10 Greatest Album Intros In Rock History
9. Where The Streets Have No Name - U2
At the end of the '80s, U2 was gaining a reputation as being more than just your average rock band. With Bono calling for change every time they played live to the dramatic soundscapes that they brought across on record, this felt like music that could both be enjoyed in the moment as well as shape the world around us. Even though it may have been a bold claim, these Irish lads lived up to that expectation the minute the Joshua Tree started.
As the cold strains of electronic pads come in, Where the Streets Have No Name unfolds into this virtual ocean of sound in no time, as the Edge makes a symphony out of his signature delayed guitar. Given that the song is also in a strange time signature for the first opening bars, it almost feels like the music is floating in midair before it is eventually channeled into the first verse.
The amount of perfection on the final mix wasn't a mistake either, with producer Daniel Lanois writing down the construction of the entire intro on a chalkboard so that everything was right where it needed to be. While Bono and the lads may get a lot of rancor thrown their way these days, this is probably the closest they came to making their music sound like it could move the Earth.