Great third albums

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I'm trying to think of examples where bands took a big leap forward on their third record. In Utero and OK Computer come to mind.

― Nigel (Nigel), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:41 (twenty years ago)

Many would say the Boo Radley's Wake Up is their best (though I don't agree).

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

madness - 7

a classic.

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

The Last Fourfathers by the Prisoners

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

The Chameleons - Strange Times. Their previous albums were great, but that one's just f'ing massive.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:46 (twenty years ago)

You could argue that Nirvana were pretty together around album 2.

Anyway:

Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run
The Clash, London Calling
Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
U2, War
The Wrens, Meadowlands
White Stripes, White Blood Cells
Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

Canonical (but also correct) answer: The Queen is Dead

― Robin Goad (rgoad), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

Dare

― leigh (leigh), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

EVOL

― a Side-walkin' Street Wheeler (aaron ef.), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

Prince's third album was -Dirty Mind-, his first great one, where he started mixing styles like crazy and upping the explicit dial to 11 with his lyrics. And became "Prince" so to speak.

Husker Du's third LP was -Zen Arcade- (a double, so it's 3 and 4, arguably), where they broke away from harcore punk conventions, embraced melody, tried other styles, etc.

Sonic Youth's third LP, EVOL is the one where they started using pop song structures (which wouldn't fully blossom until the next one, or maybe Daydream Nation, but they started here).

― James, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

Yes--The Yes Album. Steve Howe arrives, band starts composing compelling epic rock.
The American Analog Set--The Golden Band. Band crafts first album of exclusively short songs and makes their best record.
Love--Forever Changes. Band lilts mariachi themes in its acoustic orchestral pop and records one of the greatest albums of the rock era.

― the gray mouser, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

The Who Sell Out

Bill Dixon, Intents and Purposes

Albert Ayler, Spirits, aka, Witches And Devils

Funkadelic, Maggot Brain

Green, White Soul

the Jam, All Mod Cons

Love, Forever Changes

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

boo radleys is a good answer but it's 'giant steps' that is the third album.

kitchens of distinction 'death of cool' is another.

― keyth (keyth), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

trout mask replica

― white hole (white hole), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

'screamadelica'

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

XTC - Drums and Wires
Blondie - Parallel Lines
Sparks - Kimono My House

Three of my favorite bands. In all cases, not really a quantum leap and not necessarily my fave by any of them, just a refinement of the ideas on the first 2 LP's to produce their "breakthrough" disc.

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

Randy Newman - Sail Away
Can - Tago Mago
Bjork - Homogenic

― Dominique (dleone), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:29 (twenty years ago)

Kyuss - Welcome To Sky Valley.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

Metallica -- Master of Puppets: By then they had exorcised their "motorhead" demons to stake their claim as thrash-metal gods (which they later squandered, but that's another story)

Aerosmith -- Toys in the Attic: They hit a creative high point here after getting their rookie errors out with the first two. Just enough drugs to make their music cool, but not too much to start fucking it up.

― bsj30 (bsj30), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

Sebadoh - III

― d90 (d90), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:37 (twenty years ago)

Third/Sister Lover - Big Star
Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcement - Stereolab

― Flour of My Secret (William Selman), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

Let It Be: The Replacements

Wasn't Double Nickels the Minutemen's 3rd?

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

ATCQ-midnight marauders.

Curtis Mayfield-superfly

Fugazi-in on the killtaker

Neu!-neu! 75.

Public Enemy-fear of a black planet

Labradford-labradford

Queens Of The Stone Age-songs for the deaf

Scarface-the diary

Outkast-aquemini

Dr Dre-2001

― ELLI$, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out

(dodges rotten fruit and rubber bats thrown at her)

― The Hills Are Alive With Celibate Cries (kate), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

> Third/Sister Lover - Big Star

Where this thread devolved into "third albums by bands."

Was Loveless the third by MBV?
ELO?

― Mitya (mitya), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

Flipper's Guitar - Dr Head's World Tower
Cornelius - Fantasma (the second one was a leap forward from the first record but was also pretty much a continuation of the above album)

― Who the hell do you THINK I am? I'm the goddamn Batman! (Barima), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)

Refused - Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent

and precursor to The Shape.

― cowboyjane, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

Kaleidoscope - Siouxsie and the Banshees

― Pete Baumann, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

Good call on Kaleidoscope!

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

Don't know if it'd qualify as a "big" leap, but Pavement's Wowee Zowee stills wows.

Yes, and zows, too.

― Zimmer026 (Zimmer026), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

Big Star's -Third- is absolutely a major style leap from the first two, and not just "the third record." It's also, arguably, an Alex Chilton record rather than a Big Star record.

But that's a different discussion...

― James, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

Big Star's Third.

xp- Gah!

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

how about these--

Eno: another green world
Cabaret Voltaire: red mecca
Nico: desert shore
The Fall: grotesque
New Porns: twin cinema

i know, i know, both CV and the Fall had live lps in there, but i don't count those...

