3 of the Best Classic Rock Sophomore Albums From the 1980s

Do you believe in curses? Are you one of those people for whom superstitions are spooky and scary? Well, when it comes to the world of music, there is one very specific curse that tends to plague artists. That is the curse of the sophomore album release.

Here below, however, we wanted to showcase three acts that were able to avoid the curse. While the second album for any act can be an impossible mountain to climb, these three proved otherwise. Indeed, these are the best three classic rock sophomore albums from the 1980s.

‘Doolittle’ by Pixies (1989)

The Boston-born alternative rock band Pixies released their sophomore LP, Doolittle, in 1989, and with it came a long ripple effect. Indeed, across the country, artists like the Pacific Northwest-born rocker Kurt Cobain were influenced by this album. Cobain has said the LP helped to inspire songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. If that legacy wasn’t enough, the album itself is well worth a deep dive, especially the hypnotic track “Monkey Gone To Heaven” above.

‘Ride The Lightning’ by Metallica (1984)

One of the heaviest and most brooding rock bands in mainstream music history, Metallica’s second album helped the group solidify itself in the minds of fans. A large part of that had to do with the operatic, riff-heavy track “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, the five-plus-minute operatic rock song makes you think you can run through walls. Singer James Hetfield is at his best, part-lion, part-volcano.

‘Different Light’ by The Bangles (1986)

Oftentimes, a band’s debut album is its most successful. It’s the LP that boasts a career (up until that point) of tunes, honed and refined to be at their best. But then sometimes a band’s second studio LP is their big breakthrough. For the Los Angeles-born rock group The Bangles, the latter was the case. Indeed, their second album included smash hits like the Prince-penned “Manic Monday” and the catchy “Walk Like An Egyptian”. The album was so popular (and good) that it even hit No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200.

Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns