New York, NY (Top40 Charts) In an era where grabbing the attention in the first few seconds of a song is everything, the intro has taken a back seat. It was once as important as the chorus, a section that set up what you would hear for the rest of the track. In some instances, it would misdirect you with a total curveball. Below, we have collected three classic rock introductions that need a retrospective look.
Money - Pink Floyd
Money by Pink Floyd has to be one of the most overlooked introductions in popular music history. It starts with the clinking of a cash register and a ringing bell, which repeats into a tape loop. This then descends into a 7/4 bass hook and tremolo guitar, backed by a haunting organ. All of this is accentuated by Stratocaster guitar stabs, layering the musical texture before the vocals arrive.
Many people believe the loop at the start to be a slot machine. This makes a lot of sense. The scraping metallic sound is reminiscent of the pull of a one-arm bandit, and the money sounds like falling coins.
Pink Floyd were not known to be avid gamblers, and no one has said if the sound is that of betting slots or a cash register. However, they did play Montreux Casino in one of their most famous live albums. Getting acts into casinos is a technique used even in today's modern age of online casinos. These have made the industry bloom with a wealth of gaming choices and convenience. This UK online casino guide is a great guide to the best ones available in England. As playing from home is popular, putting on acts is a way physical operators can get people into their establishments. It is a technique that has long been in use in Las Vegas.
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
Another money-related song, this track by Dire Straits even features Sting on backing vocals. The introduction itself is an elaborate soundscape, that floats and meanders through a bed of droning synths and reverb-laden vocals. It is almost like a Vangelis soundtrack and is a feat of perfection in itself.
The introduction is often overlooked, possibly because it gives way abruptly to one of the hardest-hitting guitar riffs of the eighties. At over a minute long, it is often cut out on the radio. Sit down with the album version and indulge in what is a perfect track overall.
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla
Time has not been kind to Layla. Eric Clapton himself has become somewhat forgotten. His vein of classic rock is not hard enough for some, not avant-garde enough for others, and languishes in a strange middle ground where it no longer gets the praise it deserves.
Layla is the embodiment of that. It is a fantastic, crunching guitar riff, backed up by lush and screeching harmonies as it repeats. Even better is the outro, which takes up over half of the track in a lush piano-laden instrumental.
Rock history has plenty of great introductions and will undoubtedly have many more. Keep your ears open for new ones, or check out some of these and you may just find your new favorite introduction.
