New Sound Album: Difference between revisions

Cue shock and [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]] from parts of the fanbase, along with a whole spectrum of opinions from others.

 

 

Contrast [[Something Completely Different]], where the change is usually temporary, and the artist goes back to their old sound with the next album.

** This was actually intended as a spinoff project (named "Cinema"), until Yes vocalist Jon Anderson liked the sound of the demos and decided to make it a Yes album.

** ''Drama'' from the same band is worth mentioning here, as it brought a new wave influence to Yes (courtesy of The Buggles' Trevor Horn, who helped define that musical style throughout the 1980s) years before ''90125''. Some critics, like Jeremy Parish of [[Game Spite]], argue that it did a better job of bringing the band into the new decade than the two subsequent albums. Not satisfied with taking Yes in ''one'' new direction, Horn and his bandmates also wrote Machine Messiah, the heavy metal-flavored lead track that would become an influence for the harder sound of neo-prog artists like Dream Theater.

** Also, when frontman Tom Delonge went on to form [[Angels and Airwaves]], which was radically different in nature from Blink.

* [[Stone Temple Pilots]] started as a 90s grunge band typical of the era, but switched to 60s/70s-inspired psychedelic rock with ''Tiny Music''.

* [[Queen]] weren't exactly prog to start with, but were known for highly overdubbed vocal harmonies and guitar work. Starting with ''The Game'' they pushed the guitar to the background and focused more on the pop side of their personality instead of rock. This development went hand in hand with synthesizeritis and reduced songwriting quality, causing them to lose their popularity in America.

* [[Rush]] has many. The self-titled debut album (released prior to virtuoso drummer/lyricist Neil Peart joining the band) is pretty straightfoward 70s bar-band fare ala Bad Company. Enter Peart with ''Fly by Night'', and suddenly the lyrics become sci-fi and the drumming much more technical, but the overall song structures still pretty straightfoward hard rock. However, with ''Caress of Steel'', the band started to move into prog territory, with very long multi-part epics. This remained until ''Permanent Waves'', which found the band abandoning the long epics and "wail" vocals in favor of a more accessable sound. ''Signals'' threw the band into synthesizeritis mode, which lasted throughout [[The Eighties]], until ''Counterparts'', when the band shed the synths in favor of a grunge-influenced sound sound they've stuck with since. However, based on interviews and the two new preview tracks, their upcoming album ''Clockwork Angels'' may move the band back to prog.

* [[The Who]] changed sound very frequently. Their debut album ''My Generation'' is blues-rock, similar to to what [[The Rolling Stones]] were doing at the time. They then moved into psychedelic pop with ''A Quick One'' and ''The Who Sell Out'', and then then keyboard-heavy art rock with ''Tommy'', ''Who's Next'' and ''Quadrophenia''. In contrast, ''The Who by Numbers'' is stripped down and back-to-basics. The last three albums of their inital run have a more AOR arena rock sound.

* With ''A Northern Soul'', [[The Verve]] changed their orientation from their previous spacey psychedelic rock with lots of drug abuse to alternative rock with lots of drug abuse. They continued with this style on ''Urban Hymns''.

* [[Starflyer 59]] moved from their previous shoegazing-influenced guitar-heavy sound to a synthpop-influenced sound with keyboards starting with ''The Fashion Focus''.

* [[Fleetwood Mac]] started as a moderately successful blues-rock band led by guitarist Peter Green known for hard-rockin' songs with heavy riffs such as "Oh Well" and "The Green Manalishi (with the Two Pronged Crown)". One long complicated history later, including Green and the other guitarist quitting due to mental illness and joining a cult and other replacements that didn't go much anywhere, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band, now relocated to California. With ''Fleetwood Mac'' they changed to a pop/rock style inspired mostly by the Beatles, Beach Boys and the mellow Californian soft rock scene. They refined the formula and obtained massive success with ''Rumours'' and ''Tusk'', and never looked back.

* [[Jars of Clay]] does one of these every second album or so.

