Both the Hib-Tone and I.R.S. releases of "Radio Free Europe" begin with brief instrumental intros before the band enters. The Hib-Tone version features a brief synthesizer figure. The intro to the I.R.S. version originated as an errant system hum accidentally recorded on tape. Easter triggered the effect to open and shut an electronic noise gate in time with bassist Mike Mills' playing. The producer then manually adjusted the EQ of the effect on the studio mixing console, and spliced the seven-bar figure into the start of the recording.