Favorite Song Moments?

This will be an evolving list as things crop up:

1 Beginning and ending of Starless by King Crimson.
2 The long keyboard & then guitar solos in Firth of Fifth by Genesis.
3 Guitar solo by Buck Dharma on the Some Enchanted Evening live version of Astronomy by Blue Oyster Cult.

When the fast riff after the chorus starts on Genesis' "Dancing with the moonlit knight".

The slow Robin Trower guitar intro for Bridge of Sighs  and Steve Hillage 's "I never Glid Before" On Angel's Egg by Gong . Both goosebump material.

Out of those that haven't been mentioned yet:

Pink Floyd's The Wall has lots of them: "We don't need no education", the modulated commands in Waiting for the Worms and The Trial. In general I have an unhealthy affection for ominous modulated narration especially when it's some kind of tyrannic command. It's one of those things I'll never find goofy or clichéd no matter how disillusioned I otherwise get.

The "whoosh" sound effect that opens Deep Purple's Fireball. Speaking of Purple - Ian Gillan's screams on Child in Time, any of the solos in Child in Time... screw that, Child in Time is basically a 10-minute-long favourite moment. And the solo that opens Speed King on the European version of In Rock... back in 1970 it must have been even more spine-chilling, but today it's still one of the best ways an album has ever opened.

Beltane, the bonus track on 2003 reissue of Jethro Tull's Songs from the Wood (why the hell didn't it get on the album first time, it's as good as the title track or Hunting Girl) has one of my favourite lyric lines ever: "It's just the old gods getting older". I think it's mostly the way Ian sings it that makes it so great. Another Jethro Tull moment: "Old Charlie stole the handle, and the train it won't slow down" in Locomotive Breath. The flute solo and intro of the same song as well.

The climax of Hawkwind's Brainstorm, you know the part that starts with the chant of "This is it! This is it! This is it!". The moment on the Space Ritual live version where one of the members suddenly begins gargling furiously in the background I also happen to quite like no matter how random it probably is, it actually adds to the frenzied chaos of that song. Brainstorm also has another of my all-time fave lyric lines: "You're gonna help me or there'll be an explosion!" It's so... to-the-point.

Back to Pink Floyd... I've always been very partial to that creepy sound effect (I think it's made using the guitar, but I can't remember right now ) coming after "Neptune, Titan, Stars can frighten" in Astronomy Domine. Not to mention the sample of ducks quacking that ends Bike and hence their first album. Yeah, I have a weird sense of humour.

For me my favorite moment was in Octavarium (Dream Theater). It was near the end when the metal section kicked in and LaBrie was screaming "TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OCTAVARIUM!!!!!" over and over again, and then suddenly it ends and the strings come in for an emotional section. That part was just pure gold. Another favorite was also in Octavarium when the French Horn came in at the very end. It was composed perfectly, and closed the song wonderfully.

Roj M30 wrote: All of Awaken is amazing, but from the start of Wakeman's church organ solo until the crescendo has to be the ultimate. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and gives me goose bumps. Even now, 30 years later, if I'm driving my car and this comes on I have to pull over and listen. It still moves me so much and I get so carried away I'd probably crash.

I didn't even think about that until you mentioned it, but you're absolutely right. During the Tormato tour (I believe), they played something called The Big Medley, which was like 5 or 6 Yessongs spliced together. Right as Jon, Chris and Steve finish the Perpetual Change part with "Saying we have the whole world in our hand" and just BAM! Right into the end of the battle sequence of Gates. Oh man, I get chills. Look for it on The Word is Live because words don't do it justice.

The fast break in "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" - it's where I learned that Phil Collins was actually a musician.

Hm. new one. The guitar solo and humming thing off Maneige's Douce Amere.

All of Awaken is amazing, but from the start of Wakeman's church organ solo until the crescendo has to be the ultimate. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and gives me goose bumps. Even now, 30 years later, if I'm driving my car and this comes on I have to pull over and listen. It still moves me so much and I get so carried away I'd probably crash.

The last minutes of "White Walls" (or the whole song)