I don’t get no respect.
OK, so I’m not going crazy. I thought “Clash City Rockers” was the first song off the eponymous album, but then I looked it up to make sure and it had “Janie Jones.” Now it all makes sense.
Dire Straits made a very nice debut with “Down to the Waterline” on their first album.
“I Will Follow” - U2
Almost Medieval - Reproduction, The Human League http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4zBMkMHFXU
Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqQc7j_Vs-M
“Personality Crisis” - New York Dolls, (self titled)
“We” by the Roches. Brilliant song (they still play it, though have updated things a bit)
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum (US version; the UK version also starts with a great one: "Conquistador’)
In alphabetical order:
Stand Up For Rock And Roll by Airbourne - Runnin’ Wild right out of the fucking gate.
Swamp Devil by Artimus Pyledriver kicks off with a scream and you can practically here tires squealing. The song sounds exactly like a song called ‘Swamp Devil’ by a band with this name should sound.
Planet Claire by The B-52s was a great song. With it’s “Peter Gunn” rip-off bass riff and theremin intro, it clearly and quickly defined the band’s sound and the quirky lyrics and delivery cemented their sound into your brain. It wasn’t like you ever heard a B-52s song and had to wonder if it was them once you had heard them.
Rays On Pinion by Baroness is an amazingly powerful debut opener.
Rain Wizard by Black Stone Cherry rocks. Very promising debut album opener, and prolly more like mana from heaven if you really like Black Crowes.
Trip Like I Do by The Crystal Method was an awesome intro to the band.
Twist Of Cain by Danzig.
Uncontrollable Urge by Devo pretty much let you know that this wasn’t your ordinary band from Ohio. (Bonus! This footage is from Urgh! A Music War.)
Let’s Have A War by Fear is about as incendiary a first track as there is.
I Ran by A Flock Of Seagulls was a strong opener for the album and garnered them a lot of airplay for their signature sound.
Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow by Funkadelic. 'Nuff said.
In The Meantime by Helmet crushed you as soon as it started, and the band continued to pummel your ears for 37 glorious minutes.
The Aural Underground by Mammal. Only one album from this band, but they come out swinging.
Motorhead by Motörhead rocks and sets the tone for the band perfectly.
Loose by Primer 55. I only needed to hear like 6 seconds of this before I bought the album. I wasn’t disappointed.
You’re Gonna Get Yours by Public Enemy was practically a musical manifesto.
Bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine is one of the best first impressions that any band will ever make.
1969 by The Stooges was pretty much unforgettable after one listen.
March of the S.O.D. by Stormtroopers Of Death really captured the bands trademark sound and began the brutality: 21 songs in 28 minutes and every song is a winner. I love the opening blast of this song!
Dancing On Plato’s Tomb by Universal Congress Of was an jawdropping thumper to open with. It let everyone know that this was not gonna be Saccharine Trust version 2 ya know what I’m sayin’? (sorry no link… this is a pretty obscure band, even for the internet. If you like loud funky swinging jazz you’d prolly like this.)
The Root Of Our Nature by 400 Blows is loud and oddly compelling, like the rest of the album.
As always, I could prolly spend all day listing great first songs off debut albums, but I’ll stop here and post more on my blog. This is a great subject, and fun to listen to all these tunes! Thanks for a reason to go back to some of this stuff on purpose, without waiting for shuffle to find it!
Kitty by the Presidents of the United States of America.
Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it.
Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it.
Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it.
Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it.
From a flip through my iTunes…
Arcade Fire - “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”
Girls - “Lust for Life”
The Knux - “The List” (one of the most underrated albums of recent years)
Gillian Welch - “Orphan Girl”
LCD Soundsystem - “Daft Punk is Playing At My House”
The dB’s - “Black and White”
The Velvet Underground - “Sunday Morning”
X - “Your Phone’s Off The Hook But You’re Not”
The Feelies - “The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness”
The Jesus & Mary Chain - “Just Like Honey”
The Replacements - “Takin’ A Ride”
New Order - “Dreams Never End”
Sugar - “The Act We Act”
XTC - “Radios in Motion”
Damnit, this was gonna be mine!
Well, I’ll have to go with Double Dare from In The Flat Field by Bauhaus,
Reel Around The Fountain by The Smiths off The Smiths,
Bone Machine off Surfer Rosa by The Pixies (or *Caribou *off Come On Pilgrim if you prefer, both are great),
Tanz Debil off *Kollaps by Einsturzende Neubauten,
Bittersweet * off Vengeance by New Model Army,
Black Planet off First and Last and Always by The Sisters of Mercy,
and Here with Me off *No Angel *by Dido
A problem I have with these sorts of things is that a lot of my favourite bands put out a hell of a lot of singles and EPs before they put out an album.
Nice list, woodstockbirdybird!
Another great one: “Take It Easy” by the Eagles from their debut album.
Primus: John the Fisherman
“Cochise” by Audioslave - Mostly because it captures their sound so well
“Siddhartha” by Fire Engine Red - Fairly obscure, but it’s short and sweet
“Mother’s Arms” by Black Diamond Bay - Immediately sucks you in and never lets go
Thank you, my good man!
“Suite Judy Blue Eyes” Crosby, Stills and Nash eponymous debut album