Back in my college days, I was heavily into buying British import records (thanks, JEM Records!) because I didn’t want to wait to get American releases of acts and artists I followed. That’s how I got my hands on Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True. I did the same thing for his follow up, This Year’s Model.
I liked Aim, and figured much the same for Model, so I wasn’t prepared for the shock I got when I dropped the needle on this bad boy.
“No Action” came roaring out of the gate and the album never let up. It’s one of the greatest opening songs on a rock record. What are some others you can think of?
Get The Picture 
Rocks off
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“One, two, three, FAW!” I Saw Her Standing There.
The iconic opening chord of A Hard Day’s Night.
Paul McCartney’s bass on Come Together.
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Baba O’Reilly -Who’s Next
Welcome to the Jungle-Appetite
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Thunder Road
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Wow! Man, so many that the very first song came roaring outta the gate and the album never let up. Most punch, especially very first listen:
“Runnin’ with the Devil” – Van Halen
“Peter Piper” – Run DMC
“What’s goin’ on” – Marvin Gay
“Let’s Go Crazy” – Prince
Honorable mention:
“Drum Trip” + “Ecstacy” – Rusted Root
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Came here to say “Dearly beloved…”
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Live Europe 72 https://youtu.be/FDWRZEd3Ouc
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Gotdam psychedelic hillbilly hippies.
😉
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Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago
Sympathy for the devil
Good Times Bad Times
Born to be Wild
Aint Wastin’ Time no More
The Waiting
Brown Sugar
Them Bones
Help!
Under a Mountain
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“You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”–The Byrds, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo”
“Lust for Life”–Iggy Pop, “Lust for Life”
“Search and Destroy”–The Stooges, “Raw Power”
“Walk On”–Neil Young, “On the Beach”
“Blue Letter”–Fleetwood Mac, “FM”
“Second Hand News”–FM, “Rumours”
“Band on the Run”–Paul McCartney and Wings, “Band on the Run”
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Say what! – Soul to Soul – Stevie Ray Vaughan
Born With a broken heart – Ledbetter Heights -Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Waiting on the bus – Tres Hombres – ZZ Top
That Lady – 3+3 – The Isley Brothers
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Down on the Street + Loose: Stooges, Fun House
Sister Havana: Urge Overkill, Saturation (why these guys weren’t bigger eludes me completely)
Fanny Dog: Ty Segall, Freedom’s Goblin (I’d been a fan for about 10 years at this point, so I knew what he was about, but I still wasn’t prepared for the density of sound and instrumentation he threw into this record, and that first song serves notice that this will not be another revered and trebly Fender-driven garage rock affair.
Refugee -> Here Comes My Girl -> Even the Losers: Tom Petty & Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes. Dude always led with a flourish.
The Classical: The Fall, Hex Enduction Hour. Mark E. and the lads come out guns blazing with double drums and “hey there f*ck face.” This will not be easy listening.
Love Comes in Spurts: Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Blank Generation. RIP Robert Quine.
I Wanna Destroy You: The Soft Boys, Underwater Moonlight. Saw Robyn Hitchcock perform this acoustically in Austin two years ago and it still kicks.
Radio Free Europe: REM, Murmer. Genius song leading off a genius album.
1999: Prince, 1999.
City Kids: Pink Fairies, Kings of Oblivion. I’ve been following the thread of Mick Farren and Larry Wallis with Lemmy through the Deviants, Hawkwind and Motorhead. This one’s a banger.
Non-Alignment Pact: Pere Ubu, the Modern Dance
See No Evil: Television, Marquee Moon
Born Under Punches: Talking Heads, Remain in Light
You’re Gonna Miss Me: 13th Floor Elevators, The Psychedelic Sounds of …
Summer Babe: Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted
Academy Fight Song: Mission of Burma, Signals Calls and Marches
Overkill: Motorhead, Overkill. Nick Lowe left the producer’s chair with his hands over his hears and Jimmy Miller of Stones fame took over.
Ramblin’ Rose: MC5, Kick Out the Jams
Death May Be Your Santa Clause: Mott the Hoople, Brain Capers
Hole in the Sky: Black Sabbath, Sabotage
Do You Wanna Dance?: The Beach Boys, Today! The Ramones picked a grand one to cover.
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I love the inclusion of “Do You Wanna Dance ?”, The Beach Boys Today was one of the first albums I ever received. Did you know that the Beach Boys version is also a cover ? Bobby Freeman did the original in 1958. So the Beach Boys also “picked a grand one to cover.”
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Pretenders – “Precious”
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I always thought “Good times, Bad times” was an awesome opening to a career.
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Fight Fire with Fire
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Pearl Jam- “once”
Talk about a driving lead-in to an album. I may be biased, as this was the first album I ever spent my own money on….
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Cochise – Audioslave
Hells Bells – AC/DC
Stranglehold – Ted Nugent
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Led Zeppelin lV – Black Dog
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Janie Jones
Blitzkrieg Bop
Break On Through (to the Other Side)
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London Calling – The Clash
Nevermind – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Gimme Shelter – Beggars Banquet
Safe European Home – Give Em Enough Rope
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One more. Dig Yourself – Bloody Mary The band Barrence Whitfield and The Savages.
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Begin the begin- REM – Life’s Rich pageant
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Some phenomenal choices above – I always nominate Rocks Off and No Action when this discussion comes around, so I appreciate those already being mentioned. I mean, No Action has always been a grabber, but for me Rocks Off is the greatest album opener out there
Others worth mentioning: “Making Plans for Nigel” – Drums and Wires, XTC; “O My Soul” – Big Star, Radio City; “Accidents Will Happen” – EC & the Attractions, Armed Forces; “Dance On a Volcano” – Genesis, Trick of the Tail; “The Spirit of Radio” – Rush, Permanent Waves; “Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin 3; “Radio Free Europe” – Murmur; R.E.M; “Message in a Bottle” – Regatta de Blanc, The Police;
I must stop, else I blather on all night.
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