Curating the right tracklist is an art in and of itself. Specifically, the first and last songs on an album can make the record as a whole so much better… or a lot worse. These four famous album-opening songs from the best rock albums of all time got it right. Let’s take a look!
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1. “Baba O’Riley” by The Who
Not only is “Baba O’Riley” by The Who the best album-opener they could have picked for the 1971 album Who’s Next, but it’s also one of the hard rock band’s greatest songs of all time. This track sets the mood for the album but also opts to kick off with a bop of an anthem. There’s so much energy in this song, with a melody that is still addicting to listen to decades after the track was released.
2. “American Pie” by Don McLean
“American Pie” by Don McLean is without a doubt one of the best album-opening songs of all time, and it definitely throws the listener for a loop in the context of the album as a whole. “American Pie” is like the first few lines of an incredible manuscript or a prayer. And few songs have aged quite as well as this one.
3. “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath
This Paranoid opener doesn’t give the listener much of a warm-up before blasting into one of the most incredible rock songs of all time. In a way, it’s the musical equivalent of getting kicked in the face… in a good way. At least, that’s how it feels to listen to this song (and the whole of the album) for the very first time.
There’s so much to love. That unrelenting bass, the pounding drums, Ozzy Osbourne’s unmistakable and impolite vocals… This anti-war song is the heavy metal track that inspired so many bands to follow in Black Sabbath’s footsteps.
4. “Come Together” by The Beatles
The Beatles dished out quite a few excellent album-opening songs, from “Back In The U.S.S.R.” to “Taxman” to “Two Of Us”. However, each of those pales in comparison to the opening track “Come Together” from Abbey Road.
This song is such a groovy piece of work, but also sophisticated enough to appeal to a broad audience of Beatles fans and non-fans alike. Even with its nonsensical lyrics, “Come Together” casts a spell on the listener that moves them to listen to the whole of the album until completion.
Photo via Abbey Road album cover by The Beatles
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