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The Best Intros Thread

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    The Best Intros Thread

    Inspired by FiGs mention of the intro to When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge in the earworm thread. I got to thinking have we ever had a thread on truly great intros? I don't remember but if not we should have. After all the pop intro is probably the genre's money shot. If you don't make it in thirty seconds you probably ain't going to make it all. (OK that's the totally wrong comparison, but you know what I mean.) So I'm going to get many of the classics in first, though not in any order, as that's unnecessarily hierarchical.

    Heat Wave — Martha and the Vandellas.
    Piano takes up first 30 secs of a track that runs to 2:40, outrageous at the time. But Berry Gordy had already done almost the same thing on...

    Money — Barrett Strong
    This time the piano is joined by a farty sax, drums, and someone slapping their thigh (or that's what it sounds like.) Then a guitar emerages from the soup to introduce the vocal.

    Fortunate Son — Creedence Clearwater Revival.
    Doug Clifford wasn't the most dextrous or flamboyant drummer, no Moon or Ginger for sure. But he could keep time, in as sharp and crisp a manner as this song warrants. Add in John Fogerty's two note guitar riff and you've got built in urgency for the whole trip.

    Jumpin' Jack Flash — The Rolling Stones
    For me the definitive Stones song. Keef starts on guitar, Charlie has to extricate his rhythm from Keefs melody, it's very hard to do (apparently) then the bass follows Charlie. This was how it usually went with the Stones and it undoubtedly adds tension to the sound.

    Be My Baby — The Ronettes
    Not my favourite Spector production (nor my favourite Ronettes track for that matter) but my lord does it ever work. Three drumbeats repeated twice, with handclaps before Ronnie and The Wrecking Crew move in. Instantly recognisable and just as effective after sixty years.

    Louie Louie — The Kingsmen
    Don Gallucci had only just joined The Kingsmen and could never have anticipated he was about to play some of the most famous few notes in pop history. They're famous because they're they're just about the only coherent few seconds of a record that would launch a thousand and one groups around the world.

    Right, can't finish without Chuck and Bo

    Johnny B Goode — Chuck Berry
    They do differ but frequently it's hard to tell one Chuck intro from another. They all definitely do the job but sometimes seem almost interchangeable. Johnny B. Goode is one of the earliest, and one of the longest, so it gets the nod

    Pretty Thing — Bo Diddley
    One of the more organised of Bo's intros, it's kind of a call and response beween guitar and drums, male and female if you like. The harmonica arbitrates along the way, but essentially the song is a 3:50 intro with no end in sight. More than likely he's still playing it somwhere.



    Last edited by Amor de Cosmos; 12-08-2021, 14:29.

    #2
    I can sorta play the intro to Johnny B Good on guitar.


    Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (slight return) (sometimes written as Voodoo Chile. Never got that). Always makes me happy to be alive

    AC/DC and Black Sabbath are especially good at intros. That why they’re used as walk up music in baseball a lot or played over a montage of highlights before a hockey game.





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      #3
      Off the top of my head:

      Sparky’s Dream Teenage Fanclub
      Lose Control Ash
      One More Chance Pet Shop Boys
      Up Around the Bend Creedence (two appearances already)
      Show Me ABC
      Don’t Bang the Drum The Waterboys
      Lust For Life Iggy Pop

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        #4
        Pinball Wizard

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          #5
          Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
          Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf (+You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth if we're adding quirky)

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            #6
            Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

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              #7
              New Dawn Fades - Joy Division



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                #8
                Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones
                Cold, Cold, Cold - Little Feat (Sailin’ Shoes version)
                Superstition - Stevie Wonder
                The Bottle - Gil Scott Heron
                Your Gold Teeth II - Steely Dan
                Summer Breeze - Isley Brothers
                Listen To The Music - Doobie Brothers
                Labour of Love - Hue and Cry

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post
                  Be My Baby — The Ronettes
                  Not my favourite Spector production (nor my favourite Ronettes track for that matter) but my lord does it ever work. Three drumbeats repeated twice, with handclaps before Ronnie and The Wrecking Crew move in. Instantly recognisable and just as effective after sixty years.
                  You can extrapolate an awful lot of Brian Wilson's arrangements and production work from Be My Baby. I think he was a bit obsessed with that record. Plus his own use of the Wrecking Crew of course.

                  ===

                  Lots of Led Zeppelin riffs.

                  Shine on you Crazy Diamond has to be one of the best very long intros.

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                    #10
                    Dancing the Night Away - The Motors
                    Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen

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                      #11
                      Revolution - The Beatles
                      Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl
                      You Know My Name - Chris Cornell
                      Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

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                        #12
                        Everything up to when Axl blows the whistle on Paradise City.
                        The opening 33 seconds of Welcome to the Jungle is not just an intro but a statement of intent.

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                          #13
                          I Feel Fine - The Beatles

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Sits View Post
                            Lose Control Ash
                            Much as I love the Tie fighter Sits, that's not even the best intro on that album...
                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqY8qrBBSI

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                              #15
                              Tesla - Cumin' atcha live
                              Labi Siffre - I got the
                              Steve Miller band - Jet airliner (extended version)
                              Frankie Valli & the four seasons - The night
                              Hardknox - Fire like this
                              Chaz Jankel - Ai no corrida

                              There's a few to start with. I like threads like these.

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                                #16
                                Originally posted by Kevin S View Post

                                Much as I love the Tie fighter Sits, that's not even the best intro on that album...
                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqY8qrBBSI
                                Before I clicked the link I knew it would be Kung Fu. Fair shout, I suppose mine sprang to mind because it’s the opening track.

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                                  #17
                                  Hawkwind - Silver machine
                                  Change - A lover's holiday
                                  Modest Mouse - Dramamine
                                  The O'Jays - For the love of money
                                  Hot Chip - Huarache Lights
                                  Gary Numan - Music for chameleons

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                                    #18
                                    Very much related, I'm now dancing with Madame Délicieuse in the living room, top stuff

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                                      #19
                                      Comin' On Back To You by Jackie Wilson.

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by Toby Gymshorts View Post
                                        Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

                                        This was my first thought when I saw the thread title. Black Sabbath also wins any Bands who peaked early thread in that they managed it not just on the first album, not just on the first track of the first album, but in the first couple of minutes of the first track on the first album.

                                        Dancing the night away has gone, so Where were you? by the Mekons.
                                        Last edited by Capybara; 12-08-2021, 13:08.

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                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Mr Delicieux View Post
                                          Hawkwind - Silver machine
                                          Change - A lover's holiday
                                          Modest Mouse - Dramamine
                                          The O'Jays - For the love of money
                                          Hot Chip - Huarache Lights
                                          Gary Numan - Music for chameleons
                                          Silver Machine is a great shout.

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                                            #22
                                            Big Country - Fields of Fire

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                                              #23
                                              Great thread! Black Sabbath is a great choice.

                                              Everything In It's Right Place - Radiohead
                                              A few seconds that tell you that the band have changed dramatically and that you should buckle in for the ride.

                                              Astronomy Dominie - Pink Floyd
                                              The build and space words are perfect.

                                              Krautrock - Faust
                                              Well, 7 or 8 minutes of build up can never hurt.

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                                                #24
                                                Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne. An astounding riff from Randy Rhoads.

                                                Tornado of Souls by Megadeth. They have some amazing intros (Holy Wars, Symphony of Destruction and Mary Jane to name but three) but it's their best.

                                                The Trooper by Iron Maiden.

                                                The opening bars of Finally by CeCe Peniston are gloriously joyful.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson

                                                  Ghost Town by The Specials

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