Third Albums

I grew up finding bands and performers that I liked from the radio, and then in my teens, via MTV as well. Once I found a band I liked, I would work backwards through their records, really digging in to their music and the progression of their sound and songwriting from album to album. And what stood out to me again and again was that, in the Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) rock era, acts tended to need a while to find themselves, and were usually given that time by the record companies. It seemed that, in general, acts would get three records to find an audience, and so it makes sense that many of the big acts hit their stride with album three. Not exclusively, by any means, but it seemed to happen enough to justify looking into it further.

Now, when talking “albums” it’s important to differentiate between the various eras of popular music. During the early days of rock-n-roll, from the mid-’50’s to the mid ’60’s, the music industry was dominated by singles. Artists would cut a few tracks and then the best one was released, usually backed on the “B” side of the single (of a 45 rpm record) by one of the other tracks they had just recorded. Albums at that time were simply collections of the songs already released as singles – there wasn’t a real sense of an album as a cohesive collection of songs in and of itself.

Gradually, though, with the emergence of Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the bands that now make up the first wave of “classic rock,” the focus turned to albums being recorded and then released, with a single being released as a preview, a guide for radio and the public as to what the album would be. While the early Beatles records were still collections of singles, Dylan was recording albums of songs right from the start. By the mid-’60’s, though, Long Playing albums (“LPs”) came into focus for the real fans, while the general public stayed with the singles on 45’s. 1965 feels like a turning point – Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited  and The Beatles’ Rubber Soul made it clear that albums were an art form all it’s own. Those two acts, joined by the Beach Boys and others, engaged in an artistic arms race to push the boundaries of what pop music could be. In 2 short years, we went from Rubber Soul to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, from The Beach Boys Today! to Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile, and from Highway 61 Revisited to Blonde on Blonde. The LP was here to stay.

In today’s music landscape, the concept of an album seems like an anachronism held on to by only the larger acts. Sure, record companies still release albums, but with the advent of digital music, the single has regained it’s place as the primary vehicle for exposure and recorded music revenue, even as the revenue generated from recorded music today is only a fraction of the percentage of an artist’s overall revenue stream.

Back to the AOR rock era – let’s define it as going from 1965 to the early 2000’s. While some bands hit the mark the first time out – Hendrix, Meatloaf, Boston, Beastie Boys, Guns-N-Roses, Black Crowes, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, and Alanis Morrisette all come to mind – most took longer to get it together. I am interested in looking at the acts whose third albums were the ones where they really hit their stride, found their sound, and established themselves. Often not their best selling albums, or sometimes not their best albums (U2 & ZZ Top, I’m looking at you), but the album where they really established themselves as significant acts. As I did some research about this, I found that this was true in metal as well as mainstream rock, but less so in pop music, where acts seems to either hit it big early or not at all. To wit:

• Yes – The Yes Album – 1971
• Alice Cooper – Love It To Death – 1971
• The Faces – A Nod Is As Good As a Wink … to a Blind Horse – 1972
• Jim Croce – You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – 1972
• Little Feat – Dixie Chicken – 1973
• The Stooges – Raw Power – 1973
• ZZ Top – Tres Hombres – 1973
• Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic – 1975
• Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run – 1975
• Rush – 2112* – 1976
• Blondie – Parallel Lines – 1978
• Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes – Hearts of Stone – 1978
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes – 1979
• .38 Special – Rockin’ Into the Night – 1979 (thanks to Bob for the suggestion)
• The Clash – London Calling – 1980
• The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta – 1980
• Prince – Dirty Mind – 1980
• Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast – 1982
• John Cougar – American Fool* – 1982
• Def Leppard – Pyromania – 1983
• U2 – War – 1983
• Huey Lewis & the News – Sports – 1983
• Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime – 1984 (thanks to Eric for the suggestion)
• The Replacements – Let It Be – 1984
• Metallica – Master of Puppets – 1986
• The Smiths – The Queen is Dead – 1986
• Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet – 1986
• Slayer – Reign in Blood – 1986
• The Cult – Electric – 1987
• Phish – A Picture of Nectar – 1991
• The Tragically Hip – Road Apples – 1991
• Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger – 1991
• Green Day – Dookie – 1994
• Alanis Morrissette – Jagged Little Pill – 1995
• No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom – 1995
• Radiohead – OK Computer – 1997
• blink-182 – Enema of the State – 1999
• Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf – 2000
• The White Stripes – White Blood Cells – 2001
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights – 2007 (thanks to Joe for the suggestion)

_{*Wasn’t actually the act’s third album, but was the third album recorded in the form the act became known for.}

What important third albums did I miss? Let me know in the comments!