May 212012
Second helping!
A musician friend of mine recently got some Facebook conversation going about a band’s “second recordings that I listened to even more than their first.” Here are some of the albums listed:
- Hypnotised
- Before Hollywood
- Heaven Up Here
- Chairs Missing
- Reckoning
- This Modern World
- Bandwagonesque
- Solid Gold
- Teenage Symphonies to God
- If You’re Feeling Sinister
To this list, I would add:
- II & III
- Surfer Rosa
- Power, Corruption & Lies
At this time of year, when graduations are upon us, can you provide some guidance and examples for the Class of 2016 that a band’s sophomore year may be even better, if not more memorable, than their first?
This Year’s
GirlModel!Don’t agree with all of yours. While I like Chairs Missing just fine, I definitely prefer Pink Flag. I think Mr. Moderator, however, is with you on that one. While there is something a little removed and light in the sound of Entertainment, I think Solid Gold just has a fake richness to the sound. I remember being very disappointed, particularly after the original single release of “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time” and “He’d send in the Army” sounded more full bodied and aggressively present that the rerecorded album versions. The difference is subtle, almost indescribable, but it seemed so clear at the time.
My nomination for the best second album is “More Songs About Buildings and Food”. The first album was a perfectly serviceable commercial presentation of Talking Heads’ left field sound. When they got together with Eno they had plenty of good material left over from the early days and his production actually brought out the way they sounded as players, something nearly impossible to discern through the sheen of ’77.
Definitely!
Band – The Band
Cream – Disraeli Gears
Paul McCartney – Ram
The original list was compiled by my friend and some additional contributors. Of those listed, I would have enough knowledge to agree with Belle and Sebastian, Go Betweens, Teenage Fanclub and Velvet Crush. My contributions were the Camper Van Beethoven, Pixies and New Order.
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Björk – Post
The Smithereens – Green Thoughts
Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy
The Police – Regatta de Blanc
The The – Infected
Tom Petty – You’re Gonna Get It
BIg Star – Radio City
Wilco – Being There
The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
“With The Beatles”
“Repercussions” -The dB’s
“Wild Gift” – X
Yes!
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – The Firstborn is Dead
Sons and Daughters- The Repulsion Box
Neko Case- Furnace Room Lullabye
More Specials! The debut is fine and dandy, but the second album is full o’ bouncier beans.
Get the Picture by the Pretty Things
12X5 by the Rolling Stones
I love More Specials too!
Back To Black
Or even This Year’s Model!
Seriously–there is a human being out there who prefers This Is the Modern World to In the City?
Yes, yes, and yes. Good ones.
Extremely good call on Regatta de Blanc.
Bowie is a tough one since he was making records in the mid-60s, but if you regard (as I do) Space Oddity as the first “real” Bowie lp then that makes Man Who Sold the World his second, and I listen to it far more than Oddity.
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
Red flag on Green Thoughts. Too moody, compared to the upbeat racket on Especially For You.
There are really 2 schools of thought on which is best Stand For Decibels or Repercussions. A lot dB’s fans swear by the first album as unabashed brilliance. I’m on the fence. It seems those who like Holsaplle tend to favour Repercussions.
Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
I would argue that the first album has higher highs, but the second one is way more consistent.
With the Beatles is way better than Please Please Me.
Meet the Beatles is way better than Introducing the Beatles
All Things Must Pass is way better than Electronic Music. Ok, that’s a cheap shot.
Psychedelic Furs – Talk Talk Talk
Nirvana – Never Mind
Yo La Tengo – New Wave Hot Dogs
Plimsouls – Everywhere at Once
I think “Transformer” gets the edge over Lou Reed’s self titled solo debut.
Going by the UK track listings, I’d put Kinda Kinks ahead of their debut…more originals on the 2nd one.
I also rate “The Third Reich ‘n Roll” higher than “Meet The Residents”…and there’s no originals on the 2nd one.
And I think Nixon’s Head’s “Gourmet” has a slight edge over “Traps, Buckshot & Pelt”.
And Mötörhead’s 2nd release, “Overkill” tops the self-titled debut album.
AC/DC’s “T.N.T” album is much better than “High Voltage” (I’m talking the original Australian debut album by the group); tougher sounding production.
The Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” beats “License To Ill”.
Almost forgot; The Soft Boys’ second, “Underwater Moonlight”, kicks “A Can of Bees” ass.
Sorry for the pince-nez but Electronic Sound is George’s second album. The first was Wonderwall Music.
Being There is a good call, but I have been on an A.M. kick of late — it’s way better than I remembered.
I agree with cliff.
