Intoductions are a way to connect with an audience before the melody and songs message begins. Intros can be as difficult or more so than actually performing a song. The way that I have learned many of the songs that I play is by listening to recordings. I don't think I'm alone in this. Most songs that have been recorded don't usually include an intro. It is therefore left up to the performer to develope this aspect of their performance as they see fit. If you don't like ramblin' intros you probably won't care for Ramblin' Jack Elliot. I myself love to use that portion of my show to do more than just expound the historical significance of any given song and some of my intros do seem, especially friends sitting in with me, to travel a bit. I think that's because the stories are directed at the audience and don't directly involve the bands paticipation. They'll learn, Reggie