Rock's Big Questions
Rock rebuttal: Let's bring this best third albums debate back to the mainstream& away from weird music
U2's War is the classic groundbreaking third album.
The Beetles were already big, but A Hard Day's Night sent them into overdrive.
The hype over Springsteen hit overdrive when "Born To Run" came out. For goodreason.
Even people who dismissed Radiohead after its second album were blown away by OKComputer.
Editor's note: This is a new feature where Douglas Newman and Jim Beviglia, two of CultureMap's music writers, tackle rock's big questions in a spirited dialogue where no feelings are spared. This is Beviglia's rebuttal to Newman's first piece about the best third albums of all time.
We encourage you, fair reader, to join the fray by leaving your own arguments and rebuttals in the comments.
Well, as they say, Douglas, a band or artist has their whole life to write their first album and about six months to write their second. I totally agree with you that the third album often separates the best from the rest. Your choices illustrate that to some degree, although I find it interesting that two of the albums you chose were not just third albums but also swan songs. I don't know what that says about the pressure of third albums, but it is a little eerie.
I like the left-of-center nature of your choices, although I'm sure a few of our readers will wonder if Spiritualized is some sort of Christian Rock band. I also think that, while Let It Be is great, it was just a stepping stone for The Replacements on the way to "Tim," which showed the band balancing out the raggedness with moments of true grace. (Come to think of it, that description may lead people to believe that The Replacements are Christian Rock as well. If we keep this up, Stryper fans will be peeved they're not on the list.)
Anyway, my list is certainly a little more mainstream, I'll give you that. But I think that you'll also see that these third albums represent some of the greatest albums in the history of rock. To Stryper fans, I apologize for the omission. To everyone else, enjoy.
The Times They Are a-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "One Too Many Mornings"
His second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, had established him as a songwriter of major proportions, but Times took it to another level. In addition to the stunning title track, Dylan wrote a group of incendiary songs based on current events, including “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” and “Only A Pawn In Their Game."
But he was also moving beyond the political to the personal, as the dreamily dejected ballads “Boots Of Spanish Leather” and “One Too Many Mornings” prove. For all the brilliance that was to come, this may be Bob’s most consistent album ever.
A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles (1964)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Things We Said Today"
They were keeping a ridiculous schedule of recording and playing live, and adding movie-making could have burnt them out. Their talent was not about to be denied though, as the album they produced was their first to contain nothing but Lennon/McCartney originals.
The first half of the album contained the songs that were used in the movie, bookended by John’s propulsive title track (has there ever been a better album-starter than that opening guitar chord?) and Paul’s breathless “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The second half found them trying moodier songs like “Things We Said Today” and “I’ll Be Back,” with equally fruitful results.
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1975)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Thunder Road"
Not just impressive for the material it contained, this third offering from Jersey’s favorite son was all the more miraculous for the pressure that surrounded its making. Two albums into his career Springsteen was a critical favorite but a commercial dud. By the time the dust cleared, he was on the cover of Time and Newsweek.
The hype was deafening, but the album deserved it. The title track is one for the ages, but the album starts (“Thunder Road”) and ends (“Jungleland”) perfectly as well. Throughout, Springsteen paints cinema-worthy pictures of American streetlife that linger long after the last notes have faded.
London Calling by The Clash (1979)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "The Guns of Brixton"
Labeled as just another bunch of punks by the rock media, The Clash set about to prove everyone wrong on their third release, a double album on which they tried just about everything and succeeded at it. Even with all the genre-hopping, from ska to punk to rockabilly to radio-ready pop, their consistency of vision never wavered.
From the opening staccato chords of the title track, the album is endlessly inventive and relentlessly energetic, and somehow, at 20 songs, it never feels like it drags. You can hear why they were nicknamed "The Only Band That Matters."
Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Louisiana Rain"
This is another album on the list recorded under extreme circumstances, as Petty was locked in a dispute with his new record company and refused to budge. The record company eventually backed down, and Petty delivered an album that’s packed with enduring hits. “Refugee” and “Here Comes My Girl” were masterful combinations of Petty’s lyrical snarl and Mike Campbell’s guitar hooks.
Tom also dusted off one of his earliest pre-Heartbreaker songs (“Don’t Do Me Like That”) and sprinkled it with enough pop pixie dust to hit the Top 10, and closed out the albums with “Louisiana Rain,” one of his finest ballads.
War by U2 (1983)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Like a Song"
Their second album, "October," found the band suffering through a bit of an identity crisis. But they settled all that as soon as Larry Mullen Jr. battered out his opening, martial drumbeat on “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
Bono learned how to write lyrics that reached the rafters, while The Edge’s ringing guitars reached right down into the subconscious. With “New Year’s Day” the band created an impressively complex piece of music that found its way to the pop charts, and, just like that, they went from college band to megastars. A triumph of an album that still induces chills.
OK Computer by Radiohead (1997)
Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "No Surprises"
To most of the world, Radiohead seemed destined for one-hit wonder status following the success of self-loathing ballad “Creep.” Few heard the progress they made on their second album, "The Bends," but no one could deny what they achieved the third time out.
A concept album of sorts about the struggle to keep your individuality intact in the face of encroaching technology, OK Computer is the perfect marriage of the band’s firm grasp of dramatic rock songcraft and their fearless studio experimentation. “Airbag,” “Paranoid Android,” “Let Down,” “No Surprises,” etc., etc.
Never had such a dark worldview sounded so energizing.
Other articles in this rock debate series:
