0026: 10 Great Rock Sophomore Albums
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 10:26
Tags:
- 1. This Year's Model - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- 2. The Band - The Band
- 3. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement
- 4. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
- 5. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
- 6. Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
- 7. Nevermind - Nirvana
- 8. Goodbye Jumbo - World Party
- 9. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- 10. The Trinity Sessions - Cowboy Junkies
Author Comments:
Creating my list of favorite debuts, I realized that, despite the eternal threat of the much-dreaded sophomore slump, many of my favorite albums are actually artists' second albums. This list was born.
Hard to argue with these choices, although I really prefer My Aim is True to This Year's Model (we never agree on the album, only the artist, huh?). Paul's Boutique is an excellent inclusion that completely slipped my mind.
Johnny Waco
Details may vary, but if you like Elvis Costello, I can hardly say anything negative about that!
As for Paul's Boutique, I understand. I had forgotten Nevermind until I spied it on your list!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
but only one of them can be his second album.
Good list, but I have one quibble. Although I love The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - definitely a seminal album - isn't it folk music? As the list is titled "Great *Rock* Sophomore Albums," The Freewheelin' would be excluded because it isn't technically rock music. However, it is certainly one of the greatest sophomore albums ever.
Tough call, that one. In the end, since Dylan is a rock artist, I decided to claim Freewheelin' as a folk album played as rock rather than as a pure folk album with no ties to the rock world. Foolish, perhaps, but I'm fairly comfortable with it.
Thanks for the comments!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
i know this may be a bit current, and possibly too mainstream (or under the radar, depending on how you look at it)...but i'd have to include weezer's "pinkerton" on best sophomore albums. after going 4x platinum with the blue album, rivers came out with an edgy, distorted, cacophonous, purely emotional soph effort. no singles were released, and to this day it's a cult classic w/ weezer fans.
i'd definately agree with pinkerton, i think its one of the top albums of our time. so complete and emotional. too bad weezer couldn't do it again.
I would add Interpol-Turn on the Bright Lights, Tricky-Pre-Millinium Tension, and PJ Harvey-Rid of Me.
Great comments.
I'll be honest and state that I haven't heard the entire Interpol album yet, just the first half. I always like to consider Nearly God as Tricky's sophomore album, as I believe his career has largely been a series of decline from his brilliant debut. Nearly God was nearly as good (especially Poems), Pre-Millennium not quite so, and by Angels we were in big trouble.
Rid of Me is certainly a good contender for this list. Again, alas, only ten spaces...
Thanks for the comments!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
You are right, Nearly God should properly be considered sophomore. I have a particular like for PMT, probably more for personal reasons (good memories from listening to the album)so I might not be too objective. I agree though, that by Angels, the wheels had come off.
another one I would add is Mission of Burma, Vs.
A great album, but isn't that Mission's debut LP? (For the purposes of this list, I don't count EPs.) Am I wrong? I'm certainly not a Mission completist and couldn't swear to it...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
ah, didn't know the rules, you are correct, Signals, Calls and Marches is an ep
Interesting idea, but I'd be tempted to take it one step further - what are the sophmore albums that improve most on the artist's debut? WELL heres what I would say:
1. Orbital 2
2. Scooter - Our Happy Hardcore (don't look at me like that!)
3. Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral
4. Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West
5. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
6. Faust - So Far (the Scaruffi people are going to kill me for this)
7. Daft Punk - Discovery
8. Yukihiro Takahashi - Murdered by the Music
9. Sigur Ros - Agtyeyets Bryjunnn
10. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Wow, great idea (and I've never heard the Scooter disc, though I reckon I should hunt it down now).
I'll have to think before posting a definitive list, but three that pop to my mind...
Cool for Cats (Squeeze)
Warren Zevon (Warren Zevon)
Modern Life Is Rubbish (Blur) (Yeah, this one gets lots of dissent...)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Haha, you probably shouldn't, it's totally a guilty pleasure of mine. Scooter committs a number of crimes against music. They're a euro-rave group with a German M.C. that raps in English who has come up with some ultra-terrible lyrics ("I want you back so clean up the dish, by the way, HOW MUCH IS THE FISH!") and most of their songs are based on samples, something that they have gotten lazier and lazier with (one of their recent tracks almost, but not quite, samples Blur's "Song #2", which we all know, but with a few chord changes to prevent them from having to pay royalties). That all said, I still enjoy the shit out of them from time to time. I guess if you had to get one of their albums, that would probably be one of the best to get, but you'd probably hear "Speed it up speed it up turn up the bass! Higher, and higher, feelin' so fine, listen to the voice of your Valentine!" and turn it off.