10 Best Sophomore Albums of a Given Lineup

[Zzzptm]

Time for the number ones...

Here's mine.

After the band released an album that kinda went to a whole lot of nowhere, they regrouped on a different label more supportive of their sound and gave us...

THIS...



I got this album in 1987, after I moved to an efficiency apartment in Austin, just off campus. I got married right after that, 19 years old, and we celebrated 36 years this last August. But back then, we was young, poor, and going to college. So, of course, we needed metal to make it through those hard times. I had gone to a Half-Price Books & Records on the south side and perused for a while... I found some really dangerous-looking metal and this was in that buy. So was Don't Break the Oath my Mercyful Fate...

OK, so the Mercyful Fate was something I had to shelve, but this one got played over and over and over and over. You all know why. It's awesome.

But after my wife had a nightmare during a nap, I wasn't allowed to play "I'll Be Your Sister" again while she was sleeping. And avoid it if she was awake, it gave her the heebie-jeebies.

A few weeks later, classes started and my wife found a baby kitten to take home. We paid the pet deposit, got a cat box, and brought in a little white kitty. We didn't know what to name her until after we noticed she loved to sit on top of the speaker when this album was playing. So we named the cat Philbert, after the drummer. It was a good time.

I had no idea this album was that good when I got it, but I found out right after I first played it. A true classic, beloved by many.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

#1

Rainbow - Rising



When we first discussed this topic my first thought was Rainbow... Rising. One of the most iconic and greatest albums ever made. The debut was solid and certainly had its moments but this was on a different level.

Best Tracks: Tarot Woman, Starstruck, Light in the Black.... and of course Stargazer

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I might do an "honourable mentions" list tomorrow, and perhaps mention which albums I was aggrieved at not being their second album!

[Charger]

I was 100% certain ZZZ had screwed up there with Overkill...but no...I have always thought Bomber was the second album then Overkill! :O That's so strange....I'm not sure where I got that impression but it has stuck with me the whole time I've been a Motörhead fan! I am in shock! And had I known this earlier this album would have most certainly been on my list....crazy.

Anyways...

#1.

RAINBOW - RISING




KDC said it too, the first thought I had was of this album...there was no possibility #1 could be anything else.
This is pretty much a perfect album....and it is one of THE best albums of all time and Stargazer is one of THE best tracks of all time.

[Charger]

Because of my ignorance (and poor memory combined) few albums got left out that should have been on the list...although I am not entirely sure which albums I could have cut out to make room for them though!

But they would have been:

Tony Martin - Scream

A stellar album...Tony's first album Back Where I Belong wasn't all that good and most certainly not all that heavy but he surely kicked things up a notch with Scream. And in a true multi-instrumentalist mannor Tony recorded almost all of the instruments himself...and it also featured probably one of the last ever appearances of the late great Cozy Powell on drums whose unused drum track Tony found in his collection of material.

Martin/Mollo - The Cage 2

The second Cage album is a beast. Tracks like Terra Toria, Amore Silenzioso, Theater Of Dreams and Poison Roses are master pieces in their own rights and the version of Dazed And Confused here blows the original out of the water! Tony's vocals are absolutely top notch here and Dario's guitar playing is brilliant. A masterpiece of an album. This one I completely forgot to even consider for my list just like Scream.

GEEZER - Black Science

This I thought of but I still put Hammerfall in it's place mainly because I thought I'd give Hammerfall a fair chance here as no one else would mention it!

And then ofcourse

Motörhead - Overkill

For as long as I have been a Motörhead fan I have always arranged my albums Bomber first then Overkill (even did that for my car's music library it starts with Bomber) so I have always thought Overkill was their third album! (Or fourth if you count On Parole as well)...it's kind of crazy that after a relatively weak album in their self titled they managed to hammer out an absolute timeless masterpiece.
It's kind of strange that Bomber is so much weaker than Overkill and then again Ace Of Spades is such a vast improvement and another timeless masterpiece.
So this was probably one of my biggest shocks of all time to find out I had been this wrong for so long.


Savatage's Power Of The Night was in my thoughts but honestly it just wasn't strong enough...Side B just doesn't cut it...now if you'd consider The Dungeons Are Calling as their second album (which it truly isn't) then it would have most certainly been on the list.

But those would be my honorable mentions.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I only really have 1 honourable mention, the rest are the albums I had on my long list but which turned out not to be the bands 2nd album. There are bound to albums (like Motorhead's) which I just haven't thought of!

Honourable Mention

The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope - This is less punk that the debut and a definite move to later albums like London Calling.

