# Favourite Intros **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901 "2007-11-01T18:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/1 "2007-11-01T18:37:40Z")
I can’t find a like thread over the past 18 months or so but I’ve got a vested interest anyway. There are 3 current standouts in my collection, like so: _Time_ - Pink Floyd _Won’t Get Fooled Again_ - The Who _Do It Again_ - Steely Dan If people would like to indicate their 3 favourite intros that would be good. If any of them are in similar vein to one of the above, or based on my 3 selections you think I might like them, please let me know because I might have missed them somewhere along the line. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/2 "2007-11-01T20:48:58Z")
_Smoke on the Water_ - Deep Purple _Back in Black_ - AC/DC _You Shook me All Night Long_ - AC/DC ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/3 "2007-11-01T21:26:13Z")
I’ll assume that by intros you mean more than just a few token bars before the singing begins? If so (varied lengths of intro, so take your pick): _All Right Now_ - Free _Where the Streets Have No Name_ - U2 _Alex Chilton_ - The Replacements Sorry, ain’t stoppin’ at three… _Touch Me_ - The Doors \*Bittersweet \* - The Hoodoo Gurus _Swamp Thing_ - Chameleons UK \*Sugar Kisses \* - Echo and the Bunnymen A ton by Smiths, so let’s just leave it at _Bigmouth Strikes Again_ And the ultimate: \*Sweet Jane \* (live) by Lou Reed ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/4 "2007-11-01T21:54:18Z")
NOFX has a log of great intros to their songs. Too bad I don’t know the name of a single one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/5 "2007-11-01T22:08:27Z")
There aren’t many bad Pink Floyd intos. But it’s rarer to find someone who can end a song, and they can do this as well (contrast with the semi-Floydian-sounding-at-times-for-a-goth-band Fields of the Nephilim, who end seemingly nearly all their songs with the music suddenly stopping and their signature gutteral sound yelling the last word alone, which is cool sounding the first thousand times you hear a heavy metal band do that.) I like lots of intros with small-mechanical-device sound effects, including Time, but also: Time’s Up - Living Colour (probably THE hardest hitting song I’ve EVER heard for its first half, although it dissipates near the end.) The End. My Chemical Romance (the beep at the beginning is almost certainly meant to sound like a stereotypical pulse beat from a hospital heart monitoring system Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too - Say Anything The Ring in Return - Coheed and Cambria (I tried to get the intro for the last two songs as a ringtone, which would be sort of a waste because they start off with a ring themselves, but I thought it would be cool to have the EXACT ringtone, but alas, no luck as they either arent available or dont have the intro as the ringtone.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/6 "2007-11-01T22:10:46Z")
Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers Band I Walk on Gilded Splinters - originally by Dr. John And, well, this is trite, but When the Levee Breaks as done by Led Zeppelin. Wait, a better idea for #3: Freddie’s Dead, by Curtis Mayfield. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/7 "2007-11-01T23:20:01Z")
I know it’s not hip to like Toto, but I’ve been grooving on their greatest hits for the past 18 hours or so and the intro to “Rosanna” really rocks. I never really appreciated what a great job the rhythm section does on that song. BTW, is it just me or is like every other Toto song named after a girl? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/8 "2007-11-01T23:24:05Z")
Let’s get a sense of historical perspective here. I’ll go with: **Beethoven’s 5th Symphony**. Probably the most famous intro of all time… da da da dum in a dead heat with **Also Sprach Zarathustra** by Richard Strauss. Aka, “the music from 2001”. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/9 "2007-11-01T23:25:06Z")
The live version of Werewolf of London (Warren Zevon)…because when you hear it for the first time, you can’t tell what he’s about to lead in to. Just some nice jazzy piano noodling, which then morphs into those familiar chords. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/10 "2007-11-01T23:27:39Z")
**"Gimme Shelter"** by The Rolling Stones has one of the most haunting intros around. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/11 "2007-11-01T23:30:43Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] Let’s get a sense of historical perspective here. I’ll go with: **Beethoven’s 5th Symphony**. Probably the most famous intro of all time… da da da dum in a dead heat with **Also Sprach Zarathustra** by Richard Strauss. Aka, “the music from 2001”. [/QUOTE] C’mon. You’re going to get all classy on us, and then not mention _Bolero_ or _Pachelbel’s Canon_? Those are _all_ intro! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/12 "2007-11-01T23:30:54Z")
_Independently Happy_ by Blue October was the very first song that came to mind and I had to think for a moment before I was able recall two others worth mentioning, those being \*Schism \*by Tool and _No Shelter_ by Rage Against the Machine. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/13 "2007-11-01T23:35:48Z")
**"Sweet Home Alabama"** - Lynyrd Skynyrd **"Riders on the Storm"** - The Doors ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/14 "2007-11-01T23:46:59Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] **Also Sprach Zarathustra** by Richard Strauss. Aka, “the music from 2001”. [/QUOTE] As far as I am concerned, this thread must be “List your top four intros”, with this one implicit in every post. No other interpretation makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/15 "2007-11-01T23:59:14Z")
The P.F. Sloan intro to the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreaming”, said to emulate the style of the opening to the Venture’s “Walk, Don’t Run”. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/16 "2007-11-02T02:51:42Z")
\*\*Jumping Jack Flash \*\* has the best instant hook ever. Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/17 "2007-11-02T03:02:25Z")
Dammit, I thought of another one: Moanin’ at Midnight by Howlin’ Wolf. One of the most gripping, spooky intros I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/18 "2007-11-02T03:47:00Z")
“Couldn’t Stand The Weather” by **Stevie Ray Vaughan** “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” by **The Allman Brothers Band** “Freeway Jam” by **Jeff Beck** ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/19 "2007-11-02T03:50:25Z")
**3 Libras** by A Perfect Circle **Interstate Love Song** by Stone Temple Pilots **Bring Yourself** by Days of the New The first two are rather short relative to others already posted but I think they stand up well. They’re well constructed and distinctive. The last choice, though somewhat more obscure, is worth one’s time to find and hear. The entire song is worth a solid listen IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901/20 "2007-11-02T03:51:26Z")
The original **Layla** deserves a mention. Unmistakeable and unforgettable guitar work. And Al Stewart’s **Year of the Cat** (the album version, not the single version) is an introduction that (IMHO) could almost be called an overture. Fairly long, and building through the band’s instruments, the intro does a good job of introducing the basic melody of the song, preparing the listener for the variations that will occur behind the vocals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-intros/424901.md?page=2)