What pulls the world into listening to Pharrell Williams' tracks? According to an article by Discopop Directory, which makes a very convincing argument, the answer is the producer's rather lazy tendency for opening songs.
"He's rubbish at writing intros," says the author of the post. "Take a listen to his new album, G I R L, and seven of the 10 tracks start exactly the same way. He takes the first beat of the first bar, loops it four times, then goes straight into the song."
The author also provides a playlist of 13 examples exemplifying Williams at his craft, displaying his work with performers from Jay Z to Robin Thicke. One particularly recognizable example is the intro to Kelis' "Milkshake," which features four thick tom beats and four stuttering attempts to open the electronic riff that carries throughout the single. Not ones to just take Discopop's word for it, we went and listened to our favorite Williams-produced album, Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury. Sure enough, our two favorites tracks ("Momma I'm Sorry" and "Trill") were guilty as charged.
That being said, we hesitate to agree with Discopop's assertion that Williams is "rubbish" at writing intros. Creative, perhaps not, but the method has certainly proved effective. What do hip-hop and R&B fans want for a song intro? A Kirk Hammet guitar solo a la "Trapped Under Ice?" It's far better than The Eagles' outro method of repeating the chorus over and over while the song fades out. But we digress.
Got another classic example of the Williams intro method? Cite it in the comment section for our mutual amusement.
