Favourite U2 Intros?

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CrashedCarDriver

CrashedCarDriver

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For anyone who didnt have to go to far, the guitar riff of I Will Follow was the band's way to tell everyone that this band is U2. and they were here

other ones
the drums of Sunday Bloody Sunday. a rebel song

The guitar riff of Pride (in the name of love), Eno's production was prominent then and there
 
Zooropa - blows my mind every time I hear it
Magnificent - such a great build up
Where the Streets Have No Name - classic song, great emotional crescendo
Moment of Surrender - the introduction to the chord changes is captivating
The Electric Co. - such enthusiasm and excitement
Mofo - some of the craziest sounds to come out of a rock song
Zoo Station - same as above, a wonderful example of the band's experimentation and the Lanois/Eno production at work
New York - love how it goes from a mixed-down drum sample, to something more "live"
City of Blinding Lights - something that makes me feel joyous every time I hear it
The Unforgettable Fire - paints a different picture each time
Tomorrow - captures a melancholy feeling like nothing else
 
Definitely COBL. Especially from Chicago on Vertigo. Mofo was freakin insane and wish they'd do that one again. Vertigo is a pretty good opener too. It get's the crowd worked up which might be what you wanna do depending on the band. Magnificent would be a great opener, not sure if they have opened with that one. Zoo Station was awesome on the Sydney ZooTV show. WTSHNN is also a really good opener with the organ and guitar. Breathe was awesome when I went to see them. Larry drumming at the beginning. I can understand him getting so worked up. And while GOYB isn't the best song they've written it still gets you worked up a lot. It's better live than the album IMO. Aaaaand it's not THAT bad. They have a lot of good opening songs.
 
Mofo Two words. The bassline.
Streets It's just a classic synth intro but it's not cheesy. I get chills pretty much every time I hear it.
Magnificent Who doesn't love this one? What an amazing build up to those chiming guitar sounds. And also, all those sweet noises in the beginning. Love it.
Unknown Caller Love the mellow guitar. And then the "Sunshine, Sunshine" Edge vocals.
Running To Stand Still Could you call the slide guitar at the beginning an intro? If so, I love it. So chilling.
Love and Peace Or Else Personally, I love the intro to this song. The extremely distorted guitar and Bono whispering the commands in the background.
The Electric Co. Just the echo on that guitar.
City Of Blinding Lights So great. I keep falling in love with this song over and over again.
Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) I love the glockenspiel. Just so pretty.
New York I also really love this one because it just goes from being so quiet to being so powerful and louder in the choruses.
Zoo Station The intro to this one told people that this was a different kind of U2.
The Fly Love the subtle tambourine and guitar and then the bass comes in to give more power to it.
Ultraviolet (Light My Way) Gotta love this live. Especially when the the song just kicks off.
The Unforgettable I'll never forget when I saw this live. Absolutely chilling.
Hawkmoon 269 This was actually one of the songs that got me into U2. I love the carnival sound at the beginning and then what kinda sounds like timpani drums enter.
 
theedgeu2 said:
Definitely COBL. Especially from Chicago on Vertigo. Mofo was freakin insane and wish they'd do that one again. Vertigo is a pretty good opener too. It get's the crowd worked up which might be what you wanna do depending on the band. Magnificent would be a great opener, not sure if they have opened with that one. Zoo Station was awesome on the Sydney ZooTV show. WTSHNN is also a really good opener with the organ and guitar. Breathe was awesome when I went to see them. Larry drumming at the beginning. I can understand him getting so worked up. And while GOYB isn't the best song they've written it still gets you worked up a lot. It's better live than the album IMO. Aaaaand it's not THAT bad. They have a lot of good opening songs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they opened with Magnificent at Boston 2. :)
Oh, I love Larry's drumming in the intro to Breathe, too. :up:
Yes, GOYB is much, much better live. I mean, I really like that song anyways but live, it just gets you pumped up! I love the "The future, the future, the future, the future, the future needs a big kiss!!"
 
Bonogirl777 said:
Yes, GOYB is much, much better live. I mean, I really like that song anyways but live, it just gets you pumped up! I love the "The future, the future, the future, the future, the future needs a big kiss!!"
Click to expand...

That's part of what makes it better live. I remember that part going on and I was like "what is this?" and then I was like "Oh duh :doh: GOYB. :hyper:" :lol: As well as the da da da da da da part making it cool. Then Edge comes in with the do do do do, do do, do do do, do do do.:lol:
 
ASOH, TUF, Bad, Streets, Zoo Station, UTEOTW, Ultraviolet (does the first verse count as an intro?), Zooropa, Mofo, Electrical Storm, COBL, Magnificent, MOS, Unknown Caller, Fez (since it is an intro).
 
