So the album is a story, right? And we've forgotten about it in recent years with that awful "shuffle" button, so I've been making an effort to stick to albums as much as I can.
Just been hit about the head with Relationship of Command, At the Drive In, and it reminded me what a damn good start to an album those first 20 seconds are.
Any others worth a mention?
Depeche Mode- World In My Eyes...
Probably none better than Arcarsenal!
Probably the best start to any song aswell
Toss up between Thunder Road - Born to Run or Janie Jones - Clash 1st
Mysterons, Dummy Portishead. By no means the best track of the album, but sets the scene for what was (IMO) a ground breaking album.
Counting Crows - Round Here
Was their debut album as well, which makes it even betterer.
Has to be Painkiller by Judas Priest for me. I only quite like the rest of their stuff but that song is ridiculously heavy.
PS I'm going to listen to everything that's suggested on here!
Two spoken word intros to first tracks stand out for me-
"Ladies and gentlemen - 'ow do........." followed by the bass line to Love Song, Machine Gun Etiquette.
"In his autumn before the winter comes mans last mad surge of youth..." followed by Don't Fall on Script of the Bridge by the Chameleons.
New Rose. (The Damned)
Suspect Device. (Inflammable Material)
Easy to Slip. (Sailin' Shoes)
Do it Again. (Steely Dan)
Kid Charlemagne. (Royal Scam)
Baba O'Riley. (Who's Next)
Dry the Rain. (3 Ep's).
Loads really.
Most people try and start with something memorable to keep you listening....
Round Here and Mysterons both good shouts.
I'd stick Planet Telex from the Bends in there.
And more recently, The Race For Spaxe with that Kennedy speech from PSB's The Race For Space. A little bit goosebumpy.
Easy one for me, blew me away when I first heard it.. still one of my all time favourite albums ...eva.
Ratt ... You're in Love off Invasion of your Privacy
Bombtrack - Rage against the machine
Tangled up in blue - blood on the tracks
Can't decide:
LZ1 - Good Times Bad Times
Or
Sabotage - Hole In The Sky
(Both are proper rippers, but Hole InThe Sky is soaringly sonic so I spose that)
Wildcard:
Destroyer's Rubies - Rubies. Sets the refrain and tone perfectly for the rest of the absinthe-soaked ride through a drunken poet's mind. Late night/early morning listening at its best, a true one-off (almost) perfect album and quite unlike anything else I've discovered.
Some good calls above especially the Damned, SLF, Chameleons and Counting Crows
Runaway Boys - Stray Cats
The Mercy Seat - Tender Prey, Nick Cave
She's in Parties - Burning from the Inside, Bauhaus
Angel of Death - Reign in Blood , Slayer
Idumæa - (Sung by Marc Almond) Black Ships ate the Sky, Current 93
Whatever U2 has become, and whatever their past faults, to have started both the Joshua Tree album, and the Joshua Tree Tour, off with 'Where the Streets Have No Name' was a stroke of genius in the music drama department.
Just watch to the 2:05 mark, and you'll see what I mean.
Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction. Welcome to the Jungle. All of GnRs nasty, sleaziness all in one song.
Metallica - Master of Puppets. Battery. Brutal.
Pearl Jam - Ten. Once. Sets up an album of social isolation, depression, despair, perfectly. None of this pretend Nirvana bollocks.
Metallica - Master of Puppets. Battery. Brutal.
Great shout
Metallica - Master of Puppets. Battery. Brutal.
Yeah!
Enter Sandman on the Black Album is good shout too
Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed, Gimme Shelter has to be up there too!
...or maybe changeling from the doors LA women.
Born in a Storm - first track on Raintown (Deacon Blue) - still love it all these years later!
Sitting Pretty by The Datsuns
Love Burns by BRMC.
Debaser by the Pixies.
Sympathy for the devil.
Brown Sugar.
Seven nation army by the White Stripes.
Whole lotta love by Led Zeppelin.
Etc, etc.
Framed 1st track on Framed the album SAHB
5 years Ziggy Stardust
School Crime Of The Century
Jacqueline Franz Ferdinand
As mentioned earlier Round Here my fav Counting Crows track
Another one for Welcome to the Jungle. Opening bars just make your hairs stand on end.
