Overture on Tommy by The Who
Jotun off of Whoracle by In Flames.
paulberserker, the first track on my copy (vinyl) of ‘Back in Black’ is ‘Hell’s Bells’ – but that’s an equally good track!
Kielbasa from Tenacious D - sounds like it’s going to be some sort of Barenaked Ladies wannabe band, but then it gets really perverse. Hooks you for the rest of the album.
Hollow from Mer De Nom by A Perfect Circle - Fast, exciting, got great guitar hooks.
Passion Play by Jethro Tull - well, the first track is the whole album actually…but it sounds like the entrance music to a performance being attended by the insane.
Labdad, thanks for breaking “Purple Haze” out of the bag.
It’s hard to narrow this down, so here goes:
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“Back in the U.S.S.R” - Beatles, from The White Album
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“Come Together” - Beatles, from Abbey Road
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“Just Like Starting Over” - John Lennon from Double Fantasy
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“Carry On Wayward Son” - Kansas from Leftoverture
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“I Can’t Get Next to You” - the Temptations from Puzzle People
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“Fire on High” - ELO, from Face the Music
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“Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” - Michael Jackson from Off the Wall
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“Silent Running” - Mike + the Mechanics from Mike + the Mechanics
[sub]Some may feel mention of the Beatles to be cliche, but if we can invoke the Rolling Stones, then we can the Beatles.[/sub]
Actually, that is “Park Avenue” off of the album FreakonIca. Unless, of course, they started off an album like that twice, but I don’t think so.
And that song does rock.
Aqualung on Jethro Tull’s album of the same name.
Jumps out at you. Rest of the album ain’t too shabby!
Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues from Bringing it All Back Home
Waiting Room from Fugazi’s self titled first album (or from 13 Songs, which also includes their first two records).
The Grudge off of Tool’s Lateralus
I also agree with the vote for The Hollow off of APC’s Mer de Noms
Amen! Another opening track announcing a totally different direction. Good call!
Forgot about London Calling. Good call, Lisa-go-Blind.
Seven Nation Army, Elephant, The White Stripes. The first few seconds of that song and I was reaching around and patting my own back for picking up the album.
Good call on Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry. Nick Cave almost always has a fantastic song as the first track. Do You Love Me? was perfect on Let Love In (I’m glad he didn’t go with the obvious choice, the title song Let Love In which wouldn’t have fit well), Song of Joy was a wonderful dark & scary start to Murder Ballads, and even the more recent albums started off with great songs: As I Sat Sadly By Her Side for No More Shall We Part, and Wonderful Life from Nocturama.
Ahem. Sorry, I get distracted when I think of Nick. Mmmmmm…Niiiiiick…
Burning Down the House - Speaking in Tongues - Talking Heads
In a Big Country - The Crossing - Big Country
The title track from “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” by Genesis.
How am I the first to say this: “More Than a Feeling” “More Than a Feeling” “More Than a Feeling!” The opener from Boston’s self-titled first album is an acme of dynamics. Music teachers: if you want to teach your students the power of dynamics be sure to play this song.
“Sleep to Dream” by Fiona Apple (I’ve managed to forget the name of the album). The first and only time I’ve stopped a song and went back to see if I had heard it right upon the first listening was after hearing these first four lines:
Wow.
Welcome to the Jungle - Appetite for destruction
I second Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes-
How about Cochise- off of Audioslave?
I always seem to turn that up to ear-bleeding level when I put the CD in.
I like Seven Nation Army, but Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground is light years ahead. So I’ll mention that.
Not really the “Best”, but here are some of my “favorites”:
“Moon Baby”- Godsmack- Godsmack
“Welcome to the Jungle”- Appetite for Destruction- Guns n Roses
“Cake and Sodomy”- Portrait of an American Family- Marylin Manson
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”- Nevermind- Nirvana
A massive system crash occurred when I tried to rank “Fight Fire with Fire,” “Battery,” “Blackened,” and “Enter Sandman” against one another, so let’s all just agree that Metallica wins.
Gex gex, I’m gonna back you on “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.” I bought the album because of that song, and the only part of “Seven Nation Army” that I like is the line “I’m going to Wichita,” and that only because of its utter nonsense.