Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs
On the day of the show, one of my concert buddies and I snagged well-priced tickets on the floor at the Garden to see the Unity tour, featuring New Order, Pet Shop Boys and Paul Oakenfold. The songs brought me back to a really good place. A place where only the music matters. No matter what other crap is happening in the world, we still have these songs. And that means something. It’s why I often feel this sense of euphoria when I’m at a concert, particularly one at the Garden. The second song on the setlist was the opening track to Power, Corruption and Lies, the song that made it clear New Order was forging its own path forward, not simply wandering the same path of Joy Division.
The word “infectious” maybe gets a little overused when describing music. But, I mean, is there a better word to describe “Age of Consent”? It sucks you in with that iconic bass line from Peter Hook. Played high up on the neck as was typical for Hooky, it stays firmly in the foreground of the song. The lyrics spewing from Sumner are like a confession. Something to get off your chest. Which leads me to the next word that best describes this New Order classic. Liberating. Did Sumner write this so that we can somehow be free?
“And I'm not the kind that likes to tell you just what I want to do. I'm not the kind that needs to tell you just what you want me to.”