Taking off from Mikes thread, what bands do you think produced the best first two albums?  So many seem to stumble after a great original effort (though most get back on track starting with their third album).
 
I'm sure I'll add to the list once I have to really think about it, but I'll start off with Boston where the second album was even better than a stellar first!
 
(Ok everyone, let's all watch Jan's post count go up!  LOL! )

Led Zep - I & II

The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1967 Are You Experienced 1967 Axis: Bold as Love 1968 Electric Ladyland


OK, SO THERE WERE ACTUALLY THREE IN A ROW.

Mesh


Led Zep - I & II

+1, Ya, Ja, Da, I agree

batsbrew


The Jimi Hendrix Experience

1967 Are You Experienced 1967 Axis: Bold as Love 1968 Electric Ladyland

OK, SO THERE WERE ACTUALLY THREE IN A ROW.

Not really....Electric Ladyland was Jimi at his peak. So I believe it to be better than the first two. JMO?
It was his #1 album.

A couple that bucked the trend (IMO) -

Jethro Tull's first album was OK, but the 2nd 'Stand Up' is a masterpiece.

Del Amitri's first album is pretty awful, the 2nd, 'Waking Hours' is brilliant.

jamesg1213


A couple that bucked the trend (IMO) -

Jethro Tull's first album was OK, but the 2nd 'Stand Up' is a masterpiece.

+3001


I sometimes forget that JT had an album before Stand Up

Ozzy's first two album were respectively great and even better, imho.

Maiden - same thing - respectively good and totally, uh, killer...

Sabbath also had a great run w/ their first 4 albums.

The first 4 Nine Inch Nails album - I like each one more than the previous one.

Alice Cooper - in his case, we should omit the first 2 albums, besides being cool oddities and a few bars of interesting stuff here and there. It's from the 3rd album on that they started making music.

Soundgarden was pretty much the same - it wasn't until Badmotorfinger that they started to write music - even if I dug some of those old songs...

I realize that I can probably think of more bands w/ a relatively average or poor first LP who went on to create a few amazing records afterwards.