Best. Song intro. Ever

[quaoar]

For me, it's the opening riff on Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years."

[LoisMustDie]

1. Steely Dan is a good one...

John Cougar Mellencamp's I need a lover that won't drive me crazy.. i think is the title... The into goes on forever like it's really building to a great song but then leads into a rather cheesy little diddy.. Always struck me as odd.

[enigmatic]

2. "The Other Side" by Moving Targets

Absolutely killer guitar riff..

[physioex]

3. Moody Blues....Wildest Dream

[autorank]

4. My Morning Jacket : "One Big Holiday"

http://www.mymorningjacket.com/itstillmoves.html

[Rocinante]

5. "The Spirit Of Radio" Rush

[DontBlameMe]

8. "Xanadu"'s better.

[Tsiyu]

6. Portland Oregon, Loretta Lynn

with the White Stripes dudes - kinda cool

Bad Love - Clapton
Statesboro Blues _ ABB
and some of the Drive by Truckers intros are pretty awesome

[JSJ]

7. steve miller's "take the money and run" n/t

[dbt]

9. One time for The Move!

"Do Ya." ELO's (l-a-m-e LAME) version of this bone-crunching wonder should never have seen the light of day.

Runner-up: "I Can See For Miles." The very essence of The Who in eight seconds. You can tell from the first NOTE that it's Townshend with a Rickenbacker and a Hiwatt.

:smoke:
dbt

[Philostopher]

35. The fade on Do Ya' is even better.

Roy Wood growling 'look out, baby there's a plane a'comin'!' cracks me up every time.

My vote is for the intro to Bruce Springsteen's 'Rosalita.' Not sure if the version I heard so much as a teenager was the studio or live version, I've heard both since, but I do like it a lot.

[terrya]

10. The violin bit to ELO's "Livin' Thing"

[onebigbadwulf]

11. The Wonder Years song - With a little help from my friends

remade by Joe Cocker

[MichaelHarris]

12. Sweet Jane

Lou Reed

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

13. There is only ONE answer - A Love Supreme Part 1 (Acknowledgement)

Ahhhhh

[WilliamPitt]

14. I'M THE KING OF ROCK, THERE IS NONE HIGHER

[HughBeaumont]

30. King of Rock would get my vote

Greatest rap song ever made, IMO -

Others -

"Light My Fire"
"Sweet Leaf"
"Heart of the Sunrise"
"Down in the Street"
"Immigrant Song"
"Suicide's an Alternative"
"Hello, It's Me"
"For the Love of Money"
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight"

[Swamp Rat]

15. "Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" (1896) by Richard Strauss

The most powerful one minute intro ever.

[bbernardini]

21. Ah, but that's not a song!

A tone poem perhaps, but songs have words. Except, of course, for "Songs Without Words".

[Swamp Rat]

27. Right. It's "serious art music" no doubt and technically speaking

it's a "piece," but most folks don't make that destinction. I guess arias count, right? Then how about "When I am laid in earth," from Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas?"

[bbernardini]

28. Sure!

Why not? :)

[On the Road]

16. Speaking of Steely Dan...

There's an live version of "Boddhisatva" from somewhere in California in the mid 70's where the announcer is clearly drunk out of his mind and rambles on incoherently, flirts with the "little...little pretty ones" in the audience before finally introducing "the beautiful one, the one and only one, Mr. Steely Dan and whatever." Cracks me up every time.

[mac56]

19. I know that one.

Steely Dan issued it as the b-side of one of their singles. You can hear it on the CD "Steely Dan Gold".

[Richardo]

25. "Mr. Steely Dan.....and whatever...."

I'm hip my brother - that is a guaranteed crack up every time. :D

[LynneSin]

17. Organ opening to "Your Time is Gonna Come" by Led Zeppelin

honorable mention: Opening to "You can't always get what you want" by the Stones

[mac56]

18. "I Wanna Be With You" by the Raspberries

"I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five.
"A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles.
"Train In Vain" by the Clash.
"Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits.

Add on edit:
"Can't Hardly Wait" by the Replacements.

[radwriter0555]

20. Sweet Child of Mine... G n R....

Nothing like it.

[radwriter0555]

22. OR the organ intro to White Shade of Pale...

now that will rip your heart out...

[bbernardini]

23. "At The End Of The Day" - Spock's Beard

The "orchestral" beginning is a thing of beauty, and the drum fill that kicks the song into gear with the full band is one of the greatest ever performed.

[Atlas Mugged]

24. 'Gimme Shelter' n/t

[MissMillie]

29. I think so too (n/t)

.

[St. Jarvitude]

26. First movement of the William Tell Overture (Andante Violoncell solo)

A close second is the somber four cello solo opening to the 1812 Overture.

Can you tell I'm a cellist? :)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

31. For totally over the top, kitchen-sink intros, I call

Don't Bang the Drum - The Waterboys
Breaking into Heaven - The Stone Roses

for genius - Wrong 'em Boyo - The Clash.

[Aristus]

32. Here's an obscure on for ya: "Crusader" by Chris De Burgh.

It opens with a riff on a harpischord (!) Pretty cool.

[phillybri]

33. "Blue Collar Man" by Styx

That organ sounds HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!

[kodi]

34. phil and jerry's opening riff on Dark Star

.

[sundog]

36. imho, the intro of "Do It Again" is groovier than "Reelin'"

--

[Richardo]

39. I like the intro to "My Old School" better...

...but the one for "Two Against Nature" with the squeaky saxophone line is pretty great, too.

[sundog]

45. "Rikki" has an interesting opening too-- come to think of it, they had

a lot of good intros

[ProfessorGAC]

37. I'll Get Trashed For This One, But. . .

. . .the intro to "Long Time" by Boston off the first album.

Yeah, i know the song isn't that great (Gonna Hitch A Ride is the best song on that album), but the intro is SUPERB. It was evidence that at one time, the guys in that band could play and cared about the craft.

After the first album, they became record company harlots.
The Professor

[Magrittes Pipe]

38. 4'33"

John Cage.

It makes me weep every time.

[Richardo]

40. Kudos to the first 4'33" reference of the week!

:toast: whoisalhedges

[Magrittes Pipe]

41. EVERY week needs a 4'33" reference.

Although I prefer Cage's compositions for prepared piano. I mean, I suppose one could perform 4'33" solo; but it has the most impact as an orchestral piece.

[Tikki]

42. "Smash It Up" prt 1...

The Damned...

[henslee]

43. Without a doubt, WHODINI'SFIVE MINUTES OF FUNK eom

[Commendatori]

44. "Say What You Will" by Fastway,

"Cities on Flame" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East. All simple, all great.

[southpaw]

46. Jon Lord's organ riff on Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers"

Sets up the feel quite effectively!

[shawmut]

47. Baba O'Reily n/t

[Kid_A]

48. Smashing Pumpkins' "Cherub Rock".

Also Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place".

[leeman67]

49. Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart

[LanternWaste]

50. Completely off the cuff here...

Completely off the cuff here...

Vangelis and Jon Anderson doing "The Friends of Mr. Cairo"

followed closely by Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man" (I amazed at the wat he can attack the piano keys in that...)

Edit for clarity...