# your favourite opening guitar lick/riff/whatevs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521 "2018-05-20T20:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Graymalkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@Graymalkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graymalkin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/121 "2018-05-27T02:12:12Z")
All the Stones songs, of course. I mentioned this on a list done on the Dope years ago–the guitar intro to the Kingsmen’s Money is really good. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/122 "2018-05-27T02:44:16Z")
Alice Cooper’s [Halo of Flies](https://youtu.be/fGOD1-NtxH8) has a nice (if rather unsettling) guitar and bass opening salvo. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/123 "2018-05-27T03:49:28Z")
Halo of Flies reminded me of Cave In, which reminded me of the opening bars of Brain Candle [Cave In - Brain Candle - YouTube](https://youtu.be/0zE-MklKHOg) ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/124 "2018-05-27T08:16:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Day Tripper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C9Ps5OLHG0) by the Beatles Yes! Great call! ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/125 "2018-05-27T08:25:02Z")
“White Rabbit” - Jefferson Airplane “Train in Vain” - The Clash ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/126 "2018-05-27T11:37:05Z")
> [@FeRDNYC](#): > > I have to throw in Eric Johnson’s “[Cliffs Of Dover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpAC1vr_pcg)”. It’s a great piece and one of my favorite guitar compositions because it’s not excessively “brilliant” or “masterful”, but it’s simply _joyous_ throughout — I’ve described it as “a Snoopy dance in guitar form” — which is why IMHO it isn’t well-served by that bit of fuckery in the intro, and doesn’t really find its way until the drumroll. I like the ‘snoopy dance’ bit. Good one. Now, Eric Johnson can play like a madman. God knows that’s true. But it’s his phrasing in ‘Cliffs of Dover’ that really takes his playing to the next level. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/127 "2018-05-27T12:54:24Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I like the ‘snoopy dance’ bit. Good one. > > Now, Eric Johnson can play like a madman. God knows that’s true. But it’s his phrasing in ‘Cliffs of Dover’ that really takes his playing to the next level. Yeah, as someone said of a jazz player “He knows what notes to play, but he also knows which ones to leave out”. I’m so tired of my students saying “Man, you gotta hear Joe Shlebotnik – he just shreds!” So we all listen to some incredibly fast ‘n’ fuzzy guitar work, and the guys in the class who are wearing 80s hair metal t-shirts are _soooper stoked, dooood!_ But I’m bored. So then I play them some Mark Knopfler and John MacLaughlin and Frank Zappa and Eric Johnson. “Whoa, who ARE these guys, dooood? Lemme write these down. Oh, guess I don’t have a pencil…” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/128 "2018-05-27T19:22:43Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b19PcuJsQbA/hqdefault.jpg "Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well (Part 1 & 2)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b19PcuJsQbA) Peter Green - Oh Well. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/129 "2018-05-27T20:04:45Z")
I’ve been on a Paul Kelly kick for the last few years. My favorite is this one, beacuase it starts slow and builds to an Edge-like guitar crescendo: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5wkR3ew2ZPo/hqdefault.jpg "Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls - The Execution") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wkR3ew2ZPo) Another good Clash opener: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EfK-WX2pa8c/maxresdefault.jpg "The Clash - London Calling (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfK-WX2pa8c) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/130 "2018-05-27T22:31:43Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I like the ‘snoopy dance’ bit. Good one. > > Now, Eric Johnson can play like a madman. God knows that’s true. But it’s his phrasing in ‘Cliffs of Dover’ that really takes his playing to the next level. For me, Eric Johnson also just has an incredible guitar sound. His tone is unreal and ethereal, with juice boxes full of reverb and lush sounding note and chord progressions. His song “Zap” is just as good if not better than “Cliffs”. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/131 "2018-05-28T17:21:47Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G4QYJG8AxSw/hqdefault.jpg "Answering Machine - The Replacements") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QYJG8AxSw) The Replacements - Answering Machine Pretty much one electric guitar and one voice. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/132 "2018-05-30T00:50:04Z")
