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Those great intro's
In “Questionable” I love that unique intro! It grabs your attention and you know you’re in for a great musical ride. “Nothing Is In Vain” has that dissonant guitar lead in that always stand out and captivates soon as it comes on. On the Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” there is that remarkable bell sound that kicks it off that stand out, as does “Sloop John B” with an interesting flute effect.
The most famous is Beatles “A Hard Days Night” with that famous and unmistakable chord. You can be anywhere doing something, and as soon as you hear that chord on the radio or someone in a music store rings that single chord from a guitar, your mind immediately anticipates “It’s been a hard days night…..”. That’s magic! Paul McCartney says George Harrison’s guitar lead in for “And I Love Her” makes the song.
A lot of great songs have a remarkable stand out lead in. For me a unique and stand out intro immediately sets a wonderful mood and stage for the song, like you hit the pavement running. On a new song, it immediately piques your curiosity and attention. What are some of your favourites?
I vaguely remember posting something similar way, way back, about song intros, but it might be fun to rekindle it for a fresh discussion.
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52 Replies
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Hi Jung, yes we had the guitar intro before. But it really doesn’t matter, a very nice topic, again and again… 🙂 Good idea!
I found a nice cover version of Hotel California here (the original should be well known).
PS: And so that no ressentiments arise, I would also like to mention that of course our two favorite musicians played a likewise enchanting cover version of this song, but unfortunately I can’t link it right now.
PPS: your second videolink is blocked in Germany (maybe also in Europe). I can not watch it.
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Hi Jurgen, thanks for posting that. I like that Spanish classical guitar version of Hotel California, very elegant. The name of the band tickled me, 40 fingers, but very clever really. A good nick name for the Beatles could have been the 4 moustaches, at least in the late 60s. ????
Thanks for pointing out my video did not play. Here is another one hopefully works.
Time for bed on the westcoast of NA.
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The fab four moustaches 🙂
The new videolink works, thanks Jung. I am surprised that you are not already in bed – greetings from the future-
An unusual intro and an unusual song from an even more peculiar album (even by Pink Floyd standards). But I love it.
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Jurgen, yeah this one has a unique intro indeed. This is early Pink Floyd, I guess when Syd Barret was with the band. Sounds great, very unique sound.
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Hi Jung, yes “The Scarecrow” is an early song by Pink Floyd from 1967 and was released on the album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”. It is the only album that was created entirely under the musical direction of former band member and actual founder of Pink Floyd Syd Barrett, who left the band in 1968. I would be interested to know to what extent The Beatles and Pink Floyd influenced each other. The LP Sgt. Pepper also has a psychedelic touch.
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You may notice in the Scarecrow video we hear Syd singing, but he is not in the video. This video was made soon after Syd was excused and replaced by David Gilmour. It’s funny how they all lip sync together over Syd’s vocal.
JP
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Hi JP, of course I didn’t. I know the early faces of Pink Floyd only from their LP covers. As far as the look of Pink Floyd is concerned, I am quite clueless. I wouldn’t even recognize David Gilmour today if he rang my doorbell and brought me a pizza. Too bad I’ll never get an autograph that way.
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I hope I’m not duplicating any examples I came up with the last time we discussed song intros, but this is one of my very favorites. It never fails to get me immediately smiling and bobbing my head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cL4-A5-mpA
That “four mustaches” comment reminds me of something John said in a 1969 interview that I came across a couple of years ago. I’ll have to paraphrase because I can’t track it down again, but it was essentially this:
“Five years ago we worked so hard to look exactly alike, with the suits and the hairstyles. But now? Well, this month I’m the one with the beard, George is the one with the mustache, and Paul is the one with the long hair. This morning Ringo came into the studio with a whole new head.”
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David, niiice! Haven’t heard this one before nor the band. Has a catchy tune, and I can feel myself bobbying my head too.
It looks like in those days in the late 60s, the Fab Four had a lot of hair going on! That’s pretty funny, “Ringo…with a whole new head”. ????
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I think Paul McCartney was a master of great intros. Love his songs, so many have got all kinds of unique catchy lead-ins.
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Band on the Run is basically three great songs stitched together, each with its own intro. I’ve often wondered whether Paul originally intended to develop and record each of them as separate tracks.
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David, yeah Band on The Run definately has 3 distinct parts that each has a wonderful intro and melody. A Day In the Life is like that too, with two halves, one which was done by John Lennon and the other Paul McCartney. It’s like intentionally changing or directing the listeners emotions drastically within the song. It’s like chapters in a book that work together towards a cohesive whole. Only other place I know of where that is done is in classical music by Mozart and Beethoven, and I am sure many others. Within the same movement the melody and structure change. When it’s done nicely like in Band On the Run, and A Day In The Life, it works great, heck the both of those songs are some of the best rock/pop songs ever written. Pink Floyd music has that too.
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Also a great intro with goosebumps guarantee: „My Sweet Lord“. Unfortunately, this wonderful song then loses some momentum at some point. That was the „bubble gum“ music of the 70s: the longer the better. „Short and crisp“ (kurz und knackig) of the 50s and 60s was history at this point.
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I could probably name every PF song in 2-3 notes, as could most. I thought I could contribute to this thread with one of theirs, but then I started thinking they have a ton of obvious intros, so I am trying to come up with a less known one.
Fearless is one that has a nice moving acoustic intro. The opening chord has a drum beat at the bottom of it that truly sets the pace of the song. I hear that first chord and I’m ready. This is a great song when you need a little boost of confidence. (The outro is kinda kool, too) I listen to this a lot while ⛷. It really gets the heart racing, like Walking On The Air ????
JP
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Hi JP, that is a beautiful song, and inspiring lyrics, thanks for sharing it. Pink Floyd certainly has a rich repertoire and diverse music.
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Back when I was listening to oldies radio, I’d often challenge myself to see how quickly I could identify each song after it began. This one always threw me for a loop, because the first part of the intro doesn’t really match the rest of the song at all. Then it abruptly changes character, and finally I would recognize it and start bobbing my head (apparently a frequent reaction for me) as it led smoothly into the vocals.
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A music box as an intro. I don’t know which musician originally had this idea, but I like it very much.
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Jurgen, those music box wind up sounds are a cool lead in.
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I think this one is hard to beat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN__87QIyzYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN__87QIyzY
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Hi Tom, have you heard MLT’s version of Help yet? They did a wonderful acoustic version on one of the “Saturdays with Billy Butler” radio series. The June 21 2014 episode. Love those harmonies.
https://test2.monalisa-twins.com/bbc-radio-merseyside-saturdays-with-billy-butler/
BBC Radio Merseyside – Saturdays with Billy Butler – Radio Performance/Interview
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Steve Miller always sounded great like this lead in.
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