the difficult second Lp


Well worn story...band has years to hone their craft and make an amazing debut LP...then falters miserably..due to pressure, success, expectations. etc. There are always exceptions. Zep II, etc. Any train wreck sophomore efforts come to mind? Stone Roses, U2, VH all stumbled a bit on a follow up to a promising debut. On the flip side , any second LPs that really stand out?
128x128phasecorrect
Warren Zevon's second album, the self titled "Warren Zevon" is, to me, his best album. His third album, "Excitable Boy" isn't bad either.
Some view Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, which he wrote second, as inferior to Piano Concerto No. 2, which he wrote first.
Big Country made a really unique, powerful LP in "the Crossing" that the time put them ahead of the likes of U2,the Alarm,etc...unfortunately "Steeltown" was a flop in the states... However they did retain their UK audience until their demise. The Alarm went all out with the grossly slick "Eye of the hurricane". Their association with U2 at that point was a liability, as months earlier the Joshua Tree went massive in sales.
Phasecorrect,
I agree with you on The Darkness,

Permission to Land......very promising.

One way ticket to Hell....."don't come" back :-)

However and IMHO, Use your Illusion I/II produced enough hits to pass by as a somewhat stand out effort. After that........nothing other than the ballad "Patience"!