I’ll add Lift Me Up by Yes. Great one-minute “overture”; shame about the actual song.
Now stop.
I offer Alice in Chain’s Swing on This- 49 seconds of grungy cool swing shifting into petulant metal whining at :50…
That horrible ‘Blue Swede’ version is unknown over in the UK, and its a straight rip off from this,
Which does a reasonably passable job of taking the original and coming up with a reggae version. This was a very popular way to reinterpret popular songs at that time.
Lets us never speak of the Blue Swede version ever again.
I totally agree with this. Ugh.
“Mr. Moonlight” a cover the Beatles did. The beginning, John belting out the title then it turns into 50’s/60’s roller rink music. it’s just so disappointing.
Led Zeppelin, Tea For One. Starts out with a great midtempo groove. Then 23 seconds in, just as it sounds Jimmy’s going to launch into a killer solo, it turns into an endless rambling slow blues. Why?
Tesla’s Love Song sounds like it is going to be a beautiful epic song in the intro and then they start the vocals and the whole thing falls apart…
Pretty much anything by Steve Miller Band.
Umm, example? I mean some of them are all crap, but I’m not thinking of one that starts good, then turns.
The actual singing part of “Theme from Shaft” is okay, but it’s a million times less interesting than the (very long) intro.
:eek:
Blasphemy, I tells ya!
Re: Hooked on a Feeling–I think The Hoff’s version is unbeatable.
Surprised to see no mention of “Crazy Train” yet. I wouldn’t say it “turns to crap” after the first 32 seconds or so, but if not for that intro it would just be another song.
So I posed your question to my husband and he came up blank. Then we listened to the Sheryl Crow song as I read your description to him. We kind of saw what you were going for although we thought otherwise because we’re both mums apparently.
Then we moved onto your Eagles offering. Same deal - I read him your description as the song began. Oh lord. Your big city analogy was spot on. And your bit about Don Henley? Absofuckinglutely SPOT ON! We’re still chuckling about it an hour later. Well done, sir. 
Take the Money and Run starts with a not-bad percussion and keyboard riff, then immediately becomes crap. None of their music was much good, but while a few of their intros were not bad for the time, their lyrics almost always disappointed.
The first 41 seconds, a capella mastery. The harmonies in the second half of the intro haunt your soul. in the 42nd second, the song defecates all over itself.
I hate to say it but Sweet Child O’ Mine fits in this category. It is one of my favorite songs for the first two minutes but Guns-N-Roses never finished it. It was written in just a few minutes and starts off great and the devolves into nothing. The “Where do we go now?” literally means that they didn’t have any lyrics written to make it a full song so they were just asking each other what to do and it stuck for some reason.
I’m not going to argue with anyone over their opinions, but that, to me, is close to the perfect rock song.
Yeah, starts great, gets greater.
I’d nominate Cobra, by Quicksilver Messenger Service. 30 seconds of pounding drums and snappy guitar, then five minutes of noodling. That’s a band with lots of great beginnings. For me, most of the songs live up to their starts - “Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder,” “Fresh Air,” “Spindrifter,” “Pride of Man” - but “Cobra” doesn’t go anywhere.
Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart >:
I like Yes but…common.
Tesla’s - Love Song is perfect just like it is…It goes somewhere.
This was the very first one that came to my mind, too.
Next, was “Lovely Rita” by the Beatles. The guitar intro sounded like it was going to be a world-class song, but, as it turned out…
Paul could be a genius, but he had some real turds in his pocket as well.