And examples of when they were not?
2007-11-09 06:34:07 · 21 answers · asked by Sookie 6 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music ➔ Rock and Pop
It can be subjective, but I'm leaving it up to you. The "Slump", or lack of one, could be in terms of the quality of the material, sales, its reception by critics, fans and the public...whatever you want.
2007-11-09 07:20:06 · update #1
Hmmm...interesting, Justin.
2007-11-09 08:57:08 · update #2
Bush - Razorblade Suitcase didn't live up to sixteen stone
2007-11-09 06:43:53 · answer #1 · answered by Bored @ Work 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I've generally noticed the pattern to be the third album that flounders actually. A band will release a good debut album, a blinding second album and then lose the plot a bit on the third attempt. The best bands pull back with a good fourth album, like they've learned their lesson. The stand out exception that I can think of is Rammstein who didn't wobble til their fifth album. Here's hoping the sixth recaptures the magic!
2007-11-12 09:36:14 · answer #2 · answered by engelherz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bands often cited for having a weak (or inferior to the previous) second album that I know of but don't necesarily I agree with:
-The Adverts
-The Damned - Music For Pleasure (weak production, good songs)
-The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope (good album, just a few iffy tracks and its hard to follow that debut!)
-The Ramones - Leave Home (utterly ridiculous but some people apparently think it was a low point somehow)
-The New York Dolls (ridiculous again)
-The MC5 (a move towards a tamer sound)
-The Dictators
-The Dead Boys (I tried not to include bands that only had two albums but this fits too well, although some tracks are absolute classics production and record company pressure to be cleaner killed We Have Come For Your Children)
I thought I could think of more but I guess thats it. But I think it's worth noting that a lot of bands also put out some of their strongest work the second time around. The Stooges, T.Rex, Aerosmith, 13th Floor Elevators, Sonics, Velvet Underground, Ramones (this one is my opinion), and Iggy Pop to name a few.
2007-11-10 08:43:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hootie and the Blowfish. Their first major label album was Cracked Rear View which sold millions of copies . Their next album Fairweather Johnson only sold a couple million.
Bands like the Beatles,Rolling Stones, Radiohead,Wilco and others have made consistent albums which improve in sales and quality.
It is hard for an act with huge success its first album such as Hootie to follow that up. Just ask Alanis Morrisette and Boston.
2007-11-09 06:41:02 · answer #4 · answered by jukebox 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Two examples that come immediately to mind:
The Stone Roses - Second Coming. Definitely did not meet the bar set by their debut, and difficult to live up to the hype of the British musical press when you're the next big thing.
Elastica - the Menace. Not really a bad album, just not nearly as good as their first. And it came out far to late to capitalize on the success of their debut.
Will think about successful second albums later - right now the only one that jumps out at me is Throwing Copper by Live - Mental Jewelry was a great debut but Throwing Copper was their most solid album, in my opinion.
2007-11-09 11:00:58 · answer #5 · answered by I Could Be Again 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I could probably answer this question better about a more recent band....and that would probably be The Rapture's second album-- the one that follows "Echoes", and it just was blech. That CD has collected dust in its own case. Maybe I should donate it to the Goodwill? ;) I'm sure they've got a bin of "sophomore slump" releases.
Oh! And I have another one, the follow up to The Sounds' debut, is also too commercially produced. Their first one was fantastic; one I could actually sit through from beginning to end (should have listed that one in your other question). Anyhow, the second one is - eh.
2007-11-09 07:52:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Boston's Don't Look Back was pretty decent. I would call Van Halen II a lesser album than VHI. Usually a slump occurs when a breakthrough band has a huge hit or more than one hit on their first effort.
Men At Work's second was awful (for example)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood.....was there even a second after Relax?
You get the idea.
2007-11-09 06:42:06 · answer #7 · answered by James M 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What is odd about the "sophmore slump" is that at the time the band puts out their second album, critics say it's gone south, yet as the years pass, it is reffered to as a classic.
Here are some examples I know of:
Weezer - "Pinkerton"
Beastie Boys - "Paul's Boutique"
Queens of the Stone Age - "Rated R"
Tell anyone who's a fan of the above mentioned fans that the bands second album was marginal, at best, and they'll call you crazy. It is really just a matter of opinion. Time changes everything.
2007-11-09 08:39:27 · answer #8 · answered by Justin N 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Hootie & The Blowfish
Wilson Phillips
Alanis Morrisette
The Spin Doctors
2007-11-09 09:21:09 · answer #9 · answered by The Oracle 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In terms of quality, I'd have to say that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's second album "Some Loud Thunder" was a big let down, especially considering how close their debut was to inide perfection. It's got a few good tracks on it, but doesn't come close to their first outing, although they do seem to have gained a lot more popularity since it's release.
2007-11-09 10:02:42 · answer #10 · answered by rukrym 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Most bands I can think of got increasingly better with the second album (Radiohead, A Perfect Circle, Muse, dredg)
However I would put Franz Ferdinand and Longwave with your victims.
Justin N - sorry but i had too. R is incredible!
2007-11-09 10:14:48 · answer #11 · answered by ƎIΝΟƆ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