I bought the album after friends had seen tbem at Donnington and told me they were going to be the next big thing.
That opening track convinced me.
Ten doesn't really start with Once though. There's that intro piece that mirrors the outro piece?
Welcome to the jungle +1
Call for a song to define an era ?
David Grey, White Ladder.. Please Forgive Me.
always thought give em enough rope by the clash has a cracking opening (1st 3 songs actually), safe european home, engish civil war and tommy gun.
Invaders---Iron Maiden
Back at the funny farm----Motörhead. Top notch, indeed.
Horns of Jericho---the prodigy
This introduced a band, an album, and an entire genre.
Welcome to the Jungle is indeed an awesome statement of intent.
I think this is even better though...
And MBV started Loveless as they meant to continue...
And.. the disco era defining dance into groove.
The Brothers Johnson, Light up the Night.. Stomp!
Gomez opened "Bring it On" with "Get Miles". Now that was some opener for a debut album, blew me away.
Prowler on Iron Maiden
The Queen is Dead isn't a bad start to the album of the same name, the intro followed by those rolling drums.
States of mind---Senser
Cherub rock---smashing pumpkins
Here to stay---Korn
The two that stand out for me
First Light from Rain Dances by Camel and
Funeral for a Friend from Goodbye Yellow brick Road by Elton John
Whilst I'm sure there're many others these really did impress at the time I even saw Camel doing First Light live at Manchester Free Trade Hall even better
Saw title, came to post Arcarsenal 😀
Incredible album, incendiary opener.
So many albums take a while to get going, ROC just grabs you by the throat and beats you into submission. Sublime.
Also, this:
Perfect start to a genuine classic.
How has nobody mentioned this?!
I Wanna Be Adored, The Stone Roses, by The Stone Roses
War pigs?
The Ballad of Bill Hubbard. amused to death,roger waters 92
I Wanna Be Adored, The Stone Roses, by The Stone Roses
+10
If you count track one as the into to track two (can't remember or be bothered to attempt to spell their names on my phone) the first Mars Volta album starts well.
Other than that another stand out opening track is Botchla by Poison the Well. A brilliant way to start a pretty heavy album. I'm going to go through my collection later and come up with more, my memory is buggered, I struggled to remember the bands that did them two.
London Calling is a classic.
Martyn Bennett album Grit opens with a real grab you by the throat song Move but there's no video on YouTube. So I picked Coyote by Joni Mitchell from the Hejira album
Guns N' Roses - Civil War
Great film. Great song.
But there is so much choice, it's hard to pick the "best". Good call on Roger Waters above. And that makes me think most Floyd songs have a great intro - surely Shine On You Crazy Diamond is worth a mention!
Your's Is No Disgrace on The Yes Album
Or Get It On - Grinderman.
Only Friend - the Temperance Movement
Bad Brains - [i]Soul Craft[/i].
Foxy Lady - not only a great song but an opening album too
Ah, actually roper has it.
Tom Sawyer - Moving Pictures
Rise Against - State of the Union
Going to see them this year after missing out previously. Cannot bloody wait.
I can see that Welcome to the Jungle is popular so here are my top three (although Roper's is next level stuff):
Pink Moon / Pink Moon
Solid Air / Solid Air
Eee-ek I forgot this one!
AC/DC Both Highway to Hell (Title track) and Back in Black (Hells Bells).
Massive Attack Blue Lines 'Safe from Harm'
Sabotage - Hole In The Sky
I was listening to Sabotage the other day and almost started a thread 'songs you think only you like'!
Bat out of hell by Meatloaf , surely the best ever .
Let me sing for you the song of my people!
And the other one I've been listening to lately
You have listen to it all though.
The Orb's Adventure's Beyond the Ultraworld
There's a lot of metal in this thread. So many good openers, many already above.
Someone just reminded me of FNMs Angel Dust album on the closing song thread.
This track opens that album...
Dunno what my favourite is but this always does the job
How could I forget.....
"You think I ain't worth a dollar" (but I feel a like a millionaire) by Queens of the Stone Age.
It's a total aural assault, then pauses and starts again harder and louder.
But "welcome to the jungle" is the right answer.