Great Albums with Weak First Songs

I was thinking about something the other day. Yoggoth has previously expressed his distaste for inconsistent albums, commenting that "Even one bad song on an otherwise decent album can really turn me off." While that actually doesn't bother me too much, I do have a similar pet peeve: great albums with weak first songs. A great album should start off great right off the bat. Sometimes a great first song can even elevate an otherwise just-pretty-good album to pretty-damn-good (ex: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Morrison Hotel, Aqualung, Hotel California, Mellow Gold, Monster). If the first song is great, sometimes it doesn't even matter if the next two songs suck, 'cause man, that first song was great! But if it's not that good, it seriously brings the album down a couple of notches in my book. I'm almost inclined to say that a great first song is the key to an album's success. While I understand the need to leave some of the album's best songs in the middle, if you don't start the thing off with a bang, I'm personally much less inclined to actually put it on and listen to it. Even though the age of the mp3 has taken care of this to some degree, I still have to say that, shallow as it may sound, sometimes first impressions are everything.

Here are some albums I can think of that feature what I would call "weak first songs." The songs themselves are not necessarily that bad, but they don't really do justice to the rest of the album - at least not in the way that they should. I've taken it upon myself to name another song from the same album that would have been a much better first song.

Cheap Thrills (Big Brother and the Holding Company)

Actual first song: "Combination of the Two"
Better first song: "Piece of My Heart"

So they start out the album with a meandering live jam that barely features Janis on vocals, and then they throw the big hit single at the end of Side One? Just put it at the front! (although the live spoken intro of "Four gentlemen and one great, great broad" is still pretty good.)

Let It Be (The Beatles)

Actual first song: "Two of Us"
Better first song: "Get Back"

Well everybody knows that this album was fucked up in all sorts of ways. Of course, even though I'm no big fan of Let It Be...Naked, at least they put "Get Back" at the front where it should have been in the first place. Hell, they could have even put "Let It Be" at the front and it would have been better. "Two of Us" has always felt a little forced to me, as if Paul was trying too hard to write a song that he and John could sing together even though John wanted to punch him in the face. (I've also never been that big on "Back in the U.S.S.R." as the first song on the White Album, but it's still pretty good. For the most part the Beatles could do no wrong in this category.)

After The Gold Rush (Neil Young)

Actual first song: "Tell Me Why"
Better first song: "Southern Man"

"Don't Let It Bring You Down" also would have been better. Neil's usually pretty good at picking a good album opener, but this time he bunted.

There's A Riot Goin' On (Sly & The Family Stone)

Actual first song: "Luv n' Haight"
Better first song: "Just Like a Baby"

I've always felt this album was inconsistent, but the good songs are so good that to me it's still a terrific album. I just wished they'd put one of the good songs first.

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars (David Bowie)

Actual first song: "Five Years"
Better first song: "Ziggy Stardust"

Oh Bowie, just admit that the album has no real concept and put the Ziggy song at the start. "Five Years" isn't bad but it's too slow for the first song.

Crime Of The Century (Supertramp)

Actual first song: "School"
Better first song: "Bloody Well Right"

Supertramp had no idea how to start an album. They thought they had to be all prog rock and take their time on the first song, but their strength wasn't really as a prog rock band anyway so they should have just put the catchy single at the start and said to hell with it.

Radio City (Big Star)

Actual first song: "O My Soul"
Better first song: "Life is White"

So to start it off they put on a rambling pseudo-funky jam that's mixed in mono? Try it again guys.

Another Green World (Brian Eno)

Actual first song: "Sky Saw"
Better first song: "St. Elmo's Fire"

On an album that for the most part used electronic instruments in a way that still sounds fresh today, "Sky Saw" and "Over Fire Island" always struck me as sounding kind of dated and lazily recorded. I always skip right to "St. Elmo's Fire" when I listen to the album.

Songs In The Key Of Life (Stevie Wonder)

Actual first song: "Love's In Need of Love Today"
Better first song: "Sir Duke"? "I Wish"?

Truth be told, he should have taken off the first four songs and just started with the big hit singles.

The Clash [American Version] (The Clash)

Actual first song: "Clash City Rockers"
Better first song: "Janie Jones"

The British version actually starts with "Janie Jones," and thank God for that, because "Clash City Rockers" is a weird, weird song. In fact, the guy who produced it, after he sped up the mix without telling the band and got fired for it, later said "Fuck it, I didn't even like the song that much anyway." With so many great songs to put at the start, why that one?

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo (Devo)

Actual first song: "Uncontrollable Urge"
Better first song: "Jocko Homo"

"Uncontrollable Urge" isn't bad, but "Jocko Homo" is the perfect encapsulation of Devo's sound and image. The non-album single "Be Stiff" also would have made a better opening.

Breakfast In America (Supertramp)

Actual first song: "Gone Hollywood"
Better first song: "The Logical Song"

See Crime of the Century.

The Queen Is Dead (The Smiths)

Actual first song: "The Queen Is Dead"
Better first song: "Bigmouth Strikes Again"

I used to agree with the critical consensus that The Queen Is Dead was the Smith's best album...back when I only owned one Smiths album, and its name was The Queen Is Dead. After hearing them all, however, I don't think this one's as strong as people say it is. Morrissey's lyrics were probably his best ever, but Johnny Marr didn't really match him in the music department. I've discovered that my favorite Smiths are the "rocking" Smiths, and on The Queen Is Dead there are too many ballads with synths in the background. The title song isn't a ballad, but it's kind of stodgy and cluttered when compared to their best uptempo stuff from the period like "Panic" or "Shakespeare's Sister."

Achtung Baby (U2)

Actual first song: "Zoo Station"
Better first song: "Mysterious Ways"

Hel-lo! "Mysterious Ways" is practically crying out "Put me first! Put me first!" "Zoo Station" has no hook, no catchy chorus, no anything. It's like if Nirvana put "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in the middle of the album and picked "Polly" as the opener. The luck of the Irish my ass.

Sublime (Sublime)

Actual first song: "Garden Grove"
Better first song: "What I Got"

As with Supertramp, Sublime couldn't pick a good first song to save their lives. Same with 40 oz. to Freedom. They've got a ton of terrific songs on both albums, and what do they do? They put two of the lamest songs at the front. I guess the guy probably wasn't thinking too hard about it anyway.