| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 729 Registered: 05-2005 |
I heard Get It On (or Bang a Gong as I believe it was called in the States) on the radio today and thought to myself that it must be one of the great intros of all time. I dont think I have ever heard a guitar sound like that on any other record. Another great intro is Another Girl Another Planet by The Only Ones (which is currently featuring on a mobile phone advert here in the UK at the moment), even if you had never heard this before you just know when you hear that intro that the rest of the record must be amazing - and it is. Any more? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 664 Registered: 03-2006 |
I will cheat and pull out the big, swingin' dick of intros, the Rolling Stones...they have so many great ones, it does seem a bit like cheating, or maybe it's that they're almost obvious... But anyways, Brown Sugar Honky Tonk Women Can't You Hear Me Knocking Street Fighting Man And, by those dress-wearin' louts, Make Her Day Spring Rain By that swamp-rock band that actually came from the Bay Area in California, Creedence, Born on the Bayou Green River the Beatles, I Feel Fine Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road Elvis Costello, Watching the Detectives Alison | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 730 Registered: 05-2005 |
in the city - the jam complete control - the clash transmission - joy divsion this charming man - the smiths shot by both sides - magazine public image - PIL | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 670 Registered: 05-2005 |
Party Fears Two - The Associates Blue Boy - Orange Juice How Soon is Now - The Smiths Immigrant Song - Led Zep Loopzilla - George Clinton She's Lost Control - Joy Division The Cutter - Echo and The Bunnymen Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & Bad Seeds Purple Haze - Jimmy | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 514 Registered: 04-2005 |
Radio Radio - Costello I Will Follow - U2 (sorry, gang) Day Tripper - Beatles Reelin' in the Years - Steely Dan Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana You Really Got Me - Kinks I Can't Explain - Who Psycho Killer - Talking Heads | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 665 Registered: 03-2006 |
Those are all great ones...this was a good idea for a thread, Kev. There is a real art to a great intro...All of the intros cited above, for me, are like, I dunno...waving a raw T-Bone in front of a hungry Doberman...When you hear them, you HAVE to hear the rest of the song...they make you stop everything, turn the radio up, ssshhh everybody in the room.... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 523 Registered: 03-2005 |
In the 60s, with the commercial life of a record totally dependent upon top 40 radio, the intro was critical. The next song was always dropped onto the end of the last song and often had the DJ talking over it. Because the playlist was sure to include a lot of things you didn't want to hear you were always ready to tune out the next song so it was deathly critical that the intro be striking and immediately recognizable. Andrew Oldham tells a funny story in "2Stoned" about how the intro to "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (Standing in the Shadow)?" was made. The recording was made in Hollywood at RCA Studios in 1966. "There was a degree of urgency to the proceedings as we were due in New York in a little over a week to make another Ed Sullivan TV show appearance, where the Stones were to mime to their last platter, 'Paint It, Black', and their next, the soon-to-be-finished 'Have You Seen Your Mother?' We were mixing down to mono and Dave ran the four-track down to us another time. Each time we heard it the intro sounded just a little bit lamer. 'There's just no balls on the front,' I said to everyone in particular. 'Right up to the brass and guitar figure, it just dies.' 'Bring up the guitars,' said Keith. 'I can't,' said Dave. 'It'll just bring up the room noise. Listen, I can't give you enough of the guitars without the room. I don't think it'll work.' He thought right. 'Then try doubling the guitars,' Keith offered, guitars having worked out most of his life. 'Won't work,' sighed Dave. 'All in the same frequency.' In other words, we had fucked up recording the guitars, under-recorded them and could not bring up the level without giving you a room full of noise and air-distort. 'You could try a harmony, do something up the octave,' said Dave. 'Yeah and sound like the fuckin' Byrds,' snarled Mick. 'On speed,' I added. 'Yeah,' grunted Mick, not thinking much of my contribution. 'Well, I don't know,' said Keith. 'We can't leave it like this. The front sucks.' Mick and Keith wandered out into the hall and back again. Charlie and I wandered around each other. We were all stumped. Then I had an idea, a mad one, but nonetheless an idea. 'Why don't we try it with voices?' 'What the fuck are you on about?' chided Mick. 'You want me to call Phil Spector and ask for his fuckin' choir?' Fuck you, too. 'No dear, I mean like this.' I squeezed my nose with my thumb and finger. 