Page 65
verse. You might have some kind of instrumental theme or motif, possibly part of the chorus melody. This means
that the listener will have heard the chorus tune already when the first chorus is reached.
Guitar intros
Since the guitar has been a central instrument in popular music, there are many different types of guitar intros. The
instrumental motif could be a rhythm guitar ('Whole Lotta Love', 'If It Makes You Happy', 'In A Room', 'In The
City'), a burst of lead guitar (Chuck Berry's signature), or the low-string melody that starts 'Radar Love' in such a
threatening way (and at a different tempo to boot). It could be a single chord, as with 'The Kids Are
Alright' (bbrraaanggg! "I don't mi-i-ind.. .") or 'Hard Day's Night' (G7sus4 on a 12-string, apparently), or Keef's
chopped open tuning chords for 'Brown Sugar'. Dissonance will sure as hell get people's attention. Think of
Hendrix's grinding flattened fifth to kick-start 'Purple Haze' or the Aleister Crowley-meets-the Arabian-Nights
snakebite of Page's bent flattened fifth (C# against G) for 'Dancing Days'. There's also a flattened fifth in the riff of
R.E.M's 'Feeling Gravity's Pull' where it is not as expected as it might be in a heavy rock number such as 'Enter
Sandman'. A song like Robert Plant's 'Big Log' starts with an instrumental guitar passage because the song is half
guitar instrumental anyway.
Other instruments
The intro instrument could be a horn, like the one that starts 'God Only Knows', or a keyboard, as on 'Superstition'. A
trumpet has the intro on many a Bacharach tune ('We've Got All The Time In The World'). It's a saxophone on
'Baker Street', and there's what critic Dave Marsh aptly called the "rattlesnake" tambourine on the intro of 'I Heard It
Through The Grapevine'. It might be the lush orchestral intro of 'Dazzle' or the solo bassline of 'My Girl', 'Erotica' or
'Cuyahoga'. Think of the repeated bass motif that starts 'Under Pressure'. What about an unusual instrument, like the
Coral electric sitar heard on 'No Matter What Sign You Are' and 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' – guaranteed to make
people wonder what the hell is that? People who are recognised stars on their instruments get to start songs with
short solos, like the guitar break that opens 'Brothers In Arms'. Some songs start with other people's tunes. Dire
Straits put an extract of 'The Carousel Waltz' at the head of 'Tunnel Of Love' because it conjured up a fairground.
The copyright will cost you, of course.
Drum intros have strong impact, especially in music for dancing. John Bonham's drum intros for 'Rock And Roll',
'When The Levee Breaks' (sampled on, among others, 'Army Of Me') and 'The Crunge' (sampled on Mansun's
'Stripper Vicar') are exemplary. Other notable drum intros include the ones on 'Lipstick Vogue', 'Sat In Your Lap'
and 'I Don't Live Today'. On hits such as 'Can The Can', Suzi Quatro made the drum intro a trademark.
Vocal intros
Think of the way 'Hound Dog' comes straight in – "You ain't nothin' but a.. ."- on an unaccompanied vocal. You
could whistle, or use a spoken phrase like "Is she really going out with him?" on 'Leader Of The Pack', which The
Damned appropriated for 'New Rose'. There's Ian Hunter's cheery "Allo!" on 'Once Bitten Twice Shy', or even a
laugh, as Kate Bush did on the single of 'The Man With The Child In His Eyes'. A heartfelt spoken intro, such as the
one Smokey Robinson put on 'Baby, Baby Don't Cry', would probably be thought kitsch now. Remember the heavily
echoed "Hey! Don't watch dat, watch dis!" of 'One Step Beyond' and the party chatter that starts 'What's Going On'
and 'I Can't Get