Hidden Treasures - Album Openers

I tried this once before and I love the thought behind this, so lets do it again. Besides its been a real long time...

Were looking at Album Openers. Do you remember driving to the record store, buying the album and the droppng the needle on that opening track once you got back home? You know Side 1 Track 1! These songs were the tunes that set the mood for the entire album most of the times. And often they were the best the album had to offer, sometimes a hit song and sometimes not, but always one of the best on the album. Here are 5 from the dark recesses of my mind...

Oh - one more thing, since weve been in the 70's for so long, I'm going to steer clear of that decade for at least this week. What are some of your favorite album openers?

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a1jsrlf5

	Giuffria Giuffria 1984 1 - Do Me Right Keyboard maestro Gregg Giuffria originally planned to retain the Angel title for his second high-profile cinematic rock show, but the scalding ivories soaring throughout this record prove he's fully in charge, making the Giuffria moniker an apt band name. The long, blond angel always kicks off his projects with some cool keys, and the pulsing prelude to "Do Me Right" overpowers the rest of the song; like much of the album, this track devolves into a standard hair cut with symphonic trappings. Some abrupt occultism flies out of the flip's finale (spookiest cock rock craziness since the rise of Hagar's animal on Three Lock Box). Know now that both Giuffria platters are built around David Glen Eisley's voice, and enjoyment depends on how one takes to his heavy heaving. Plus, typical of this time period, some stuff sears, while some stuff sucks. But wistful weeper "Call to the Heart" rightfully remains Giuffria's crowning achievement and lone chart glory. Poor Giuffria remains a terrain-tethered star who never got off the ground.
	Krokus One Vice At A Time 1982 1 - Long Stick Goes Boom The Swiss headbangers didn't start out as headbangers; they were originally a progressive rock outfit along the lines of Yes, Genesis, and ELP. But when the band didn't get anywhere commercially, it decided to cash in on metal's popularity and started emulating AC/DC. Krokus' detractors would argue that One Vice at a Time is the work of a poor man's AC/DC -- and, to be sure, this 1982 LP is formulaic and contrived. But while Krokus wasn't easy to respect or admire, it was easy to like. AC/DC-minded tunes like "Save Me" and "Long Stick Goes Boom" aren't very imaginative, but they're infectious and enjoyable nonetheless. From Krokus' own songs to a cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman," everything on this album is catchy. Is One Vice at a Time derivative and shamelessly unoriginal? Yes. But it's still a fun record and ends up being a very guilty pleasure.
	Accept Balls To The Wall 1984 1 - Balls To The Wall Accept's most notorious album, Balls to the Wall was also their biggest commercial success. Following hot upon the heels of their creative breakthrough, Restless and Wild, you'd also be hard pressed to find a more sexually charged record in any musical genre. Its hysterically nonsensical lyrics notwithstanding, the legendary title track remains an irresistible, fist-pumping masterpiece that came to epitomize the modern, slow-marching metal anthem as it became known. And when paired with second single "London Leatherboys," it arguably constitutes the most blatantly homoerotic couplet in the history of heavy metal (eat your heart out, Rob Halford). "Fight It Back" is about as close as the band gets to their old, semi-thrashing ways (taken to the limit the previous year with the maniacal "Fast as a Shark"), and it is the more melodic "Head Over Heels" and semi-ballad "Losing More Than You've Ever Had" that set the tone for Accept's future direction. The album's third undisputed classic, the driving "Love Child," kicks off side two with one of metal's great staccato riffs -- so good, the band revisits it nearly verbatim a few songs later with "Losers and Winners," which is nearly as powerful. And though not quite as celebrated, the remaining tracks are no less potent, especially the slowly building tension heard on the downright lascivious "Turn Me On." The bottom line here is that this, like its predecessor Restless and Wild, is an essential heavy metal album, and any fan worth his salt should own them both.
	Rainbow Right Between The Eyes 1982 1 - Death Alley Driver Just a record before, Rainbow sounded as if they were verging on Billy Squier territory, but here, they reverse course and deliver a solid, no-frills hard rock record. It isn't just that the material is stronger, though it certainly is, it's that Roger Glover abandoned his smoothed-out, radio-ready production that marred Difficult to Cure. That's not to say that Straight Between the Eyes doesn't sound dated -- Rainbow was a band that was forever tied to its era -- but the album does have a harder-hitting, muscular sound that is more appropriate for the band. Similarly, vocalist Joe Lynn Turner sounds more comfortable with the group, and the entire band just seems to gel, turning even the generic numbers on the album into enjoyable, straight-ahead hard rock. There may not be any specific showcases for Ritchie Blackmore, but his playing is better heard in this setting, where he's not only soloing, he's propelling the band with his powerful riffs.
	Judas Priest Screaming For Vengeance 1982 1 - The Hellion/Electric Eye Ultimately, Screaming for Vengeance hangs together better than even the undeniable landmark British Steel, both thematically and musically. There's less of a party-down feel here -- the remaining traces of boogie have been ironed out, and the lyrics return to the darkness and menace that gave the band its mystique. Sure, if you stop to read the lyrics, all the references to demons and devils and monsters can look a little gratuitous, but the music here is so strong that there simply aren't any seams showing. Even the occasional filler is more metallic this time around -- in place of trite teenage rebellion, listeners get the S&M-themed "Pain and Pleasure." In fact, "Pain and Pleasure" and "Fever" are the only two songs here that have never shown up on a band retrospective, which ought to tell you that Priest's songwriting here is perhaps the best it's ever been. The midtempo grooves that enlivened British Steel are here in full force on the band's signature tune, "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (their only American chart single), as well as "Bloodstone," "Devil's Child," and unfairly forgotten single "(Take These) Chains," all uniformly great. But there's a nearly equal emphasis on uptempo headbanging, thanks to the classic "The Hellion/Electric Eye," the terrific album track "Riding on the Wind," and the stupendously high-velocity title cut, which is the closest they ever came to thrash metal (at least in the '80s).

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Permalink Reply by Jon on September 25, 2014 at 12:21pm

Tut tut, mon cheri. Just trying to keep him honest since the title of this SHT pile is "album openers". But then again, you're not familiar with "Balls To The Walls" so your cred is shot.

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Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on September 25, 2014 at 1:40pm

You know, I would say how tiring this gets. But, since I technically started it, I guess I had that "cred" remark coming to me.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on September 25, 2014 at 3:54pm

You know... as annoying as this exchange is (as well as other since you've two have split up) I hope you don't get back together anytime soon, because your posts have been so much better as solo posters than as a couple....