What are your favorite song intros?

Fanfare for the Common man ~ E.L.P.
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WOW, Impressive. Have never viewed this 1977 video though was often played on FM AOR stations. What a terrific idea for a live recording in an empty cold stadium covered in snow. Enjoyed ELP concerts in the SFBA several times in the 1970s. Own 2 1970s albums. Some group ought to try out recording live like this again without the extreme cold. As an old snow skier, it is hard to believe they could actually play with their fingers even for short periods.

Carl Palmer:: We did record a video for “Fanfare…” at the Montreal Olympic stadium....
It was something like 20 degrees below, (centigrade or -4F) it was extremely cold. We managed to shoot three times – a few cameras on one person, a whole take, the same on the next guy, the same on the next guy – and then one take of all of us playing together. But it was very, very cold. The music has lasted, though, it has endured and it’s been truly fantastic. I mean, quality always lasts, and I sincerely believe that we had a lot of quality going there – we weren’t just a prog band, we had pretty songs as well. So it was quite eclectic.

Part of an interview with Greg Lake:

LAKE: I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everybody took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. We had just heard that they wanted to release it as a single. My initial reaction was like, 'Well, no, we're too busy doing the rehearsals with the orchestra.'

And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, ‘Video.’ We got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn’t plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.
 

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