Zooropa
Where the Streets Have No Name
Your Blue Room
Moment of Surrender
Unknown Caller
Fez/Being Born

NLOTH has the most awesome intros.
 
So we're talkin about best and most impactful opening moments of a U2 song? Goddam, it's easily Sunday Bloody Sunday. The first 20 seconds of the song are as awesome and iconic as anything the band's ever done.

And then yes, of course, Streets has a great opening.
 
I'll just put in five:

Please (Single version) - I adore those strings, something that I like to call an 'electrochestra', which then everything kicks in with Larry's drums. :up:
The Fly - One of the most sweeter sounds in music, the Edge blasting that fantabulous riff through the speakers.
Mofo - Love it. The first 40-seconds or so are incredible, the drum, that ridiculous bass/sequencer thing and that ear deafening siren erupting from the guitar deserve to be in the shortlist for the best things U2 have ever conceived.
Until The End of The World - That intro noise that I remember hearing being described as something like a "buffalo getting stuck in a jet engine" which builds up with the bass and drums into that mouthwatering guitar riff. It sounds even more awesome live.
Where The Streets Have No Name - I would lose all credibility if I left this out of my post, so here it is. The organ and the guitar and the build up in all is absolutely heavenly.

There is so much more to list but I thought I would keep it at 5.
 
Where the streets have no name, obviously, one of the best intros by anybody anywhere ever. ASOH, TUF, Pride and Zooropa are other obvious ones. Achtung Baby is full of them, EBTTRT and The Fly would be my favourites.
 
The Linear version of 'Winter' - there's something about the dreaminess in Edge's guitar picking - the way it builds and turns itself around Larry's stuttering rhythm...and picks its way into the heart - that evokes the journey of "a country boy to a city in a far off land". This is one of the most underrated moments in U2 history...in my opinion, anyway.
 
U2 have so many great song intros, NLOTH in had one for almost every track. A few favorites of mine that come to mind straight away are:

Zoo Station - My favorite U2 song intro ever. No explanation needed.
Mofo - The sound of U2 blasting off into a strange, densely layered dance mindfuck. Probably one of the best uses of synthesizer and sequencing in a U2 track.
Magnificent - I dig the monstrous guitar tone at the beginning, followed by the snare getting louder and louder as the atmospherics swell behind it.
Fez - Trippy shit.
Love and Peace or Else - I really like the distorted, bassy synth sound. Brian Eno's one big contribution to the album.
When I Look at the World - One of my favorite little guitar parts of Edge's from this decade.
A Sort of Homecoming - The little drum and echoing guitar buildup a the beginning is just awesome. Short but magical.
Slug - Like slowly drifting away into some kind of hazy dream state.
Pop Muzik (Pop Mart Mix) - The gradual surge of all those electronic layers over the newyorklondonparismunich vocal sample is fantastic.
 
Favourite intro? Can only be one.

Red screen, organ, guitar notes chiming in..... Nothing can beat that intro for me.

Acrobat's drum intro is pretty damn pleasant too. And the bbc version of Electrical storm, with the two guitars and the glockenspiel!


:hmm: Well that's rather interesting. These happen to be my favourite songs... yet they also have my favourite intros..
 
Im gonna give you ten

Electrical Storm
Where the Streets
The Saints Are Coming
Bad
Pride
Miss Sarajevo
Mofo
Peace On Earth
Unforgettable Fire
Magnificent (we HAVE to get right in those seconds of Edge playing BEFORE Bono plays - MY GOD! :drool:..)


oh gosh so many live versions too!

:no::no: too many too many!
 
I think the 2 U2 songs that scream "U2!" more than any other in the first bar or two are I Will Follow and New Years Day. The others take marginally longer to kick in, but those two are immediate.
 
Where The Streets Have No Name: Live on Zoo TV and Elevation, this is by far the best intro to any song I have ever heard. After years I'm still baffled by this amazing song. Stunning.

Running to Stand Still: The beautiful acoustic guitar with the piano coming in later on, it's simple but yet so beautiful. U2 truly knows how to do a lot with only a few chords.

Unknown Caller: From the singing birds to the pleasant Eno-esque sounds in the background, it's beautiful indeed. Takes almost two minutes before the first verse actually begins, and I'm actually pretty glad it does.

A Sort of Homecoming: If you for the first time listen to this song from TUF after previously only hearing songs prior of the album your first impression will be "WTF is this?!". After getting over that first impression you'll realize that it's pure genious.

That was my favorites of what I can think of right now. NLOTH has some really awesome intros, but UC is my favorite from that album. Magnificent, MoS, F-BB, WAS and Breathe also have great intros.
 
my fave intros...are all live. Among them are

Zoo Station
UTEOTW
Hawkmoon 269
Streets
and I adore the start of Breathe...where the guitar kicks in
 
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