Great Song Beginnings
Walking to work this morning I listened to a song I hadn’t heard in a long while, Metallica’s The Unforgiven and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the beginning of that song. It naturally made me think about other song beginnings and the following is a quick, short list that came to mind:
The Unforgiven — Metallica
No Surprises — Radiohead
Today — Smashing Pumpkins
Over the Hills and Far Away — Led Zeppelin
Sweet Child O’ Mine — Guns N’ Roses
Thunderstruck — AC/DC
Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun — Beastie Boys
Obviously there are many, many more. What else would you add?
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Posted on January 27, 2009, in Pop Culture. Bookmark the permalink. 54 Comments.
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San Andreas Fault – Natalie Merchant
Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones
The intro to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is probably the best 20 seconds of rock music ever.
The intro to Black Hole Sun is pretty good.
Baba O’Riley – The Who (I like the Pearl Jam covers too)
Of the Girl – Pearl Jam
Showing my age again–
Coming Your Way – Fleetwood Mac
Song for America – Kansas
Break on Through (to the Other Side) – The Doors
Handlebars – Flobots
Led Zepplin’s Immigrant Song.
Just a few off the top of my head:
* The One I Love, R.E.M.
* London Calling, The Clash
* Life During Wartime (live – Stop Making Sense), Talking Heads
“Master of Puppets” has the best intro ever!
Simple Minds album: “Good News From the Next World”
Every single song on this album has amazing intros.
I love Simple Minds.
Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost is the first intro that came to mind.
How Soon is Now? by The Smiths
Gimme Shelter or Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
Fearless by Pink Floyd. The Liverpool fans add thematic punch to the line “Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd…”
The one I can’t stop thinking about now is Furr by Blitzen Trapper. I’m not sure it is an all-time great song, but I’m obsessed with it nonetheless. But the beginning line, “Yeah, When I was only seventeen…” Implies that the song continues a conversation about the singers youth. It adds a level of intimacy that a largely symbolic story could lack.
Possibly the “yeah” was an afterthought and added because they were a beat short with the couplet, but I’d like to it’s on purpose.
Another favorite of mine is “Time Trap” by Built to Spill.
“I Wanna Be Your Dog” by the Stooges has the best intro ever.
Second best is “Misirlou” by Dick Dale.
Also great but not mentioned yet are “I Fought the Law” by the Clash, “War” by Edwin Starr, and “Helter Skelter” by the Beatles.
Oh—I know. “Plagues” by Converge.
The two minute intro to A Change in Seasons – Dream Theater.
Play at high volume for instant goosebumps.
If you’re going to mention Zeppelin then I think that you have to bring up Good Times, Bad Times, which opened their first album. Possibly the best intro to an overall body of work ever.
Converge’s tone is so evil.
Just one more: Sarcophagus.
Wow, I actually know most of those. My list:
* “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2
* “Be All, End All” by Anthrax (from “State of Euphoria,” not “Greater of Two Evils”)
* “Symptom of the Universe” by Black Sabbath
* “As I Am” by Dream Theater
* “The Call of Ktulu” by Metallica
* Actually, most songs by [vintage] Metallica (“One,” “Battery,” “The Four Horsemen,” “Trapped Under Ice,” etc., etc.)
* “Falling Down” by Tears for Fears
* “Whose Fist is this Anyway?” by Prong
* “Reckoning Day” by Megadeth (also “Kill the King”)
* “Wasted Years” by Iron Maiden
* “Lightning Crashes” by Live
* “Ram it Down” by Judas Priest (also “Painkiller” if you like wicked drum intros)
* “Tommy the Cat” by Primus
* “Poundcake” by Van Halen (yes, that’s a real power drill next to guitar pickups – I’ve tried it)
* “Wake Up” by Rage Against the Machine
etc., etc., etc….
Not an all-timer by any means, but I really like the way the way the song “Guns of Navarone” by Maritime begins, with the singer exclaiming, “You are gonna have to lie to me.” Sort of grabs you with the hook right from the get-go.
Oh, and “Debaser” by the Pixies.
Has anyone mentioned “Lovesong” by the Cure?
The opening guitar riffs of Clapton’s “Layla” and Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower” are stunning…at least for us dinosaurs.
Amen on Layla. And on Where the Streets Have no Name. That beginning was perfectly matched with Jeff Bridges in Fearless.
ABBA, Dancing Queen. Instantly recognizable glissando.
Sweet Child o Mine and Smells Like Teen Spirit are classics. Ditto for You Give Love a Bad Name.
Another great first line is James, Laid. It pretty much serves notice that it’s not just going to be another cheesy love song.