One that I love is the opening to “Died” by Alice in Chains. Gerry Cantrell pumps out a vicious-sounding riff. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/133 "2018-05-30T05:26:37Z")
> [@FeRDNYC](#): > > I have to throw in Eric Johnson’s “[Cliffs Of Dover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpAC1vr_pcg)”. It’s a great piece and one of my favorite guitar compositions because it’s not excessively “brilliant” or “masterful”, but it’s simply _joyous_ throughout — I’ve described it as “a Snoopy dance in guitar form” — which is why IMHO it isn’t well-served by that bit of fuckery in the intro, and doesn’t really find its way until the drumroll. As soon as I read the thread title, this is the FIRST thing that popped into my head. I still remember my sophomore year listening to my dormmate’s CD of Eric Johnson and **Cliffs of Dover** quickly got my attention. Amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/134 "2018-05-30T13:08:34Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Pantera: “Cowboys From Hell” > > AIC: “Would?” (ALL of it, the bass, the guitar, the drums…into the vocals…always just **grabbed** me by the nards and doesn’t let go) > > Van Halen: “Unchained”, “Mean Streets”, “Hear About It Later”, “And The Cradle Will Rock” > > Guns And Roses: “Locomotive” (super glassy sounding Marshalls turned all the way up) > > AC/DC: “Back In Black” > > Iron Maiden: “Number Of The Beast” > > Metallica: “Seek And Destroy” > > Motorhead: “Ace Of Spades” > > Slayer: “South Of Heaven” > > Black Sabbath: “War Pigs” > > I guess that’s enough for now. If we’re using Jerry Cantrell and Alice in Chains, I prefer “Man In the Box” by a smidge. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TAqZb52sgpU/maxresdefault.jpg "Alice In Chains - Man in the Box (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAqZb52sgpU) ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/135 "2018-05-30T15:34:02Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’m the first to mention “Walk This Way?” > > [https://youtu.be/5UFFa1HbFfA](https://youtu.be/5UFFa1HbFfA) Post #30. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/136 "2018-05-30T16:37:47Z")
IANAGuitar guru, or even a student, so I make no claims to quality, only memorability. The first song that came to mind is not a favorite: Life in the Fast Lane by the Eagles. Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum also popped into my head. That one is a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/137 "2018-05-30T17:40:37Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1u9y7pPjs3k/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Winter - Birds Can't Row Boats") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u9y7pPjs3k) Johnny Winter - Birds Can’t Row Boats ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/138 "2018-05-31T03:39:29Z")
Opening of David Bowie’s Station to Station, after the guitar kicks in, ~ 1min, 4 sec ([Studio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY77zDzNmYw) / [Live](https://youtu.be/XAj2iX9xqCo?list=RDXAj2iX9xqCo&t=116)). Chaotic pulse-pounding locomotive motif (lead: session guitarist Earl Slick as I recall). Was cocaine involved? Probably, it was the 70’s after all. Brilliant! It reminds me of the unbridled chaos of Franz Liszt’s (the previous century’s _thin white duke_) [Mazeppa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXGeOHdiHrE) (Transendental Etude #4), substituting Victor Hugo’s wild galloping horse motif for Bowie’s driving locomotive. Brilliant! I had the pleasure of meeting/conversing with Bowie when I was a stage hand on his '75 Diamond Dogs tour. Great guy, super talent, died much too soon. A loss to us all. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/139 "2018-06-07T02:50:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [“Holiday in Cambodia”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrm2B0lhvYc) is another one that comes to mind, but may be a little bit of cheating, as I’m including the bass guitar parts of the intro as part of the opening “guitar” riff. I’d totally agree, but I personally prefer the version off [Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49j6FYBDunM). East Bay Ray is a fantastic amalgamation of my favorite guitar styles up to that point. And, I’d be amiss if I didn’t also mention Steve Albini’s opening to the live version of [Cables](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPlWZdRiKA). Nuttin sounds like that man when he’s on, and no-one uses that tone. ETA:And as long as we’re considering a bass guitar a guitar (I play both, so I do), I absolutely love the intro to Redd Kross’ [What They Say](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BZbbVMmuy0). Just the tastiest bass intro ever. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521/140 "2018-06-07T03:01:51Z")
[Tell Mama](https://youtu.be/18TqUm1KPoE)–Savoy Brown [Space Station #5](https://youtu.be/yxUgW5CLk18) – Montrose [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-opening-guitar-lick-riff-whatevs/814521.md?page=6)