Sophomore Unjinx: Groups Whose Best Album Was Their Second

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Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
McLusky McLusky Do Dallas
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Nirvana - Nevermind
Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory

Some might say Paranoid but I disagree.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Saturday, 4 March 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

Pixies "Surfer Rosa"
Psychedelic Furs "Talk Talk Talk"
Stooges "Fun House"

(I think actually that in a lot of cases-at least for alt-rock, second albums improve over the first.)

― Matt Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Saturday, 4 March 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

Elvis Costello, This Year's Model
Echo and the Bunnymen, Heaven Up Here
Super Furry Animals, Radiator
REM, Reckoning
Stooges, Funhouse
John Cale, Paris 1919

― D. Bachyrycz, Saturday, 4 March 2006 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

Third Eye Blind, Blue

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Saturday, 4 March 2006 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

New Order - Power Corruption & Lies
Wire - Chairs Missing
Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (my fav, anyway)
Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
Daft Punk - Discovery
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Saturday, 4 March 2006 18:42 (nineteen years ago)

Stooges, Velvets, Chemical Brothers, Elvis seconded.

Also: X, Neil Young, The Tea Party, Nazz, Soft Boys

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 5 March 2006 18:58 (nineteen years ago)

first thing that comes to mind is Fannypack!

Soft Boys seconded

― sleeve, away, Sunday, 5 March 2006 19:11 (nineteen years ago)

zombies, odessey and oracle
belle and sebastian, if you're feeling sinister
replacements, hootenanny, maybe

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Sunday, 5 March 2006 19:30 (nineteen years ago)

six months pass...

i had dinner with with someone this evening who offered up the maybe-truism that second albums are often problematic because they are in the main about the band/artist dealing with fame/the fallout from the first album and that this is an inherently uninteresting prospect. i disagreed pretty strenuously with this. can you think of second albums that fit this bill, but are also better than the first?

the only think i could come up with off the top of my head was "crooked rain, crooked rain" which is probably not in actuality better than "slanted + enchanted" but is pretty focussed on the idea of fame (at least indie/90's alt fame) and is no slouch as an album.

there must be more right?

― pm (p-m), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 03:21 (eighteen years ago)

Paul McCartney - Ram

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 03:48 (eighteen years ago)

Klaatu - Hope
The Three O'Clock - Arrive Without Travelling
The Godz - Godz 2
The Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 04:14 (eighteen years ago)

Big Star - Radio City
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Can - Tago Mago (2nd 'proper' album - so rockist i know, but we're talking about album in the first place

― pm (p-m), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:14 (eighteen years ago)

I don't know if they're popularly regarded as each group's best, but I personally like:

Orbital 2
Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Ministry - Twitch
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory
The Ocean Blue - Cerulean

― turkey (turkey), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:19 (eighteen years ago)

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy

― turkey (turkey), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:23 (eighteen years ago)

Some obvious ones I can think of (these are all second albums, right?)...

TLC - CrazySexyCool
Joy Divison - Closer
Cream - Disraeli Gears
JHE - Axis: Bold As Love (maybe?)
LZ - Zeppelin II (although what was LZ's best album? Everyone has a different favorite)
And don't hate me, but Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory?
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (not a band, but whatever)
Nico - Marble Index
Nirvana - Nevermind
Bob Dylan - Freewheelin'...debatable, although I suppose all of these are

― musically (musically), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:26 (eighteen years ago)

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

― turkey (turkey), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:32 (eighteen years ago)

The only SP album I ever wore out was Gish.

Neutral Milk Hotel - ITAOTS
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:56 (eighteen years ago)

I know I'm basically alone in this sentiment, but: Radiohead

― bernard snow (sixteen sergeants), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 10:52 (eighteen years ago)

Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque
Exploited - Troops of Tomorrow
Urusei Yatsura - Slain By...
Napalm Death - From Enslavement To Obliteration
Gauze - Equalizing Distort
Carter USM - 30 Something

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 11:07 (eighteen years ago)

Amon Duul II - Yeti
Buffalo Springfield - Again
Kevin Coyne - Marjory Razorblade
Harry Nilsson - Aerial Ballet
Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (solo albums)

... there's hundreds of 'em

― Ich Ber Ein Binliner (Dada), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 11:13 (eighteen years ago)

good call with broken social scene. they'll have a torrid time topping that one

great calls with mclusky, daft punk and stooges as well.

nevermind no. surfer rosa maybe

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:02 (eighteen years ago)

The Prodigy

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:08 (eighteen years ago)

The Strokes: Room's On Fire
PIL: Metal Box/Second Edition
Vulgar Boatmen: Please Panic
Sleater-Kinney: Call The Doctor
The Silos: Cuba

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:27 (eighteen years ago)

Marshall Mathers LP
Nation of Millions

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:29 (eighteen years ago)

mansun!

― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:31 (eighteen years ago)

Meat Puppets II

― M. V. (M.V.), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:37 (eighteen years ago)

pinkerton
crooked rain, crooked rain
oceanic
lonesome crowded west
dirt
purple
led zeppelin II (when a certain mood sets in)

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:37 (eighteen years ago)

Teenage Fanclub Thirteen (best BECAUSE it's about fame)
Funkadelic Funkadelic (if you count Osmium as a Funkadelic album, which I do even tho it's totally cheating)

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:48 (eighteen years ago)

xpost, Thirteen was TF's third album...("Third-Teen" was their pun)...

basically, we're concluding that every band's second LP was their best...except ABC, of course...

― hank (hank s), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:52 (eighteen years ago)

haha WHOOPSIE, my bad, but Thirteen is still their best

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 12:53 (eighteen years ago)

Venom— Black Metal

― js (honestengine), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 13:07 (eighteen years ago)

I thought about that one but nah Welcome To Hell is bestest.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 13:16 (eighteen years ago)

Meat Puppets II

― Ich Ber Ein Binliner (Dada), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 13:37 (eighteen years ago)

I don't personally agree, but general consensus for Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow. That one's a special scenario for sophomore-jinx discussion, though, since they added a key new member.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

Unless I missed it, I didn't see the Cars' Candy-O.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 7 September 2006 01:38 (eighteen years ago)

What Axed-gau would say:
Marshall Crenshaw, Field Day

― My Little Ruud Book (Ken L), Thursday, 7 September 2006 01:45 (eighteen years ago)

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