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The Sonic Collective: The Best Album Openers: Not The Ones You Think
The Sonic Collective hosts Darren Scott, Alain Dupuis, Scott Gregory, and Scott Coates (from Bangkok) break from their usual classic-album reviews to each pick three albums they believe have the best opening tracks, discussing what makes an effective opener and their different selection philosophies.
Darren chooses “Synchronicity I” (The Police, Synchronicity), “Excursions” (A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory), and “Grace, Too” (The Tragically Hip, Day for Night).
Scott Coates selects “Where the Streets Have No Name” (U2, The Joshua Tree), “Let’s Go Crazy” (Prince, Purple Rain), and “Black Sabbath” (Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath).
Scott Gregory picks “Rock ’n’ Roll Star” (Oasis, Definitely Maybe), “Ode to My Family” (The Cranberries, No Need to Argue), and “Drive” (R.E.M., Automatic for the People).
Alain picks “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana, Nevermind), “Seven Nation Army” (The White Stripes, Elephant), and “Rolling in the Deep” (Adele, 21).
Noting their cultural impact and single status, the team discusses these picks. Some are familiar, but many haven't been seen on lists like this before. They highlight 1994 as a standout year, note The Low End Theory and Nevermind were released the same day, and close with Darren announcing the next album review: The Tragically Hip’s Day for Night, tied to the 10-year anniversary of Gord Downie’s death and Calgary’s Gord Downie fundraiser GED Fest.
00:00 Show Intro
00:40 Episode Setup
02:03 What Makes Openers
07:41 Darren Picks Three
12:38 Reactions to Darren
16:24 Scott Coates Picks
20:15 Reactions to Coates
25:17 Scott Gregory Picks
28:04 Drive Sets The Tone
29:30 Do Openers Need Hits
30:09 Scott Reviews Deep Cuts
31:20 Reactions To Scott Picks
35:07 Alan Goes Mainstream
38:59 Debating Alan Choices
46:22 Wrap Up And Patterns
49:17 Next Pick Day For Night
51:29 Final Sign Off
The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Les Gigantiques from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/
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