'Why can't we go na-na-nanana-nana with our voices, throat up, no body, noses on hold, in unison with the guitars?' The room went quiet, everybody waiting for everbody else to say something, hear it or lose it. Finally Dave, his eyes on his shoes, his shoes on the console, broke the silence. 'It could work.' Keith agreed. 'Who's going to do it, Andrew?' 'You, me and Mick--and Charlie can tell us how it feels.' We went into the studio. Dave cued the track up for himself, found some noise cue; there was no count-off. Mick and Keith practised sounding ridiculous. I already had that down. 'Listen for the guitar clicking on--that's your cue.' Dave ran the tape and we pulled it together in two. We looked at each other, then towards the control room. Charlie shook his head, then looked up with a grin. 'I dunno, you guys. You're all mad, but it works.'" Oldham went on to recount that "Have You Seen Your Mother" was the Stones' first non-no.1 single in a while. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 528 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Wagon by Dinosaur Jr. No intrumental into, the voice comes in at the exact same time as everything else. "There's a way I feel right now..." | ||
| Paul Swinford Member Username: Prema Post Number: 21 Registered: 11-2005 |
Great story, Randy! The only candidate I can think to add to the list everyone's put together is that sweet 15-second guitar flourish at the beginning of "Sweet Jane" by the Velvets. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 676 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, lovely! Haven't forgotten Caroline CD just gotta find one I have the sleeve! Twin Layers of Lightning. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 670 Registered: 03-2006 |
That is a great anecdote, Randy...Did I imagine this? Didn't the Stones steal the intro to Honky Tonk Women from Ry Cooder? I've always felt that it's hard to beat the singles mentality...short, sweet, say it in two minutes - brevity, in music, really is the soul of wit...It was all those proggy, album-length sides that almost ruined music - which I guess only got played so FM deejays could sneak out and smoke a joint... I believe they've said so in print, but the GoBees seem like they were deeply steeped in that singles mentality.... | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 67 Registered: 05-2005 |
Some great choices above. Here's a few I would add: Tumbling Dice - The Stones What Difference Does it Make - The Smiths I Want to be Adored - The Stone Roses Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress - The Hollies Substitute - The Who Like a Rolling Stone - Dylan | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 168 Registered: 01-2005 |
Layla - Derek and The Dominoes. Certainly one of the most famous opening guitar licks of all time. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 672 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sideshow by the Seashore - Luna All the Young Dudes - Mott Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players Safe European Home - Clash Lively Up Yourself - B. Marley | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 682 Registered: 05-2005 |
Music for airports - Brian Eno! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 525 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm so shocked to see someone mention my beloved Hollies on here. Spence, are Caroline Trettine CD's made up one at a time in a basement? Thanks for remembering. Hardin, the story I've heard is that Cooder was hired to come in and do the guitar for "Honky Tonk Women." He did it, they said "thanks" and presumably paid him his union fee and sent him on his way. And then Keith Richards practiced it and copied it note for note. Except Cooder could tell it wasn't himself on the record. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 685 Registered: 03-2006 |
I passionately love much of the Stones' music, but the more I've read and heard about them, the more I've become convinced that they are probably fairly evil people...so that story doesn't surprise me a bit, Randy. The sheer, blatant shamelessness of it is almost funny, though...Poor Ry - he should've sued. A piece of that song would've financed many trips to Cuba and purchased many fancy guyabera shirts. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 527 Registered: 03-2005 |
If you haven't done it already, Hardin, buy the two volumes of Oldham's bio. They paint a great picture of 50s & 60s UK and really let you know who Malcolm McLaren modeled himself after. And, of course, there are lots and lots of Stones stories. All you have to do is put up with Oldham's long drug confessions. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 687 Registered: 03-2006 |
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to seek those out - they sound fascinating. Something tells me they probably won't do much to alter my perception of the Stones as scumbags, though... I need to go by B & N anyway this week to pick up Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World"...(semi-subtle reference to my politics for the benefit of our overseas friends)... | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 169 Registered: 01-2005 |
