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Excellent Sophomore Albums

#86
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#87
Altitude said:
First albums are often better than the rest from a given band. That make sense because at that point the band has a large body of work and can pick the best of it for that first record. All the other albums are whatever they do next.
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I dont think so. Or at least that's not happening now. In the past, bands depended on a record deal to get access of a studio. Only the good ones got the chance to record an album (so imo, most of first albums are good).
Nowadays anyone can record an album. Probably it's an inverse thing, latest albums sound better than first ones.
 
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#89
58kites said:
Can't say I agree with Alice in Chains, they made a very strong first record with Facelift.
Facelift was the first grunge record to be certified Gold, and MTV brought Man in a Box into everyone's living room which helped grunge blow up huge.
I agree that Dirt was full of hits, but their third record Alice in Chains (tripod) was very strong as well and their MTV Unplugged record was just as strong.
Jerry Cantrell has continued to write great songs and record very good records with Alice in Chains and solo as well.
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I agree both albums are excellent, & it’s a toss-up to personal opinion which is better. I’ll give bonus points to an album whose songs have a common theme, the pieces come together & form a whole, or a team, so I won’t disagree with Dirt making it on this post.

Most of my initial albums (“Back to Black”, 25, The Police,...) have been mentioned, but Thomas Dolby’s “The Flat Earth” may or may not be better than “The Golden Age of Wireless”. Anyone who was turned off by the heavy rotation of “She Blinded Me With Science”, well, it’s been awhile & the album is worth a listen (skip the 1st track if you must). I remember one track that wasn’t strong, but is “The Flat Earth” better? The debut has more hits, but I’ll give points for “The Flat Earth”’s successful unified theme - both are worth a listen.

A weaker example, but worth mentioning, is Massive Attack’s debut “Blue Lines”, which basically created a new branch of Hip-Hop. It’s hard to argue that the 2nd album, “Protection”, was as revolutionary; but, it has the single “Protection” (play it the next time you have a romantic moment - you’re welcome ;)). A more worthy comparison is the 3rd album, “Mezzanine” - and is the album I thought of when I read the quoted post above. The songs are truly parts of a composition, & I’m sure a part of the album sales are replacements of CDs worn out by lasers.
 
#93
Great thread, thanks guys.

As someone pointed out along the way, one subtlety of my observation was that these bands often make second albums better than the first, but they never again equal the quality of the second.

Rio was another great example someone mentioned. So was Dirt. I’ll go with Nevermind as well, though in that case unfortunately affected by Cobain’s death and the fact that they only had one more album at all.

I still think Drops of Jupiter is the best example. That record is on a linear progression from their eponymous first record, but is so much better than anything that came after it that it’s hard to describe.

I forgot one - “Time’s Up” by Living Colour. Totally their best work and one of my favorite albums ever.
 
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#98
Cream -- Disraeli Gears
They jump headlong into psychedelia

Mothers Of Invention -- Absolutely Free
More focused than Freak Out and the beginning of Zappa's epic guitar soloing

Mahavishnu Orchestra -- Birds of Fire
Jan Hammer discovers the MiniMoog

Neil Young -- Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil gets a real live band, leaves the overdubbing behind and blasts off with this



Dave Holland -- Emerald Tears
Mindboggling solo double bass performance

Alice Cooper -- Easy Action
Minus the extended jams that end each side, this displays the A.C. band as pop-rockers! Also Mike Bruce who wrote most of their great songs gets to sing a few (for the first and last time), sounding more than a bit like Sir Paul!



Traffic -- Traffic
Goodbye to the psych bandwagon after listening to the Band. Dave Mason learns how to write songs.



CCR -- Bayou Country
John Fogerty learns how to write songs and keeps on choogling



Jimi Hendrix -- Axis Bold As Love
Jimi embraces the possibilities of the recording studio

Weather Report -- Live In Tokyo
Originally released only in Japan, an essential document of their early period. 1/4 of this double LP made it onto the B side of the US release "I Sing The Body Electric"



Bob Dylan -- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
His first LP had two orignals, the rest were covers. Second time out, two covers and 11 originals half of which are considered amongst his best ever.

Simon and Garfunkel -- Sounds of Silence
Paul and Art plug in and stop acting like folksingers

Fairport Convention -- What We Did On Our Holidays
After a tentative debut, Sandy Denny joins the band and she and Richard Thompson emerge as fully-formed songwriters



Nico -- The Marble Index
The heck with singing folk-rock, Nico invents Goth with John Cale's assistance



Love -- Da Capo
Ok, the side long jam on the B side sucks, but side A goes from punk thrash to bossa nova and it works

 
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