Coldplay – Yellow
Hotel California
Piano Man, the harmonica
And have people really mentioned Zep three times so far, and not brought up the single most-played intro ever?
Oh, and The Killers, Somebody told me, is definitely up there.
One more instantly recognizable (until last year) classic — Sweet Home Alabama.
Oddly enough, the line “turn it up” was actually not meant to be part of the song — it was a recording instruction, but they kept it in because it sounded good.
Two that have amazing beginnings and then promptly turn to garbage:
Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
Go All the Way – The Raspberries
I love all of “Crazy Train.” What you talkin’ ’bout, Brian?
The song itself is not worthy of its own riff.
Jungle Love – Steve Miller Band; ’cause you know, it’s got that laser gun sound.
Back in Black- AC/DC
Gimme Shelter-Rolling Stones
Welcome to the Jungle- Guns N’ Roses
Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen
Layla- Derek & the Dominoes
Clocks-Coldplay
Kashmir-Led Zeppelin
Baba O’Reilly- The Who
Sabotage — Beastie Boys
Wildflower — The Cult
Snap Your Finger, Snap Your Neck – Prong
Perry Mason – Ozzy
I love all of Crazy Train too.
My favorites of the ones mentioned so far:
Sweet Child O’ Mine, Today, Where The Streets Have No Name (which I can’t ever get enough of) and Alive by Pearl Jam.
Others that come to mind:
The Whigs – Right Hand On My Heart
We Are Scientists – After Hours
Air Traffic – No More Running Away
All American Rejects – Breakin’
Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise) – the Beatles
When the Levee Breaks – Led Zeppelin
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
The Wind Cries Mary – Jimi Hendrix
And have people really mentioned Zep three times so far, and not brought up the single most-played intro ever?
Might you be referring to Black Dog? I remember it even showed up in a “Nancy” comic strip during the brief time Jerry Scott was writing it.
Okay, for the win now:
Queen. We Will Rock You.
End of debate.
LL, I was thinking of Stairway, which every guitarist who picks up an instrument learns to play by about ninth grade, and then spends the next three years playing for his friends.
Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls
It might be useful to think about what makes a good song beginning. I think it’s a little different to ask what the best song beginnings are and to ask what the best first lines of songs would be … so I assumed this post was about musical beginnings to songs – the sounds that are involved.
Soundwise, with some songs it’s the beat. With others it is the guitar riff. Song dynamics (how loud or softly a song begins, or whether there is some sort of crescendo) could be a factor. Perhaps a peculiar combination of instruments or sounds or sound effects are used.
Just trying to say, there are so many different things that potentially contribute to a song.
At the beginning of “Whole Lotta Love”, Robert Plant’s little laugh followed by a riff makes the whole thing just take off. Probably impossible to quantify something like that – but it just works.
Very interesting how many Led Zeppelin songs showed up on the list. Not surprising, of course.
Kaimi: The problem with Stairway to Heaven on this list is that the intro isn’t all that spectacular—especially in comparison to other LZ.
Stairway is overrated. I know it was/is popular but for me it is one of the more mediocre songs of their first five albums. And I’m one of those annoying people that can play it up until the solo.
The clarinet slide that begins Rhapsody in Blue.
I kind of dig the opening to An Other Brick in the Wall with the schoolmaster shouting.
Two more:
Iggy Pop – “Lust for Life”
The Jam – “A Town Called Malice”
If, like Sam B., we’re including classical music (and the clarinet slide in “Rhapsody” is wonderful), I would recommend the beginning of Copland’s “Rodeo” and the violin solo at the beginning of Vaughan-Williams “The Lark Ascending” as my personal favs.
I like the beginning of Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet.
Plus, the nonsensical German at the beginning of the Def Leppard’s Rock of Ages.
We should do a song on great song endings, because I also like the end of Helter Skelter when Ringo shouts, “I got blisters on my fingers.”
I love the ending of “Get Back” (on the Let It Be album) when John Lennon says: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.”
Never Tear Us Apart – INXS
Ocean Size by Jane’s Addiction
American Dream by Love and Rockets
Insight by Joy Division
Ceremony by New Order
Johnson’s Aeroplane by INXS
Go Walkin’ Down There by Chris Isaac
Where is My Mind by the Pixies
Rain by Tone’s on Tail
Fight the Power – Public Enemy
More Human Than Human- Rob Zombie
Killing In The Name- Rage Against the Machine
Kiss Them For Me- Siouxsie and the Banshees
You Get What You Give- New Radicals
Just to name a few…
You know what was fun? Loading up all these songs on seeqpod and listening to them!