Classic Albums With Not-So-Classic Opening Tracks

Eric H is in need of love today.

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haha, come on, you might not like it or it's been overplayed, but that is a pretty classic opening track.

Ain't Got You from

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I like Blame it On The Stones. I guess maybe the lyrics feel a little easy with hindsight; wonder if it did at the time.

In re the whole making fun of stodgy middle class people who blame rock music.

All hiphop albums with 'intros'.

^^^the intro to Wu Tang Forever is like the most unnecessary, lame thing on the album (next to Black Shampoo and Dog Shit)

otoh the intros to the first four Ice Cube solo albums are awesome

"Loves In Need" is so over-modulated, over-preachy and over-long. What is people's deal with that song?

I mean, I think its reputation has been inflated simply by its being the opening track of a classic album.

I'm saddened by the fact that Nation of Millions opens with the voice of "Dangerous" Dave Pearce - and the general oddness of starting with a London show - but I've learned to live with it.

because america didn't care for them as much as the uk did when bum rush came out?

plus there was once a time when dave pearce was cool, honest!

just read whiney's book.

Also Nation without "London England...consider yourself...WAAAAAAAARNNNNNED" wd be a lesser, crippled thing.

Most of the first side of Abbey Road is perfectly disposable.

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I'll agree with seandalai tho, the A side of Abbey Road is pretty much disposable for me. Then again, it opens with 'Come together' followed by 'Something' which are two of the best songs in there so probably the wrong thread. I'd definitely rep for it on a 'Not-So-Classic Albums With Classic Opening Tracks' thread.

Beach Boys Summer Days (and Summer Nights) kicks off with "Girl From New York City" which is kind of a dud.

And really, it's not a challenging second opinion considering ILM voted almost exclusively for side A on the worst song on Abbey Road thread:

Worst Beatles song on Abbey Road

^^^the intro to Wu Tang Forever is like the most unnecessary, lame thing on the album (next to Black Shampoo and Dog Shit)

I'd say that "Bring tha Ruckus" is a much worse opening track than this. It's gotta be by far the worst thing on the first Wu-Tang album.

most of that is for maxwell's tho. dunno, "come together", "something", and "i want you" are pretty essential beatles imo. xpost

I like 'Come Together' for it's restraint in the chorus. Feels like it's going to blow up anytime but never actually does. Frustrated me as hell when I first heard it but eventually grew very fond of it.
'Something' I've heard in so many wedding receptions it has lost some of its luster but love the subtle cynical approach in the lyrics.
'I Want You' is ILM's favorite song here according to that one poll but is one of the Beatles songs I hate the most. In this case it's the lack of restraint that gets me, it's too ambitious for the Beatles to pull off succesfully. I do love the sort of 'surf rock' interludes in it tho.

If you listened to the old cassette version of Abbey Road, you're used to hearing it open with "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something".

Kinda weak, but "Come Together" fading off before the harpsichord starts on "Because" is pretty cool.

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is the quintessential example of this phenomenon for me. i mean, fun song and all, i like it fine in isolation or out of context -- but I almost universally skip straight to "Pledging My Time" when playing Blonde on Blonde.

conversely: tylerw, i totally know what you mean about "Artificial Energy"...but i kind of love how it works as a bait-and-switch, that harsh up-tempo freak-out leading into the the gorgeous comedown of the next few tracks.

^co-sign

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is the quintessential example of this phenomenon for me. i mean, fun song and all, i like it fine in isolation or out of context -- but I almost universally skip straight to "Pledging My Time" when playing Blonde on Blonde.

― swvl, Friday, October 8, 2010 7:34 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark

oft-cited red herring imo

yeah, i mean, there's a good case for making the opening track kind of a curveball stylistically -- the element of surprise, I guess. especially if you're an established act with an audience that expects one thing, and the opening track takes the sound in an entirely different direction. Rainy Day Women -- yeah, that must've been a shock to people expecting another "like a rolling stone".

"Love's In Need Of Love Today" is a fantastic song. And there has never ever been such a thing as "over modulated". The more modulations, the better.

I'd say "Drive My Car" is a bit underwhelming compared with most of the rest of "Rubber Soul".

"Woodface" also leaves better stuff for later by opening with "Chocolate Cake".

i agree with geir

mainly about "drive my car"

Architecture & Morality - The New Stone Age suuucks

US avoided that problem by having the album open up with the far superior I've Just Seen a Face

Neil Young - Trans, opening track is the completely forgettable "Little Thing Called Love". It's a classic album to me!

Excitable Boy. "Johnny Strikes Up the Band" is great but the rest of the record dwarfs it in swagger and dread.