― nerve pylon (flat_of_angles), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

ray davies in the current issue of mojo: "with new bands i always listen to the third album; that's the real key to know what's going to happen. a lot of them don't know how to approach the third album or even get a chance to think about the third album."

his own band's third album, kinks kontroversy, was most definitely not their best at the time (their debut blows it away) and i wouldn't dub it a "great third album." but it most definitely was a leap forward, beginning to making clear where they were headed on the spectacular fourth, fifth and sixth albums that would follow.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

What in the world is Franz Ferdinand going to do for their third album?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

funnily enough, ray davies was talking about franz ferdinand when he said what i quoted above. remainder of quote: "but i get a feeling those guys have a pretty good idea of their career. they look pretty smart to me."

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 19:56 (twenty years ago)

I haven't heard the second album. Not inspired to buy it because it seems like a carbon copy. Is it? The cover is the same and when I hear "Do You Wanna" it doesn't make me think otherwise. Surely, they can't do a carbon copy again for the third album. But if they've done their whole thing on the first two albums, what more is there for them to do? How can the band "Franz Ferdinand" do something else?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

How many albums did Smashmouth have?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

> Big Star's -Third- is absolutely a major style leap from the first two, and not just "the third record." It's also, arguably, an Alex Chilton record rather than a Big Star record.

IWe're not so far apart on this. Also worth noting that Third, practically speaking, was never released, and the band imploded. The list of bands that only released three albums and broke up is probably pretty long.

― Mitya (mitya), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

underworld - dubnobasswithmyheadman

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

mbv - 'isn't anything'

fwiw, i think it's their best and a radical leap forward from 'this is your my bloody valentine' and 'ecstasy'.

― 6335, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:32 (twenty years ago)

Soft Machine Third

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

The Super Furries' Guerilla showed their willingness to think outside of the indie box even more, although it could be argued to be their fourth album if you include the b-sides collection.

Also Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash wasn't that different music-wise but it did show more of their ability to work around bigger vocal names like Dizzee and JC.

― Nick H (Nick H), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

Wow, I never knew the Boo's had an album before Everything's Alright Forever!

I'll switch my vote to Def Leppard's Pyromania then ...

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

Hey cuz -- Can I find that Ray Davies thing online?

― Nigel (Nigel), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

Spoon - Girls Can Tell was a pretty marked departure from the band's first two albums. And a great album, meeting both conditions for this thread.

― Binjominia (Brilhante), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

Hey cuz -- Can I find that Ray Davies thing online?

not sure. it's from the jan 2006 issue of mojo, as part of a roundup of artists talking about their favorite albums of 2005.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

queen - sheer heart attack
sparks - kimono my house
sabbath - master of reality

― dan (dan), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

Cool. Thanks.

― Nigel (Nigel), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

I think you're totally forgetting about Madonna. She didn't master her art until the third album.

-(713)553-1256

― Opinionated citizen, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 22:46 (twenty years ago)

Peter Gabriel no.3
Stereolab - Transient Random Noise-Bursts (assuming Peng & Space-Age are 1 & 2)

― Jesse Lawson (eatandoph), Thursday, 22 December 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

Suede!!

― Mitya (mitya), Thursday, 22 December 2005 04:26 (twenty years ago)

suede, no. they never made anything good after dogmanstar. but parklife was a great third for blur.

― corey c (shock of daylight), Thursday, 22 December 2005 09:00 (twenty years ago)

Slayer - Reign in Blood

― M Carty (mj_c), Thursday, 22 December 2005 09:06 (twenty years ago)

and indeed
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Carcass - Necroticism

― M Carty (mj_c), Thursday, 22 December 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

Was The Great Eastern The Delgados' third? If so that because it was their masterpiece.

― Nick H (Nick H), Thursday, 22 December 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

Wow, I never knew the Boo's had an album before Everything's Alright Forever!

Ichabod and I which i've never heard and has been disowned by the band.

― keith m (keithmcl), Friday, 23 December 2005 03:09 (twenty years ago)

Kate Bush - Never For Ever!

― Merry Christmas (fandango), Friday, 23 December 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

What? No love for "Fear of Music"?

― Nathaniel (Horbgorbling Slubberdegullion), Friday, 23 December 2005 04:38 (twenty years ago)

Led Fucking Zeppelin III - Forward into the past, as Page & co. retreat to the country and break out the banjos (and bongs).

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 23 December 2005 07:13 (twenty years ago)

def leppard ,bon jovi,pet shop boys,kylie minogue and madonna all peaked with their 3rd lps.

― retrogurl, Friday, 23 December 2005 07:14 (twenty years ago)

Wire - 154
Bowie - Hunky Dory (if you count the Deram album, The Man Who Sold the World works too)
Al Green - Let's Stay Together
Tim Buckley - Happy Sad
Tom Waits - Small Change (I don't count live albums)

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Friday, 23 December 2005 07:41 (twenty years ago)

Sure, there's a rather drastic change in the lineup between this and their previous album, but I'd say Dare! by the Human League.

― D.V. Caputo, Friday, 23 December 2005 09:25 (twenty years ago)

Oh! And Architecture & Morality by OMD.

― D.V. Caputo, Friday, 23 December 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

Kiss - Dressed To Kill

― Neuromancer, Friday, 23 December 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

Quiet Life

― Zora (Zora), Friday, 23 December 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

Is Dare their third? It's the only one I've got and I like it.

