Depressing-but-pop singer Lana Del Ray has admitted she is struggling to come up with the follow-up to Born To Die. Saying her muse is "fickle," she has noted how she cannot tell fans what the next album will be like. This got us to wondering, what is it about that second album which stuns so many artists? If they want a career, would they not think to just save a few goodies for the next? Clearly, some just don't have it in them, so with that in mind, here are a few examples of those pesky 2nd runs:
MGMT- Congratulations
The duo's first album Oracular Spectacular was an interesting hit in 2008. Featuring singles like "Time to Pretend" and "Kids," it influenced indie-rock with a sense of psychadelic pop. The follow-up was pretty much just psychadelic and didn't contain a hit like the two mentioned: in other words, they hit a brick wall and decided to experiment as compensation. While a very intriguing album for this generation, it could have done with a little less spice and a little more meat. "Brian Eno" is nevertheless a particularly fun tune.
The Klaxons- Surfing The Void
Myths of the Near Future was a great dance/rock/pop record with songs which could have become indie anthems had they sustained the magic. "Golden Skans," "Gravity's Rainbow," "Isle of Her" and "It's Not Over Yet" were brilliant strokes but then they took years to return and they did so in spectacularly lacklustre fashion. "Echoes" was okay but like with MGMT's second album, this was just one of those critically acclaimed but popularly forgotten albums. Where they are now, I do not know but back in 2007, they could have been the next big indie act.
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U2- October
It's not bad but compared to their other work (and this is U2), it's disappointing. Only the title track was included on their best of 1980-1990 album. The problem was not that Boy was a smash-hit (indeed, it took some time for U2 to gather the audience they have today) but it was certainly a lot more integral to their career, setting them off. October was the in-between album of more U2 songs following the initial set-up but before the game-changer in 1983's War (which included a certain "Sunday Bloody Sunday").
The Stone Roses- The Second Coming
Its value and its reputation has risen over time. The Second Coming (with its great title) is a very good album by any band's standard but for the band which released one album five years prior to it, which was to become the album of a generation, it fell a bit flat. Disturbed by tricky business affairs and tethering personal relationships, the band was heading towards an inevitable break-up. The album, while hardly a chip of its predeccessors shoulders disappointed many in a time when Britpop was escalating. Still, one cannot deny a single like "Love Spreads," which fits in easily with any best-of you may make of their career.
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Gary Barlow- Twelve Months, Eleven Days
Okay, so Gary Barlow's solo career was never the high-point of his career but his first solo album Open Road fared well in 1997. With a hit single in "Forever Love" and a back-catalogue of Take That hits, it was believed he could become the next George Michael-esque pop singer. The second album was perhaps one of the most crushing reality checks for the now X-Factor judge however. It reached 34 in the UK Album Charts as then-enemy Robbie Williams became the nation's pop-star of choice. He would never follow it up until this year with Since I Saw You Last, due November 25th.
Guns n' Roses- G N' R Lies
Appetite for Destruction had "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City" so this was never going to be an easy one. "Patience" was the only single released and the album stands somewhere in between Appetite and Use Your Illusion these days, holding up a quivering hand for recognition. Denied.
However...
Not all artists fall under the pressure and there are some second albums which are simply stellar:
- Coldplay- A Rush of Blood to the Head
- Oasis- What's the Story (Morning Glory)?
- The Corrs- Talk on Corners
- Nirvana- Nevermind
- Led Zepellin- Led Zepellin II
- Radiohead- The Bends
So Lana, if you're reading- good luck, don't worry, just knuckle down, ignore the failed 2nd albums and listen to the good ones. Then don't take too long (like the Stone Roses), make it have a couple of hits and keep some promising tunes in reserve for the 3rd album. Once you have three great albums, then you can release whatever you like! Please let us know your favourite and least favourite follow-ups; what enthralled and what dissapointed you as fans?
