Woah. I just stumbled upon THIS website full of incredibly beautiful oil paintings, acrylic paintings, drawings, and multimedia pictures of Rock heroes from Robert Plant to Ozzy Osbourne and more!
I just spent way too long in awe of each and every piece, and I cannot recommend enough everyone goes and checks the site out but I included a few of my faves. I just love the multimedia one of Jimmy Page, so killer!
A good song opening should be enthralling, inviting, and exciting - it should make you wanna listen to the song. Duh.
A great song opening should be one of the following: mind-blowing (your mind will be blown, so from there on out everything is a little warped on account of your mind having be blown from your skull. Cool.), spine-tingling (this is not a metaphor - your spine will actually tingle, like a friendly pins and needles. If this is not happening, then it might just be a 'good' opening), and jaw-dropping (this is a biggie - your jaw will, of its own accord, drop to the floor, and you have to literally scoop it back up with your hands and hold it shut for approximately 30 seconds. It ain't pretty!).
So now that we've covered the basics, let's get to it - and be warned there could be some messy walls (minds blown), itchy backs (spine tingled), and fucked up faces (jaws dropped) upon listening to the following ten kick-ass, face-melting, bone-crushing (forgot to mention those) openings. Let's do this!
10. Layla - Derek, and The Dominoes.
This needs no introduction, but I'm gonna give it one anyway - woah there, that opening riff should come with a warning; something like, Don't freaking drive whilst listening to this here song because you will likely crash on account of you frantically air-guitaring to the illest riff you're likely to hear in about five or ten! Trust me, take that warning kids! You'll thank me later.
On a more serious note, I think we can all agree that Eric Clapton is one slick guy with some ridonkulous guitar skills that we're all a little bit jealous of!
9. Enter Sandman - Metallica.
It's dark, it's brooding, it's omnious, it's cool as hell, and by the time our lion-haired friend James Hetfield comes in we've melted into a pile of goo. Fuck Yeah. Sleep with one eye open, indeed!
8. Your Betrayal - Bullet For My Valentine.
If this militaristic drumming isn't enough to tick your boxes, then I don't know what is. It starts off nice, and simple and just builds and builds until you're mind has blown (mess all over the walls), and those thundering chords are better than BBQ sauce.
It's back-to-basics metal, so get your horns at the ready - and because it's that good, I'm including the video for us all (to perve on Matt some more!)
7. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana.
If there is one song in the world that gives me chills with a single note, it's this little beauty! It's grown into one of the most iconic songs of all time, but at its heart and soul it's a classic grunge anthem - THE grunge anthem - with a bunch of high-school kids thrashing around in a dusky old gym.
Anyone who doesn't recognise this song (but can name all of the kardashkians) within the opening five seconds needs an intervention BIG time.
6. Hell's Bells - AC/DC.
Can't work out what this would be better for - walking down the aisle, or arriving at my own funeral? Either way, it would rock da house.
5. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen.
Why? Because this song is fuckin' weird, and fuckin' fantastic and the opening makes you think you're in for one thing, and it turns out you're in for a whole 'nother. Geddit? Whatever, turn it up.
Plus it just gets straight on with it - and who'da thought that those 4 voices would come together and sound like THAT? Choir boys around the world, take note - this is how you turn up the heat with a high pitched squeak.
4. Foxy Lady - Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Three words spring to mind: Party on, Garth!
This is just a killer opening in every aspect - it's trippy, catchy, slick, and classic Hendrix.
3. Thunderstruck - AC/DC.
This is the kind of song that was destined to be chanted by thousands upon thousands of adoring fans in stadiums all around the world. The opening riff is so simple, but so killer! Rock on. (Fun fact: This is my 7th favourite song in all time and space.)
Repeat after me: Thun-DER!!! Thun-DER!!!
2. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses.
From the moment this little gem kicks in all you wanna do is throw on a pair of pleather pants and jump on the nearest bar, and strut your stuff up and down it like you own the joint - don't you?!
