Best Side 1 Track 1s

[Portmanteau]

What are your favourite openers? Those tracks that grabbed your attention when you first put on an album, or alternatively you grew to enjoy as a launching point for your favourite records. While it is far from a prerequisite, some of the best albums like to start a high point rather than building up to it.

Some of my favourites (a bit biased towards recent history):

Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
Probably my favourite song of all time. A lot of bands would be devastated if the first song on the first album was considered their best, but Arcade Fire seem to have embraced it and it is an essential part of their live set lists. Others could sum it up better than I could, but a beautifully composed song with powerful, relatable imagery.



Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?
A foot-stomping, head-nodding, hand-clapping anthem. Alex Turner is a super song writer, this is another entry in an already prolific catalogue, but for me just shades View From The Afternoon as their best opener.



Fleet Foxes - Montezuma
It looking pretty dire for getting any new music from these guys any time soon. This is perfectly captures the song writing of Robin Peckhold and the harmonies of the other Foxes. They didn't play this when I saw them at Falls and I will forever hold it against them.



The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer
"Me and my friends are like the drums on lust for life..." Some of Craig Finn's most catchy lyrics are on this track. It's pretty impressive that a bunch of 40 year olds can make music about getting old, staying positive and making resolutions for the summer and have it not be a complete pile of shit. Great driving guitar track, play it at the start of the summer.



Continued in next post...

 

[Portmanteau]

Public Enemy - Lost at Birth
Of the amazingly titled "Apocalypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black" album, I spent a NYE as a teenager breakdancing badly to this. A few minutes of looping sirens and vocals, Chuck and Flava come in at the end to spit some fire. Had difficulty finding a good version on YouTube.



The Temper Trap - Love Lost
The real grower from their first album, released as a single after a few more high profile singles. Like Tunnels, builds up to an amazing crescendo.



Weezer - My Name is Jonas
They do quiet-loud-quiet better than in Covered in Chrome.

 

[Dory_77]

Battery is a great opener on Master of Puppets. Sets the scene for that album.

First Light/Last Light on You Fail Me by Converge is also a brilliant opening. Really sets the tone for the album; the chaotic energy and emotion in it is incredible.

Blood and Thunder on Leviathan from Mastodon is also a cool opener. Plenty of chunky riffs throughout, and of-course that timeless line 'SPLIT YOUR LUNGS WITH BLOOD AND THUNDERRRRRRR'.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Funny this thread popped up - I watched High Fidelity only a few days ago...











There are a bunch of other albums with intro tracks the lead into brilliant first songs, but I guess I'll leave those out.

 

[NarniMagic]

 

[timtamWB]

Vices by Brand New off Daisy. It starts off with a hymn and then... well it goes crazy.



Also I'll nominate Tell That Mick.... by Fall Out Boy off of Take This To Your Grave. Awesome breakup revenge song. "Let's play this game called when you catch fire. I wouldn't piss to put you out"

 

[CURVE]

My Favourite Yeah Yeah Yeahs song is RICH. Album 1, Side 1, Track 1.
Unfortunately there is no video for it.

 

[james Dean]

Everything In It's Right Place

 

[samFFC]

Second vote for Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) by Arcade Fire. Just superb.

Lonely Boy - Black Keys: El Camino

Everything in it's Right Place - Radiohead: Kid A. Probably the most important song of their career. After all the acclaim of OK Computer, they smashed all expectations in just the first few notes of Everything in it's..., completely changing the face of their career moving forward.

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeah: It's Blitz

Untitled #1 - Sigur Ros: ( )

 

[Plugger35]

The Dam At Otter Creek from Throwing Copper is hard to go past, builds slowly and sets the tone for an album that is both brutal and brilliant.




Anaesthesia from Hologram of Baal which marked the return of The Church and sets the tone for their post 2000 space rock phase.




Firesuite from Lost Souls is a great instrumental that sets the tone for the UK early 2000's pills and powder comedown era.

 

[benji2]

I Wanna Be Adored - Stone Roses (Stone Roses)


The Queen Is Dead - Smiths (The Queen Is Dead)


Where The Streets Have No Name - U2 (Joshua Tree)

 

[getthefooty]

 

[BERT]

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns n Roses

 

[JP Sauce]

Off the top of my head...

Fake Empire (Boxer)
Terrible Love (High Violet)
Tangled Up In Blue (Blood On The Tracks)
Thunder Road (Born To Run)
Every Drones album
Super-Sonic (Give It Back)
Break On Through (To The Other Side) (The Doors)
Roadhouse Blues (Morrison Hotel)
Baba O'Riley (Who's Next)
Gimmie Shelter (Let It Bleed) - Lots of Stones albums really - Sympathy For the Devil, Brown Sugar, etc.
Whole Lotta Love (Lez Zeppelin II) - Lots of LZ albums too - Song Remains the Same, Achilles Last Stand, etc.

And that'll do for now.

 

[Oscarman]

Been a big fan of this for a long time. There's a shit storm a coming............

 

[Macca19]

The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up (Fat of the Land)
Machine Head - Davidian (Burn My Eyes)
System Of A Down - Prison Song (Toxicity)
Lower Than Atlantis - (Motor) Way of Life (World Record)
Deftones - My Own Summer (Around The Fur)

 

[ManWithNoName]

 

[dumb]

bjork - army of me
def leppard - women
sonic youth - dirty boots
ministry - n.w.o.
agents of oblivion - endsmouth

obviously pink floyd shine on you crazy diamond, and mazzy star

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream)
Debaser - Pixies (Doolittle)
Schizophrenia - Sonic Youth (Sister)
Track 1 - Regurgitator (New) an ep not a full album
Blue Blood - Foals (Total Life Forever)
Sure Shot - Beastie Boys (Ill Communication)
Who Knows = Jimi Hendrix (Band Of Gypsys)

 

[Funkunbunk]

Dark Fantasy - Kanye West (MBDTF)
One More Time - Daft Punk (Discovery)
Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (Maggot Brain)
Excursions - A Tribe Called Quest (The Low End Theory)
Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil (Diesel & Dust)

 

[WALDENPOND]

Battery is a great opener on Master of Puppets. Sets the scene for that album.

First Light/Last Light on You Fail Me by Converge is also a brilliant opening. Really sets the tone for the album; the chaotic energy and emotion in it is incredible.

Blood and Thunder on Leviathan from Mastodon is also a cool opener. Plenty of chunky riffs throughout, and of-course that timeless line 'SPLIT YOUR LUNGS WITH BLOOD AND THUNDERRRRRRR'.

I agree with all, but especially Converge ,they really have a way with opening albums I think.

 

[WALDENPOND]

Off the top of my head...

Every Drones album

Not just that. Gareth Liddiard's solo album is amazing.

 

[JP Sauce]

Not just that. Gareth Liddiard's solo album is amazing.

Excellent point.

 

[hawk for 37]

Good Times Roll. The Cars. Instantly hooked in first 30 seconds all those years ago. Still crank it.

 

[vealesy]

The one that blew my mind was The Living End - How do we know? From White Noise.

That opening riff was so different to their norm and yet perfectly pricked my ear drums and became my fave album for many years to come.