POV: Bands with the generally best opening tracks

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Inspired by the POV title tracks

1) Black Sabbath, BY FAR has the most consistent openers tracks as compared to their albums
2) Rolling Stones
3) KISS, while I'm not their biggest fan anymore, they know how to open an album
4) Queen
5) The Talking Heads (do they have a bad opening song?)

Despite being one of my two favorite artists, I rarely find I like his openers as much as most of the other songs on his albums...

― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Queen seconded. I can't think of a weak Queen opener.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Metallica

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Good call on Metallica...

― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Stones, definitely. Zeppelin wasn't bad at this, either, as I recall.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:40 (twenty-one years ago)

The Clash could also pitch a bitch on a first track.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:40 (twenty-one years ago)

While I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to call them "great" tracks, surely Modest Mouse's opening tracks cast a pretty long shadow over the rest of their catalogue.

― Brock! (Brock!), Friday, 6 May 2005 04:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I would agree with most of the above (Stones, Zep, T. Heads, Kiss, Sab).

Not yet mentioned:

1. Roxy Music
2. The Fall
3. Can
4. Kraftwerk
5. New Order

― Kent Burt (lingereffect), Friday, 6 May 2005 05:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Elvis Costello!
And second the Fall. "Frightened," "The Classical," "Eat Y'Self Fitter," "R.O.D.," "The Joke"... and the _Palace of Swords Reversed_ comp opening with "Prole Art Threat," what a great choice...
Also points for Bob Dylan: "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Like a Rolling Stone," "On a Night Like This," "Tangled Up In Blue," "Changing of the Guards," "Jokerman," "Love Sick"... and he must get some kind of points for opening Self-Portrait with "All the Tired Horses."

― Douglas (Douglas), Friday, 6 May 2005 07:06 (twenty-one years ago)

U2 have to be in this discussion:

I Will Follow, Gloria, Sunday Bloody Sunday, A Sort Of Homecoming, Where The Streets Have No Name, Zoo Station, Zooropa and Beautiful Day, just to name a handful.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Ween
Radiohead

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Husker Du
Ice Cube/Public Enemy (not counting skits/intros)

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 6 May 2005 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Cube and PE were really great at the intro-opening track one-two punch.

― kit brash (kit brash), Saturday, 7 May 2005 02:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Pixies, definitely

Debaser, Bone Machine, Cecilia Ann, Caribou, Trompe le Monde.

― astropatty (adr), Saturday, 7 May 2005 02:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Of acts not named...

1. AC/DC ("It's A Long Way To The Top," "Hell's Bells," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Highway To Hell," "For Those About To Rock," "Who Made Who," "Thunderstruck")

2. Prince ("I Wanna Be Your Lover," "Dirty Mind," "Controversy," "1999," "Let's Go Crazy," "Sign 'O' The Times," "P Control," "Chaos And Disorder," "Musicology")

3. Cheap Trick ("Hot Love," "Hello There," "Surrender," "Dream Police," "Stop This Game," "I Can't Take It" -- some great ones to start their career with, at least...)

4. The Kinks ("All Day And All Of The Night," "David Watts," "The Village Green Preservation Society," "Victoria")

5. Michael Jackson ("Don't Start 'Til You Get Enough," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "Bad," "Jam" -- on the list for the first two, really...)

― John Fredland (jfredland), Saturday, 7 May 2005 05:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Avalanche, Tupelo, Sad Waters, Mercy Seat, Foi Na Cruz, Muddy Water, Papa Won't Leave You Henry, Do You Love Me?, Song Of Joy, Into My Arms...dudes know how to set the mood, for sure.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 7 May 2005 05:41 (twenty-one years ago)

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