# What's the Highlander 2 of music albums? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 23, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977 "2023-10-23T21:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/21 "2023-10-24T00:40:08Z")
Van Morrison’s contractual obligation album. Morrison owed his record company an album, so he went into the studio and recorded 31 songs, all in a day. They were improvised in the spot, with simple chords and free associated lyrics, each running around a minute. He didn’t even bother to tune his guitar as it got out of tune. > **[To Get Out Of A Record Contract, Van Morrison Made A Malicious Compliance...](https://www.bradycarlson.com/to-get-out-of-a-record-contract-van-morrison-made-a-malicious-compliance-album-cool-weird-awesome-1077/)** > > Today in 1945, the birthday of singer/songwriter Van Morrison. > > Even his biggest fans and his loudest critics can agree that the guy does not like being told what to do. > > And he proved it by recording one of the strangest albums in the history of... ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/22 "2023-10-24T00:44:09Z")
I think most Metallica fans pretend St. Anger didn’t happen. Does Metallica play _any_ St. Anger songs in concert now? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/23 "2023-10-24T00:53:15Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I mean this in the nice way possible, that’s baloney, IMHO. That’s Dave being a pompous ass. It’s a perfectly cromulent album that meshes nicely into his discography. I had a friend from Michigan threaten to rip my cassette of Against The Wind out of my car’s player and spool the tape out the window. And I can see where he was coming from. Every song on that disc is a Bob Seger song, but it’s not a Bob Seger album - the song or two that just grabs you by the gut isn’t there. (He was fine when I turned the tape over to the “Stranger in Town” side.) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/24 "2023-10-24T01:04:59Z")
U2’s second album _October_ fell into this category when it came out, owing mostly to Bonovox’s briefcase with all of his song notes being stolen in Portland on the Boy tour ([it was recently discovered](https://medium.com/@daniellerheaume/my-voyage-of-discovery-returning-october-s-lost-lyrics-956ec73c1deb)). Fortunately their label Island Records decided to give them one more chance. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/25 "2023-10-24T01:17:23Z")
I think the Nilsson/Lennon album Pussycats might qualify, mostly because Harry damaged his voice beyond repair in a screaming contest with John while recording it. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/26 "2023-10-24T01:30:40Z")
I agree on both points; I know we’re in the minority. _Sandinista_ was kind of a mess. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/27 "2023-10-24T02:13:04Z")
I believe the KISS album _Music from “The Elder”_ is generally considered this by their fans… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/28 "2023-10-24T02:22:02Z")
For me, PInk Floyd’s The Final Cut. First time I ever discarded a PF album. I might not have played More, Relics or Obscured by Clouds quite as often as the others, but there’d never been an out and out loser among their albums before. After the first week of ownership, I pretty much just played the one short track titled “One of the Few”. Nothing else on there worth listening to twice. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/29 "2023-10-24T02:48:36Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > For me, PInk Floyd’s The Final Cut. IIRC this was the album that broke the band up (well…saw Waters leave). Waters wanted another theme album akin to The Wall and the rest did not. Waters got his way but that was the end of the band we knew. That is all based on a vague memory though of something I read decades ago. I didn’t hate it…not sure it belongs as Highlander 2 equivalent…but not a fan either. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/30 "2023-10-24T04:29:42Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > I had a friend from Michigan threaten to rip my cassette of Against The Wind out of my car’s player and spool the tape out the window. Seger isn’t a hill worth dying on for me but the numbers bear me out. That album was an immediate success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart in its third week and remaining there for five weeks behind Pink Floyd’s The Wall before knocking it off it’s spot and reaching No. 1 - holding that top position for six more weeks. A year later it had sold more than three and a half million copies in the US alone. By 2003 it was certified 5x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It won 2 Grammys, including one for Bob Seger, himself, for Best Rock Performance. Though he’d did say the things you quoted, Marsh did concede that on the album “Seger sings fantastically well” and called it a “carefully constructed album.” Of course he’s just one critic, others praised it. John Rockwell of The New York Times called it an “honest, attractive album” and a "nice return to his Night Moves form. I honestly don’t understand the criticism that it was just a collection Bob Seger songs. Most all rock albums are. Like Pete Opel who wrote that Van Halen would never be a commercial success or the fans who boo’d Bob Dylan’s electric work, criticism of this album is unwarranted - your one friend aside. Throw in Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and I consider this a solid effort. Maybe not his best but certainly shouldn’t be ranked along side Dee Dee King. Seger fans loved it and demonstrated that fact at the cash register. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/31 "2023-10-24T09:22:26Z")
