How to Count Take It Easy Intro
- #1
gaebrel
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I do. Don Henley is a phenomenal writer but only an ok drummer. I'm sorry, but that intro is off by a half beat. Why would he purposely do that? It's such a simple song. There aren't any other sneaky drum bits anywhere else in the Eagles catalog, so why this song? It's like saying Charlie Watts meant to play the intro to 'Start Me Up' that way.
What do you think??
- #2
xsabers
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You are hearing the guitar intro and feeling the accents on the downbeats. Try hearing them on the & of beat 4. The intro is then spot on. Don Henley may not be the best drummer in the world but I do believe he is quite the perfectionist and would never let an error make it into a production. Plus the rest of band are all right with him when the drums come in. It's a bit like the drum intro to Rock and Roll. We want to hear the downbeat where we think it should be, but when the whole bad kicks in, we find we were wrong. Not every song starts on the downbeat... 
Edit to say, the drum part isn't tricky; the guitar intro is...
- #3
Nothing wrong with that intro. It is right on the money. The guitar starts on the upbeat. It's perfect.
- #4
DanC
"Get in, sit down, shut up, hold on"
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That recording is fine. As stated above, they never would have kept the track if it wasn't right.
Here's the band in the beginning, Henley on Camcos: (images and music are out of sync)
- #5
i don't think is wrong either. however we all know somethimes there are "happy mistakes" when recording.
as for the charlie watts comment, i kinda think he messed up. but charlie has had his share of odd timing stuff in stones music history that worked. and if anyone else has heard the demos of that song, he does the same fill on one of the takes (that i know of anyway)
this would be a interesting general topic for someone to start. "drumming mistakes in music".
- #6
It starts on the "and" of 4
There's no rulebook saying a song has to start on "1".
Probably the most famous example of a song not starting on "1"
An example of where the backbeat is turned around
Cheers
Mick
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- #7
I shared a house with a piano player who had a thing for songs where they deceive you into thinking the "one" is somewhere else. We found lots of them. That's a good one. They probably muted the master faders from a longer intro. My impression of Don is that he knows everything that's going on in that band. I love the vocals on that track. That song inspired me to stand on a corner on Winslow Arizona. That was a great day I will never forget.
- #8
............................................................................. the intro is just fine. i've done some weird off time stuff on a few songs. dont ask me to count it cause all i can do is think it and play it. playing music is "not" about how good you are , its about how good the music you play sounds. an interviewer once asked Frank Marino how good you had to be to be in his band. Frank said you dont have to be a good player to be in my band you just have to be a "good guy" ! check it out at the 2 minute mark.
- #9
I've posted this several times over the years. Here's "Rock & Roll" written out,and you can see where the confusion is with the first three 8th-notes on the upbeat.
http://www.dbmproaudio.com/rockandroll.jpg
- #10
The intro to Spirits in the Material World by The Police
And
The Beatles Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and my Monkey
Still throw me!
- #11
Tim Boettcher
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It doesn't seem like it. I heard the ending of Alice Cooper "Be My Lover" was a mistake (he dropped his stick and it hit the rims, he was not clicking off) but don't know for sure...
- #12
Tell Me Somthin Good by Rufus is another deceptive intro.
- #13
I've sussed-out a lot of weird intros, and the only one, so far, that I still cannot decode is "All Along The Watchtower" by Hendrix. If someone knows what the heck is going on there, I'd sure like to know. 
- #14
With all of these intros, if you heard the count off they would all make perfect sense. 
- #15
With all of these intros, if you heard the count off they would all make perfect sense.
+1000
- #16
Another one is Car Wash by Rose Royce. The "Clap" starts on beat two.
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- #17
I've sussed-out a lot of weird intros, and the only one, so far, that I still cannot decode is "All Along The Watchtower" by Hendrix. If someone knows what the heck is going on there, I'd sure like to know.
If I remember correctly, this was from Drum magazine, found it online a while back.
View attachment 133406
- #18
You guys think to much play the song lol
- #19
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I can't think of any questionable drumming by Don Henley, and therefore, I would call him a good drummer. Solid as hell.
- #20
I've sussed-out a lot of weird intros, and the only one, so far, that I still cannot decode is "All Along The Watchtower" by Hendrix. If someone knows what the heck is going on there, I'd sure like to know.
If I remember correctly, this was from Drum magazine, found it online a while back.
View attachment 133406
A BIG thank you on that one!!! 
All at once, I don't feel as stupid for not figuring it out on my own, and even MORE stupid for NOT figuring out on my own.
Source: https://www.drumforum.org/threads/do-you-think-the-drum-intro-to-take-it-easy-is-a-mistake.68039/
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