The track sequence for Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers has as many variations as there are releases, but the (supposedly) Chilton-sanctioned order leads off with "Kizza Me", which I always skip.

^^^the intro to Wu Tang Forever is like the most unnecessary, lame thing on the album (next to Black Shampoo and Dog Shit)

― crude interloper of a once august profession (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, October 8, 2010 1:13 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

rmde

Dog Shit is fucking classic beyond classic beyond classic, Shakey Moron

i always found it weirder that some versions of Third start with "For You". xxpost

"Vine Street" on Nilsson Sings Newman is eminently skippable as an opener (& hate it on Song Cycle too which some consider a classic, but I don't)

man, i love vine st. on both of those albums -- and that intro to it on Nilsson is awesome!

haha it's really the opening on the Nilsson album that I hate the most; it gets better after that, but not enough....

Third is exempt, there's no official tracklisting imho

lol Whiney I love dirt dog too but gimme a break even I have my limits

^^^
Why do you think they both started with it then?

xpost re: Nilsson and VDP

re Nilsson/VDP: just no accounting for taste, I guess

Pulp Fiction Soundtrack, diner dialogue.

I have to disagree on "Kizza Me" not working as the album's opener. That C-chord banging off as soon as you hit play and Chilton declaring that he wants to white out, coming after the band's previous two albums flopped and before he really starts cutting some veins open.

kizza me was the first big star song i heard, and it was *not* how i expected big star to sound after having read various reviews/articles.

First track on side two of the vinyl = Little Miss Strange

oh hahahahahahahaha

I guess Geir's gonna defend that one - he'll be alone mind :D

the actual tune, which could have been composed by Little Richard in 1955.

It's not that good.

Architecture & Morality - The New Stone Age suuucks

― MyFatherWillGuideMeUpARopeToYourMum (MaresNest), Friday, October 8, 2010 4:15 PM (2 days ago)

totally agree, idk wtf they were thinking putting that song on the album, it just doesn't fit at all.

i know i'm gonna get shit for this, but "Do the Strand" has always annoyed me. i love the rest of the album, but could never stand that song.

Got to make an apology about my post above, I'd remembered 'Emperor Tomato Ketchup' to be the opening track on the album. Metronomic Undergound is still a quality track though.

First track on side two of the vinyl = Little Miss Strange

As a song, stripped off the production and guitar playing and vocals and all, this is actually among the better things on the album. Because it sounds (and is...) English.

I love 'Country Life', but I never liked 'The Thrill Of It All'.

Well, the bass and drums would have been been less powerful, but bass, drums and recording technique is of less importance than the actual tune . . .

They may be shit songs, but the production is amazing.

¯\(°_o)/¯

Already stated, but this thread is really bringing out the crazy people.

David Watts? Tom Violence? We Dance? Seriously, we can't find better examples...

I bring this album up too much already, but "Amerykan Promise" is easily the worst song off of Nu Amerykah Part One.

the only one listed that I can agree with ITT far is Beach Boy's "The Girl from New York City". it doesn't sonically resemble much of anything on the rest of the album, sets no tone, does not have a memorable melody, and is mostly forgettable.

Well, the bass and drums would have been been less powerful, but bass, drums and recording technique is of less importance than the actual tune . . .

They may be shit songs, but the production is amazing.

¯\(°_o)/¯

I might have liked "Come Together" too if it was crowded with electronic sound effects, weird stereo effects with guitars wandering from left to right to left to right and lots of phasing.

Split Enz: True Colours ("Shark Attack" is this really fast and furious song that stylistically is a perfect opening track. The problem being, it sucked...)

The version I had (US release) had "I Got You" as the opener, which was easily the best track on the album. That said, I don't rank that album as a classic. Not bad, but not a classic.

XTC: Apple Venus ("River Of Orchids" returns to their earlier mishabit of starting albums with an ugly, dissonant track)

No, "River of Orchids" sets the mood perfectly. "We've got an orchestra, we're gonna use it, and we're gonna use it to expand our sonic palette beyond anything you've ever heard from us." The arrangement on that song is gorgeous.

"Precious" off The Pretenders' self-titled

I'll second that. Meh track, topped by almost everything after it. For my money, the rule of thumb with that album is that every track is better than the one preceding it.

