Albums whose first track is a cover song

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Mott the Hoople All the Young Dudes ("Sweet Jane")

(Excluding "covers records" (Pin-Ups, et al), artists who did nothing but covers (Sinatra, Presley), and pretty much all jazz records)

― Keith C (kcraw916), Monday, 4 April 2005 22:51 (twenty years ago)

Pixies - Bossanova

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

Spiritualized -- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

(er, sort of -- if you consider the "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" portion in the original mix of the opening track)

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:15 (twenty years ago)

Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium ("Mexican Radio")

― Richard C (avoid80), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

Nearly God

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:26 (twenty years ago)

Bauhaus The Sky's Gone Out "Third Uncle" (orig. by Eno)

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:27 (twenty years ago)

By definition, all cover albums.

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

(David Bowie Pin Ups, etc.)

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

Aimee Mann, "Magnolia" OST - 1st song is cover of "One" by Three Dog Night.
Maybe that doesn't count, though, cause the soundtrack has other artists at the end after a chunk of Mann tunes.

― Waking Up Onstage at Jumbo's (Bent Over at the Arclight), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

Another semi-entry: Butthole Surfers Locust Abortion Technician "Sweat Loaf" (their take of Black Sabbath's "Sweat Leaf")

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:33 (twenty years ago)

"Sweat Leaf"?!?!? What the hell is that?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

Come on, Alex, haven't you heard of the Sweating Leaves? Very rare, poisonous oak found in Madagascar.

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

Does it get you HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

yeah, but only if you see your mom this weekend and tell her...

― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 4 April 2005 23:44 (twenty years ago)

Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Press Color (cover of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's "Fire")

― What we want? Sex with T.V. stars! What you want? Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Ma, Monday, 4 April 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

Okkervil River -- Black Sheep Boy (cover of Tim Hardin's "Black Sheep Boy")

― JC-L (JC-L), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:17 (twenty years ago)

Horses!

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

This Mortal Coil "It'll End in Tears." Sort of.

― Roz, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:32 (twenty years ago)

MC5, back in the USA: first ("tutti frutti") AND last (title track).

― 'haitch' (haitch), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:33 (twenty years ago)

alice cooper 'billion dollar babies' ("hello hooray")
van halen 2 ("you're no good")

― dave q (listerine), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:48 (twenty years ago)

Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo ("Wake Up, Little Sparrow")

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Sessions - 'Mining for Gold'

― Sasha (sgh), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 02:05 (twenty years ago)

As pointed out on the sister thread , the Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn" albums both end with a cover version ...

... and both albums start with a cover version too (the title tracks). That deserves some sort of award.

(although both albums are a bit unusual in that they're not "covers albums" per se, but half of each album are covers)

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 02:20 (twenty years ago)

(although both albums are a bit unusual in that they're not "covers albums" per se, but half of each album are covers)

not that unusual at the time, though. they were just taking after cover-happy bands like the kinks -- whose debut album opens with a cover of chuck berry's "beautiful delilah" -- and the beatles.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 03:03 (twenty years ago)

Tom Waits' Blue Valentine starts with 'Somewhere'. Unless it being a 'standard' makes a difference.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 03:07 (twenty years ago)

Spiritualized -- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
(er, sort of -- if you consider the "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" portion in the original mix of the opening track)

or that the whole melody for the song is pachabel's canon

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 03:15 (twenty years ago)

William Shatner - Has Been ("Common People" by Pulp)

― Cheek0 (Cheek0), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 03:55 (twenty years ago)

Bob Dylan's Saved ("Satisfied Mind").

― Douglas (Douglas), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 04:04 (twenty years ago)

dwight yoakam, guitars cadillacs etc. etc. ("honky tonk man").

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 04:10 (twenty years ago)

The Byrds went covers-crazy later too, placing Dylan songs at both ends of Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Actually, you could probably make a even stronger case for that being almost a covers record, so perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 05:19 (twenty years ago)

There should be a subcategory for studio concoctions like:

K.W.S., Please Don't Go - The Album

with the cover title track, of course as the first track.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 06:48 (twenty years ago)

Not sure if we're counting artist compilations:

The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks, 1964-1971 ("Time Is On My Side")

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:28 (twenty years ago)

seventeen years pass...

