Best opening tracks?

[Trey Beamon]

NPR's All Songs Considered podcast made their picks the other day.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2010/05/25/127108164/and-the-best-opening-track-on-an-album-is

Here's some of my (older) favorites:

"London Calling" - The Clash
"Death On Two Legs" - Queen
"Surrender" - Cheap Trick
"Gimmie Shelter" - Rolling Stones
"Badlands" - Bruce Springsteen
"Changes" - David Bowie
"Either" - Gang of Four
"Taxman" - The Beatles
"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson
"Pink Moon" - Nick Drake
"Cruel To Be Kind" - Nick Lowe
"In Quintessence" - Squeeze
"Metal Guru" - T-Rex
"Jailbreak" - Thin Lizzy
"Runnin' With The Devil" - Van Halen
"Sunday Morning" - Velvet Underground
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" - U2
"Care of Cell 44" - The Zombies

How about you?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

"Accidents Will Happen," from Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces"
"Beyond Belief," from Elvis Costello's "Imperial Bedroom"
"Thunder Road," from Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run"


Tough to beat U2 here...
"I Will Follow" from "Boy"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" from "War"
"Where the Streets Have No Name" from "The Joshua Tree"
"Beautiful Day" from "All That You Can't Leave Behind"
"Vertigo" from "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"

"Happy Together" from the Jam's "The Gift"
"I Will Dare" from the Replacements' "Let It Be"
"Alone Again Or" from Love's "Forever Changes"

And Trey, great call on "In Quintessence." I'd throw in "Pulling Mussels From the Shell" from "Argybargy," too.

 

[Steak Snabler]

I'm pretty sick of them by now, but "Whole Lotta Love" from Led Zeppelin II, "The Immigrant Song" from LZ3 and "Black Dog" from LZ4 are all pretty stellar.

But as a suburban white kid growing up in the late 80s, two opening tracks hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer:

Guns N Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle"

and

NWA's "Straight Outta Compton"

 

[qtlaw]

Prince's Let's Go Crazy

 

[YGBFKM]

I haven't listen to Immigrant Song in years. Skip right to Friends every time.

And I don't have to tell Trey my favorite from the list he posted.

 

[king cranium maximus IV]

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Hmmm ...

Genesis Division:
"Behind The Lines"
"The Musical Box"
"Watcher of the Skies"
"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight"
"Dance on a Volcano"
"Eleventh Earl of Mar"

Genesis Spin-Off Division:
"Ace of Wands" - Steve Hackett
"Every Day" - Steve Hackett
"The Steppes" - Steve Hackett
"In The Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
"Hang In There Long Enough" - Phil Collins
"Silent Running" - Mike + The Mechanics
"From The Undertow" - Tony Banks

Rush Division:
"2112"
"A Farewell To Kings"
"The Spirit of Radio"
"Tom Sawyer"
"The Big Money"
"Dreamline"
"Animate"

Others:
"Funeral For a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)" - Elton John
"Tiny Dancer" - Elton John
"Running On Ice" - Billy Joel
"Walking Man" - James Taylor
"Never Die Young" - James Taylor
"Line 'Em Up" - James Taylor
"What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
"In The Stone" - Earth, Wind & Fire
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - Pink Floyd

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

"Walking Man" - James Taylor

People don't give this album enough credit. A lot of hidden gems on this one.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Also,

"Roundabout" by Yes

 

[Starman]

Beatles Division:

"I Saw Her Standing There," Please Please Me, 1963

"A Hard Day's Night," 1964

"Drive My Car," Rubber Soul, 1965

"Taxman," Revolver, 1966

"Back In The U.S.S.R.," the White Album, 1968

 

[BYH]

Prince's Let's Go Crazy

Yes.

 

[Mitch E.]

1984 -- Van Halen

And I'm only a casual VH fan.