Big Smithereens fan too.
May be the biggest leap forward I can think of, with a big nod to the Dust Bros for the assist…
The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle
Fun House
Lincoln – (TMBG)
and if you care to debate, how about Pinkerton
and one more You’re Living All Over Me
Radiohead The Bends
Todd Rundgren Something / Anything
Good call on The Bends.
A fair point and very good descriptions!–although I’d rather contrast by calling Green Thoughts a “downbeat racket”!
Zeppelin II.
“Fun House”, YES!
Turn Turn Turn is a better album than Tambourine man: more rug harmonies!
I do.
And he is human – I can attest to that.
“The Wild, The Innocent, et al” and “Fun House” are both excellent calls.
http://www.virtualrimshot.com/
Well, I had previously thought so…but now I have my doubts. This Is the Modern World has the title track and “Standards,” both good songs, and a lot of very mediocre stuff played in a not very inspiring manner. It isn’t as if every song on In the City is pure gold, either, but it is all played with a certain excitement that generally compensates when the songs are only so-so.
A.M is really good too. Box Full of Letters is one of my favorites, with the Teenage Fanclub-chordy riffs.
I honestly couldn’t tell you which of the two I’ve played more, but I like the Holsapple stuff MORE on the first – Black and White, Big Blue Eyes, and Bad Reputation.
Apologies for the pince nez, but Bandwagonesque was Teenage Fanclub’s third, after A Catholic Education and The King, both of which were terrible.
I couldn’t quite believe that one either.
You’re certainly not wrong there
It’s been very hot today and I’ve got nothing better to do than flump out and think:
Joy Division – Closer
The Smiths – Meat is Murder
The Fall – Dragnet
The Who – A Quick One
Velvet Underground – White Light White Heat
REM – Reckoning
Donovan – Fairytale
Incredible String Band – 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion
PiL – Metal Box
Swell Maps – Jane from Occupied Europe
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Join Hands
Dory Previn – Mythical Kings and Iguanas (I’m discounting the 1958 soundtrack she made with Andre under her maiden name)
Carole King – Tapestry
Fairport Convention – What We Did On Our Holidays
Hawkwind – In Search of Space
T Rex – Electric Warrior (assuming that the Hall is prepared to distinguish between the electric T Rex and the mainly acoustic Tyrannosaurus)
Simon and Garfunkel – Sounds of Silence
Melanie – Affectionately
Iron Butterfly – In A Gadda Da Vida
The King is still only available as an import in on this side of the Atlantic.
I wouldn’t recommend it….
I saw TFC at Reading Festival when Bandwagonesque had just come out – the guy who I was lodging with’s brother had their first two albums and played them regularly. As I enjoyed them in the sunshine I simply couldn’t believe that they were the same band.
I like their first lp, but I’ve never heard The King. After that first one I didn’t like them until Grand Price. The recent, mellow albums are nice.
Prix, that is….
II is #1!
Great list!
Jane from Occu Euro is the tits…it really is. It’s been a favorite of mine forever. I just listened to it in its entirety a few days ago.
And You’re Living All Over Me…my GAWD, after seeing it listed by Cliff (who beat me to Funhouse), I want to crank it NOW.
I highly object to the notion that A Quick One is superior to “The Who Sings…”.
Highly.
I’ve always thought of “My Generation” a rather turgid album, dragged down with rather pedestrian covers, in fact I think I’ve only listened to it once, so I might even be wrong.
MG probably indicates more clearly than AQ1 their direction towards full Power And Glory mode from Live at Leeds onwards. I just prefer the pop stuff.
Yes, I thought about digging it out as soon as I thought of it, haven’t listened to it in ages. They were another rather unfortunately fated band, and ridiculously underrated in their day. I found a fully signed copy of Trip To Marineville a while back for the equivalent of about four dollars, with the cover of the free single signed and doodled all over as well. That was a very happy day.
While I would never consider White Light White Heat a slump, I could never rate it higher than VU & Nico. There are good songs on WLWH but so many more classic songs on the first one to rate it lower.
Fair enough; I don’t hear as many problems with My Generation as you do.
But if that album is a more precise harbinger of their eventual “power and glory” fate, then that’s as much damning as it is praising; it led to their inability to get past “baba” and “don’t get fooled” for the next thirty years.
And there’s the obvious obverse: a Quick One more clearly indicates their more immediate future as Rock Operatics (or is it “Operators”? Opratists?).
Ugh.
As with the ‘Oo, I’ve always preferred the John Cale driven droney ones to Lou Reed as he was meant to be heard, and again down to personal taste.