Sure, the 99 cent download has put another deep crack in the monolith that is the album, but some albums still demand to be heard start to finish. (We’ll leave the discussion of whether the concept of “side one” and “side two” still has a place in this decreasingly analog era for another day, and perhaps another theme.)
Some albums open with a track that perfectly sets the stage for the songs to follow. Give us your openers!
Jane’s Addiction - Up the Beach
The opening track to Nothing’s Shocking. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Pellentesque in lorem. Quisque tempor. Pellentesque bibendum mi ut orci. Ut vel sapien. Sed pulvinar, justo nec egestas dignissim, felis pede facilisis leo, non scelerisque elit metus et nibh.
Curabitur pede risus, dapibus eu, blandit eget, pharetra a, leo. Phasellus dapibus ante a orci rutrum consectetuer.
Contemplating opening tracks, I found the best way to quickly peruse my collection was with a quick smart playlist in iTunes.
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same
When I was growing up I had an awesome “Houses of the Holy” poster on my wall (similar to the image on this post, but extending further up to the top of the hill - I couldn’t find the exact image anywhere). I loved this album then, and I still do. This track just explodes with Jimmy Page guitar awesomeness; not just once, but over and over again!
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands!
I feel a little like a philistine following The Song Remains the Same with CYH! Nonetheless…
Clap Your Hands! is the perfect opener to the band’s self-titled debut album — and their run as indie rock darlings. With an oom-pah organ line, off-key carnival barker vocals, and marching band bass drum, this tune is like something out of a Dr. Seuss story. Every note points to enchanting weirdness ahead, and the rest of the album delivers.
CYHSY self-released their debut in 2005 to the delight of the indie music blogosphere, and enjoyed an enviable run as darlings on the scene. Clap Your Hands! brilliantly launches the record and the band’s shot up the charts.
Guns N’ Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
Cross-post! For me, this one lands squarely in the territory for classic opening tracks, but…well, in 1988 I was in high school, busily depricating the mainstream with its insidious “catchy hooks,” “production quality,” and “accessibility.” Positive feelings for GNR were far less shameful than, say, a fondness for boy and/or hair bands, but I still ended up conflicted about the band and their music to a degree that is only rivalled by my complex and unsettling relationship with Def Leppard.
I expect to have worked through these feelings around the time that Chinese Democracy is released. Thank you for your support.
Public Enemy - Contract on the World Love Jam (Instrumental)
1990’s Fear of a Black Planet isn’t on my top Rap albums list based on the strength of any of the individual tracks, but rather for the seamless progression of side 1. On its own, the opening track from Fear of a Black Planet isn’t all that impressive, but it sets the tone perfectly for what is to come.
Tom Waits - Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)
Tom Waits’ best albums are complete, immersive worlds in themselves, and there is no question—none, you heathens—that Small Change, released in 1976, is among his very best.
The album opens with this track: sentimental strings leading into Waits rasping “wasted and wounded, ‘tain’t what the moon did, got what I paid for now…” setting the perfect tone for the world that follows.
Mind you, there’s a price to pay: you emerge from that world to find that you have liver damage, emphysema, and you’ve given all of your money to strippers, but it’s so worth it.
