10 Best Opening Tracks On Debut Rock Albums
1. Welcome To The Jungle - Appetite For Destruction (Guns N’ Roses)
In terms of introducing new listeners to a band, Guns N' Roses' 1987 release Appetite for Destruction does the job perfectly.
Sweet Child O' Mine. Paradise City. Nightrain. It's So Easy. These songs are now firmly baked into the mythology of GNR and they all came from this one debut album.
Oh, and there's the small matter of Welcome to the Jungle.
One of the best album openers in rock history, Welcome to the Jungle gets off to a hot start and doesn't let up. Those legendary echoey opening chords set the stage for a huge drop, which comes moments later as the song shifts into full gear.
Axl, Slash, and co. are more than happy to introduce us to their jungle - a place where only the strong survive and where great rock music is currency. Rose's screeching vocals grab you from moment one and the man in the top hat fires off an amazing solo without breaking a sweat.
To write a hall of fame worthy song for your very first album and then to have the audacity to put it right at the front? This is why Guns N' Roses are among the best to ever do it.