What we have here, one hope's for your listening pleasure, is a collection of some of my favorite songs from second records. This mix is not about the albums from whence the songs came.
(You can tell me everything wrong with those last two last sentences some other time.)
I thought about "Best Songs From Bad Second Albums," and the first tune that came to mind was "Ain't That Nothin'" by Television. But I really don't mind "Adventure" all that much. It kinda stinks as a follow-up to "Marquee Moon," but would be a damn fine record if "Marquee Moon" didn't exist. I didn't want to complicate things further, so I simply took the easy way out, which was compiling songs from sophomore releases and then creating a very playable playlist, one I would enjoy listening to.
Yesterday, Vanwoert said:
"I think it was Glenn Frey who famously said; 'you have your whole life to write your first album and only six months to write your second.'"
This is very true, yet there are also those cases when the second effort absolutely outshines the debut, like Wilco's "Being There," the Beasties "Paul's Boutique," and World Party's "Goodbye Jumbo," all represented below.
For years manning my counter at NYCD, I would listen to people rave about the Traveling Wilburys debut and trash the second record. Never got that at all. It's the same record. I love them both.
On a side note, when my friend John hipped me to the new Jeff Lynne produced Bryan Adams single--which I like, by the way--I told him, "I'll bet lunch that if I post this on Burning Wood, it will get trashed." This morning, I received a note- "I guess we are going dutch, as the consensus seems to be split."
I decided to mention this while I was typing out today's tracklist. Something tells me there will be eyerolls heard 'round the world in regards to the Boston tune. But as I commented in yesterday's post, I like "Don't Look Back," and while widely considered a terrible follow-up, at least half of it is as good as what's on the debut, especially the big ballad included here.
Dig in...or don't.
TRACKLIST
She's My Baby- Traveling Wilburys
Forget All About It- The Nazz
Give Me Back My Man- The B'52s
Egg Man- The Beastie Boys
New Mistake- Jellyfish
God On My Side- World Party
Going Home-The Idle Race
Outta Mind (Outta Sight)- Wilco
Black Sheep Boy- Tim Hardin
I Must Go- Lindsey Buckingham
Pumping-Patti Smith
Lip Service- Elvis Costello
Indigo- Peter Gabriel
I Don't Remember Your Name- The Records
So Sad About Us- The Who
Safe European Home- The Clash
Goodbye Holly- The Left Banke
A Man I'll Never Be-Boston
Rock & Roll Love Letter- Tim Moore
Seven Seas Of Rhye- Queen
zip
6 comments:
Sal,
Great concept -- brilliant execution!
I could no more curate a mix like this one than I could fly to the moon.
Thanks!
Great, great idea for a mix, and a conversation. Looking forward to hearing these, many of which I don't know (which means I must be guilty of first-album-fixation sometimes). Thanks and have a great weekend Sal.
This reminds me of what could be a cool future topic - bands you like MORE as they got older than at first. Bands that defy the image of the debut LP as the best. I have some definite ideas in that realm if the topic ever comes up...
Got home halfway through my weekend & found this classic mix which is up for some serious play time. Who couldn't love "A Man I'll Never Be"? Come on! Stir in some tasty Television, Who, Clash, Idle Race, Queen & this mix ain't your sloppy seconds!
Much appreciated, many thanks & may your weekend roll the way you want it to. Cheers!
nice…not every day you see a - please sir may i have some more reference!
good morning starshine
cheers
el nijo
Rock and Roll Love Letter!!!!
Great choice,,
Absolutely one of your best, Sal. I won't argue that it's better than the debut album, but Marshall Crenshaw's "Field Day" was as unjustly maligned as Boston's "Don't Look Back." I could see five tracks from "FD" on this mix.
Dave F.
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