Our Favorite Album Openers
If first impressions are everything, then an album’s first song is a listener’s litmus test. It sets the mood, it sets the sound, and it can make or break a great project. Today we’re going to talk about our all-time favorites.
C: For my first entry, I have Anything to Say You’re Mine from Etta James’ classic At Last. Between the strings, the heartbreaking lyrics, and James’ signature raw, soulful voice, this song indulges in the hopeless romanticism of the era.
L; The first time I listened to Radiohead’s OK Computer, it changed music for me. With the first gnarled notes of Airbag, I didn’t know whether to feel scared or angry or both — but then came the distortion and the otherworldly melody and Thom Yorke singing, “I am born again,” and I realized that what I was hearing was actually a kind of ecstasy.
C: When I think of a stellar album intro, it has to pull you in and keep you there. A great example of this is Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen. The second it starts, you hear a saxophone hook that feels like it could fill a stadium. Then the pounding heartbeat. In a fantastic video by MicTheSnare, he discusses the genius of the song, the feeling of every aspect being meticulously crafted. It easily solidified her as one of the great pop acts of our time, and EMOTION as a modern classic.
L: Back in 2002, Interpol came out with a brilliant debut album called Turn on the Bright Lights — and much of its genius lies in the first track, Untitled. It’s stealthy, bass-heavy, ambient and almost entirely instrumental. In fact, in the nearly four-minute track, we hear only a few emotional words sung in an emotionless voice: “I will surprise you sometime, I’ll come around.” As spare as the song is, it comes to a disorienting, frenetic end, leaving the listener in blissfully unfamiliar territory.
C: The first song on the punk classic London Calling by The Clash is the spooky, menacing title track. In the whispery way Joe Strummer sings, you’re beckoned on a dangerous adventure with them. In an album full of surprisingly fun songs about Cadillacs and supermarkets, this is the song that keeps you wanting more. With a killer bass line and war cries galore, London Calling is the apocalyptic anthem that will always leave you ready to fight.
L: When Patti Smith’s Horses debuted, Rolling Stone magazine rightly called her a “rock ‘n’ roll shaman.” Gloria opens the album slowly, ploddingly, with these words: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine,” and the narrative that ensues is equally bold. Smith thrusts herself into a male role, gleefully detailing the sexual conquest of G-L-O-R-I-A — and here, Patti scores the ultimate irony, because between the speeding pace and melody and easy lyrics, you can hardly help but sing along.
C + L