 

[Double J]

Beatles Division:

"I Saw Her Standing There," Please Please Me, 1963

First song that popped into my mind when I saw this thread. Nice choice. :)

 

[AreaMan]

Nirvana - "Smells like Teen Spirit" from "Nevermind"

Michael Jackson - "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " from "Thriller"

KISS - "Detroit Rock City" from "Destroyer"

Also agree with "Welcome To The Jungle" from GNR

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Pantera - "Great Southern Trendkill" from the album by same name

Cliff Hillis - "She Says"

Metallica - "Battery" off of Master of Puppets

Blues Traveler - "Runaround" off the only album anyone really cared about

 

[EStreetJoe]

The four that popped into my mind immediately upon seeing the thread title:

"Thunder Road' - Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run, Live 1975-85)
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan (Highway 61 Revisited)
"Badlands" - Springsteen (Darkness on the Edge of Town)
"Tangled Up In Blue" - Dylan (Blood on the Tracks)

Other top contenders (Springsteen division)
"Blinded By the Light" (Greetings from Asbury Park)
"E Street Shuffle" (Wild, Innocent & E Street Shuffle)
"Born in the USA" (Born in the USA)
"Better Days" (Lucky Town)
"Ties That Bind" (The River)


Other top contenders (non-Springsteen division)
Windfall - Son Volt (Trace)
Jerusalem - Dan Bern (Dan Bern)
Beautiful Disaster - Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers (Honky Tonk Union)
Broke Down - Slaid Cleaves (Broke Down)
Jealous Stars - Rod Picott (Summerbirds)
Rockin' All Over the World - John Fogerty (John Fogerty)
To the Dogs Or Whomever - Josh Ritter (Historical Conquests of)
Timebomb - Old 97s (Too Far To Care)

 

[Huggy]

Stones division:

"Rocks Off" - Exile On Main St.
"Start Me Up" - Tattoo You

"Holidays In the Sun" - Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks
"Fuel" - Metallica, Reload

 

[micropolitan guy]

"Jet Airliner," Steve Miller.

"Loan Me a Dime," Boz Skaggs.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Here's a few of mine

To Be Young is to Be Sad — Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker
Debaser — Pixies, Doolittle
I Will Dare — The Replacements, Let it Be
Timebomb — Old 97s, Too Far to Care
Gloria — Patti Smith, Horses
New York, New York — Ryan Adams, Gold
Misunderstood — Wilco, Being There
Wilco (the song) — Wilco, Wilco (the album)
No Replay — The Beatles, Beatles for Sale
Me and Mia — Ted Leo, Shake the Sheets
Coma Girl — Joe Strummer, Streetcore
Kissing the Lipless — The Shines, Chutes too Narrow
Teenage Riot — Sonic Youth, Daydreeam Nation
Begin the Begin — R.E.M., Life's Rch Pageant
Mass Romantic — New Pornographers, Mass Ronatic
The Way You Move, Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a gravel Road
Two of Us — The Beatles, Let it Be
Waiting for the Sun — The Jayhawks, Hollywood Town Hall
Won't Be Home — Old 97s, Drag it Up

And for the High Fidelity Fans out there:
Rob it's your turn. 2>Ok, I'm feeling kinda basic today. Top five side ones, track ones. Janey Jones, Clash, from the Clash. Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye, From Let's Get It On. Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit, from Nevermind. 3> No. No. Rob, that's not obivious at all, why not Point of No return from Point of No Return. 2> Ok, just shut up! White Light, White Heat, Velvet Underground. 1> That would definitely be on my list. 3> Though not on mine. 2> Last one is Under Attack, No Protection, the ablum is Radiation, Ruling the Nation. 3> Awww, kinda of a new record, very- 4> uh excuse me-3> in a minute very nice rob, a sly declaration of new classic status slipped in with a couple of old safe ones, very *****!

 

[Bob Slydell]

Someone mentioned Straight Outta Compton by NWA. How did I not think of that? One our main cruising songs in small town Kentucky in high school.