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
I was out of town when Duran Duran played at the Garden in NYC this summer. Hearing from fans and then seeing some of their camera-recorded videos afterwards, it was clear that I missed out on something special. The crowd was so into it because the band was in great form and, for a night, it sounded like everyone in the building was transported back to the eighties. So many of the fan favorites hold up so well some forty years later. Truly a remarkable feat. I remember when a family friend introduced my brother and I to Rio. It felt like a rite of passage. “My Own Way”, “The Chauffeur”, “Hungry Like The Wolf”, “Save a Prayer”, “New Religion”, the album was stacked. And it all begins with one of the greatest Track Ones of the decade: “Rio”.
What an opening. That ominous, metallic noise. Is something closing or opening? Before we know it, the rhythm section of Roger Taylor on drums and John Taylor on bass kicks in as Nick Rhodes lays down the main synthesizer riff that conjures up images of sparkly reflections off the Rio Grande. The drum fill ushers you in, the bass takes it from there. John Taylor is exceptional at melding elements of funk, rock and new wave, squashing any doubt that the bass is a frigging cool instrument. Andy Taylor’s guitar hook is a simple scorcher, like blazing sun rays “through the dusty land”. These are also some of Simon Le Bon’s finest lyrics and vocal performances. Who hasn’t wanted to do karaoke to this? And then we wrap things up with a killer sax solo for the ages. It seems like you can only go downhill from here, but the Rio album doesn’t ever let up. It just starts out with an incredible, unforgettable bang.
“Cherry ice cream smile, I suppose it's very nice.”