Ineligible Choices

Yes - The Yes Album. I've ignored their earliest material as I understand it's a little different. But although I knew there was an album called Time And A Word I hadn't realised there was a S/T debut!

Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Trilogy. A question of getting the order mixed up, I could have sworn Tarkus came after Trilogy... but I was wrong!

The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette. I know there is an album after the debut called Music for Pleasure but I was under the impression it wasn't released in the UK, I can now find no evidence to back that up!

The Jam - All Mod Cons. I was quite shocked when I checked, that this wasn't their 2nd album, but like BS they released 3 albums in about a year and a half (mid-77 to late-78)!

[Zzzptm]

And now we will do the top 10 of a particular lineup, not necessarily the 2nd actual album of a band, but the second one after a major lineup change (new singer, new guitarist, formation of the "classic" lineup, etc.)

I'm ready with my list... KDC and Charger, are you set?

[Charger]

My list isn't done yet but I can move ahead for sure! I'll think as we go!

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I've got a list ready! It's only got ten at the moment so I hope I haven't made mistakes! My first choice might be controversial!

[Zzzptm]

All righty then...

My honorable mentions are:

Rumours - second album from the Buckingham-Nicks lineup of Fleetwood Mac. Yes, it's overly-commercialized. But it's also a solid album that delivers a lot of really good songs.

A Passion Play - Jethro Tull's second album with Barrymore Barlow on drums, and although not as strong as Thick as a Brick, it's still one that pops in my head frequently.

The Black Album - The Damned went through a lineup change where Captain Sensible emerged as the new lead guitarist, and this album showed everyone that things were gonna be all right.

And now, my list, which will cover metal, hard rock, fun, soul, and prog...

***

#10 - Ride the Lightning



Fun fact: if John Bush had accepted Hetfield's offer to be the lead singer, it wouldn't be on this list! It would be on the first one, though. What an album! This one and Master of Puppets are why Cliff Burton fans miss him so much. This is the second album from Metallica after Mustaine left and I think it stands with Master of Puppets as their two single best works.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I'm unlikely to put an artists actual 2nd album on here as I probably would have posted that in the first half of the game!

Anyway... #10

Iron Maiden - Dance of Death



Maybe a little controversial because this album is a return to an earlier line-up. After Dickinson and Smith had left some albums earlier they both returned for Brave New World and have stayed ever since. The 2nd album with this returning line-up was Dance of Death, one of the more consistent albums since they reformed.

Best Tracks: Rainmaker, Gates of Tomorrow, New Frontier, Passchendaele, Face in the Sand, Age of Innocence

[Charger]

^^^
That's actually not a bad choice as that has remained Maiden's last really good album! And it is also the second album to feature the line up with 3 guitar players! So it ticks all the boxes!

I'm not sure about Ride The Lightning though....


Well my #10 is

DEATH ANGEL - THE DREAM CALLS FOR BLOOD




Death Angel returned in 2010 with a new line up and a killer album Relentless Retribution but I think the next two albums they surely knocked it out of the park. The Dream Calls For Blood is a suberb album with a killer artwork (thus the bigger picture!) and the title track is most certainly a modern thrash metal classic. Left For Dead, Son Of The Morning and Caster Of Shame are among the finer tracks on the album.

[Zzzptm]

My #9...



After the jazz-rock fusion sound of Ian Gillan Band no longer did it for Gillan, he got a different band together and went into a harder sound. Fun fact: he turned down Blackmore's offer to front Rainbow after dissolving IGB.

Gillan had success with what's now called "The Japanese Album", but needed something different. For the next album, Mr. Universe, he brought in Mick Underwood on drums and Bernie Torme on guitar and everything went in a much more metal direction, right as the NWOBHM kicked off. That did all right and then the band made Glory Road.

This was my first Gillan album, and I loved it. The standout track was No Easy Way followed by Unchain Your Brain. There was a little cheesiness the keyboards for On the Rocks, but all in all it was a great album and I still like to dust it off to this day.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

#9

Hawkwind - Sonic Attack



The Hawkwind lineup used to change as often as they changed their underwear. However, this was the second album where the core of the band stayed the same for a few albums, the core being Dave Brock, Huw Lloyd-Langton and Harvey Bainbridge. The previous album -- 1980s Levitation -- was quite good, but sounded very much like the old 70s Hawkwind albums. In 1981 they changed label and developed a more "hard rock" sound. They collaborated with SF/Fantasy author Michael Moorcock for the first time and produced a wonderful album.

Best Tracks: Rocky Paths, Virgin of the World-Angel of Death, Living on a Knife Edge

[Zzzptm]

^ Yes, that is a great album.