Although it doesn’t bode well for radio exposure, many discerning musicians opt for protracted compositions from time to time. Lyrically focused artists like Bob Dylan shun the three-minute rule to accommodate meandering narratives and epic poems. Meanwhile, others, such as Pink Floyd, reward the patient listener with sparse, chaptered soundscapes.

Pink Floyd formed in the mid-1960s and soon became a leading proponent of the London psychedelic rock wave alongside the likes of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Although the band soon migrated to pioneer prog-rock in Syd Barrett’s absence, it is widely regarded as a space rock band. Beyond references to outer space, such as ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ or The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd maintained this classification through a penchant for space – or, more accurately, time – within their compositions.

There’s a reason spaced-out psychonauts find sanctum in Pink Floyd’s more representative ethereal soundscapes as opposed to heavier, jagged scapes like ‘Young Lust’ or ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)’. With a little help from David Gilmour’s resplendent knack for sparse, affecting lead work, songs like ‘Echoes’ and ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ fit the space rock bill more than others.

Taking cues from the jazz world, Pink Floyd discovered their affinity with nebulous, drawn-out compositions through the art of improvisation. Often, the band would write their music together in unrestricted studio sessions, feeling out the notes as they went. In 1970, this approach gave rise to Atom Heart Mother, an album very few fans would describe as a favourite but one that sports an intriguing mixture of songs, including two that breach the ten-minute mark.

Concluding Atom Heart Mother’s second side is the 13-minute showstopper, ‘Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast’, but putting this meagre timestamp to shame is the album’s vast opener, ‘Atom Heart Mother Suite’. Clocking in at 23 minutes and 44 seconds, it is Pink Floyd’s longest uncut studio piece. However, it is technically a suite comprising six parts, so it doesn’t qualify as a singular song.

As if intending to spark debate among fans, Pink Floyd’s second longest uncut piece is ‘Echoes’, the jewel in the crown of 1971’s Meddle. Dropping a hair’s breadth short of ‘Atom Heart Mother Suite’, ‘Echoes’ lasts 23 minutes and 30 seconds, but since it’s a singular song, it qualifies as Pink Floyd’s longest song.

Also worthy of mention is ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’, Pink Floyd’s touching tribute to Barrett featured on 1975’s Wish You Were Here. The ten-part epic was initially intended as a side-long piece, uninterrupted for its 25-minute and 57-second duration. However, the band ultimately split the suite into two halves, bookending the album.