Second is better than first. Part 2.

George writes:

It looks like I’ve been invited back again, to write/blether nonsense about albums. Specifically, second albums that are better than the debut, in my opinion. And there will be no spurious selections such as claiming that Tribute To The Martyrs is a better album than Handsworth Revolution, that would be an utterly preposterous claim. Just as absurd would be to claim that Ready Brek is better than porridge..We’ll have none of that nonsense here. Here’s a thing that I share with one half of today’s act: we are both Dundonians who did NOT sport a moustache in the 1980s. (Although in a video for Party Fears Two Billy MacKenzie does sport an alarming amount of upper lip stubble)

Sulk  versus The Affectionate Punch is a total no-brainer really. Maybe if I had heard the debut first I might have a better opinion of it, but when I did get around to buying it, which would be about 15 years ago (my cd case says it’s the 25th anniversary edition), I was unimpressed, even with the FOUR bonus tracks. It’s been out of its case twice. Sulk, on the other hand, suffers from “DNS” in a couple of places. (Dropped Needle Syndrome, resulting in a rather loud click on the vinyl surface) Somehow, I was totally unaware of The Associates until 1985, and I was  living in England (again) by then. All those trips  to Chalmers and Joy,  I&N, Bruce’s (record shops in Dundee) in the 1970s and early 1980s and somehow I was totally ignorant of the band. 

The debut album, according to a well-known online source, was described by music writer Paul Morley as “a kind of masterpiece” and “a passionate cabaret soul music, a fulfillment of the European white dance music Bowie was flirting with back then.” MAN ALIVE Paul, you’re wrong there. It’s downbeat, musically uninspired,  no standout lyric, which may be because the vocal is totally unsuited to the music. After that fanfare, here’s a track:

The Associates - A

The follow up is of course a gloriously over the top pop masterpiece, that great soaring vocal belting out great lines (“I’ll have a shower, then phone my brother up”, so mundane yet totally memorable), and like all great pop albums, some fabulous tunes. How can anyone not feel the urge to “dance along” to Love Hangover? This is not to say that every track is worth a repeated listen, but as an album, who amongst us does not lovingly, carefully, slip it out on occasion and give it an adoring airing? 

The Associates - Club country

Listening again, I can hear a progression from The Affectionate Punch to Sulk, quite noticeable in “Skipping”, but the tone of that track is brighter and MacKenzie’s vocal matches the music. And I think there’s still a Low-era Bowie feel,  in ”Gloomy Sunday”  and to a lesser extent in “White car in Germany”

The Associates - White car in Germany

Looking at my copy of the album right now I seem to have what wikipedia calls the “original US and Europe release”. It differs from the “original UK release” by losing tracks Bap De La Bap, Nude Spoons and Nothinginsomethingparticular, and including a remix of Party Fears Two, and the tracks 18 Carat Love Affair, Love Hangover, White Car in Germany and The  Associate. And even though some of the common tracks in the two versions are not standout, it’s still a far superior album to the debut. And thus Second Is Better Than First.

Thank you kindly.

CC writes :

I don't have The Affectionate Punch but I do have the original UK version of Sulk an album that I agree is almost impossible to beat.

Pedant alert I also have Fourth Drawer Down which is technically their second album as it was released in-between the two mentioned above. It is a compilation of the A and B sides of the six singles they released on the Situation Two label so I will let you off George. It includes White Car in Germany and The Associate.