One-album wonders

Didn't the main songwriter kill himself as New Miserable Experience was breaking? Then they went back into the studio and....yeah, it was over.

 

They fired him and then he killed himself.

 

Blind Faith, self-titled.

Aztec Two Step, self-titled

It's a Beautiful Day, self-titled

 

Pretty much, yeah. That's why the second album was called "Congratulations, I'm Sorry" -- that's what everyone said to them about the first album.

To be fair, "'Til I Hear it From You" is a great song that wasn't on the first album, and "Follow You Down" is good too, but overall there was a huge dropoff after "New Miserable Experience."

 

That's what I was going to post. Doug Hopkins was his name. He'd already been booted out of the band because he was a hopeless alcoholic who was missing recording sessions and things like that.

Honestly, I thought their second album was pretty damn good, too. But that was an era where people moved on after a band's first big album. Same thing happened with Counting Crows after their first album and then it happened with -- as previously mentioned -- Hootie and the Blowfish.

 

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is up there for me.

 

Not sure Blind Faith qualifies. I really don't think they were ever intended to be more than a side project, especially for Steve Winwood, who was still pretty committed to Traffic.

I was going to mention It's A Beautiful Day. White Bird is absolutely one of the greatest songs to come out of the late 60s, and Hot Summer Day was pretty good as well. I think they had one mediocre follow-up and that was it.

 

"Hot Fuss" by The Killers was pretty damn good.

The subsequent albums... not so much.

 

New York Dolls - New York Dolls
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
The Strokes - Is This It
Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
Skip Spence - Oar

 

My bad on the Gin Blossoms timeline. Couldn't remember exactly how it happened. The second album had a few good songs, but overall it just didn't have the same pop as NME. I can still sing that album all the way through without missing a word.

 

Living Colour -- Vivid.

 

Gotta disagree. Loved the second album (of course I have to look it up to confirm it was called Time's Up and not What's Up--that would be the only good thing Four Non-Blondes ever did, hmm, I smell a thread). Love Rears Its Ugly Head, Type, Elvis Is Dead....some great songs on the second album, even if it didn't turn them into superstars. If only I hadn't lost the CD during a move or sold it for beer money in college.