Most of the workweek tends to be a bit too uptight to listen to music loud enough to matter, but Fridays are bit more relaxed. It's pretty much the only day I even bother to listen to anything at work any more. Anyway, I put on the shuffle and what pops up as song 1, Into the Void (I hope that's a decent link, I can't actually watch these at work). Does this song not have one of the best guitar intros ever? I don't have the time or mental capacity at the moment to make a list, but I'm pretty sure that song would be on a top-10 list were I to make one.
There are many great ones out there: Anthrax's I Am The Law, the Misfits' London Dungeon, Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Megadeth's Peace Sells, But Who's Buying? ... that's what I can come up with off the top of my head.
Suggestions? I just might have to make a mix CD of best intro songs.
11 comments:
"Eruption", by Van Halen, if used as an intro to "You really got me"... which it should be. Always.
Michele from This is a Thing says Hot for Teacher.
So far so good folks. Let's keep 'em coming.
"Gimme Three Steps" by Skynyrd, no doubt.
Some dark horse candidates:
-- "Chaos A.D." by Sepultura (I'm a sucker for percussion)
-- "The Mirror" by Dream Theater
-- Machine Head's "Imperium" (they have several good buildup-type intros)
-- "Do You Call My Name" by Ra (abrupt, but I like it)
-- "Dig" by Mudvayne
-- "Are You Dead Yet," Children of Bodom
-- "Down with the Sickness," Disturbed
-- "Cowboys from Hell," Pantera
OK, I'd better stop.
Well, if we can expand it beyond guitar intros my vote for the all-time greatest intro is "Planet Claire" by the B-52s
Oh yeah, I don't want to limit to guitar intros. Rock music, in general, but I don't care about the style of intro. Hell, Anthrax's "Be All/End All" has a cello intro that rocks.
Yikes, correction: it's "Refuse/Resist" by Sepultura, on the Chaos AD album.
I knew what you meant, Steve :)
Hard to limit myself. Here goes just some
Wishbone Ash has about 8 of them but I’d choose The King Will Come if I had to choose just one.
UFO’s Rock Bottom among many others
Scorpions’ Rock You Like A Hurricane among many others
Ted Nugent’s Snakeskin Cowboys
Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild
Deep Purple also has a bunch but I love Made In Japan’s Highway Star to most
Rush’s Bastille Day among many others
The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter
Robin Trower’s Bridge of Sighs
Queen’s Now I’m Here among many others
Pink Floyd’s Sorrow
Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train
Nazareth’s Beggar’s Day
Montrose’s Rock The Nation
Dire Straits Money For Nothing among many others
Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown among many others
Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath but also Snowblind and Paranoid
Humble Pie’s I Don’t Need No Doctor
Foghat’s Drivin’ Wheel
Focus Hocus Pocus
Ram Jam Black Betty
Bachman Turner Overdrive’s Don’t Get Yourself In Trouble
The Cars Just What I Needed
Cheap Trick’s Hello There
Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s Woodstock
David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs
Cullen -- I know no songs. I am Amish, remember? ;-)
You don't want me giving you songs from Broadway musicals, do you?
Long-time blog friend, tescosuicide, sends this comment:
When you say intros, I assume you mean more than just a few good riffs that start off a tune like the pure example of how good a Les Paul can sound in the right hands when Page intros Whole Lotta Love or when one instrument gets you tapping your foot to one time signature then throws you a curve when the rest of the band joins in like the bass intro of Crush by Dave Matthews. If that's what your asking, I don't think I can efficiently answer that as too many bands fit that answer.
If you mean extended intros, then I can definitely give you a few that really stand out to me. My answer may be a bit eclectic but after all, I'm a music man, I'm all over the board.
I'll start with Firth of Fifth off the Selling England By The Pound album by Genesis. (link-
https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Firth%20of%20Fifth.mp3)
This is still said to be one of the hardest piano scores in modern rock but aside from that, it's amazing to listen to. Although intense and overly involved scores were common of the era, Anthony Banks still stands above the rest. As much as my heart belongs to the Clash and Punk, if I had to choose a favorite intro, it would be Firth of Fifth.
But then again, the intro for Heart of the Sunrise by Yes, especially after the first 30 seconds (link- https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Heart%20of%20the%20Sunrise.mp3)
might have it over the aforementioned leader... maybe it's just a close second.
More modern, but definitely in the same genre as the two above, Vicarious by Tool (link-
https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Vicarious.mp3) has managed to capture me almost as hard as Bruford and Banks. How couldn't they though? I know it's a pretty bold statement, but if you're a musician and you can't find the superior, almost unmatched quality in Adam Jones' scores you need to pack it in.
Easing up and going more into my scene, I still can't manage to listen to Gut Feeling by Devo (link-
https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Gut%20Feeling.mp3) without turning my stereo up as loud as it can go. No? Not Devo? How about the intensity of cEvin Key's programming and synth skills in Censor (link-
https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Censor.mp3) off the Skinny Puppy remix single of the same name? Industrial and Electronica typically have long intros I know. But something about this one has stood out to me for years. Maybe it just sparks good memories of the Industrial clubs in New Brunswick... I digress.
Going back to Rock, one really unsuspecting band comes to mind and if I'm honest, it's first song that popped into my head when you sent me the email- Celluloid Heroes by the Kinks (link- https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Celluloid%20Heroes.mp3).
Definitely not one of their best tunes, I'm still a huge fan of their earliest work like Til The End of the Day but as far as an intro goes, Celluloid Heroes really stands out. I guess I end this out with another one of my favorites- not the greatest band in music history but surely an important one.. well, pre-eighties of course- How can you not love Nancy Wilson's pseudo-classical intro to Crazy On You?
(link- https://home.comcast.net/~tesco1969/cullen/Crazy%20On%20You.mp3)
(even better link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpNqB4dnT4) As much as I love Nancy's implants over a BC Rich not actually being used as one of the recorded instruments on the later Heart videos, seeing her jammin out on her Ovi is still such a huge turn on.
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