The Weakest Punch?

lostdog · Post by **lostdog** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:51 am

Apologies if we've done this before, but I thought it would be interesting to look at what people regard as the weakest opening track on any EC album.

Let me get the ball rolling: having toyed with 'Pony St.' and 'Only Flame..'. I think I'll have to plump for '....This Town...' Horrible production, rambling structure, a relatively poor lyric: ushers Spike in with an aura of disorientation which never really leaves.

Any others?

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:01 am

I'll go with Button My Lip!!!!!! That sucks.

invisible Pole · Post by **invisible Pole** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:12 am

"Button My Lip". Don't like it at all.

Neil. · Post by **Neil.** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:15 am

I agree that Button My Lip is a stinker, but I can't agree about This Town - I like the nutty imagery and the swirly, disorientating sound of it - and Pony Street ushers in Brutal Youth in fine style, I reckon!

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:47 am

Button My Lip redeems itself with the end line.

My choice is Let Them All Talk. To me it's definitely a weak spot on the album.

Chrille · Post by **Chrille** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:42 am

Boo! Button My Lip is awesome. Only Flame or This Town are probably the worst openers imo, don't care much for No Action either. I think Let Them All Talk is one of the better songs on PTC.

E.C usually picks excellent openers though. Welcome To The Working Week, Uncomplicated, Beyond Belief. The list goes on...

wardo68 · Post by **wardo68** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:50 am

I'm thinking through all the albums now, and I think one thing (of the many) that they have it common is a strong opener. "Let Them All Talk" and "Only Flame" may be the most jarring, but I start none of his CDs specifically at track 2, always the beginning.

DeathWearsABigHat · Post by **DeathWearsABigHat** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:36 pm

although Get Happy is one of my very favourite EC albums, I think Love for Tender is one of the weakest tracks.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:38 pm

And I think that "No Action" would rate as the best of the best openers. Sinks its teeth into you and never lets go. And this from a guy who thinks Elvis best song ever is the IB opener, "Beyond Belief".

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:40 pm

DeathWearsABigHat wrote:although Get Happy is one of my very favourite EC albums, I think Love for Tender is one of the weakest tracks.

Now that I think about it, I often start with "Opportunity" when listening to Get Happy!! so I'm inclined to agree with you. I'm also not a big fan of "Button My Lip."

oily slick · Post by **oily slick** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:53 pm

me too re opportunity. then i listen to it a second time.

this town and let them all talk i love.

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:36 pm

I love Almost Blue, but I think Why Don't You Love Me is the weakest track on the record - also don't go back enough to Kojak Variety to rate Strange - Button My Lip is not a favorite - all other openers are boss.

DeathWearsABigHat · Post by **DeathWearsABigHat** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:45 pm

oh yeah, I forgot about Kojak Variety. I often skip Strange as it's my least favourite track on there apart from Days (brilliant song, but don't like EC's version)

JEM · Post by **JEM** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:20 pm

You know - it took me awhile to get into Button My Lip too - but I love it now. That bass line is just incredible. And I like that it opens everything up on an odd note. It helps usher in what follows. How everthing just shifts with those opening chords of Country Darkness.

Although I like ...This Town..., I do agree that the production almost sinks it. It's even more disturbing on the video.

My worst probably have to be The Only Flame and Strange.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:25 pm

Hmmm... I'd never really thought about this before, as EC is usually pretty astute about picking a winner for the opener. For me, it would be 'Only Flame in Town' or 'Button My Lip'. I love Let Them All Talk (the first song I played in my new car!) and Strange, but No Action and Welcome to the Working Week are the greatest. I love that his first 3 albums started with acapella vocals before the respective bands kicked in.

John · Post by **John** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:51 pm

I've always loved Let Them All Talk. ...This Town's great too. Never been a big fan of Uncomplicated. Bottom of my list would be the start of his last 3 albums - You Left Me In The Dark, Button My Lip and Hora Decubitus. Come on Elvis, let's have a great start to River In Reverse.