Longtime Youtube music critic Todd in the Shadows has done an entire series on these type of fandom-breaking albums, which he calls “Trainwreckords”. https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLLznZMqdhi_RVHtZYrMeoi3Fjg9VNhPAX&wmode=transparent&rel=0&autohide=1&showinfo=1&enablejsapi=1 A couple of the albums named above are on his list. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/32 "2023-10-24T13:54:57Z")
When I read the title I thought the OP subject would be about strictly ‘Sophomore slump’ albums, but it looks like it’s much more wide-ranging-- a Sophomore slump example or two (U2’s October), but also weird experimental efforts (Neil Young’s Trans), contractual obligation albums (Van Morrison), corporate overproduced written-by-committee albums (Seger’s Against the Wind), and ‘odds and sods’ type albums (Led Zeppelin’s CODA). The Sophomore slump album might make an interesting post on its own. A band struggles for years, with a handful of original songs that have been carefully honed and crafted, and when they get an album deal it’s a labor of love, with that first set of well-crafted songs. Then when album one is a hit, the record company pressures the band to come up with another album right away, and the result is often rushed and inferior. U2’s October, as mentioned, or The Knack’s “…But the Little Girls Understand”. Some bands make a comeback afterward, like U2 (I think they did pretty well after October). Others, like The Knack, fade into obscurity. The follow-up album to a massive hit album that fails to match the former’s success is also considered by some to be a Sophomore slump album, even though the band may have put out several albums by then. A prime example would be the Eagles’ follow-up to Hotel California, ‘The Long Run’, which wasn’t _ **terrible** _, but reeked of try-hard ‘like these songs!’ desperation. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/33 "2023-10-24T14:05:52Z")
In addition to the above, bands are strongly encouraged to write the same kind of songs (some do it on their own - Boston). And experimentation is discouraged. I think all bands on major labels fight this. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/34 "2023-10-24T15:09:57Z")
Jethro Tull jumped on the 80s synth and drum machine bandwagon with “Under Wraps”, which sounded like a clumsy fumble of trends of the time rather than their progressive art rock. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/35 "2023-10-24T15:25:29Z")
I actually like some of these albums, _Sandinista_ is pretty amazing, even if it goes off on weird tangents and is too long by at least half an hour. Agreed though, _Cut The Crap_ is terrible, except for “This is England.” I also appreciate _Metal Machine Music_ for what it was; Neil Young’s been brought up a few tiems, and it should be noted that he did something similar with _Arc_, the companion disc to the two-disc _Weld_ live album (you could get ‘em in a set called _Arc/Weld_) that was just onstage crashing guitars and feedback stitched together into a formless half hour mass. If memory serves, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth also had a solo album in the same vein. I also love _The Final Cut_ but it should have been Waters’ first solo record. I know Queen fans probably try to block out the Paul Rogers album, but if I could chisel one of their discs from my memory, it would be _Hot Space_, their cruddy thuddy disco album. “Under Pressure” was tacked onto the end, which was the only saving grace but since that’s on every Queen compilation in existence, I can pretend the rest of the album was a bad dream. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/36 "2023-10-24T15:27:38Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Jethro Tull jumped on the 80s synth and drum machine bandwagon with “Under Wraps”, which sounded like a clumsy fumble of trends of the time rather than their progressive art rock. Well, as long as we’re peeing on Jethro Tull, I’ll nominate the entirely forgettable album “A”. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/37 "2023-10-24T15:35:06Z")
Blue Oyster Cult “Club Ninja” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/38 "2023-10-24T15:35:07Z")
My second concert ever was this tour, and they gave that album a lot of coverage, including one repeated song (wait, I think that ties into a different thread here). It was great to hear a lot of their songs, but man does this album suck. > **[Jethro Tull Setlist at Reunion Arena, Dallas](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jethro-tull/1980/reunion-arena-dallas-tx-bd3b58a.html)** > > Get the Jethro Tull Setlist of the concert at Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX, USA on October 31, 1980 from the 'A' Tour and other Jethro Tull Setlists for free on setlist.fm! ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/39 "2023-10-24T16:38:40Z")
Just what audience was this supposed to appeal to? > **[In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Metal_Mood:_No_More_Mr._Nice_Guy)** > > In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy is a 1997 album by American singer Pat Boone in which Boone covers hard rock and heavy metal songs in a jazz/big band style. Boone promoted the album by appearing in leather clothing (and, at that year's American Music Awards, wearing a dog collar). He succeeded in propelling Metal Mood onto the Billboard record charts (making it Boone's first hit album in 36 years), but it did not please some of his older, longtime fans who considered the heavy metal genre i... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977/40 "2023-10-24T16:41:30Z")
Talking about “sophomore slump” albums, it really is funny how many rock bands make their big debut album, and then the second is a rehash of the first one. Look at Van Halen and Van Halen 2. Guitar virtuoso solo song? Check. Cover of old song? Check. Fortunately, they did a good job of it. Boston and Don’t Look Back are the same way, but with Boston, I’m thinking that’s “a feature, not a bug”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-highlander-2-of-music-albums/991977.md?page=3)