Great Albums Need Great Side Ones

What makes a great Side One? In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave makes Musical Argument #3: great albums need great Side Ones. Using Genesis’s Duke, Dave follows the original first-side sequence from “Behind the Lines” through “Heathaze” and looks at how a vinyl side can function as more than the first half of a track list. The expanded Side One Test asks three questions: Did the side establish the album? Did it go somewhere? And when the needle reached the runout, did you want to flip the record? The first side doesn’t have to be better than Side Two. It simply has to matter. Side One Spin: What is the greatest Side One ever pressed?