Another evil aspect, did Keith get Gram hooked on heroin? Granted, Gram would try anything and everything. Keith was a known heroin adict when Gram started hanging around him. Gram's hanging around the Stones was hardly benficial to the Burrito's except to get Wild Horses from Keith before the Stones recorded it. Gram certainly lost interest in the Burrito's after hanging around Keith. Gram was basically MIA in drugland for for almost 3 years. Had he remained close friends with Chris Hillman instead of hanging around Richards, there is no telling how much more great music Gram would have left us. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 692 Registered: 05-2005 |
jeff tweedy from wilco was quoted as saying keef must've killed a lot of people over time, then they toured with the rolling stones and he now has a pic of keef with his son on his wall, but he says even so, he still stands by what he says... interesting... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 528 Registered: 03-2005 |
Gram was a bit of a rube, trust fund baby notwithstanding. I don't think he grasped the nuance to the Stones' life, the fact that you can screw around a LOT but there are still moments when you have to buckle down and do the work that put you there. And my perception is that Gram was really impressed by the LA rock 'n roll life. If Keith Richards hadn't led him astray, some of the Sunset Strip regulars like Gene Clark, Arthur Lee or Jim Morrison would have done so a few minutes later. Chris Hillman was almost the total opposite to Keith Richards. It's unlikely that he would have kept Parsons' interest regardless. It's interesting to note how fast Gram worked his way through the International Submarine Band, then the Byrds and then the Burritos, leaving hurt feelings and wreckage behind in every case. He probably had ADD. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 688 Registered: 03-2006 |
Denis Leary, my favorite comic, has a great bit about Keef doing a public service advert warning kids not to do drugs: "They can't do drugs, Keith! YOU already snorted them all up! They'll have to wait till you die and smoke your ashes!"... I don't know if the Stones killed anybody per se, but they sure seemed to leave behind a trail of casualties, while remaining relatively unscathed themselves. Particularly that weasel, Mick... If anyone is interested in Gram, I heartily recommend the "Fallen Angel" doc, out on DVD, about him...fascinating story that truly sounds like something out of Tennessee Williams...Gram was probably already bent on self-destruction (if you watch that doc, you'll see he came by it honestly), but I don't think Keith was much of a positive influence... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 530 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hardin, is that the one done by the German guy? If so, I heartily second your recommendation. I saw it in a theater; it was spell-binding. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 692 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yes, it was...spellbinding is right...Glad to own it but geez is it sad. Probably a transcendent kind of sadness, though. When you think of the flip side, the way he produced such staggering, enduring art, even with so many strikes against him, it's very inspiring and moving. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 173 Registered: 01-2005 |
I think Gram was a bit lazy due to the trust fund, but he certinaly cranked out the songs with Hillman and Ethridge on the Burrito's first album. Like you mention, he didn't have much of a work ethic while hanging around the Stones, the end result being that he didn't put the time into writing good songs for Burrito Deluxe. Well Gram certainly had a family history of alcohlics, both his parents were as well as his stepfather, and his real father killed himself. Not to mention his stepfather snuck a bottle into the hospital to give to Gram's mother who died the next day. The implication being that the stepfather killed his mom by giving her the fatal last bottle. Gram's sister Avis was also committed to a mental institution for awhile. This was a real Tennessee Williams style southern tale of tragedy. Gram had his own problems with drinking and drugs and the after effects from a nasty cycle accident that had him on anti-seizure medication. I thinking his body was just breaking down towards the end. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 713 Registered: 03-2006 |
Intros I forgot, but that I love: Drown - Son Volt Funk #49 - James Gang I'm an Old Cowhand - Sonny Rollins A Town Called Malice - the Jam Is She Really Going Out With Him - Joe Jackson | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 704 Registered: 05-2005 |
lk what a stea with ole joe jackson!) | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 176 Registered: 04-2006 |
today on the radio: procol harum's 'a whiter shade of pale'. i think this organ intro is great to. and the first words, too. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 181 Registered: 01-2005 |
