The Sophomore Slump - The most difficult Difficult Second Album ever

Count my vote for "Beauty Stab". In spite of the wonderful "SOS" securing it wasn't all disaster.

Cyndi Lauper's second album is called True Colors.

but for most of this bands the debut album was also shit...

De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead

are you kidding? this album is fucking excellent

"Television: Adventure " - great

this poll doesn't even make sense, there are tons worse 2nd album by bands that suck and their first album sucked too...like i wonder what the 2nd seven mary three album is like?

De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead WTF geir they must have kind bud in norway

I'm certainly shocked with all that I know about Geir that he prefers "Three Feet High..." to "...Is Dead"

I would like to see a 'best first album ever' poll with an identical list of artists.

there are tons worse 2nd album by bands that suck and their first album sucked too...

But then, there is no "second album syndrome". I guess I shouldn't have included Modern Talking though, as their first album sucked almost as much.

As for "De La Soul Is Dead" it is among the albums most frequently mentioned on the Net as a disappointing second album. I'm using the "canon" here, not my own opinions (in which case most rap second albums would have been on the list)

(This list contains mainly of albums that were generally considered disappointing by those who loved the first album by the same act)

Personally, I find "Vol 3" quite nice indeed, and "Spiceworld" I think I'd rank as better than their debut.

spiceworld? what?

The Damned's _Music For Pleasure_ could've been on this list, too.

But in a moment of terrifying clarity, I agree with Geir's choice of ABC. I recently listened to _Beauty Stab_ for the first time in probably 20 years and, yup, suuuucks.

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as for most difficult, cecil taylor following up jazz advance couldn't have been easy.

at the time, public enemy's yo! bum rush the show seemed untoppable, and they topped it astoundingly.

Sundays- Blind

what a list. i almost voted for the strokes, but i dig pretenders II

oh he said WORST .. dang. sorry chrissie

i really like VS

Isn't 'Eye of the Zombie' Fogertys third album?

I vote for Room on Fire. Make one of the greatest rock albums of all time, then make one of the worst rock albums of all time.

I bet the Spin Doctors are kind of flattered to be considered canonical, even as a sophomore slump.

(btw, that Darkness album fucking rules)

I think I'll vote for that Blind Melon album. I can't imagine that being tolerable for a minute.

Pretenders II is the BEST Pretenders album, wtf!!

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Please, yes!!

soup is great i'll go now

Well the Elastic album is awful....

The Spin Doctors: Turn It Upside Down
featuring "Cleopatra's Cat"

It's gotta be Moby Grape, in all fairness.

Hmmn, was Eye of the Zombie really Fogerty's second solo? I thought Blue Ridge Rangers was technically his first, making Centerfield the follow-up? And wasn't "Lies" a collection of two earlier (or at least one) EP?

And from what I read somewhere, And the Little Girls Understand was supposedly recorded at the same time as the debut...though however it breaks down I like that album as much as the debut, even if Baby Talks Dirty is the most blatant rip-off of their own hit imaginable. But "Can't Put a Price on Love" is a great rip-off of "Beast of Burden."

And wasn't "Lies" a collection of two earlier (or at least one) EP?

"Lies" combined songs from one earlier EP with new material. I chose to include it as a followup, although if I didn't, "Use Your Illusion" (even though personally I find it a lot better than their debut) would probably do the same trick here.

gomez. never heard it, but c'mon, it's gomez.

Bad Religion - Into The Unknown

Dare I ask what criteria was used to choose which difficult Difficult Second Album would be included in this poll?

It's gotta be Moby Grape, in all fairness.

...uh, "seconded"

Dare I ask what criteria was used to choose which difficult Difficult Second Album would be included in this poll?

Geir got his head stuck in the canon.

Go 2 is great

I vote for Room on Fire. Make one of the greatest rock albums of all time, then make one of the worst rock albums of all time.

wtf

The songs are slightly less good than album one, but with at least three "as good as".

But then, I liked the "Menace" Elastica one, so hey.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

This sort of got lost. Seems people have got a short memory span, although those first two were surely considered major disappointments by the fans too.

lol @ winner

good call on top two

The Menace is a great, misunderstood album. But at least it's really difficult- GNR Lies and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie weren't "difficult second albums," just really good second albums. Lies in particular is almost the opposite of a difficult second album-- 4 live tracks, and 4 acoustic jams recorded over just a few days.

What was the ILM reaction to SFIJ? It belongs on poll of "misunderstood second albums."

What was the ILM reaction to SFIJ?

SFIJ was 1998, which was all about alt.music.alternative.