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Post by Paul on Jul 12, 2006 9:32:14 GMT -5
Saw something about this over at rollingstone.com...anyway, thought it was pretty interesting and worthy of a topic for discussion. (didn't seen anything like this so figured it was OK to start a new thread).
So what do you all feel are some of the best Sophomore albums, and which ones do you feel exceeded the debut?
Some to come to mind for me are:
Paul's Botique - the Beastie Boys
Not only may this be the Beastie's best album, but the fact that no one saw this coming from miles away even makes it more facinating. Between alt rock and gangsta rap coming of age, this album was lost in the shuffle....seems like a lot of people didn't even get it until after the Beasties success w/ Ill Communication and "Sabatoge"...anyway the album set a lot of blue prints for what would be in the 1990's, and just may be the coolest album ever made. It's literally a first and last kind of record; after it's release weren't a lot of laws changed regarding sampling? I think I read somewhere that 'Paul's Botique' has the most samples of any album ever made (don't know how accurate that is though). All in all, this album is leaps and bounds better and more innovative than the debut.
Being There - Wilco
"Misunderstood" really sets the tone for this album, and makes the listener (at least me) realize that this is gonna be a lot different from AM. This album really highlights everything Wilco does right. It has some great alt country tunes, some psychedelic tunes, and amazing melodies. It's a great foreshadow of what Wilco will do on thier next few albums.
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Those are just two examples, I can think of many more (Nevermind, Free Wheelin', Vs, to name a few), and I'm curious to see y'alls thoughts.
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Post by Fuzznuts on Jul 12, 2006 9:40:37 GMT -5
Some other doozies:
Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
Bob Dylan - Freewheelin'
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
X - Wild Gift
Bruce - Thw Wild, The Innocent...
The Band
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Post by Proud on Jul 12, 2006 11:26:09 GMT -5
Care for some 90s alt rock?
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Days of the New - Days of the New II
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Radiohead - The Bends
Sunny Day Real Estate - LP2
Edit: I can't believe I forgot...
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
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Post by Adam on Jul 12, 2006 17:23:48 GMT -5
Ride the Lightning - Metallica (its still their best album)
The Bends - Radiohead
Destroy Erase Improve - Meshuggah
Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (I second that, Proud)
Being There - Wilco
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Pinkerton - Weezer
Fun House - The Stooges
Freaky Styley - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ágætis Byrjun - Sigur Ros
Ænima - Tool
The Downward Spiral - NIN
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
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Post by Kensterberg on Jul 12, 2006 17:48:04 GMT -5
This is actually one of my favorite "best ever" topics ... in large part b/c I've got absolutely no doubt what the king of this category is ...
1. This Year's Model, Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Elvis snarls and purrs, the Attractions buzz, howl and seduce ... one of the nastiest records about love ever cut, and one of the very best. Toss in the Radio Radio single (as El has done since this baby was released in the States) and you've got the best sophomore record in rock and roll.
I'll put up some more tomorrow ... got to go get a dog from the vet now ... but I'll just say that Oasis' What's the Story Morning Glory deserves some mention here. In fact, a bunch of the best records of the nineties fit this category (Being There, Nevermind, Parklife ...). R.E.M.'s Reckoning is another of my faves in this discussion, and I know that Bowiglou will back me up here. Bowie's Man Who Sold the World is another worthy contender (though not for the very top spot, IMHO).
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Post by rockysigman on Jul 12, 2006 18:14:43 GMT -5
A few great ones (only counting full lengths--I know a lot of these had EP releases before their debut, making these their third releases):
The Stooges - Fun House
Meat Puppets - II
Nirvana - Nevermind
The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
The Pixies - Doolittle
X - Wild Gift
Thunderbirds Are Now! - Justamustache
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Antony & the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
Wilco - Being There
Big Star - Radio City
Lou Reed - Transformer
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - Furnace Room Lullaby
The Go - The Go
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Gorillaz - Demon Days
The Libertines - The Libertines
Luna - Bewitched
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
The Toadies - Hell Below/Stars Above
Stone Temple Pilots - Purple
Yo La Tengo - New Wave Hot Dogs
Mike Watt - Contemplating the Engine Room
Television - Adventure
Sponge - Wax Ecstatic
The Replacements - Hootenanny
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Post by Ryosuke on Jul 12, 2006 19:36:33 GMT -5
Parklife is Blur's third album, Ken. But their real second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, is pretty good as well IMO.
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Jul 12, 2006 21:16:26 GMT -5
The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse.
Meat Puppets II by the Meat Puppets.
Closer by Joy Division.
Nevermind by Nirvana.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jul 13, 2006 6:05:32 GMT -5
Tend to agree with Ken on This Years Model and I'd definitely second or third or fourth stuff like The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Bends, Nevermind, Being There, Furnace Room Lullaby, Rid of Me, etc. A few more in no particular order:
Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
Ultravox! – Ha!Ha!Ha!
World Party – Goodbye Jumbo
Odds – Bedbugs
The Rheostatics – Melville
Jane Siberry – No Borders Here
Sloan – Twice Removed
The Auteurs – Now I'm a Cowboy
Black Box Recorder – The Facts of Life
Muse – Origin of Symmetry
The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth
Lyle Lovett – Pontiac
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Post by luke on Jul 13, 2006 10:11:36 GMT -5
The real test of this, IMO, isn't whether you have a good sophomore album, but whether or not you beat the sophomore slump. Tons of bands come out of nowhere with the second album, but very, very few keep or trump the momentum of a high quality, much heralded debut.
So VU, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Joy Division, The Pixies, and Pearl Jam definitely deserve props here, as you would have heard and enjoyed all of their debuts even if they'd broken up the day after they wrapped them up in the studio.
Muse, Nirvana, Sloan, Radiohead, the Beastie Boys, and RHCP...most of us wouldn't have heard any of these debuts without the later, superior work. Well, unless you really thought "Creep" was worth $14.99 or whatever CDs were going for then.
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Post by Kensterberg on Jul 13, 2006 10:36:33 GMT -5
Parklife is Blur's third album, Ken. But their real second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, is pretty good as well IMO. See, I forget about Modern Life is Rubbish for the simple reason that it's one of only two Blur studio albums that I've never owned (Think Tank being the other). How I've managed to own pretty much the complete catalog of a band that I'm not really wild about is beyond me ... |
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Post by Paul on Jul 13, 2006 10:38:47 GMT -5
The real test of this, IMO, isn't whether you have a good sophomore album, but whether or not you beat the sophomore slump. Tons of bands come out of nowhere with the second album, but very, very few keep or trump the momentum of a high quality, much heralded debut. So VU, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Joy Division, The Pixies, and Pearl Jam definitely deserve props here, as you would have heard and enjoyed all of their debuts even if they'd broken up the day after they wrapped them up in the studio. Muse, Nirvana, Sloan, Radiohead, the Beastie Boys, and RHCP...most of us wouldn't have heard any of these debuts without the later, superior work. Well, unless you really thought "Creep" was worth $14.99 or whatever CDs were going for then. You know, last time I listened to Pablo Honey about a 8 months ago, I remember thinking it wasn't all that bad. Sure it doesn't come close to their other albums, but there are a few quality songs on there IMO. |
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Post by Paul on Jul 13, 2006 10:45:00 GMT -5
What sophomore albums do you all feel exceeded the debut? Yesterday, two examples I gave were the Beastie Boys and Wilco....I see a lot of people here saying Nevermind, and that's certainly valid, but for some reason I tend to listen to Bleach a lot more than it's successor. I may argue a bit w/ the VU as well; I'm thinking the debut is better than WL/WH. But IMO they're at their best w/ their last two albums.... What about Strange Days by the Doors? (don't answer Ken  ) Many will cite their debut as their best, most likely b/c of "Light My Fire" and "The End", but I really think Strange Days is the better of the two. |
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Post by Kensterberg on Jul 13, 2006 10:58:09 GMT -5
Sophomore records that eclipsed the debuts ...
1. This Year's Model, Elvis Costello and the Attractions. (See above, no matter how good My Aim is True is, TYM is better).
2. The Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan. (Bob's debut is a good sixties folk album, his second is a great record regardless of genre. Blowin' in the Wind, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, song writing just doesn't get much better than this).
3. Wild Gift, X. (Once again, Los Angeles is a great punk record, but Wild Gift is much more, and established X as one of, if not the, great bands of their generation).
4. Power, Corruption, and Lies, New Order.
5. Goodbye Jumbo, World Party. (Agree with Drum on this -- their debut is very good, but this is one of the best Beatlesque albums in my memory).
6. Nevermind, Nirvana.
More later ...
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Post by luke on Jul 13, 2006 11:09:49 GMT -5
The real test of this, IMO, isn't whether you have a good sophomore album, but whether or not you beat the sophomore slump. Tons of bands come out of nowhere with the second album, but very, very few keep or trump the momentum of a high quality, much heralded debut. So VU, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Joy Division, The Pixies, and Pearl Jam definitely deserve props here, as you would have heard and enjoyed all of their debuts even if they'd broken up the day after they wrapped them up in the studio. Muse, Nirvana, Sloan, Radiohead, the Beastie Boys, and RHCP...most of us wouldn't have heard any of these debuts without the later, superior work. Well, unless you really thought "Creep" was worth $14.99 or whatever CDs were going for then. You know, last time I listened to Pablo Honey about a 8 months ago, I remember thinking it wasn't all that bad. Sure it doesn't come close to their other albums, but there are a few quality songs on there IMO. I agree...but there's also quality on Bleach, Showbiz, Smeared, etc. It's just that it's not quality enough to leave a lasting impression without the later work. |
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) Many will cite their debut as their best, most likely b/c of "Light My Fire" and "The End", but I really think Strange Days is the better of the two.