Chromatics - Kill for Love

― ArchCarrier, Sunday, 26 March 2023 13:53 (two years ago)

The Who, "The Who Sell Out".

― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:07 (two years ago)

Roxy Music - Flesh and Blood

― Kim Kimberly, Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:12 (two years ago)

Roxy Music - Flesh and Blood

Came to post this. I do love the count-in.

― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:15 (two years ago)

blondie - parallel lines

― deadmauZedong (voodoo chili), Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:22 (two years ago)

Kelly Lee Owens, Inner Song

― ˈʌglɪɪst preɪ, Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:26 (two years ago)

Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly, title track
Natalie Imbruglia, Left of the Middle, "Torn"
Cyndi Lauper, She's So Unusual, "Money Changes Everything"
Joan Jett, I Love Rock 'n' Roll, title track
They Might Be Giants' "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" EP, title track (if EPs count)

― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:41 (two years ago)

Pretenders, Pretenders, "Stop Your Sobbing"

― niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Sunday, 26 March 2023 15:13 (two years ago)

MC5 Kick Out The Jams "Rambling Rose"

― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Sunday, 26 March 2023 15:26 (two years ago)

The original Trafalgar Records release of Radio Birdman's Radios Appear begins with their version of "T.V. Eye."

― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 26 March 2023 15:31 (two years ago)

the debuts by both The Specials, and Madness

― Half Japanese Breakfast (outdoor_miner), Sunday, 26 March 2023 16:49 (two years ago)

The Kink Kontroversy by the Kinks

― Josefa, Sunday, 26 March 2023 17:04 (two years ago)

Beach Boys Today!. “Do You Wanna Dance” is one of my sneaky faves.

― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 March 2023 17:24 (two years ago)

Wait, is there a Pretenders debut album with an alternate track listing? It starts with “Precious” on mine.

― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Sunday, 26 March 2023 17:28 (two years ago)

There isn't. Dumb mistake on my part. "Stop Your Sobbing" does open The Singles comp, though, which is probably where I got mixed up.

― niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Sunday, 26 March 2023 18:49 (two years ago)

First 3 Bad Seeds lps each start with a cover.
Avalanche, Tupelo (though a bit if a rewrite of the John lee Hooker song) and Muddy Water

― Stevo, Sunday, 26 March 2023 19:57 (two years ago)

Lucifer on the Sofa by Spoon

― nate woolls, Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:59 (two years ago)

U2 - Rattle and Hum

― MarkoP, Monday, 27 March 2023 03:40 (two years ago)

Blue Rodeo - Greatest Hits Vol. 1

― MarkoP, Monday, 27 March 2023 03:44 (two years ago)

Glass Hammer have an album where the first track is cover of "South Side of the Sky", incredibly odd to begin your album that way but I guess they're making it clear what kind of band they are

― frogbs, Monday, 27 March 2023 03:47 (two years ago)

The Flying Burrito Bros (3rd album)
Fairport Convention (1st album)
Pussy Cats

― buzza, Monday, 27 March 2023 03:55 (two years ago)

Melt-Banana - Charlie cd version (a hyper cover of ‘Neat Neat Neat’ is lurking if you rewind track 1 into the minus zone)

― bingo dabber acid, Monday, 27 March 2023 06:46 (two years ago)

Ween's The Mollusk starts with a cover of Gayla Peevey's "Are my ears on straight?"

― ringworm, Monday, 27 March 2023 07:42 (two years ago)

Black Letter Days by Frank Black and Catholics. Opens with a cover of "The Black Rider" by Tom Waits. It also closes with a different cover of the same song.

― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Monday, 27 March 2023 15:58 (two years ago)

The Roches' Keep On Doing opens with the Hallelujah chorus

― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Monday, 27 March 2023 16:00 (two years ago)

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes opens with a cover Bette Davis Eyes

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 27 March 2023 16:24 (two years ago)

What If It Works? by the Loud Family and Anton Barbeau starts with a not especially successful version of "Rocks Off" by the Rolling Stones, but it sets up the fantastic original "Song About 'Rocks Off'".

― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 28 March 2023 02:59 (two years ago)

Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks starts with a cover of Randy Newman's "Vine Street", but interpolates an uncredited cover of the folk standard "Black Jack Davey" before that.

― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 28 March 2023 03:02 (two years ago)

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