the difficult second Lp

Disagree on Television's Adventure. While at first I did not think it was better than Marquee Moon, Over the years I have found it to be an exquisite alternative. However, Verlaine's second solo LP was not up to par with the debut.

I think the second Gram Parsons LP matched or exceeded his debut.

Who could forget Use your illusion I/II...bloated, overproduced 9 min drivel ballads...and those were the good tunes. The Darkness and Wolfmother also laid eggs on sophomore releases.

Kate Bush's first two albums are the exception. "The Kick Inside" and "Lionheart" are equally magnificent.

Also, Pat Metheny's 2nd release "Watercolors" was a strong album.

Abraxas

the clash, give em enough rope--to my ears a weakish, overtly commercial followup to the classic debut--i just don't think the songs are there.

doors, strange days--vastly inferior to the debut; "when the music's over" sounds like a watery retread of "the end,", albeit without a theme. the next couple were even weaker, but they're the odd band who regenerated creatively towards the end and finished as strong as they started.

as for "adventure", i agree with both phase and clio--it's not as groundbreaking or essential as marquee moon, but vg on its own terms--"glory" and "foxhole" are great songs.