10 Greatest Album Intros In Rock History
8. In The Flesh - Pink Floyd
When talking about the genre of the rock opera, The Wall by Pink Floyd really belongs in its own separate class. Even though records like Tommy by the Who had laid the foundations for the concept record going forward, this was the first of its kind to actually sound like a rock opera, with Roger Waters putting all of the emotional heft he could into his semi-autobiographical tale of the broken rock star. However, all good operas have to start with an overture.
Before we even get a hint at the story being told, In the Flesh really tells us all we need to know through music, as the cold guitar sounds make you feel confined in some sort of sonic prison. That kind of feeling doesn't last for long though, as the opening guitar riff bursts through like a ray of sunlight, as Waters asked us whether we would really like to go to his show.
The genius of this kind of musical fragment works in two ways, as it addresses the audience at the top of the album and returns midway through the story as Pink prepares to put on his own rock show right after Comfortably Numb. With just the right amount of melancholy, optimism, and uneasiness, In the Flesh is practically the entirety of the Wall distilled into just a few minutes.