3 Famous Sequel Songs That Critics Believe Missed the Mark

Sequel songs are tunes that follow up a famous track as a sort of “response” to whatever that song was about. Often, sequel songs are matching hits at best and marginally entertaining at worst. Some sequel songs, though, miss the mark entirely. Let’s look at a few unfortunate examples of sequel songs that, according to many critics, didn’t need to be made.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Under The Rose” by KISS (1981)

I have to hand it to KISS. They really did try to jump on various bandwagons and new ideas every chance they had. Their disco era is a fine example, as was their “no makeup” era. It’s not super surprising that they jumped on the “concept album” bandwagon. The album in question was Music From “The Elder”, which yielded poor enough sales that the band didn’t even tour to promote it. There are some decent orchestral pieces put together by Bob Ezrin, but the flow of the album isn’t nearly as good as the band likely intended. And the song “Under The Rose” which closes out Side One and serves as a “sequel” to the opening track, is about as cheesy as it gets.

“This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)” by George Harrison (1975)

Well, I’m sure you can figure out which famous song this track is supposed to be a sequel to. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is basically George Harrison’s most famous songwriting contribution to The Beatles’ discography, and it’s a fine song at that. But did it need a sequel? Realistically, Harrison was in a bad place during the production of Extra Texture. He should have taken a break from music and dealt with the turmoil in his life instead of forcing out an album. And, unfortunately, I have to admit that “This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)” is a pretty boring song for Harrison’s talent.

“Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)” by Eagles (1973)

Desperado is a concept album, one that presented a unique opportunity for Eagles to establish themselves as an exciting, unpredictable rock band. After a rocky start, the album was eventually a commercial success. The most memorable song from that album is definitely its title track. Its least memorable song might just be the closer, which serves as an admittedly weak reprise of the record’s best song. It’s clear that this entry on our list of sequel songs was filler and little more. But the ending track of a concept record should wrap up the tail neatly. “Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)” misses that mark, though we get the end of the story, at least.

Photo by Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images