The Count, as noted by my friend Duck, another miss not accounted for

* * * This is a follow-up to another post, The Greatest Ever Songs with Count-ins, which you can read here * * *

We’ve had some misses with the many “Top 10” and “Best of” lists here at So Much Great Music. Hard to believe, but yes, despite the crack SMGM research department, it’s happened.

But never has there been such a step-on-a-rake, inexcusable and utterly humiliating oversight as this one.

Allow me to explain.

Our most recent post, The Greatest Ever Songs with Count-ins, was generally received quite favorably, with comments like “What a concept!”, “Loved this read, depth of detail was outstanding” and “Anyone brave enough to put up a list that is impossible to be quantified deserves props.” I’ll accept those plaudits.

But then I also heard, from three entirely different sources, a comment questioning the omission of a particular artist. Which I brazenly dismissed. And which now haunts me.

Let’s make it suspenseful: we’ll get to them at the end.

What that’s done, however, is also given me the excuse to compose this follow-up: a handful of other songs that certainly could have, and probably should have, been included in the prior analysis, that were either suggested to me in other comments or simply overlooked.

We’ll count down a tight 5 additions, then get to my pie-in-the-face finale.

(and a reminder: like with other song-starting lists we’ve covered, it’s critical to literally hear the songs from their beginnings – meaning when on Spotify, be sure you’re logged in to your account to play the songs from their counted-in outset, not some random middle part in preview mode (which, as was previously mentioned, might only be helpful for ‘Born To Run,’ and, maybe one more we’ll get to at the end, too).

Here we go for “More Greatest Ever Songs with Count-ins”. Once again, that’s a-one, and a-two, and…

5. ‘Patience’ – Guns ‘N Roses

Count: “One, two. One, two, three, four”

This one was actually in the Honorable Mentions section of the previous post. My friend Matty vehemently objected. “The disrespect of keeping ‘Patience’ by GNR off of the final list is notable,” he wrote me. “My case includes that it is one of the few count-ins that is so mellow but still sets up 7/8’s of the song,” before concluding “I call foul.” Leaving aside the peculiar “7/8’s” fraction choice, Matty’s love for this song is well established. One time at a gathering of friends he badgered me repeatedly to break up the good-time party music and play it – “Can you just put on ‘Patience’ now?!” he intoned – the irony apparently lost on him of being so impatient to hear a song with this title. Well, the count-in is a little faint but, admittedly, it is a good one. Duff McKagan take it away.

4. ‘School is Out’ – Gary U.S. Bonds

Count: “A-one, A-two..A-one, two, three, four”

‘School is Out’ isn’t as famous as some of Bonds’s biggest songs (1961’s ‘Quarter to Three’ and ‘New Orleans,’ and his 1981 Springsteen-led comeback hit ‘This Little Girl’), but the count-in here is no less impressive. The vocal-doubling creates a weird effect that’s not an echo, making it sound one voice short of a Three Stooges opening. And the drums actually kick in over the final count of four. That wouldn’t seem to be a good thing – I mean, what’s the point of a count if you’re going to start playing before it’s over – but you can feel secure that U.S. Bonds still made it pay dividends.

3. ‘Going for The One’ – Yes

Count: “One, two (with taps of the high-hat)..One, two, three, four”

The title and lead-off track to prog-rock archetype Yes’s eighth studio album is brought to life by vocalist Jon Anderson’s count, followed instantly by the manic pedal steel guitar opening of Steve Howe, playing a mad riff he was known to practice during sound checks while on tour. A simply crazed first five seconds; it’s almost startling. My friend Wachs brought this one to my attention. He loves Yes like a chicken parm wedge with extra sloopy.

2. ‘Games Without Frontiers’ – Peter Gabriel

Count: “Ah, one, two..One, two, four”

A pretty obvious one, as pointed out by my friend Chin. There’s a quick reverse-tape sucking sound, then Gabriel’s robotic count over an electronic drum beat creates an almost eerie feel. Why did the count jump from two to four? Um, why was the refrain (sung by Kate Bush) that we all knew to be “She’s so popular” somehow actually the French phrase “Jeux sans frontières”? Why indeed.

1. ‘Déjà Vu – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Count: “One, two, three, four”

Another big oversight, also identified by my friend Wachs, who feels it’s probably the best count-in example ever. It’s certainly the most unique. David Crosby engages in some seemingly aimless da-ba-da-da scatting over a droning guitar, until the count, which Crosby pauses to execute himself, finally comes in at 25-seconds. Deceptive. So much has already happened in the song, but there it is, to start it again. I don’t know, it’s odd, but I feel like somehow I’ve missed this one before.

And then there’s this…

I was with my friend Zing just after posting my original count-in countdown. “This is really cool,” he said, “but didn’t The Ramones do that all the time?” “Of course,” I replied confidently, immediately conjuring bassist Dee Dee Ramone’s signature rapid-fire “1-2-3-4!!” shouts. “That was for all their live performances, though. I don’t think they did it on the albums.” Shortly thereafter, my musician son Max texted me with his comments: “No mention of The Ramones? Nearly all of their songs start with the identical count-off.” “Zing said that to me, too,” I responded with assurance. “But that’s in concert, not the studio recordings.” Finally, my fellow muso and frequent analyst Wachs was suggesting an outlier for count-in consideration, the opening to Little Feat’s “Waiting for Columbus” album. “N-O on F-E-A-T,” I wrote back dismissively, “for starters, as it’s a live version — otherwise I’d have had to include practically all Ramones songs.”

Yet, at this point I wasn’t feeling quite as sure. And, a couple days later, I decided to pull up some Ramones album tracks to check myself. You’ll never believe what I found: screaming “1-2-3-4!!” count-ins at the onsets of, say, countless Ramones tunes. What an embarrassing pie in the face. They’re everywhere. ‘Rockaway Beach,’ one of their biggest songs, would be the best-known illustration. But there’s also ‘Listen to My Heart,’ ‘Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World,’ and ‘I Can’t Give You Anything.’ Oh, and ‘Wart Hog,’ ‘Commando,’ ‘Mama’s Boy,’ ‘Danger Zone,’ and ‘Endless Vacation.’ Not to mention their classic cover of The Rivieras’ ‘California Sun.’ There’s probably more.

So…yeah, I missed a few. Still, better to count me in late than never in acknowledging The Ramones – alongside Bruce Springsteen – as kings of the count-in. At least when SMGM has a lapse, we make it count.

One more as a bonus:

Next to the aforementioned ‘Born to Run’ for mid-song count-in supremacy, I believe this is the next best ever. Man, did Bob Seger freakin’ nail this section. It’s like he was burning up with a fire down below.