That Intro Thing, Pt. III

This time, a pair of groovers, both of which happen to date from 1970...




Nice one, with a rewind-worthy intro that gathers momentum and eases into things proper. As a whole, I always found El Chicano's version of the tune infinitely preferable to the Gerald Wilson original. And wudduya know, there's now a vintage live clip of it up now.




Not that the song is a disappointment, but the intro -- by my reckoning -- definitely promises bigger things. Love the intertwining of bass, percussion and scratchy wah-wah guitar in its opening moment.

Elephant's Memory were a weird one. As I recall, back in the day they had the reputation in some circles as being the worst band in existence. Maybe that was partly on account on their Plastic Ono Band affiliation, and maybe it was was also because they actually weren't that good. But their second LP, 1970's Take It To The Streets, definitely had its highlights. Much of the credit being due to their winding up with R&B producer Ted Cooper for the sessions, who was responsible for giving them something of a Motor City sound for the album. ("Mongoose" being the disc's opener.) The LP had a cheap, flat, and fairly cruddy mix to it, however. Plus it was on a small label, with a comparatively low number of copies having been pressed. So when Cypress Hill sampled the opening bass line to "Mongoose," it quickly made the thing an expensive collectors' item among beatdiggers.

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Anyway, Simon's finally weighed in with some of his own. I'd wondered how long it'd take before someone threw in with Osymyso. Not long at all, it turns out. And Simon's Roxy Music pick had me thinking of this one...




Not necessarily a candidate for the Best of intros; but perhaps one of the most misleading switcheroo of an intro that comes to mind. Speaking of which, Alex Niven has jumped in, as well; breaking an array of candidates down into subcategories. As he points out, Franz Ferdinand were big on the sort of thing above -- the type of intro that qualifies as a "separate mini-song." And I suppose it was inevitable that "How Soon Is Now?" would eventually turn up.