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:38 am

My vote also goes for 'Button My Lip' Doesnt grab me at all - but then neither does most of the album!

'Accidents Will Happen' from Armed forces is an all time fav - sucks you right in!!

thepopeofpop · Post by **thepopeofpop** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:51 am

Hmmm, I wasn't mad about the production on "This Town" at the time (1989) but I quite like it now. Good song, good lyric, IMHO.

I think that a fast version of "Distorted Angel" was originally going to be the opener for "Brutal Youth", so "Pony St" was something of a second choice, but it's OK - some droll imagery in there: "but your generation confesses before it transgresses/those Super 8 movies of Daddy in your disco dresses"

Put me down as someone who thinks that "Hora Decubitis" is a fantastic opener, and one of the best tracks on the album.

Ummm, "Clubland" is a bit iffy - Elvis produced that one while Nick Lowe was sick, and I think it could have done with a bit help from Nick - the production is very diffuse and weak. "Love For Tender" is an anticlimax after the strong openers of the first three albums. The opening track for "Get Happy" should have been "Men Called Uncle" (what a great opening line for an album, particularly in light of events at the time).

What about "45"? A good song, although slightly blah production.

John · Post by **John** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:43 pm

thepopeofpop wrote:"Love For Tender" is an anticlimax after the strong openers of the first three albums.

Get Happy's opener was great - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. They just messed up when they put it out on CD.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:59 pm

John wrote:Get Happy's opener was great - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. They just messed up when they put it out on CD.

Precisely. I always used to listen to the album that way when I had it on vinyl and it's a terrific opener. "Love For Tender" isn't even one of the top 12-15 tracks on Get Happy!!.

King Hoarse · Post by **King Hoarse** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:56 pm

thepopeofpop wrote:What about "45"? A good song, although slightly blah production.

That's the first EC opener I don't think does the job. It (and Window) doesn't somehow fit the rest of the album, I think. Musically they would have made more sense on The Delivery Man. Speaking of which, I love Button My Lip but it sounds more like When I Was Cruel to me (or the live jams on Dust & Petals really) and could possibly scare potential new listeners away who would like the rest of the album. Both good songs but bad openers for their particular records. (The Why Don't You Love Me opening grimace makes sense on Almost Blue, Button My Lip on The Delivery Man doesn't.)

thepopeofpop · Post by **thepopeofpop** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:53 am

John wrote:
thepopeofpop wrote:"Love For Tender" is an anticlimax after the strong openers of the first three albums.
Get Happy's opener was great - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. They just messed up when they put it out on CD.

But if "Can't Stand Up" is the album opener then the album's last track is "High Fidelity" instead of "Riot Act". and that's just wrong!

And yes I bought the album on vinyl back in 1982 (slightly late I know) so I know about the conflict in running order: what it says on the back cover vs what it says on the labels on the LP. Still, it's been released on CD at least 3 times with Love For tender as Track 1, so I think we know what EC thinks the running order is now.... Hey it's got a good rhythym, you can dance to it

Don't forget that "Love For Tender" has a video, so EC must have considered it as a potential single, you know. Oh, perhaps I should have made sure you were sitting down first before telling you that

Hank · Post by **Hank** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:03 am

While 'Button My Lip' might be one of the weaker songs from Delivery Man, I still think it serves its purpose as a solid mission statement to kick off an album with.

'45' would probably get my vote as well. Love the song, just think it's a bit misplaced.

