# Is there any rock studio double album where the second disc is better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 16, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680 "2023-08-16T22:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/21 "2023-08-17T16:20:20Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Made In Japan / Deep Purple: the second LP has _Lazy_, _Strange Kind Of Woman_ and _Space Trucking_. That’s a hard one: granted, the first LP has “The Mule” which is the only slog on the album (a 10 minute slog), but the rest are also stone cold live classics, “Smoke On The Water”, “Highway Star” and the probably best live recording of a rock vocal ever, “Child In Time”. So I’m undecided. > [@DCnDC](#): > > I think **Guns ‘n’ Roses** _Use Your Illusion II_ was better than _Use Your Illusion I_. The second disc ultimately had more singles than the first. Agreed, the “blue” UYI is much better than the “red”, though it’s debatable if it counts as a double album. IIRC, both CDs have lengths of 70+ minutes, so it would have been a vinyl quadruple LP anyway. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/22 "2023-08-17T16:20:52Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I immediately think of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. First record much better than the second. I strongly disagree with that. IMHO, the first record isn’t any better or worse than the 2nd. > [@dalej42](#): > > I’d say the same applies to The Wall. I strongly disagree with that one, too. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/23 "2023-08-17T16:29:52Z")
I love the whole thing, but I’d say the back nine of Hüsker Dü’s _Zen Arcade_ beats out the first half by a smidge. Side three has “Pink Turns To Blue,” “Newest Industry,” “Monday Will Never Be The Same” and “Whatever” one right after the other, then there’s the climax of “Turn on the News” on side four. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/24 "2023-08-17T20:44:50Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > When “Tommy” was first released on CD, the maximum runtime of CDs still was restricted to 74 minutes, so the double album wouldn’t have fitted on a single disc. When the remastered single disc version was released, the runtime for CDs had been extended in the meantime and CD players were able to play these extended discs, so it got a single disc release. Ok, I looked into the SACD that I saw listed as a 2-CD set in 2003, and it includes a ton of other things, much like how eventually CD releases of Who’s Next included a bunch of other tracks after the end of the original LP. They didn’t have any more room on the CD, so all the extras were on a second CD. So yeah, I definitely would agree that the 1 disc version starting from the 90s is probably better simply because it was remastered and not just copied onto CD as with the original CD release in the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/25 "2023-08-17T20:49:54Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I don’t like any part of Tales from Topographic Oceans, maybe die hard Yes devotees like the second disc better? I haven’t listened to it in a while, but my memory is that sides 1 and 4 are generally better than sides 2 and 3, so on vinyl clearly 1/4 is superior. Side 4 I recall being my favorite, so maybe disc 2 is better? But it’s been a very long time since I listened to it; while I’ll still listen to some Yes stuff every once in a while, it’s not going to be that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/26 "2023-08-18T00:39:52Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > …rubbish Apple Jams… _BLASPHEMER!_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/27 "2023-08-18T00:54:10Z")
I’d say Quadrophenia’s second half _might_ be just a _little_ better than the first, but it’s a tough call. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/28 "2023-08-18T01:00:24Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I personally prefer disc 2 of Springsteen’s _The River_. No accounting for taste. But then, I think I might too. Just by an RCH, because of the strength of “The River,” but I think “The Price You Pay” counters that. Tough call. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/29 "2023-08-18T02:32:16Z")
I can think of a few where, in my opinion, both discs are roughly equal. _Trout Mask Replica_, _Exile on Main Street_, _Bitches Brew_. I’m gonna say _Physical Graffiti_ is definitely front loaded, although “Sick Again” is a strong closer. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/30 "2023-08-18T09:41:49Z")
The Cure’s _Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me_. Side 3 opens with _Just Like Heaven_. That alone makes it the better disc. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/31 "2023-08-18T12:35:54Z")
Triple albums might confuse the issue, especially when they’re split to fit on two CDs. Zappa’s _Joe’s Garage Vol. 1_ has a lot of the great stuff from that set, but _Vol. 3_ has “Watermelon In Easter Hay” which may be his finest intrumental. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/32 "2023-08-18T12:44:35Z")
“You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” is one of my least favorite of his songs, so that taints side one for me. As much as I like The River and Independence Day on side one, Ramrod and Cadillac Ranch counter those, and the others on record two are better written, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/33 "2023-08-18T14:02:35Z")
Joe’s Garage was originally released as a single album (“Act I”) followed by a double album (“Acts II and III”). As a double studio album, I can’t really give an edge to either Act II or III. “Watermelon in Easter Hay” is definitely the standout track from the second disc, and “A Little Green Rosetta” is a fun closer, but the rest of the disc is pretty meh. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/34 "2023-08-18T19:05:26Z")
**Allman Brothers Live At The Filmore**. Because as terrific as the entire album is, the second disc features _In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed_ which contains Duane’s greatest solo, for me the most amazing 5 minutes of electric guitar ever recorded. “John Coltrane on electric guitar” as one reviewer put it. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680/35 "2023-08-21T13:10:06Z")
Two albums came to mind over the weekend which I can’t believe haven’t been nominated: Hendrix, _Electric Ladyland_: The first disc is a collection of good-to-great-songs with a long jam on “Voodoo Chile,” but the second is a masterful psychedelic suite that must have blown minds wholesale in 1968. Plus “All Along the Watchtower.” Derek & the Dominoes, _Layla_: Again, no knocking disc 1, but disc 2 includes “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?” “Little Wing” (thanks, Jimi) and the epic title track. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-rock-studio-double-album-where-the-second-disc-is-better/988680.md?page=1)