Continuing down from yesterday, our music staff counts down the best first tracks from artists’ first albums…
T-13. “Good Times, Bad Times,” Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
Tom D. – While the band would ultimately modify the direction it was headed (and its overall sound for that matter), the opener “Good Times, Bad Times” stands tall as the perfect introduction to the group. From the funky bass riffs to the bluesy guitar licks and intricant drum fills, this track acted as a mission statement from the band: it was going to take everything you thought you knew about rock, infuse a healthy amount of blues to the mix and end up laying the foundation for what would ultimately become heavy metal. Robert Plant was a breath of fresh air on vocals and Jimmy Page seemed to find his perfect muse.
T-13. “Cult of Personality,” Living Colour, Vivid
Michaelangelo – A black hard rock band? Whose first song starts with a sound bite from Malcolm X? Do you understand how radical that was in 1989? Living Colour was my ultimate validation for being a rock fan. Every White kid who ever wondered why I listened to rock and metal, this was my answer.
12. “Strutter,” KISS, KISS
Tom D. – You know … upon first release, KISS wasn’t really anything more than yet another rock band out of New York with a wacky angle (in this case, everyone decked out in full halloween costumes with faces full of makeup). But somehow the little group that could turned into one of the biggest bands in the world. While the band didn’t really reach its peak until “Destroyer,” this little gem off the band’s 1974 is still a fan favorite. featuring Gene Simmons infectious bass groove, the song can get jammed in your head at a moment’s notice and run on a constant loop for days. “Strutter” isn’t the greatest song KISS ever put together, but it’s the perfect introduction to the band’s subtle yet in-your-face (read: hook-filled) rock n’ roll magic.
11. “I Will Follow,” U2, Boy
Greg W. – This song is way open to interpretation, but there is a theme of misunderstanding followed by awareness. The chorus is all about persistance. I don’t know that the band has an album or even a song that doesn’t touch on these ideas. You add a righteous does of Irish post punk noise and you have the sum of why people all over the world have loved U2.
10. “More Than A Feeling,” Boston, Boston
Eric S. – When I was younger, I have to confess that I wanted to sing like Brad Delp. Somehow, he could make a corny lyric transcend reality and take flight into some ill-defined stratosphere. Before puberty, I could actually hit all those notes with power. Afterward, I could only dream and mourn that loss. His name’s never mentioned with the great male vocalists of even his era, and I’ve never figured out why.
Well, I think there’s a reason. Boston is seen as Tom Scholz’s project, and Delp’s just there for the ride. But without that combination of Scholz’s neurotic perfectionism (supposedly, he worked on this song for five years) and Delp’s yelps, “More Than A Feeling” wouldn’t have its permanent place on classic rock programming lists and appearances in every Greatest Song Ever Recorded list made since its release.
I do have to credit the real spark of genius on this one to Scholz, though. The neurotic perfectionist reached to the opposite end of the scale, one of the most notoriously haphazard recordings ever, for the instrumental introduction to the chorus, which is the song’s real hook. Listen to it again, and you’ll hear the strains of “Louie Louie”. Only a genius can do something like that, and this was one of those times when genius shone.
T-8. “Loser,” Beck, Mellow Gold
Gloomchen – The years of the slacker — that’s when Beck appeared with his first major-label-distributed album — and the incredibly catchy hook of the single “Loser” endeared almost everyone who heard it. He was rambly and poetic in a way that seemed to mock Dylan yet live by his standards. So many have tossed out brilliant one-offs, but instead, “Loser” was just the schticky beginning to an amazing record. Beck was silly, intelligent, and poignant, and how better to lure the unsuspecting masses into his trenches than with that catchy little ditty? Everyone who wants to break out and be somebody should be following his lead.
T-8. “Lucky Star,” Madonna, Madonna
Gloomchen – You know a song is incredible when you can listen to it 30 times in a row and not get sick of it. That’s what I did when I was six or seven when this song was released as a single, and I found it on a local jukebox with unlimited credits. When I got a copy of the tape recorded from a friend, I can’t tell you how many times we sat on the floor rewinding the opening glittery sounds, trying to get that damned dance right. Sure, we listened to the rest of the album, too. But that’s the song that roped us in to Madonna-mania — along with half of the rest of the girls in the known universe.
And now for the exciting conclusion of “Album One, Track One: First Impressions.”
