Best Starting Tracks to a Record All-Time..
 

I was thinking about this today on the Metro, what are your lists for best intro/opening tracks to the best records? I'm talking songs that kicked in the fucking door and paved the way for a musical onslaught of an album from start to finish.

Here's my top-6 in no particular order..


Serve of the Servants- In Utero
Start Together- The Hot Rock
Pattern Recognition- Sonic Nurse
Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener - Volume IV
Untitled- Turn on the Bright Lights
Brown Sugar - Sticky Fingers

All of these records kicked my ass, and their opening tracks were the first blow that bewildered me into some kind of sonic haze, totally not knowing what comes next or what to expect. They perfect set the tone for what the album is going to sound and feel like.

--The kick drum at the start of "Like a Rolling Stone," initiating HIGHWAY 61 Revisited. Kinda tired of the rest of the song, but there's something timelessly amazing about the first three seconds.

--Every Sleater album. "Start Together" is a good one, but so is the riff to "Call the Dr" or "Dig Me Out" or "The Fox," etc.

--"Headmaster Ritual"

Yes, its like the sound the inner workings of that brain make when the gears come to a grinding halt from the intensity that is Vol IV (hence why its called Wheels of Confusion).


How could I forgot Dig Me Out, that song kicks teeth in! It was the first S-K song I ever heard, and I was hooked.

"Tom Violence"

X-Your Phone's Off the Hook, But Your Not- Los Angeles

Stooges- Down on the Street- Fun House

Pixies- Debaser-Doolittle

The Clash-Clash City Rockers- S/T

Tv On the Radio- I Was A Lover- Return to Cookie Mountain

Here's some of my personal favorites I know some of these bands are hated by a few on here but fuck it.

Faith No More- Land of Sunshine- Angel Dust

I Wanna Know About U- Survival Sickness- The International Noise Conspiracy

I love "Gouge Away" and its one of my favorite Pixies songs, so certainly an argument can be made for that, but I love it as the closer track to Doolittle as well.

Oh yeah. "Safe European Home"

Maybe even just the first two seconds, the snare hit sounding like a bomb going off.

A coupla so not hip choices but fuck y'all.

Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen. Fuck what an incredible song.
Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N Roses. It's overplayed to hell, but hearing that track for the first time blew me away
Scissor by Liars

Teen Age Riot
Search and Destroy
TV As Eyes
The Modern Dance

purple haze
kill the poor
rise above
tonights the night
new york state of mind
things done changed
bring da ruckus
so what
love comes in spirts
uh-oh love comes to town
white light/white head (RIP LOU)

On my cassette, LP and CD copies of, 'Are You Experienced,' "Foxy Lady" is the opening track......?

Some of my favorites:

Five Years - 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars'

Black Celebration - 'Black Celebration'

Open - 'Wish'

on my cd its "purple haze"

Clash City Rockers isn't on the first Clash album. Maybe you have some kind of made for dumb Americans version. Janie Jones is the first (fantastic) track.

Yeah. Reminds me: "100 Years." Also, the one that starts DISINTEGRATION.

Yeah, that's the US release starting w/ Clash City Rockers.

It's how I learned the album as a wee 13 year old American and it's still the way I prefer the album. Admit it, Clash City is a better opener than Janie Jones (which is all the way on the second side on the US release).

The Clash is still The fuckin' Clash, so regardless of which version does it matter? I don't think the album was "dumbed down" for Americans.

Here´s some of mine:
Velvet: Sunday Morning
the Who: Armenia City in the skies
Stones: Gimme Shelter
Beefheart: Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Birthday Party: Zoo Music Girl
Sonic Youth: Schizophrenia
Wigwam: Losing Hold
Jehtro Tull: Aqualung
Led Zeppelin: Good Times Bad Times (All first five Zeppelin albums start great)
Nomeansno: It´s Catching Up
Dr. John: Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
Tom Waits: Lucky Day (overture)
Jimi Hendrix Experience: And the Gods Made Love

Purple Haze is first track on the original US-version, Foxy Lady on the original UK-version. Well, Purple Haze is first track in both US & UK versions of Smash Hits although the tracklist is different.

I had no idea there were different song listings for, 'Are You Experienced.' Searched it out on Google / Discogs and the biggest difference is on the American / Canadian release. Also, on something called the 'Arthur Douglas' series???

Get this: there is a Polydor version from 67 that doesn't even include, "Purple Haze."

......just when you THINK you know an album.


Yes Yes Yes Yes and Yes!


'Wish' is what I would play while getting ready to go clubbing back in the day. Open, High, From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, Letters To Elise and finally, End = it was time to go!


A few more favorites:

My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) - 'Rust Never Sleeps'
Subdivisions - 'Signals'
I Love You In Your Tragic Beauty - 'Crushed Velvet Apocalypse'

I think their first album wasn't released in the US until after Give Em Enough Rope and they included some extra tracks and rearranged them. To me it'll always seem strange not starting with Janie Jones because that's what I've always known.

Cool topic. There are so many, but the opening blast of "License to Confuse" on Sebadoh's Bakesale immediately springs to mind. Cue it up, turn it up to the point of being too loud, and hit play. It'll scare you at first, but then you'll find yourself happily trashing your room to it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTJp1o_RRDc

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Screaming Skull again.

