Great guitar intros

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: olddude
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 04:11 PM

Any song by Dave Van Ronk always has an impressive guitar intro .. take Losers for example ... man he cooks

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Tootler
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 04:11 PM

I second Canadee-i-o by Nic Jones.

Not acoustic but definitely folk: Go from my Window by Liza Carthy

Not Folk and definitely not acoustic: Hotel California

Both of these set up the atmosphere of the song.

Not guitar but definitely folk: The Holly and the Ivy by Magpie Lane. The intro is on fiddle and is the tune played through in a way that shows its dance origin. I can imagine a Morris side dancing to it.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 04:07 PM

I love Nic Jones' "bluesy riff" intro to Willie Don't You Weep for me". When it begins, it sounds like it's going to be an instrumental but then Nic, amazingly, starts singing over this driving - to my ears, complex - rhythm. Great stuff.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 11:02 AM

I became afflicted by self-doubt after putting "acoustic as you like" in my previous post. So I went back and had a listen. It does indeed start with four hot bars of Lonnie's acoustic guitar, though Denny Wright joins in with a bit of backup on electric guitar thereafter. The triumphant full-blooded elctric guitar solo later in the record is of course Wright himself on top form.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 10:52 AM

Well I remember being absolutely thrilled to bits at the age of 12 by the guitar intro to Lonnie Donegan's Cumberland Gap.
Acoustic as you like, and a good traditional folksong as well, by the way. That's why I bought my first guitar, best ten bob I ever spent.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,Mick Woods
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 10:48 AM

Yeah the original 3 piece with Bell, Downey & Lynott. They were deaperate to get a hit and had spent 3 weeks recording "Black Boy On The Corner" they were told that themust have a B side and recorded "Whiskey In The Jar" in just a couple of hours. Incidently there is no bass on it Phil is strumming a telecaster into a practice amp. They even got all the words wrong/mixed up. Eric's solo in the middle is supposed to be loosley based on "Brennan On The Moor" When it was eventually released it was a bit of a sleeper and got no airplay at all until a couple of months later when Kid Jensen started playing it on radio Luxembourg the rest is history!

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 10:48 AM

Django's intro to Sidney Bechet playing Ain't Misbehavin'
George Shearing's guitarist - forgot his name Moonlight in Vermont
Hilton Valentine's intro to all The Animal's records.
Lowell Fulson - Reconsider baby
Martin simpson - Creeping Jane
Tony Rose - Thorneymoor woods
Ken Nicol - I live not where I love and Two Steps from the Blues
Derek Brimstone - Chelsea Morning
Blind Blake - Police Dog Blues
Dave Van Ronk - Bad dream Blues
Robert Johnson - everything

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Midchuck
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 10:35 AM

Norman Blake's intro to his recording of (*).

* = Fill in any Norman Blake song of your choosing. Any of them would qualify.

Peter

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,Guest - Jim Younger
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 09:22 AM

Was it Eric Bell who played the marvelous lead guitar on Whiskey in the Jar? Best folk-rock record ever made. Acoustic, for me, would have to be Canadee-i-o by Nic Jones. Astonishing!

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: bubblyrat
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 07:59 AM

I always liked "Something Stupid" (Frank & Nancy Sinatra) - I believe that the intro might have been by Glen Campbell, Sinatra's long-time session guitarist ??

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Mick Woods
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 06:44 AM

But it is fantastic!

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: johncharles
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 06:40 AM

Oops missed the acoustic bit in the title.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: johncharles
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 06:35 AM

Thin Lizzie whisky in the jar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TehFZ38kt6o

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,Chris B (Born Again Scouser)
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 04:45 AM

'Richmond' by Andy Roberts
'The Guerriere And The Constitution' by Mick Hanly
'Prince Heathen' by Martin Carthy (though I'm not a huge fan of the song)
'Shawnee Town' by Martin Simpson

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Nick
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 07:47 AM

Sandy Denny - Fotheringay

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Steve Hunt
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 07:45 AM

Canadee-i-o. Nic Jones

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Nick
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 07:44 AM

None of this is folk but all acoustic:

James Taylor - Fire and Rain; You Got a Friend
Dougie Maclean - Caledonia; Talking with My Father
Bob Fox - Sally Wheatley; Rambling Rover
Fairport - Rosemary's Sister
Richard Thompson - Vincent Black Lightning; Beeswing
John Renbourn - Lord Franklin
John Martyn - Bless the Weather
Bert Jansch - Blackwaterside

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 07:05 AM

neither are tunes that spring to mind - but I expect they are whole band efforts. The watered down 64 bar version on solo guitar - often just a series of chords - are what I find a bit tedious at the beginning of a song in a session. me - I like to establish the tune in my head - not just a soundscape - before anyone tries to do clever counter melodies or twiddley bits.
FloraG.