I'm quite sure that this is everyone's gateway song into the world of Rock'n'Roll, and the opening is as instantly recognisable as it is infectious. (Plus, if we're being totally honest, it makes us think of Axl shakin' his thang in those tight little leathers like there's no tomorrow, and that's always a good thing - yeah, I took it there.)
1. When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin.
Come on, it was never going to be anything else was it? This opening is so atmospherical (is that a word?) that it literally transports you to some dusky, down-n-out old saloon in the days-gone-by where everyone's dressed in chaps, sluggin' back whisky just waitin for Clint Eastwood to show up with a stick o' wood in his mouth and unload on the shifty lookin' bunch over in the corner - and no, you don't feel lucky punk!
Oh shit my mind has just blown out my skull, my spine is tingling, and I've just picked my jaw from up off the floor - that seals the deal then, this is officially the GREATEST song opening of ALL time. (My dad has just confirmed that atmospherical is in fact not a word, but I like the way it sounds - I'm gonna make it a word!)
Now your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to go forth and listen to these ten tracks basquing in all their beautiful glory... You're welcome.
10. Kiss Me - New Found Glory Original artist: Sixpence None The Richer
A happy-clappy-feel-good song that makes you feel like it's summer again. The trick of a good cover song is to make it your own - NFG ticked that box.
9. Love Buzz - Nirvana. Original artist: Shocking Blue
Nirvana covered this little beauty back in 1988 and released it as their debut single - they changed it up, and created an intensely brilliant bassline that is so clear throughout the track you can actually hear Novoselic plucking the strings. This song captures the essence of Nirvana: raw, gritty, strach, and unpolished yet beauty incarnate.
8. Police and Thieves - The Clash
Original artist: Junior Murvin
At the time of this release British reggae was dull and lacklaster in it's polite attempt to be original, so this stripped-back garage rock approach from The Clash was a glorious, and refreshing sound. Plus the bass is killer!
7. I Fought The Law - The Clash
Original artist: The Crickets
The original release by The Crickets suggested that this was a song about stealing sweets from the corner shop, skipping the bus without paying your fare, or not returning your library books but twenty years later when The Clash got hold of it, it sounded like a gang of outlaws fleeing their fate. Punk rock meets classic rock n roll. Schwing.
6. Feeling Good - Muse
Original artist: Nina Simone
Remember what we said about making a song sound like you wrote it? Well, here's another great example of just that. Coupled with the video, there's something a little freaky about this cover which is always a winner in my book.
5. Dear Prudence - Siouxsie & The Banshees
Original artist: The Beatles
Dreamy, whiter-than-white, 60's psychedelia turned into dark, edgy, androgynous, no-fucks-given, sex-goth... What's not to love?
4. All Along The Watchtower - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Original artist: Bob Dylan
This song was transformed from a small, haunting song into an overnight hit the second Jimi Hendrix got his hands on it. A raging, spitfire of a cover - epic doesn't quite cover it.
3. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O' Connor
Original artist: The Family
Prince decided he wasn't interested in touching this song, so Miss O'Connor stepped up to the plate and turned it into one of the most spine-tingling, heart-wrenching classics of all time. Instantly recognisable, and one of the most flawless and hearfelt vocal performances ever recorded.
2. Bad Romance - 30 Seconds To Mars
Original artist: Lady Gaga
Haunting? Check. Spooky? Check. Original? Check. Frontman Leto re-wrote the song (thank godfather's) and delivered of the most eery, and poignant covers heard live on radio in, well, forever. Sometimes, you don't need guitar histrionics, and unrelenting basslines to dish out an instant hit. Beautiful. Simple. Killer.
1. Here Comes The Night - David Bowie
Original artist: Van Morrison ft. Them
Faster tempo than the original, with Bowie's trademark breathy, breathtaking vocals there was no way this was never gonna be number one on this list. Total killer.
