{"id":2505,"date":"2026-06-05T13:23:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=2505"},"modified":"2026-06-05T13:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:23:56","slug":"4-classic-rock-album-opening-tracks-you-should-hear-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/4-classic-rock-album-opening-tracks-you-should-hear-now\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Classic Rock Album-Opening Tracks You Should Hear Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I think album-opening tracks still matter. Even in the streaming age, with endless playlists and loose songs, for me, the album remains crucial. And if done correctly, the listener will either want to repeat what they\u2019ve just heard or let the rest of the record play. Either way, the artist has done their job. So in the spirit of great album-starters, here are three you should hear now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d by Led Zeppelin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HQmmM_qwG4k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When a band releases a successful debut album, the follow-up must be a statement. And I\u2019m not sure one can make a more forceful statement on album two than opening with the world\u2019s greatest guitar riff. Now I understand the absurdity in calling something, anything, the \u201cgreatest,\u201d but listen to \u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d and you\u2019ll see what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cIcky Thump\u201d by The White Stripes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The White Stripes - Icky Thump (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1OjTspCqvk8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of great riffs and Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes begin their final studio album with their own immigrant song. On \u201cIcky Thump\u201d, Meg White\u2019s ferocious drumming propels Jack White while he punctuates the stomp with chaotic synth breaks. This is the color-coordinated Detroit duo exiting the stage at the height of their powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cBeetlebum\u201d by Blur<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Beetlebum\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pTweN7F2PFA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1997, one of Britpop\u2019s big four ditched the movement they helped popularize. Instead, they looked to American indie bands and landed their biggest hit, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/3-facts-you-might-not-know-about-song-2-by-blur\/\">\u201cSong 2\u201d<\/a>. But the self-titled release opens with \u201cBeetlebum\u201d, with an echoing riff courtesy of guitarist Graham Coxon. Here, singer Damon Albarn sings a woozy chorus in falsetto that\u2019s at once hallucinatory and lovesick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>And when she lets me slip away,<br>She turns me on and all my violence gone.<br>Nothing is wrong,<br>I just slip away and I am gone<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cBitter Sweet Symphony\u201d by The Verve<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1lyu1KKwC74?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s stay in Britain in the year 1997. The Verve had already broken up, then reformed. And before they\u2019d break up (and reform) again, the Wigan gazers dropped a masterpiece. They open <em>Urban Hymns<\/em> with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Xp2VcS1WSvE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rolling Stones sample<\/a>, an orchestra, and Richard Ashcroft\u2019s mission statement. Then it became something like a new national anthem. \u201cHave you ever been down?\u201d Ashcroft shouts repeatedly. Feel you, dude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo by Chris Walter\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think album-opening tracks still matter. Even in the streaming age, with endless playlists and loose songs, for me, the album remains crucial. And if done correctly, the listener will either want to repeat what they\u2019ve just heard or let the rest of the record play. Either way, the artist has done their job. So [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":973477,"featured_media":2507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":316,"post_id":2139}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[18],"byline":[316],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists","tag-rock-music"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Lists","term_id":14,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/lists\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"Rock Music","term_id":18,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/rock-music\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4 Classic Rock Album-Opening Tracks You Should Hear Now - Songfacts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I think album-opening tracks still matter. 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