^ This, emphatically. Most other classic Genesis albums tended to intersperse lesser tunes between the greater ones. Until ATooT. Wind and Wuthering kicked off with one of the greatest two-song sequences ever: “Eleventh Earl of Mar” followed by “One for the Vine.” They really frontloaded that album, didn’t they? If they’d put “Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth” third it would have been a very strong sequence of 3.
I’d like to nominate Close to the Edge and Relayer by Yes. Yes, each of them has only three songs apiece. But those threes do make extremely solid sequences, to meet the OP’s criteria:
“Close to the Edge,” “And You and I,” “Siberian Khatru”
“The Gates of Delirium,” “Sound Chaser,” and “To Be Over”.
Bob Dylan’s album Blonde on Blonde, where my Dope username comes from, wins here in various ways. Particularly songs 3, 4, 5: “Visions of Johanna,” “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later),” with its unforgettable piano ecstasies, and “I Want You.”
On Journey’s live album Captured, I’ve always loved the opening salvo of “Where Were You”, “Just the Same Way” and “Line of Fire”. Kicks you right in the face and they haven’t even gotten to their hits yet.
Jethro Tull: “Wind Up”, “Thick as a Brick”, “A Passion Play”
So awesome, they had to be spread across three separate albums!