Picking a favorite is tricky, too. I'd say it's either 'Beyond Belief' or 'Welcome To The Working Week'

Extreme Honey · Post by **Extreme Honey** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:53 am

Few Comments:
a) I can go either way with Button..., I mean I could see how it makes and dosn't make a good opener. Probably is the weakest punch.
b) 45 is a great opener to WIWC. It gives an insight to the kind of music you are expecting. It's loud, slow riffs that reoccur in some other shape/form throughout the album and it's fast/slow tempo between verses and choruses give you the feel you are about to indulge in for the rest of the album.
c) Love for tender is a great opener too. The sheer speed and cram-packed lyrics that don't leave a second to spare prepare you for the slow and stumbling Opportunity. And then, as quickly as it came, it left, and you are now on your own to discover the rest of the album. Love for tender is great, because it gives you a few hints on what to expect yet it leaves you with some blanks, which makes you yearn to hear the rest of the album.
d) Why Don't you love me like you used to do....well, I think it's a good song. Perhaps a live version better. Maybe a few more minutes would make it more enjoyable. It's an odd one because it dosn't truly represent the feel of the album, which is a lot slower and sadder. But seeing as this album is made of covers, it serves it's purpose in confusing you and not allowing you to comprehend why it's there. It tells you not to think about it too much and just see it for what is is, a derranged ensemble of country/? music that has a true meaning in this artist's soul. Almost Blue is exactly like this song. Confusing, astray, meaningful yet genre or classification-deprived. I think that's why he chose this opener. I couldn't see a replacement for it.
e) "This Town..." represents the importance of pop in this album. Spike is an unusual cookie. It's dead serious, political, brilliant music and then suddenly happy, full of life and fun and games. It's a world of two dimensions and EC wants you to step in and out of them. He brings you one song and then another and refuses to let you stay in the middle. This song is like a comic relief, but placed at the start of the play. But it can also be replaces by another song from this album, which is why I would probably name this one the winner (or loser).
f) I totally disagree with "The only flame". Not only is it a fantastic song but it seemingly captures the whole idea, concept and meaning of GCW instantly. It's catchy and complex arrangements infused with deeply emotional messages lets you feel the strange and confusing world that's soon to come. I would cast this one as the best opener. This song is like a portal, like a door. You just finished listening to Painted From Memory. It tells of love that is long lost, that is missed and that is still lingering in the air...waiting for an excuse to get out. But now you listen to this song, and it foreshadows a love that has been torn away, that has been replaced with hate and that has left a whole so big it consumed the guy who's singing this song. A careful look at this song will show you what it really is...the pitch black space where love used to exist minutes ago. It's scary really.
g) Clubland seems to me as the intro for every song on Trust. Which is why it should remain an honorary opener. The weird thing about Trust is that no matter how many different genres and styles of music and whatnot EC crammed into that album, I classify it all under "Trust". Every song on that album is irreplaceable. Even the way they are set up (which is why I don't like the reissue that much). Clubland is that song that touches every corner of that particular album and makes you feel as though you can play the rest of Trust on a sitar while standing on one foot.
h) Let them all talk is a good opener because it exapliains the whole album in 2 lines and 4 words :"Let them all talk". It's pop. It's money. But it's till good. And Let them all talk tells you that straightforward. Howeverm, it dosn't even touch Shipbuilding. But that's kinda hard to do anyway.
i) "Pony Street" is amazing. You've just finished the bitter-sweet TJL and then you crank up your speakers to see what new invention EC has come up with. But more importantly, if you're gonna have a hard time like the last few albums to digest it. And then out of nowhere...rock? Could it be? Yes! Pony Street's loud, arrogant and harsh rock and slow, steady, rising bridge combine with EC's bold statement throughout the album of a theme that's not hard to figure out but difficult to explain, even more to explain through a bunch of rock songs. Pony street is just that, it dosn't say anything more than it should. She lives on Pony Street. Who is she? And where the hell is pony street? Who's mother and who's daughter? All these questions are placed not to be answered later on in the album. Nor are they there to provoke a certain feeling. They are there to not be answered. To remind you that this album ain't gonna help your problems, but rather to tell you there's a millionaire out there who has a hole in his heart and wants to show it in a peculiar way. And damn did he ever do a good job.

....well there's my comments. If you've made it this far