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12.13am
26 January 2017
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I was importing my Beatles collection onto another computer today, and when clicking on a massive cluster of files to play in iTunes, the albums would play, but just the beginning of the first song. It got me thinking about how many great openers there were in the Beatles catalog.
I would have to say that my personal favorite is Taxman , although I’m not sure if it can be put above A Hard Days Night, Help , Magical Mystery Tour or Sgt. Pepper . I also can’t forget I Saw Her Standing There , the opener to the whole discography. Man did they know how to start an album!
Here is a list, ranked by myself.
A Hard Days Night
Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band/A Little Help From My Friends
I would say the first 8 are pretty much tied, but that’s how I put them. How would you rank the openers? Or if you think that ranking things is completely worthless and futile then simply say what your favorite is.
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I think Band On The Run , I’d Have You Anytime and Just Like Starting Over are the best openers from the solo years
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12.35am
Moderators
27 November 2016
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Hmmm…
13. It Won’t Be Long
12. No Reply
11. Come Together
10. Help !
9. A Hard Day’s Night
8. Drive My Car
7. Back In the U.S.S.R
6. Two of Us
5. I Saw Her Standing There
4. Sgt Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band
3. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Birthday
1. Taxman
My top 11 are all very close… Which says about Beatles songs!
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6.38am
1 November 2013
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I like the chord opening of A Hard Days Night. I like how it hangs for a bit before the song starts.
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2.38pm
Moderators
15 February 2015
Offline For the best initial couple of seconds, I’d have to go with A Hard Day’s Night , though the ‘One two three FOWH!’ of I Saw Her Standing There is also a great moment. My favourite opening track is either No Reply , Drive My Car , or Taxman .
Favourite post-Beatles opener has to be a toss-up between Any Road and Band On The Run . Mother is also brilliant.
Ugh…. they’re all so good! 
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3.20pm
17 January 2016
Offline Just a couple of my faves:
The fanfare and “roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour!” that starts off Magical Mystery Tour
ONE TWO THREE FAW! – I Saw Her Standing There
One, two, three, four, *cough* one, two – Taxman
That opening chord to A Hard Day’s Night
The bass-erific intro to Come Together
Oh I could list more but I’ll read what you guys have to say, which I’m sure I’ll find agree with mine. 
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3.29pm
12 November 2015
Offline I’ll say Come Together is the best opener because it takes your brain a little while to understand exactly what you’re hearing. Not until many listens later did I realize that I was hearing some bass, a really weird drum part, and John whispering “shoot me”. It’s also just cool as heck.
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6.08pm
28 March 2014
Offline I like ’em all! 
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1.32pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline For me, each album opener evokes a different feeling and sets the mood for the rest of the album. If I had to pick a favorite opener, I would definitely go with ‘I Saw Her Standing There ‘.
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2.55pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline I’d have to go with @Zig. Not only is that count-in a fantastic start to an album, it’s a fantastic start to their album career.
A great, muscular announcement of their arrival as album artists.
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3.04pm
14 December 2009
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Yeah, that’d be my choice too. Notwithstanding it’s obvious musical excellence, there’s a bit of extra symbolic excitement in knowing that it’s not merely an album opener but a CAREER opener, albumwise. And the fact that George Martin searched through the various takes to find the best “One two three FAW!” to surgically attach to the best performance speaks to his own meticulousness – like, regardless how indifferent/contemptuous the “establishment” (possibly including Martin himself) was to this juvenile rock-and-roll stuff, GM still took his job seriously and had no intentions of half-assing it.
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1.35pm
14 March 2016
Offline I love I Saw Her Standing There and Come Together as openers.
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2.17pm
19 October 2016
Offline A Hard Day’s Night – that opening chord as the album opener.
But the Beatles usually had such great openers it would be a lot easier to name the ones you don’t like as openers… such as No Reply , It Won’t Be Long , or Two Of Us , from my perspective.
12.46am
15 March 2017
Offline I actually like No Reply , It Won’t Be Long , and Two of Us as openers but that’s just me.
I think each album had an excellent opener but if I had to pick a favourite I will probably have to say I Saw Her Standing There but I will give honorable mentions to A Hard Day’s Night , Drive My Car , and Taxman .
I also like Back In The USSR . I don’t think anyone has mentioned that one yet.
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6.00pm
4 September 2009
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Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline “I dig a a pygmy…” at the beginning of “Let It Be “. ‘Two Of Us ‘ is so weird without it as well. Strange how these things get scorched in? your brain.
‘Come Together ‘ – John’s “shoot me” comment, Paul’s bass and Ringo’s drumming.
‘No Reply ‘ – A very understated album opener but sets the whole collection up brilliantly. I don’t think any other album opens in the same way nor is any other Beatles album so downbeat but lively.
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3.23pm
9 August 2014
Offline Couldn’t really choose between I Saw Her Standing There (as was mentioned above, it’s great career opener) and A Hard Day’s Night . I also think Back In The USSR works really well as an opener.
The only ones I don’t really love as openers are Drive My Car and Taxman .
8.07pm
14 December 2009
Offline McCall1981 said
Couldn’t really choose between I Saw Her Standing There (as was mentioned above, it’s great career opener) and A Hard Day’s Night . I also think Back In The USSR works really well as an opener.The only ones I don’t really love as openers are Drive My Car and Taxman .
Yeah, when I think about it, it seems kinda weird that for such a momentous album, RS has maybe the Beatles’ most anticlimactic opening, in terms of first-sound-you-hear immediacy. Nearly all of the other openers begin with unaccompanied voices (either singing or counting off or making an “I dig a pygmy” ad-lib) or sound effects or an impenetrable guitar chord. And “Help !” is pretty arresting too, being the only Beatles album that announces its actual title instantly (and we can even perceive the exclamation mark.)
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5.50am
22 September 2014
Offline If they had opened Pepper with the Reprise instead of SPLHCB , that would be my favorite.
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7.49am
25 July 2015
Offline I Saw Her Standing There is my choice.
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14 June 2016
Offline Back In The USSR . It’s such a good opener that they decided to open The Rutledge soundtrack with a parody of the opening.
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