I hate to bring an old thread up, but I just had an example pop into my head today: the first few seconds of “Roam” by the B-52’s. The song begins with this godawful high-pitched slow crap. When I hear it, I think, “oh Christ, not Sarah McLaughlin!” But then, all of a sudden, it starts kicking ass.
The operatic acapella bit in the middle of Queen’s Prophet Song
The narrative bit in the middle of Jethro Tull’s Passion Play
I’m sure there are more I can’t think of right now.