It has been the case so many times in modern music - an artist or a band bursts on a scene with a brilliant, sometimes classic album and then the second time around, they come up with something that doesn’t meet the expectations either of the audience or the critics, and very often - both. So, the critics here picked up a term from university studies - the sophomore slump to describe such a situation.
This could happen for so many reasons—from the fact that artists are pressured by time, their and everybody else’s expectations, creative blocks, and whatnot. So many artists and bands that established great reputations with their debut albums have run into it—Stone Roses, Oasis, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, the list goes on.
Yet, there is a hefty dose of artists and/or bands that didn’t run into that problem, and in most cases, it turns out that it was those that were and still are considered among the best around. It is no wonder that the 17 sophomore albums below are or should be considered absolute classics.
17 absolutely stunning second albums from excellent musical artists
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan (1963)
Dylan was still entirely in his full-on folk phase when he came up with this, his second album. On one hand, it has one of the most iconic album covers around, on the other, some of the best songs he came up with in his folk phase - “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right.”
Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane (1967)
Sure, Takes Off was a great debut album, but Jefferson Airplane’s second album is an absolute classic not only for the band, but for rock music as such. A slice of prime psych rock with gems like “Somebody to Love,” “White Rabbit,” and one of the best rock ballads around, “Coming Back To Me.”
Axis: Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix (1967)
How do you follow up on anything you came up with on your debut album that included guitar histrionics like “Purple Haze” or any other track on that album? Well, you cool things down, space them out (with space in its literal meaning) and bring in more magic guitar licks, that is how.
Astral Weeks by Van Morrison (1968)
Even classic pop/rock that was “Brown Eyed Girl” that was on Van Morrisons debut solo album Blowin’ Your Mind would prepare either the critics or the audiences for what Morrison came up on Astral Weeks that followed - an absolute classic of psych, baroque pop, sprinkled with jazz and folk, making this album crop up on practically any 'best of' lists.
II by Led Zeppelin (1969)
There are so many albums with II as a title, and so many of those possibly signal a lack of ideas and inspiration. At the same time, when Led Zeppelin came up with their number two, so many bands were into a hard rock take on blues, and Zeppelin beat them at both games with ease, with the energy, instrumental and vocal prowess, and songwriting that was on the rise.
Paranoid by Black Sabbath (1970)
If it were only the title track, this album would hold its place as a classic, but as a whole, it was a prime example of where hard rock was heading and served (and still serves) as a roadmap for so many artists and bands doing hard rock and heavy metal in all of its shapes and forms.
Fun House by The Stooges (1970)
Coming up the same year, Black Sabbath released their classic, this one by Iggy Pop and his crowd is neck and neck for its influence on all things hard and heavy, but at the same time, it also had a heavy influence on things happening later in the decade—the appearance of prime punk rock.
Tapestry by Carole King (1971)
Talking all things prime, this album would be in the prime singer-songwriter genre, not only by the year it appeared in but also by the quality and excellence it brought, not only with its songwriting and performance but also by the fact that it transcended the moment it came in. No wonder that at one point, it was the best-selling album in modern music.
Sailin’ Shoes by Little Feat (1972)
At the time, Lowell George, Bill Payne, and others were still outcasts from Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, and yes, they were trying to do something else. Yet, already by their second album, Little Feat were coming up with a take on all things roots/blues/boogie/R&B, that practically all critics were in awe, with audiences only to catch up later on.
This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello (1978)
One of the prime movers of what was named New Wave, Costello already presented himself as a brilliant songwriter on his debut (My Aim Is True), and by this, his second album he was already a master song craftsman with songs like “Pump it Up,” Night Rally," or “Radio, Radio.”
Doolittle - by Pixies (1989)
When Pixies came up with their stunning debut album Surfer Rosa, many critics thought that there would be no way that they could come up with something as good. Yet it turned out that Doolittle, their follow-up, was not only on the same level, but possibly better, as the band was able to channel their abundance of energy into something so uplifting, particularly with an absolute classic that is “Monkey Gone To Heaven.”
Nevermind by Nirvana (1991)
Okay, Bleach was a good album, not only as a debut but also as one of the prime movers of grunge. But Nevermind's songwriting brilliance caught everybody by surprise, and the reaction of the audience and the critics was unanimous and all for the right reasons. The rest turned into history.
Loveless by My Bloody Valentine (1991)
If you are looking for an album that can run for the title of the most creative use of guitar sounds in rock, this one would be one of the key contenders. At the same time, though, it also had some of the most creative songwriting of the nineties, making this one of the absolute classics—a classic that brought down the record label that released it first.
If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian (1996/97)
At the time, many thought that Stuart Murdoch and his musical collective had so many brilliant songs in tow that they were able to come up with two great albums in one year (Tigermilk preceded this one). Yet, this album was such a jump in comparison to the first one, and not only in its production values. After all, Belle & Sebastian were, and still are, coming up with brilliant songs after those two anyway.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
Jef Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel became one of the key musical enigmas of the nineties, not only because they released only two official studio albums but also because of the quality of their music on both of those. And no matter how good On Avery Island was, it was this, their second album, that brought both Mangum and his band an almost mythical status that survives to this day.
You Forgot It in People by Broken Social Scene (2002)
When this Toronto musical collective came up with their debut, Feel Good Lost, the kudos were flying in, but nobody expected that their follow-up would be either so good or that it would have such an impact. It turned out that all the members who chipped in for this one brought something great along the way, both with their songwriting and performance.
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse (2006)
With her second album, Winehouse presented herself not only as one of the best pop vocalists of the moment but also as an excellent songwriter. This album was an absolute success with both the critics and the audiences, with everybody yearning for her premature loss.