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Excellent Sophomore Albums

#141
(Probably deserves an asterisk because it's their second studio album)

Can_-_Tago_Mago.jpg
 
#147
Altitude said:
I'm in this thread about Rick Beato's Seal analysis and it got me thinking about really good second albums. What are some good ones and theories about why it happens?

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.

But why sometimes is a band's second record the best one they ever do?

One theory is that the band gets record label funding and gets a great producer thrown at it. If I recall right, Trevor Horn produced that absolutely fantastic second Seal record (though he might have done the first one too).

Some examples of outstanding sophomore records that the bands never again equaled (setting aside I guess any pre-signing indie records the bands might have floating around):

  • Seal 2, the inspiration for the thread.
  • Train - "Drops of Jupiter". Man what a great record.
  • Smashing Pumpkins - "Siamese Dream." Not sure Corgan agrees, but this to me is by far their best work.

What do you guys think?
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A band I was in back in the 90's produced two albums. The music on both of them was well written and they were both group efforts with each of us bringing in our own parts. There was nothing (or very little) pre-written before the band started writing as a group, so the thing about having a lifetime of material to choose from didn't really apply.

I vastly prefer the second record to the first. It's technically a far superior production, as a lot of growing pains happened on that first album that ended up being saved for posterity, much to my personal dismay. We also settled into a pattern of writing by that point that worked really well for us and everyone knew exactly what needed to be done and how. This was a group that wrote very complex original material very quickly and you had to keep up. So I think that, at least in some cases, experience is a big factor.
 
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#148
Another one I thought of:

"Blues for the Red Sun" by Kyuss. Their first album, "Wretch," is a bit of a hot mess, but "Blues for the Red Sun" is what put "stoner metal" on the map.

(And on another note, it's interesting that several folks listed "Demon Days" by Gorillaz, yet I thought that album was a complete disappointment, especially after their incredible debut album. Albarn's singing sounded completely phoned-in to me on "Demon Days" and there simply wasn't enough hip-hop elements. After the incredible debut by Gorillaz, "Demon Days" fell flat for me and was my biggest disappointment of 2005. The only song I liked on it was "Feel Good, Inc.")
 
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#151
JPaulGeddy said:
King's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska - many will argue Dogman, but this one's my favorite. In any event, a great, great album.
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Man, I wanted to say this first but ya beat me to it!!!
220px-King%27s_X_Gretchen_Goes_to_Nebraska.jpg

Beatle-esque harmonies? Check!
Diverse song styles and creative arrangements that make use of space? Check!
Sitar intro leading into hard rock? Check!
8 and 12 string basses used? Double Check (dUg is da man!)

All this from a 3 piece band that can recreate all this effectively in a live performance? Check!

If you've never heard King's X, they are worth a listen!
 
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#158
Thumpin6string said:
Just checked out Meddle and it's not my cup of tea. I agree that Wish You Were Here is another great album, but most of them that were post Dark Side of the Moon were pretty awesome. Towards the end though, they did seem to fizzle out IMHO.
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Thumpin6string, I must disagree. With the exception of "Animals", Pink Floyd's albums went into freefall after "Meddle". What I find sad is that for many listeners Pink Floyd began with "Dark Side of the Moon", a very mediocre album at best. "Wish you Were Here" was worse. "The Final Cut" and "Animals" were a brief return to greatness.
 
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#159
Michedelic said:
Meddle was the last time they were truly innovative; everything on DSOTM musically was explored previously, and concept albums weren’t exactly breaking news in ‘72/‘73 anyway. They just scooped up all that they had been doing and put it in a pretty, accessible package.
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On Pink Floyd's sophomore album, "Saucerful of Secrets" they recreated themselves. This is not to demean "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", which I love, I think that "Saucerful..." displayed a total change in everything the band had done previously.
 

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