10 Greatest Album Intros In Rock History
7. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Not all albums really have to have a set agenda right out of the gate. Compared to something like a concept record or the rock opera styles, other artists are just concerned with taking the best riffs they can muster and putting them out for their audience to headbang to. Then again, it's probably better if the first track announces itself right out of the gate.
When Nirvana was first cutting their tracks for what would become Nevermind, the hair metal boom still had a firm grasp on the cultural zeitgeist. Even though the pretty boys of the Sunset Strip may have been tearing up the charts, Smells Like Teen Spirit virtually annihilated all of the competition when it came out, becoming the virtual anthem for the alternative rock movement. As Kurt Cobain's muted guitar chords set the template off right, rock fans were hooked in the second that Dave Grohl's drum fill leads us in.
It's not like they didn't know they had a hit on their hands either, with producer Butch Vig pacing around the room when they played it to try and control his excitement. Given the power behind the riffs and vocals, there was no question that it would become the first track on the album. Forget just the opening of Nevermind, this was the theme song to the new regime of rock and roll going forward.