Question: What is/are your fave instrumental song intro?

[jj]

I suppose many might say the Wreck hook or perhaps the Cotton Jenny shuffle

anyhow, just some member food for thought to help pass the dog days of spring...

[joveski]

dream street rose
old dans records
if it should please you
broken dreams
waiting for you

.... to many to mention!

[joveski]

dream street rose
old dans records
if it should please you
broken dreams
waiting for you

.... to many to mention!

[formerlylavender]

A Tree Too Weak to Stand

This one sort of fades in instead of fading out:
10 Degrees and Getting Colder

[johnfowles]

the rolling intro to Cabaret always gets me as does Seven Island Suite but I get a huge kick whenever in concert I hesr Mike's soaring intro to Restless (my all time favoUrite Lightfoot recording)

YouTube- Gordon Lightfoot-Massey Hall-May 2008 -...

[youngstranger]

Cotton Jenny promises excitment! I also love the guitar on For Lovin' Me. Great intro. I also love how Always on The Brightside sort of drifts in and drifts out.

[Jesse Joe]

Originally Posted by jj

I suppose many might say the Wreck hook or perhaps the Cotton Jenny shuffle

anyhow, just some member food for thought to help pass the dog days of spring...

A Tree Too Weak To Stand

Lots more too many to mention... esp: the older ones where Red Shea played the intro !

[jj]

Originally Posted by youngstranger

Cotton Jenny promises excitment!

i like the way you phrased that...i felt the same way when i first heard it, but unfortuanteyl for me, when the song was done i concluded the intro was the most exciting part

you get a bonus point for Always on the Bright side, imo...i start many long car treks by playing that tune as i leave my long driveway and so that simple intro puts me in a cruise frame of mind no matter where i hear it

i could comment at length on all your inputs, thanks...i havent submitted mine yet...i should have said "go through all those that are too many to mention and decide your fave or narrow down your top 3, or 5 max"

i was orignally thinking of ones with more melodic hooks/riffs as intros but ones like ODR are classsic for sure...how about DQ or CRT? legendary stuff that i hope kids in future generations will recongnize also...for lvin Me, certainyl classic also, good one

this all came to me when i was thinking What GL tunes can i name in the fewest intro notes? or fewest loon calls (eg. whispers of the north )

i love the comment about the fade in intro...great observation! i had asked at one point which GL tunes have fade out ending and i believe rm asked if i was serious...but he knows i am rarely serious so that quiz ended up at the bottom of the sea, along with most of rm and sir johns

so think long and hard on this one....btw, the most bizarre ending is probably Sometimes I Don't mind, imo

ps) Cabaret, great one John!

ps2) after many years I have learned to play the key intro for Restless, i'm awesome

[charlene]

Come out to my place and play RESTLESS - this summer...
we'll work out a date/time. Pool party-CHARbeque...
having a heat wave now..extreme heat alert in Toronto again today...feels like 98F.
wish i had a pool liner and water in the pool!
lol

[jj]

lol, i can teach you that part....you just hold a B note throughout....it acts as the root for the major chord intro then the 2nd for the A and the 5th for the E, etc....i dont think mimicking the guitar picking on piano would appeal but interesting thought to give a go

hey, we could play ball hockey in the deep end of the empty, linerless pool instead...i miss the net alot (i have Leaf blood) so it's great to have a cement pond background so don't need to chase the ball

i am waiting for your answers to the poll....i know you are not too musical but the 'intro' means the beginning of a song

[Dan O'Malley]

"Daylight Katy" springs to mind. Sounds full of mystery! Lovely production

[charlene]

ah yes - the beginning...I love the intro to Restless..the whole song is set with that perfect intro. It never fails to make me think of a humid dusky night in North On-tair-eye-oh by the lake, riding the train up there, the loons on the lake and the northern lights slowly becoming brighter as the sky darkens.
And Lisa and I always raise one finger each when it begins - acknowledging that one note - yay Michael!.

[bjm7777]

Intro to "The Soul is The Rock". I like the rather majestic fade-out of Gord's 12-string on that song, as well...

[bjm7777]

Oh yeah, there's "All The Lovely Ladies", too. Somebody mentioned "A Tree Too Weak To Stand" - the "Cold On The Shoulder" album really is a stand-out.

Ghosts of Cape Horn, IYCRMM, The Wreck of the E.F., Pussywillows, Cat-tails, Sundown, Crossroads. These are just the one's that come to mind immediately

[Yuri]

Cabaret is one that is special for me. Found myself in Mattice Ontario, sitting in a roadside diner, watching the big logging trucks roll by just before canoeing the Missinaibi River up in North Ontar-I-o.
Wrote about it in my blog.
http://missinaibi-yuri.blogspot.com/...-moosonee.html
Then there are all the other intros that are special....

[jj]

i was thinking there are atleast 3 categories of instrumental intros that have come up:

1 - the vamp/groove type such as Sundown, ODR, COTR, IISPY, etc

2 - the instrumental version of the main verse/hook (or chorus) type such as IYCRMM, The Wreck, Ghost of Cape Horn, Daylight Katie, DSR, WFY, Spanish Moss, etc

3 - the type I was trying to get at: a distinct instrumental intro that may appear again in the turnaround between chorus and subsequent verses such as Pussywillows, For Lubbin me, Cabaret, All the Bubbly Ladies, CRT, Affair on Eighth Avenue, ICHW, End of All time, Sometimes I Wish, Does Your Mother Know, etc

I will submit these as my choices:

14 Carrot Gold (category 1)
Selfish (category 2)...see shells selfish by the she sore
Shatoes (category 3)

thanks foreplaying

ps) there are a few submitted here that I have to dig out and listen to..yeah, it's shameful that I can't hum all GL intros by heart!

[June in Las Vegas]

Hang Dog Hotel Room

[joveski]

i forgot to mention In my fashion

[erhein35]

I like broken dreams. It's just makes me feel so good every time I hear that intro.

[joveski]

Originally Posted by erhein35

I like broken dreams. It's just makes me feel so good every time I hear that intro.

it sounds like a perfect intro to an american sitcom in the 80s!

[Kelly Davis]

First, my general overall, "Gord - geek" answer. The first song of any Gord album - because you know you are in for 30 - 45 minutes of your favorite music.


Now, for my real answer. "Whispers Of The North" - the loons before the song actually begins. When you listen to it closely (with no background noise) you can hear the loon call echo through the trees and general surroundings - I think it sets up this wonderful song perfectly. It gives you such an aural image in your mind.

[Wes Steele]

Great question... and some EXCELLENT answers...

Still get goosebumps when I hear the openings to:

If You Could Read My Mind...
In My Fashion...
It's Worth Believein'...