That don’t worry me none.
I disagree. I don’t think the intro adds anything to Maggie May.
I agree whole-heartedly that Classic Rock has more than 200 songs and should showcase the entire genre. I’m die-hard Rod so I am compelled to add that he has more to offer than one song. Personally, I’'d love to hear Mac’s unmistakable fingers, Woody’s licks and the sound of Kenney beating his drums on "(I Know) I’m Losing you… or Rod’s own beautiful musicianship displayed in full glory on banjo on “Mandolin Wind”… or “Reason To Believe”…or “Seems Like A Long Time”…or any other song off of “Every Picture Tells A Story” - Including the title track - from the masterpiece that birthed both Maggie and Henry.
I may have heard the Henry intro a time or two, but I don’t consider it part of the song.
The Apple Music version of the Every Picture Tells A Story album, however, does not include a track called Henry - the intro is part of Maggie Mae. And the track listing for the album on wikipedia lists Henry as “Track 0” of side 2, with Maggie Mae as “Track 1.” So it’s hard to say what the original intent was.
My WAG is that back in the days of vinyl radio, it depended on whether the station was playing the LP or the 45. Often, as in this case, the 45 was a shorter version of the LP track, which radio stations liked; they could claim to play “more music” while still leaving time for plenty of commercials.
But if some Classic Rock station was using the vinyl LP, it was probably easier to just drop the needle at the beginning of the disc, thus Henry was included.
It follows well for me, but I spent a lot of time with EPTAS.
Does it make a better album with the intro? Yes.
The change in guitar modes into the maggie strum is syntonic to me.