My additions to the list:
"Absolutely Cuckoo" from Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs (though I guess it made sense to start the album with a seeming throwaway, the throwaways were sort of the point)
"I'm Gonna See You" from that dog's Retreat from the Sun (maybe the best power-pop album of the '90s, there I said it; the opener does not help this claim)
"Big in Japan" from Tom Waits' Mule Variations (most of the songs sound timeless and/or eternal; that one does not)
"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" from Talking Heads' Remain in Light (every song on that album is an object lesson in using studio mixing to create coherence, except that track, where it only creates incoherence)

"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" from Talking Heads' Remain in Light (every song on that album is an object lesson in using studio mixing to create coherence, except that track, where it only creates incoherence)

― Dodo Lurker (Slim and Slam), Sunday, October 10, 2010 11:38 PM (Yesterday)

i don't even know what to say to this.

"Big in Japan", though -- I'm down with that as a good example.

No, "River of Orchids" sets the mood perfectly. "We've got an orchestra, we're gonna use it, and we're gonna use it to expand our sonic palette beyond anything you've ever heard from us." The arrangement on that song is gorgeous.

Using an orchestra is OK, but the arrangement is just too dissonant in places, not least in the intro.
"Ballet For a Rainy Day" is my least favourite track on "Skylarking" too, for the same reason (you see, they had done that dissonent orchestra thing before!)

but geir the middle-eight of BFARD is one of the most melodically triumphant things they ever did!

It's OK. The rest of "Skylarking" is perfect though, so it doesn't take much dissonance to become my least favourite track on such a wonderful and cohesive album. :)

Geir you should find a better word to describe what you don't like about the orchestral arrangements than 'dissonant'. Maybe the brass in ROO is creating tension a little, but I'm certain there's nothing unstable about Ballet's arrangement.

Mind you AP's vocals on ROO are pretty crazy in parts. :)

"Floppy Boot Stomp" is my least favourite track on "Shiny Beast" but I'm aware I might be alone in this belief

^I agree with you actually.

(xp to comment way upthread)

it's hardly the best track on the album, but ain't got you is a good table-setter for the sound and theme of tunnel-of-love. i like how it announces that this disc wil be a stark departure from born-in-the-usa, and it's (relatively) light, upbeat lyrics ease me into a very dark album.

The Times' "Pirate Playlist 66" has a whole album's worth of classic sort-of-britpop which was put out with minimal fanfare dring Creation Records' last months, with a load of spurious song titles... Anyway, the first track "Heart of Steel" or whatever wacky title it got, is um, one.

Mind you AP's vocals on ROO are pretty crazy in parts. :)

Well... He sings a bit too fast at times, but misses the notes no less than he always does (on purpose). :)

no more, I mean

wow, looking at Geir's post from above is pure WTF, I disagree with nearly everything there.

my picks:

Nick Lowe, Jesus of Cool: Music for Money - boring and one note, nothing like the rest

The Police, Ghost in the Machine: Spirits in the Material World - never liked this tune because it's basically a callback to their old stuff but without the guitar. the rest of the album is surprisingly great though!

The Who, Quadrophenia - "I Am The Sea."

"Love Vigilantes" off New Order's 'Low Life' (my favorite album of theirs fwiw).

Nick Lowe, Jesus of Cool: Music for Money - boring and one note, nothing like the rest

Here's one instance where U.S. record company meddling actually improved things--it's sequenced so much better:

U.K. - "Jesus of Cool"
Music for Money
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
Little Hitler
Shake and Pop
Tonight
So It Goes
No Reason
36 Inches High
Marie Provost
Nutted by Reality
Heart of the City (live version)

U.S. - "Pure Pop for Now People"
So It Goes
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
Tonight
Marie Provost
Heart of the City (studio version)
Rollers Show
They Call It Rock (rockin'-er version of "Shake and Pop")
No Reason
Little Hitler
Nutted by Reality
36 Inches High
Music for Money

"Music for Money" works as the final cut. And the studio version of "Heart of the City" kicks the live version in the balls.

I have the new version w/ the bonus tracks, that U.S. version does look so much better. I loved "They Call It Rock" (IMO "Shake and Pop" felt watered down every since I heard it) and never understood why "Rollers Show" wasnt on the album.

Always thought Armenia City in the Sky one of the weakest things on The Who Sellout, and an odd opener

should be Armenia

I also think Rael at the end is a bit of a letdown too. That album's all about the middle, like a bell curve

Dog Shit is fucking classic beyond classic beyond classic

Always thought Armenia City in the Sky one of the weakest things on The Who Sellout, and an odd opener

Armenia's one of the best songs on Sell Out.

Which is to say, it's one of the best songs.

i always skip 'Love Is The Drug' on Siren.

^ ? waht

i mean, it is classic, i've just heard it too much, and i'm antsy to get to the 1-2-3 punch of End of the Line/Sentimental Fool/Whirlwind