Beech Tree News Network

After years of plugging away, recording demos, etc. you finally have that big hit.  Your debut album soars up the charts like a rocket.  Nothing can stop you.  Then you release your sophomore album and it is so enormously terrible! You’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by, the sophomore slump. 
Seems like you get your whole life to make your first album but a much shorter time-span to make your second.  There are numerous cases of “one-and-done” in music.  Rarely has an artist bought into his own hype as much as did the future Sanada Maitreya, known back then as Terrence Trent D’arby.  His 1987 debut, Introducing The Hardline According To Terrence Trent D’arby thrilled critics and consumers alike.  All of 25 when Hardline was released, D’arby was hailed as the equivalent of Sam Cooke, Prince and Brian Wilson all in one-no pressure.  He proved these predictions hilariously wrong with his muddled, self-indulgent mess of a second album.  Critics probably wouldn’t have destroyed him for this wreck of a sophomore album if he weren’t such a pompous jerk in interviews.  It goes to show you just how far being nice can take you. Or in his case, how being a jerk can sink you.
The Spin Doctors were most certainly not one hit wonders.  They were, however, a victim of their own success.  Public opinion of the band has gone between derision and disgust.  However, in the summer of ’92, “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princes” were a breath of fresh air.  That fresh air went stale because of the songs’ annoyingly long life-span at the Top 40 stations.  By the time Upside was released in 1994, the listening public was just looking for a reason to turn off the band.  They found it in “Cleopatra’s Cat”, one of the lamest choices for a lead-off single in the history of Epic Records.  Most definitely not very epic.
The band Asia’s debut album was one of the biggest releases of 1982.  That made it easy to ignore the deep personal conflicts between its members.  When it came time for a quick follow-up, the tension couldn’t be ignored.  Bassist and lead vocalist John Wetton was replaced when the second album tanked.  He returned and engineered the ouster of guitarist Steve Howe.  High drama.  All the infighting wouldn’t have been so bad if the album Alpha had been a fun listen.  You can see the irony that Asia’s biggest hit was called “Only Time Will Tell”.
He went from Puff Daddy to Puffy, P-Diddy to music P-urgatory.  The dancing, sample-happy rap impresario was never what you’d call a universally loved figure. Then again, who in Rap is universally loved? Hooking up with the late Notorious B.I.G. was certainly the best thing to happen to his career.  Give Puff credit for parlaying that into collaborations with other artists.  Do not give him credit, however, for his arrogant, uninspired mess of a second album.  I actually got his first album for Christmas when it was released.  The second a few years later was a flop.  As has most everything else Mr. Arrogant has done. I’m thinking Kanye may’ve learned from Diddy and turned it way up.
Hootie and the Blowfish’ 1994 Cracked Rear View was a refreshing change from the grunge sound of the day.  It was safe.  It also sold 15 million.  Even the band knew they couldn’t replicate that success.  Their sophomore release, Fairweather Johnson, certainly was fair-weather.  Considering triple-platinum a failure would be ludicrous if that result wasn’t less than one fifth of what you sold on your debut outing.  Looking through a few other albums, I’ve got to believe these groups knew the end was near.  Gin Blossoms’ 1996 release was called Congratulations, I’m Sorry.  Living Colour, who had one of my favorite early ‘90’s songs “Cult of Personality”(which came back to prominence as wrestler CM Punk’s theme music a few years ago, called their sophomore album Time’s Up.  Yes, time was up indeed.  De La Soul’s 1991 follow-up was a little more straight forward: De La Soul is Dead.  It’s like these groups wanted to only have two albums.  In reality, band strife, band member deaths, change in management are just a few things that did away with some of these groups.