Not sure if it it can be classed as great per se but the Sugababes' Three is damn good. Also how about Massive Attack's Mezzanine and the Mondays' Pills 'N' Thrills 'N' Bellyaches ?

― Nick H (Nick H), Friday, 23 December 2005 20:44 (twenty years ago)

The Compulsive Gamblers - Crystal Gazing, Luck Amazing

― Mike Dixon, Friday, 23 December 2005 22:50 (twenty years ago)

There's no way Pet Shop Boys peaked with their 3rd album. They hadn't released Behavior and Very yet! And while Madonna did make a big leap foward with True Blue, I don't think there are many people who would consider Like A Prayer a step down. (x-post)

― LeRooLeRoo (Seb), Friday, 23 December 2005 23:00 (twenty years ago)

Wow, I never knew the Boo's had an album before Everything's Alright Forever!

Ichabod and I which i've never heard and has been disowned by the band.

A shame, because at least half of it (Catweazle, Sweet Salad Birth, Kaleidoscope, Happens To Us All) is classic.

I saw a copy on sale for £25 the other week, shame the cover on mine is trashed, sigh.

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Friday, 23 December 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

The third Stone Roses album I believe is their best.

― Merryweather (scarlet), Saturday, 24 December 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

Cheap Trick "Heaven Tonight" (I don't count live albums either)
Camper Van Beethoven "II and III" (probably their best, apart from maybe "Key Lime Pie")
the Pogues "If I Should Fall From Grace With God"

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Saturday, 24 December 2005 00:27 (twenty years ago)

A lot of people may disagree, but I would say Depeche Mode's third album "Construction Time Again" is their best ever.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 24 December 2005 01:05 (twenty years ago)

Just to add some credibility to this thread, I'm going to say Sufjan. "Michigan" is WAY better than his second - Enjoy Your Rabbit (that electronic, zodiac-thematic failure) - and much better than his first which had poorer songwriting and sometimes endearing but sometimes annoying sped-up voice humor.

― regular roundups (Dave M), Saturday, 24 December 2005 01:17 (twenty years ago)

Spacemen 3 - Playing With Fire
Dire Straits - Making Movies
The Church - Seance
The Byrds - Fifth Dimension
INXS - Shabooh Shoobah

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 24 December 2005 01:57 (twenty years ago)

Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Some which marked a progression but divided opinion:
De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
The Saints - Prehistoric Sounds
Mercury Rev - See You On the Other Side

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 24 December 2005 02:38 (twenty years ago)

EPMD - Business as Usual

― mucho, Saturday, 24 December 2005 03:18 (twenty years ago)

PWEI - "This is the Day, This is the Hour, This is This" (one that probably defines the phrase 'leap forward')

Buffalo Tom - "Let Me Come Over"
Surprised no-one's mentioned "The Holy Bible" yet

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Saturday, 24 December 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

OMG, A Hard Day's Night owns this thread - totally the first "third album" of the type we're looking for here. Consolidated everything that was great about the band to that point, tightened it up, jetissoned the covers, minimized the filler, upped the ante on the artwork, and pretty much rendered the previous two records irrelevant. Maybe it's more of a tour de force than a complete new direction, but I think it deserves a mention considering everything else that's gotten namechecked here...

― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 25 December 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

um, Camper Van's II and III is the second album. The third is the self-titled one with "Interstellar Overdrive" and it is indeed truly great.

also: Sun City Girls' Horse Cock Phepner

― sleeve (sleeve), Sunday, 25 December 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

A Hard Day's Night ... tightened it up, jetissoned the covers, minimized the filler, upped the ante on the artwork, and pretty much rendered the previous two records irrelevant.

um... no, yes (but it was only temporary), no, no, and you've got to be kidding.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 26 December 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

I'm amazed nobody managed to come up with "A Hard Day's Night" until the 79th post.

I would also like to put in a word for this underrated masterpiece:
http://www.cultzone.net/music/2000/yemcultcd000629.jpg

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 26 December 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

velvet underground - s/t

it's my favorite of the four albums proper, total departure from & nico and white light/ white heat. but they're all really different from each other so ....

― jaime, Monday, 26 December 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

Several fellow Genesis fans would probably mention Genesis here, as "Nursery Cryme" is sort of established as the album when they came into their own (establishing the classic lineup et all). Personally I prefer "Trepass" to "Nursery Cryme", and if there was one album where the classic lineup came into their own, IMO it wasn't until "Foxtrot".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 26 December 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

There's no way Pet Shop Boys peaked with their 3rd album

I agree, athough I do consider "Behavior" their 3rd album proper. "Introspective" was certainly no peak, more like a low.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 26 December 2005 19:18 (twenty years ago)

XTC - Drums and Wires

Personally, I don't think they came into their own until their eigth album, but each to his own... :)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 26 December 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

Orange Juice The Orange Juice-so named in honor of the 3rd velvets album. Definitely different-more production, more attention to the soul thing- but almost nobody liked it. Except me. Dude, it's got "Lean Period". come on!

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Monday, 26 December 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

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