# great opening songs on debut albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392 "2010-02-25T15:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/21 "2010-02-25T19:00:37Z")
“Definitive Gaze” from Magazine’s Real Llfe. 1978. What was to be the future sound after the short burst “no Future” of punk? Rebuilding from three chords up. Where to go now? ## This track and the album that followed was the answer. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/22 "2010-02-25T19:02:45Z")
White Bird - It’s a beautiful day - eponymously titled [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovf-UFWL-ng) War Pigs - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - A better description of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and co. could not be found [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo135x0oXo8) Jailbeak - Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak -turn this up very loud [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5xO-BnymRno/hqdefault.jpg "A Glorious Day") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xO-BnymRno) Spirit of radio - Rush - Permanent waves [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5Tq-UsaRchI/hqdefault.jpg "Rush- Spirit Of The Radio") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI) Band on the run - Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the run [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7D65IomNYY) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/23 "2010-02-25T19:14:27Z")
[Don’t Fall from Script of the Bridge, by The Chameleons](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_LtDyh5gXw&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/24 "2010-02-25T19:21:12Z")
[Going Up - Echo and the Bunnymen debut](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGG6MP4jpkM) ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/25 "2010-02-25T19:33:01Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > White Bird - It’s a beautiful day - eponymously titled > War Pigs - Black Sabbath - Paranoid > Jailbeak - Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak -turn this up very loud > Spirit of radio - Rush - Permanent waves > Band on the run - Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the run Only the first of these counts, per the OP (“debut albums”). I’ll chip in with [“Son of A Gun”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np4mAy-HlmQ) by The La’s. It took them less than 2 minutes to establish the mood for that whole album (and unfortunately only about 30 more to wrap things up). ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/26 "2010-02-25T19:34:18Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > Spirit of radio - Rush - Permanent waves Permanent Waves was Rush’s 7th album, not their debut. Edit: Beaten by sco3tt. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/27 "2010-02-25T19:38:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Crap. For some reason I can never remember that the eponymous album is the first one. Should be pretty easy to remember, but no. “Janie Jones” is a good first album, first track, too, though. And I was going to go was going to go with “Clash City Rockers” since that was the first song on the US release, which is the only one I’m familiar with. But then again if you go with US version ('79) it technically wasn’t their first album. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/28 "2010-02-25T19:41:51Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > More Than a Feeling by Boston. This was the first song I thought of. Second was _Running with the Devil_ by **Van Halen** (1978) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/29 "2010-02-25T19:52:25Z")
“School Days” by Loudon Wainwright III “Hey, St. Peter” by Flash and the Pan “With My Face on the Floor” by Emitt Rhodes “Kings and Queens” by Renaissance “Harvard Fight Song” by Tom Lehrer ---
**Author:** ![The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Falling_Reverend)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/30 "2010-02-25T20:12:20Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > A great track but not on their debut album. > > - Technically it kind of is._Give 'Em Enough Rope_ was the first Clash album to be released in the US. _The Clash_( UK version, first track “Janie Jones”) was only available as an import album, which I believe held the record for best selling import album. CBS then released _The Clash_ in the states with different tracks on it than the UK version, in 1979.(first track is “Clash City Rockers”) > **[The Clash (album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clash_%28album%29#1979_U.S._version)** > > The Clash is the debut studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on 8 April 1977 through CBS Records. Recorded and mixed over three weeks in February 1977 for £4,000, it would go on to reach No. 12 on the UK charts, and has been included on many retrospective rankings as one of the greatest punk albums of all time. > Songs on the album were composed by guitarists Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, with the exception of the reggae cover "Police and Thieves". The song "What's My ... So I guess take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![Awgrimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Awgrimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Awgrimm)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/31 "2010-02-25T20:17:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, forgot one: > > Smashing Pumkins **I Am One** Good one. I’m not a big fan, but the first three songs on that album (_Gish_) are the best they ever recorded, imo. ---
**Author:** ![Bambro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bambro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambro)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/32 "2010-02-25T20:18:10Z")
“Ashes” by Five Finger Death Punch “Good Times Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/33 "2010-02-25T20:23:12Z")
_ **Blister in the Sun** _ on Violent Femmes. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/34 "2010-02-25T20:25:27Z")
I always thought that _Your Time is Gonna Come_ off of _Led Zeppelin 1_ was a great entry in this category until I learned the track order was changed for the cassette tape. Pretty, semipsychedelic keyboard comes it at a low volume, and continues long enough to think you just set the volume too low. Then…CRASH! ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/35 "2010-02-25T20:37:23Z")
Time Will Show the Wiser, [Fairport Convention, Fairport Convention](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairport_Convention_(album)) (caveat: cover song). My Sunday Feeling, [This Was Jethro Tull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Was) How about AC/DC’s [High Voltage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Voltage_(1976_album)) which opens with It’s a Long way to the top (if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll). ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/36 "2010-02-25T20:48:10Z")
“I Saw Her Standing There” - The Beatles (UK Debut “Please Please Me” and technical first US album “Introducing The Beatles”, but not first US Capital album “Meet The Beatles”) “Cherry Bomb” - The Runaways “Running With The Devil” - Van Halen ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/37 "2010-02-25T20:51:42Z")
Do it Again from Steely Dan’s ‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’. I don’t know about breathtaking, knock your socks off impact, but it certainly showed in 5:56 that this was not going to be a ‘typical’ band… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/38 "2010-02-25T20:55:22Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > “Running With The Devil” - Van Halen There should be another thread for bands whose best song is the first song on their first album 🙂 Speaking of which – Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath. (Although Warning from the same album is slightly better, so while it is a great opening song it isn’t quite their best.) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/39 "2010-02-25T20:59:19Z")
[My Little Red Book - Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsSM-DDjuhQ) ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392/40 "2010-02-25T21:14:25Z")
“Next to You” by The Police [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-songs-on-debut-albums/530392.md?page=3)