Ticket 2 Ride

I listed my idea of great album closing songs, on excellent albums. Now I take it a step further: Albums that have great opening and closing songs. Exceptional musical bookends. Here is a list that I believe meet that test. It is certainly not a complete list. And, again, I’m not including any Beatles albums, which I certainly would, but that’s too easy. There are major artists that I passed over, who had terrific albums, but one of the bookend songs was good, just not great. Of course, all of this is subjective, in the ear of the beholder.

My list:

The Clash, London Calling (1979) Opener: “London Calling”; Closer: “Train in Vain”

The Rolling Stones, Let it Bleed (1969) Opener: “Gimme Shelter”; “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) Opener: “21st Century Schizoid Man”; Close: “The Court of the Crimson King”

The Who, Who’s Next (1971) Opener: “Baba O’Riley”; Closer: “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) Opener: “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”; Closer: “Harmony”

Jackson Browne, Running on Empty (1977) Opener: “Running on Empty”; Closer: “The Load-Out” / “Stay”

The Moody Blues, Seventh Sojourn (1972) Opener: “Lost in a Lost World”; Closer: “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)”

Electric Light Orchestra, Face the Music (1975) Opener: “Fire on High”; Closer: “One Summer Dream”

Steely Dan, Aja (1977) Opener: “Black Cow”; Closer: “Josie”

Yes, Fragile (1971) Opener: “Roundabout”; Closer: “Heart of the Sunrise”

Foreigner, Double Vision (1977) Opener: “Hot Blooded”; Closer: “Spellbinder”

Karla Bonoff, Karla Bonoff (1977) Opener: “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me”; “Rose in the Garden”

Genesis, Selling England By the Pound (1973) “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight”; Closer: “Aisle of Plenty”

Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac (1975) Opener: “Monday Morning”; Closer: “I’m So Afraid”

John Lennon, Imagine (1971) Opener: “Imagine”; Closer: “Oh, Yoko”

Crosby & Nash, Wind on the Water (1975) Opener: “Carry Me”; “To the Last Whale”

John Mellencamp, Scarecrow (1985) Opener: “Rain on the Scarecrow”; Closer: “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”

The Cars, The Cars (1978) Opener: “Good Times Roll; Closer: “All Mixed-Up

Supertramp, Even in the Quietest Moments… (1977) Opener: “Give a Little Bit”; Closer: “Fool’s Overture”

Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) Opener: “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; Closer: “Song for the Asking”

Eagles, On the Border (1974) Opener: Already Gone”; Closer: “The Best of My Love”

Jethro Tull, Benefit (1970) Opener: “With You There to Help Me”; Closer: “Sossity; You’re a Woman”

Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) Opener: “Cinnamon Girl”; “Cowgirl in the Sand”

Pink Floyd, Meddle (1971) Opener: “One of These Days“; Closer: “Echoes”

Dan Fogelberg, Souvenirs (1974) Opener: “Part of the Plan“; Closer: “There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler”

Kansas, Leftoverture (1976) Opener: Carry On Wayward Son”; “Magnum Opus”

Journey, Escape (1981) Opener: “Don’t Stop Believein’”; Closer: “Open Arms”

Boston, Boston (1976) Opener: “More Than a Feeling”; Closer: “Let Me Take You Home Tonight”

Grateful Dead, American Beauty (1971), Opener: “Box of Rain”; “Truckin’”

Elvis Costello, Armed Forces (1979) Opener: “Accidents Will Happen”; Closer: “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”

Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced (1967) Opener: “Purple Haze”; Closer: “Are You Experienced?”

Alice Cooper Group, School’s Out (1972) Opener: “School’s Out”; Closer: “Grande Finale” (Instrumental)

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Second Helping (1974 Opener: “Sweet Home Alabama”; Closer: “Call Me the Breeze”

Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (1965) Opener: “Like a Rolling Stone”; “Desolation Blues”

David Bowie, Young Americans (1975) Opener: “Young Americans”; Closer: “Fame”

Phil Collins, Face Value (1981) Opener: “In the Air Tonight”; Closer: “Tomorrow Never Knows”

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971) Opener: “Black Dog”; Closer: “When the Levee Breaks”

Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A. (1984) Opener: “Born in the U.S.A.”; Closer: “My Hometown”