There are tons of openers I love. These are a few off the top of my head in no particular order.

The opening drum fill to Only Shallow gets me every time. David Bowie's Station to Station is fantastic. Summer Babe comes to mind. Disorder - Joy Division, Welcome to the Working Week - Elvis Costello, Schizophrenia - Sonic Youth, Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground, Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus - The Mars Volta, Untitled - Interpol, Arcarsenal - At the Drive-In, The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths.

Mazzy Star- Fade Into You (So That Tonight I Might See)
Groundation- What Could Have Been (Upon the Bridge)
Sizzla- The World (Bobo Ashanti)
Hole - Violet (Live Through This)


and the thread winner iz.....


Deftones- Feitercita (White Pony)

Feitercita as an opening track is intense. The riff is abrasive and obnoxious, the attack is bewildering, the drums hypnotic, the vocals dreamy then scathing then dreamy (sort of like all Chino's songs). I mean, is there really a better way to open an experimental metal album?

Dynamite opener!!!
This is also great: Love: Alone Again Or...

Yes, also the original track version (I think it was the first in UK) didn´t include Purple Haze, Hey Joe & the Wind Cries Mary, there was Red House, Can You See Me & remember instead of those. I think before 67 it was very common US versions had the hitsingles including, UK didn´t. And I think very many already know Beatles & Stones albums are almost totally different (even the album names & covers) before 67.

About Canadian releases, there were different tracklists also in the seventies & eighties releases. I used to have canadian version of Jethro Tull Benefit, where was Teacher instead of Alive & Well and Living In. And I still have canadian version of first Iron Maiden-album where is Sanctuary as a some kind of "bonus" (it´s not in the end of the album, it´s on middle of b-side). I prefer original versions with original tracklists, but this album I have kept. Many collectors at least here Finland don´t respect canadian versions at all, but to me it´s totally same from which country the album is made as long as the covers & tracklists are original. Of course original version of the album is always the original, but they´re also quite expensive (just bought original UK Hendrix Smash Hits & it WAS expensive).

MBV - Only Shallow
Wu-Tang - Bring da Ruckus
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen
Dinosaur - Little Fury Things
Liars - Be Quiet Mount Heart Attack
Led Zep - Black Dog/Good Times Bad Times
JAMC - Just Like Honey
Suicide - Ghost Rider
Radiohead - Everything In It's Right Place
Pixies - Debaser
Stooges - Down on the Street
Stones - Hot Rocks
Metallica - Blackened
Velvets - Sunday Morning/White Light
Laurel Halo - Airsick
Oval - Do While
TFUL - Gentlemen's Lament
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
Silver Jews - Random Rules
GBV - Hardcore UFOs
Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You
Mats - I Will Dare
Fugazi - Repeater
Boris - Pink
Motorhead - Ace of Spades...............

.........and the opening track to Torch of the Mystics

I think Turnover is the first track...

Is this the "canadian"-version you meaned?
http://www.discogs.com/Jimi-Hendrix-...elease/4860762

This is from 2010, but I think first versions of this came in the nineties all over the world. It was that Hendrix "Sister" who released it and there are all songs from both US & UK Are Experienced-versions and also the early singles b-sides. All the earlier Canadian versions are same as the US-versions (at least what I found from discogs).

This. Definitely this.

UK edition and USA editions had different tracklist

I love killer opening tracks.

AT The Drive In - Relationship of Command
Opening Track - ARCARSENAL http://youtu.be/kBUtkPrANRs
Fucking awesome, constantly building, starts at 11 and goes up from there. Fucking killer killer opening track.

DINOSAUR JR - Green Mind
Opening Track - THE WAGON http://youtu.be/xbNmTyDhIas

The Cure - Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me
OPening Track - The Kiss http://youtu.be/XzlR8PT9S-A
This song is so fucking awwesome. It sets up the massive double LP that follows.

"Teeth Like God's Shoeshine" - Modest Mouse [Lonesome Crowded West]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0qBdHLspQ

"Stereo" - Pavement [Brighten The Corners]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnrM4UjaQmY

"The Plan" - Built To Spill [Keep It Like A Secret]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MjBMhlMq3s

"(I Am Taking Out My Eurotrash) I Still Get Rocks Off" - Blonde Redhead [La Mia Violenta]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV5ERiBWQiA

"No Wow" - The Kills [No Wow]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX6ndnb80h0

"Mass Romantic" - New Pornographers [Mass Romantic]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_amzzg34Rc

ma bad shit

and 21st century schizoid man most definitely

I think Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr. are the kings of starting tracks. Every first song on every release is so awesome. My favorite Fugazi ones are 'Turnover' from the album 'Repeater' and 'Exit only' from 'Steady diet of nothing'.
Favorite Dinosaur Jr. ones: 'little fury things' from 'You're living all over me' and 'Out there' from 'Where you been'.

Totally agree on both counts! 'Out There' is an amazing, amazing jam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81LcFhmqP4

Television's See No Evil, though not as memorable as Venus or the title track, was an excellent opener.

I'm not huge into the post-hardcore genre anymore, but Here Come the Rome Plows introduces the aggressiveness of Drive Like Jehu's Yank Crime very well, but Luau remains the shining track of the entire record.

Ether by Gang of Four definitely deserves a mention as a exceptional start to an exceptional album.

I second the See No Evil. Love that song