“You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.”
- John Coltrane
Recently on Substack, some music nerd asked a question that other music nerds couldn't pass up: What is the Best Album Opening Track of All Time? There were many submissions that spanned a wide range of eras and genres. The author of the piece chose what he thought, I guess, were the top 15 most interesting. He then gave a brief reason he thought each was a worthy choice. Though none of them were my pick, the arguments were all sound. I'll give you his list and then offer my own and await yours:
In alphabetical order:
- Age of Consent: New Order (1983)
- Aqualung: Jethro Tull (1971)
- Cherub Rock: Smashing Pumpkins (1993)
- Dance Yrself Clean: LCD Soundsystem (2010)
- Debaser: The Pixies (1989)
- Everything in Its Right Place: Radiohead (2000)
- Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding: Elton John (1973)
- Good Times Bad Times: Led Zeppelin (1969)
- I Wanna Be Adored: The Stone Roses (1989)
- Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan (1965)
- Needles in a Camel's Eye: Brian Eno (1974)
- Smells Like Teen Spirit: Nirvana (1991)
- Sympathy for the Devil: The Rolling Stones (1968)
- Taxman: The Beatles (1966)
- Thunder Road: Bruce Springsteen (1975)
A few thoughts on some of the above:
Boy, it's pretty hard to argue against Nirvana and Dylan. Both songs and artists completely bent the music world, and in some ways the culture, in totally new directions.
Good Times Bad Times was the first song on Led Zeppelin's debut album. Both were opening salvos of the tempest Zeppelin would unleash over the decade to come.
Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding is a fine choice. It's my favorite Elton John song with the instrumental Funeral For a Friend accelerating into Love Lies Bleeding. It's an uncharacteristic John song with its nifty guitar hook and solo.
Sympathy For the Devil…Who would ever argue against The Stones?
Aqualung is special to me for this reason. Martin Barre's guitar solo taught me what one is supposed to be, a musical conversation for the listener, not simply a flurry of notes. His wasn't unique, it just the first time it really dawned me that it's what the good ones do.
My Pick:
So many possibilities, but I'm going to go with AC/DC's Hell's Bells that lead off Back in Black (1980). Here's why. Lead singer Bon Scott had died the year before. You can't burn as hot as he did and not flame out early. He was, inarguably, one of the greatest rock front men ever, and part of the bands brotherhood. How were they going to go forward without him? Would they even try? The decision was made to give it a go and try to find a new singer. A tall order, like trying to replace Wayne Gretzky. Well, they found one, Brian Johnson. He didn't have Bon's charisma, but he was more than serviceable. Hell's Bells let everyone know that AC/DC wasn't going anywhere. Back in Black sold over 50 million albums, one of the biggest selling in history. They're a study in the art of doing one thing and doing it very well and not trying to be something you're not. You'll never hear a ballad from AC/DC and for almost 50 years, nobody has complained.
Runner Up: Refugee off Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' second album, Damn the Torpedoes (1979). It easily could have been my number one. It's just about a perfect song leading off a near perfect album. Tom Petty had arrived.