PS Who would be silly enough to have too many guitars?

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 06:56 AM

My goodness, Flora ! The next thing people will be suggesting is that it is possible to own too many guitars.

Seriously, though, even for folk who aren't aware of what is making the sound, I believe you can't separate the impact of, for example, "Mexico" from the guitar sound featured on it.
The intro to STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER is indelibly linked to that ancient mellotron, similarly.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 04:19 AM

Me - I think I like short song intrductions. Overlong intros might be the reason why some sing arounds discourage instruments.

I know people tend to get hung up on the sound of their own instruments - but it is not always shared by others - however clever. I've heard members of the band say ' the 8 bars sound really good Flora but 2 would be better'.
FloraG.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:05 PM

OK, acoustic. James Taylor's intro to Mexico

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: pdq
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 06:47 PM

John Herald did great intros for lotsa songs.

"Ragged But Right", "Mississippi Levee Breaking Blues", "Gimme Back My 15 Cents" and "Four Rode By" come to mind.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: tritoneman
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 06:35 PM

I rather like Clarence White's wild intro to Muleskinner Blues on the Muleskinner Album.

Subject: RE: Great acoustic guitar intros
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 05:31 PM

There are acoustic versions of "Dust My Broom" and that one takes its intro with it wherever it goes.   Likewise "Hellhound on my Trail".

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: pdq
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 05:16 PM

Paul Simon did unique and well-crafted guitar parts for many of his songs.

Intros to "Save the Life of My Child" and Peace Like a River" are worth hearing again.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 04:58 PM

Sorry to be pedantic, but I see the subheading "acoustic" is being missed (my fault) and that my focus on folk music in this instance is not appealing to some people. I appreciate those ideas but if we open it up to rock etc it almost gets too easy.

   Here's another of the sort I mean: Renbourn's "White House Blues".

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: fat B****rd
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 04:09 PM

Elliot Randall 'Reelin' in the Years'
Chuck Berry 'Roll Over Beethoven' etc
Joe Moretti 'Shakin'All Over'
George Harrison 'If I Needed Someone'

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Wesley S
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 01:29 PM

Blackbird and Mother Natures Son spring to mind.

And tons of songs by The Who. Or how about My Creole Belle by Mississippi John Hurt?

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 01:26 PM

As I noted on another thread....Fairport Convention's intro to Matty Groves is unmistakeable!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:27 PM

Hendrix's intro to All Along the Watchtower. Roger McGuinn's intros to almost every song, but especially Eight Miles High and Turn, Turn, Turn. How about Clarence White's intro to You Ain't Goin' Nowhere? Mick Taylor's intro to Live with Me or Keith Richards' to Jumping Jack Flash.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 11:38 AM

Funny, the post eater is at it again.

Also by coincidence, Will, you illustrate the point about folk song in that the two introductions of the same song are very different.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Will Fly
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 11:24 AM

By coincidence, Richard, and before reading your post, I was also about to quote "Nottamun Town" - with Davy Graham's introduction to Shirley Collins's singing on the "Folk Roots, New Routes" album.

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:39 AM

'I Can See You Now' by Bruce Murdoch.... who was that masked man ?

Subject: RE: Great guitar intros
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:31 AM

In folk song it is the version not the song itself that benefits from a particular introduction.

Martin Carthy's version of "Famous Flower of Serving Men" would be one (as I think mine is also recognisable although not a patch on his).

My late wife's (Jacqui Walker, nee Turner) intro to "Nottamun Town" was also instantly recognisable. Over 5 years after her death I am still trying to get it right!

Quite a few of Nic Jones's would qualify - some on contemporary songs as well as folk songs.

Likewise many Renbourn, Jansch, or Graham (often contemporary not folk).

One of the very few piano parts I can stand (OK, not a guitar intro, a piano one) on June Tabor's version of Hughie Graeme is an instant snap to attention too.

Subject: Great acoustic guitar intros
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 09:35 AM

Just been watching on   Youtube "Pinball Wizard" and it made me wonder what intros in the folk field are as memorable; many in rock/pop of course: eg      Bye Bye Love, The Boxer, Michelle etc.

    I can think of Dougie Maclean's "Green Grow the Rashes" and "First Girl I Loved" by ISB.

Don't have to be complex, just instantly recognisable and memorable.