Please tell me your 7 favorite album openers

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GirlsAloudFan

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1. Thunder Road
2. Everything In Its Right Place
3. Tangled Up In Blue
4. I Wanna Be Adored
5. Begin the Begin
6. Once
7. Welcome To The Jungle

:)
 
1. Alice in Chains - Rotten Apple
2. Pixies - Debaser
3. Pearl Jam - Brain of J.
4. Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand
5. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
6. U2 - Zoo Station
7. The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored

Probably missed out a few. Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones), 2+2=5 (Radiohead), From Out of Nowhere (Faith No More), Fake Empire (The National), The Kiss (The Cure), Fear of a Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree), Begin the Begin (R.E.M.), 100% (Sonic Youth) and One of These Days (Pink Floyd) are up there as well.
 
Zooropa (Zooropa – U2)
Communion With The Sun (Ra – Utopia)
Dazzle (Hyaena - Siouxsie & The Banshees)
Synchronicity I (Synchronicity – The Police)
The Robots (The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk)
Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (Selling England By The Pound – Genesis)
Rhythm of The Heat (Security – Peter Gabriel)
 
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Bellbottoms (Orange)
U2 - A sort of homecoming (Unforgettable fire)
Frank Zappa - Peaches en regalia (Hot rats)
AC/DC - Highway to hell (Highway to hell)
Talk Talk - Happiness is easy (The colour of spring)
Sting - All this time (The soul cages)
The Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be nice (Pet Sounds)
 
Limited myself to one per artist, as I easily could have filled this with just Shuttlecock and R.E.E.M. titles:

1. Cockropa
2. Sugar, The Act We Act (Copper Blue)
3. Joni Mitchell, Coyote (Hejira)
4. The Beatles, Two Of Us (Let It Be)
5. The Afghan Whigs, Crime Scene Part One (Black Love)
6. Steely Dan, Babylon Sisters (Gaucho)
7. R.E.M., Finest Worksong (Document)

That last one could easily have been Harborcoat or Begin the Begin on a different day.
 
1. Pink Floyd: Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5

2. The Who: Baba O'Riley

3. Radiohead: Everything in Its Right Place

4. Antony & The Johnsons: Hope There's Someone

5. Depeche Mode: Never Let Me Down Again

6. Led Zeppelin: Black Dog

7. U2: Zoo Station
 
Am I the only person here whose least favorite 'cock opener is Beautiful Play? I really love every other track 1 of theirs. Yes, including Squirtigo.

Apart from the average Helter Skelter cover on Rattle and Hum, I would agree.

Great, great call. Jar of Flies is the finest album to emerge from the Seattle Grunge scene, in my opinion at least.

I would agree, if there wasn't a little masterpiece called Vitalogy in there as well. But Jar of Flies has the best opening duo ever. Nothing will probably match the emotion conveyed in Rotten Apple and Nutshell for me.
 
7 Openers I really enjoy (In no particular order):

1. U2 - Zoo Station
2. Black Rebel Mototcycle Club - Love Burns
3. Metallica - Enter Sandman
4. Moby - Honey
5. Muse - Intro/Apocalypse Please (I put those two together in my mind)
6. U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
7. New Order - Crystal
 
1. U2 - Zooropa
2. The Who - Baba O' Riley
3. Blur - Beetlebum
4. The Shins - Kissing The Lipless
5. Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
6. Wilco - At Least That's What You Said
7. Steely Dan - Black Cow

8. My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow
9. Boston - More Than A Feeling
10. Spoon - Everything Hits At Once
11. The Flying Burrito Brothers - Christine's Tune
12. Joy Division - Disorder
13. Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
14. Joni Mitchell - All I Want
15. Love - Alone Again Or
16. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
17. The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
18. Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone
19. Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot
20. Grateful Dead - Box of Rain
 
quality idea, GAF!

1. The Who - Baba O'Riley
2. The Flaming Lips - Race for the Prize
3. Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond - Parts I-V
4. U2 - Zooropa (kinda weird cos Streets is my favourite song ever, so shouldn't Streets be #1 here?)
5. Steely Dan - Black Cow
6. David Bowie - Five Years
7. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
 
1. Drive (R.E.M.)
2. Head Like A Hole (Nine Inch Nails)
3. Last Exit (Pearl Jam)
4. Where The Streets Have No Name (U2)
5. Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode)
6. Now My Heart Is Full (Morrissey)
7. Just Like Honey (The Jesus & Mary Chain)

Honorable Mentions: Untitled (Interpol), Numbers (The Church), Rid Of Me (PJ Harvey), Good Morning Beautiful (The The), Low (Cracker), Fade Into You (Mazzy Star), Love Burns (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).
 
ooh, awesome idea!

in no particular order:
1. duran duran: girls on film
2. u2: zooropa
3. steely dan: aja*
4. depeche mode: black celebration
5. tears for fears: the hurting
6. the police: synchronicity 1
7. talking heads: born under punches (the heat goes on)

honourable mentions:
duran duran: rio, medazzaland
tim finn: spiritual hunger
split enz: walking down a road, bold as brass
sparks: this town ain't big enough for both of us (lol)

*yeah i know black cow is the first track, but i grew up hearing the album on a cassette my mom bought, and the track listing is all different. when i bought the album, my mind was blown. but i'm used to the other track listing and besides, aja's an amazing song.
 