Light My Fire - The Doors, another great organ intro, by Ray Mazarek. Cudos also to Ray for producing all those great X albums!!! Might as well bring out another 60's warhorse witha great organ intro, although at 17 minutes the song went way too long in retrospect, as they weren't exactly the Allman Brothers as far as talent. Yes, I am talking about that Iron Butterfly song that was suppossed to have been called In The Garden of Eden, but ended up being In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida due to the drunken state of thebands singer. My astronomy professor loved to play it in the planetarium with the lights dimmed and the stars displayed. A couple of IB members went on the form Captain Beyond. The first album by CB from 1972 is one of my favorite 1970's albums. Besides, how could you not like a band with song titles like "Dancing Madly Backwards (On A Sea Of Air)","Myopic Void"and "Mesmerization Eclipse"? A lost treasure for those that want to explore. It's also got a nice Duane Allman dedication on it. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 405 Registered: 08-2004 |
The Who - Join Together Bowie - Sound & Vision | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 614 Registered: 04-2005 |
>>"Myopic Void"and "Mesmerization Eclipse" My god, they were decades ahead of their time! Tell me those don't sound like Stereolab song titles. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 571 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'd rather listen to Hawkwind. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 225 Registered: 01-2005 |
Randy, I never investigated Hawkwind. I'll have to check them out. Another reason I liked them was because there singer was Rod Evans from Deep Purple Mk1, which was my favorite era of Deep Purple. Another lost 70's band that I was a fan of was Wishbone Ash. They did the dual lead guitar thing very nicely I might add. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 233 Registered: 04-2006 |
yes, wishbone ash. i am a fan of the first two albums. argus is great! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 810 Registered: 03-2006 |
I think Randy might've been being humorous, based on his tastes as described in these pages... I think he meant "I'd rather listen to Hawkwind" in the same way he might've meant, "I'd rather poke a sharp stick in my eye". Just a suspicion... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 829 Registered: 05-2005 |
who knows, maybe he did mean it genuinely LK, possibly meant it in the same way as if I was to say "Id rather listen to Motorhead". Now you know my feelings on "heavy" rock, but Ace Of Spades is just a great record regardless of genre. Guess it needs Randy to clarify, if I was a betting man I would edge closer to your way of thinking LK. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 816 Registered: 03-2006 |
We should start a betting pool: Does Randy like Hawkwind? Dunno why I don't listen to Motorhead - since I have no aversion to harder fare...plus, I like the whole idea of Lemmy... Hmmm, wonder what's available for download... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 619 Registered: 04-2005 |
I liked hearing Motorhead on the radio back in the old days (college stations always played them alongside punk), but I never thought I was tough enough to make it through an entire album, so I never bought one. Did they ever do anything other than all-out, balls-to-the-wall hard rock? Somehow, I can't picture Lemmy doing ballads. Hawkwind is probably the most fascinating band I've barely ever heard. I may have heard "Silver Machine" and "Quark Strangeness and Charm." Some of the Hawkwind guys--they went through a lot of lineups, didn't they?--played on the early Eno records, so I know their work more that way. I always thought I should check out Hawkwind a bit more, but have no idea where to start. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 573 Registered: 03-2005 |
I've been giving the board a rest and just about died laughing when I saw what had happened to this thread. For me, Hawkwind is one of those rarely indulged guilty pleasures. I was turned onto them back when I was doing occasional acid trips in the early/mid 70s. Of course. I already had sufficiently evolved musical tastes to know they were trash. But I loved "Mirror of Illusion" anyway and I adored their two-digit IQ artiness for it's sheer blockheadedness. There is a whole seam of dumb-guy rock that I absolutely love, from The Troggs and The Sweet to all the garage bands in the U.S. and Oz. The only things required are an instinct for good rock 'n roll and authenticity. I really only have one single Hawkwind antho which I bought because I wanted access to "Mirror of Illusion" which I still love. The meaning of my comment falls just about exactly in the middle between Hardin's reading of it and Kevin's. So my comment was a variation of my occasional remark that I'd rather listen to the Seeds than the Doors. The Seeds were a dumb-guy Sunset Strip band who originated the organ-heavy minor chord sound that the Doors then totally poached and coupled with UCLA Lit major lyrics. I personally would rather listen to the Seeds' "Evil Hoodoo" than the Doors' "Light My Fire." The former is timeless trash. |