying cover of Mack the Knife.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

There needs to be a big bang at the end so that the audience will know when to applaud.


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

While I agree that live fade-outs are unusual & a bit strange, I don't know why studio fade-outs bother some people. It's just another way to conclude a song keeping its flavor in your head, many great songs are blessed with fade-outs. I'm gratified songwriters ignore the occasional gripe and continue with their art however it works for them.

One type of song conclusion I like but I'm sick of hearing is the tune abruptly ends and the purposely dried out vocals go on with one more chorus swing or word. Seems everyone and their dog does that now, painfully unoriginal.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

At one point in my younger days, I was also growing a little disenchanted with fade outs. I thought they were basically an admission that a composer was unable to figure out an interesting ending.

Around the same time, I became a fan of Max Webster and their endings were so creative, almost the anti-fade out poster band.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

We don't do fade outs in my band. We always create our own endings.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Chito said:


> We don't do fade outs in my band. We always create our own endings.


I'm sure that's S.O.P. in most bands. That and medlies or at least running a couple of songs without gaps between them.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

I like fade-outs in their place. Live is not one of them.
When the concept of an 'album' was actually a thing it served it's purpose. Even the order of the songs was very deliberate. Some songs had distinct endings, some faded out, some faded right into the next song.
Why should everything come to an abrupt end? Day fades to night, and vice versa. Perfectly natural. 
Agree 100% with @JivRey above, it can leave you wondering which lick was coming around again, or like a good book, sometimes you didn't want it to end anyway.


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