In no order:

Radiohead: Airbag
The Beach Boys: Wouldn't It Be Nice
Led Zeppelin: Immigrant Song
U2: Where The Streets Have No Name
The Flaming Lips: Race For The Prize
The Mamas & The Papas: Monday Monday
The Beatles: Taxman
 
Radiohead - Everything In It's Right Place
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Sigur Rós - Untitled 1 (Vaka)
The Beatles - Come Together
Muse - New Born

A Sort Of Homecoming and Zooropa could also definitly be on that list.
 
thunder road almost deserves its own list, because as much as i love anything else i'm about to put here, it's kind of a few miles superior than anything else i can add.

so i'm going to have to ditch the creative math where i'd otherwise put "badlands" on the same line, cos really, it's up there, but it just can't compete.

rem - what's the frequency, kenneth?

joe strummer & the mescaleros - coma girl

street dogs - savin hill

the beatles - help!

"opinion" from greg graffin's first solo album
 
1) Breathe (Pink Floyd)
2) Where The Streets Have No Name (U2)
3) London Calling (The CLash)
4) Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan)
5) Hurricane (Bob Dylan)

6) Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pink Floyd)
7) Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
8) Magnificent seven (The Clash)
9) Watch That Man (David Bowie)
10) Fake Empire (The National)
11) Rocks Of (The Rolling Stones)
12) Break On Through (The Doors)
13) Fake Empire (The National)
 
No particular order, and sticking with only one song per artist...

U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
The Who - Baba O'Riley
Porcupine Tree - Even Less
Explosions In The Sky - First Breath After Coma
Kraftwerk - The Robots

Some others...

R.E.M. - Finest Worksong
Yes - Roundabout
LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
New Order - Age Of Consent
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run
Prince - Sign “☮” The Times
Madonna - Drowned World/Substitute For Love
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road
Mogwai - Hunted By A Freak
Interpol - Untitled
Queen - Innuendo
 
I had a hard time with this one, and I think in the end I just sort of threw this list together :( (oh noes, a list on teh interwebz that is not perfect?!)

1.) U2 - A Sort of Homecoming
2.) The Who - Baba O'Riley
3.) Pixes - Debaser
4.) Big Country - In a Big Country
5) Explosions in the Sky - First Breath After Coma
6.) Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere (I know that's a surprising pick, but that was the song that made me a fan, and I just get incredibly happy every time I hear it now for that very reason)
7.) Tom Petty - Wildflowers

And two from bands just because I like them and had to pick an opener from them:
The Cure - Plainsong
The National - Terrible Love (Newer song, but as an album opener, it does a great job, and I love to hear it every time).
 
1. The Beatles - Come Together(Abbey Road)
2. U2 - Zoo Station(Zoo Station)
3. U2 - Zooropa(Zooropa)
4. Led Zeppelin - Black Dog(IV)
5. Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond(I-V)(Wish You Were Here)
6. David Bowie - Changes(Hunky Dory)
7. Metallica - Master Of Puppets(Master Of Puppets)
8. The Doors - Hello I Love You(Waiting For The Sun)
9. Radiohead = 2+2=5(Hail To The Thief)/Everything In Its Right Place(Kid A)
10. Coldplay - Politik(Rush Of Blood To The Head)
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World(Californication)
12. The Who - Baba O'Riley(The Who Sell Out)

I can't believe no one has mentioned Come Together yet.
 
I don't know, it just doesn't scream out anything special as an Opener to me.

But you reminded me that I forgot "Life in Technicolor".
 
I don't know, it just doesn't scream out anything special as an Opener to me.

Yeah, this is basically what I think as well. I considered Beatles album openers when I made my list, and thought of Come Together. I love the song, and Abbey Road is my favorite of their albums and, on certain days, my favorite album by anybody ever - but, yeah, like you said I don't think of it really as such a great opening song.

My favorite Beatles opener is probably either Taxman (the weed cough at the start is fantastic) or Two Of Us which is just achingly poignant, to me, and I always picture it as John and Paul singing about eachother.

I would also like to confess that my actual Top 7 would probably include both Where The Streets Have No Name and A Sort of Homecoming, but I didn't feel like putting them in my original list.

I also am troubled by the lack of Thunder Road selections in this thread, because it is the greatest song of all time. Thankfully IWB and phanan came to the rescue and listed it.
 
Yeah, this is basically what I think as well. I considered Beatles album openers when I made my list, and thought of Come Together. I love the song, and Abbey Road is my favorite of their albums and, on certain days, my favorite album by anybody ever - but, yeah, like you said I don't think of it really as such a great opening song.

My favorite Beatles opener is probably either Taxman (the weed cough at the start is fantastic) or Two Of Us which is just achingly poignant, to me, and I always picture it as John and Paul singing about eachother.

I would also like to confess that my actual Top 7 would probably include both Where The Streets Have No Name and A Sort of Homecoming, but I didn't feel like putting them in my original list.

I also am troubled by the lack of Thunder Road selections in this thread, because it is the greatest song of all time. Thankfully IWB and phanan came to the rescue and listed it.

Stairway To Heaven.

And to each his own about Come Together. I love it.
 
I didn't use Thunder Road because I was doing one song per artist. But that is a FABULOUS opener.
 
Two Of Us which is just achingly poignant, to me, and I always picture it as John and Paul singing about eachother.

:up:

I think the Beatles were actually better at album openers early on though. I Saw Her Standing There, It Won't Be Long, A Hard Day's Night, No Reply and Help are all among the very best, if not the highlight of their respective albums.
 
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