* [[Green Day]] in [[The Nineties]] used to be a pop-punk band who wrote catchy songs about being lazy, being insane, masturbating, being bored the works. Cue ''[[American Idiot]]'' and their shift to a more complex style inspired by [[Rock Opera]] and [[The Who]].

* [[Judas Priest]]. They simplified their sound (but still sticking to metal) with ''Killing Machine'' and ''British Steel'', and continued to get more commercial throughout the decade, culminating in the synthesizer-laden pop-metal of ''Turbo''. They returned to speed metal again with ''Painkiller'', and during the Tim "Ripper" Owens era they took on a bit more of a late-80's thrash influence. With ''Angel of Retribution'' and their reunion with Rob Halford, they basically went back to their pre-''Killing Machine'' sound.

* [[Soulwax]] has shifted over time from alt-rock in the 90s to "Dance-Punk". Their album ''Any Minute Now'' marked the start of the change, as it was an electronic-influenced rock album, and the remix/re-creation of Any Minute Now in the album ''Nite Versions'' sealed the deal (rock-influenced electronica album!). This has been largely seen as a good thing, as well as somewhat of a natural progression, as Soulwax's alter egos, 2 Many Dj's, have been electronica-ing it up for a while now.

* Summoning went through a pretty dramatic change in ''Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame'' (and subsequent albums), switching from black metal to a much more relaxed, epic style.

* Quite common with Brazilian rock:

* The [[Beastie Boys]] have done this a few times. First with ''Paul's Boutique'' they moved away from their more rap-oriented sound into eclectic genre hopping. ''Check Your Head'' and ''Ill Communication'' saw the band return to their roots as a late 70's hardcore punk band, resulting in a more alternative rock sound. ''Hello Nasty'' returned the band to rap, but added influences electronica and club dance music. ''To the 5 Boroughs'' featured a return to a more alternative rap sound. From what little that's been heard of their upcoming ''Hot Sauce Committee'' album, it seems that they're continuing with a more stripped down version of what they were doing on ''To the 5 Boroughs''.

* [[Depeche Mode]], at least six times. When main songwriter Vince Clarke left after the first album ("Speak and Spell") and Martin Gore (who had contributed a few songs) took over, the second album ("A Broken Frame") was much more "moody" sounding than Clarke's work while they were oddly marketed as a "boy band." For the next album ("Construction Time Again"), the classically trained Alan Wilder, Clarke's replacement at live shows as a keyboard player, became an official member while Gareth Jones engineered and later produced, and they helped shape what we know now as the band's sound as they started using samplers and the songs took a more dark and industrial turn, epitomized in ''"Black Celebration"''. After 3 albums together, DM and Jones had an amicable split and the next album, "Music For the Masses" had a similar sound but was largely self-produced with Dave Bascombe engineering. The biggest change may have been when Flood (who made a great team with Wilder) came in to produce "Violator," which introduced guitars as a staple and gave the world "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence." With grunge becoming huge and drug addled leader singer Dave Gahan immersing himself in the local music scene after moving to LA, "Songs of Faith and Devotion," the second album with Flood, was full on rock, while still recognizably Depeche Mode with the recognizable songwriting and layered arrangements. Wilder left, and while "Ultra" was billed as a return to the "Violator" era sound, "Exciter" was essentially "the soft and sensual side of Depeche Mode." "Playing the Angel" went back to the more "Violator" style sound, and then in 2009, they released "Sounds of the Universe," which was yet again completely different from all of their other albums as they used old analog synthesizers that Gore bought on eBay in new and bizarre ways. That's it so far. Whew.

** Ditto for Erasure's ''Union Street'' album.

* Speaking of [[Erasure]], the 2000 album ''Loveboat''. It can best be described as "Erasure goes indie", with a lo-fi, "basement-y" feel, heavier bass, and much greater use of acoustic instruments. in stark contrast to their typical campy, danceable synthpop. Fans ''[[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|hated]]'' it because the style was so different. A sizable majority of the fanbase consider it [[Fanon Discontinuity]] and the end of classic Erasure. It sold terribly in both the UK and the US and it didn't get released in the US until 2003 because Maverick Records dropped them like a hot potato when they refused to remix a good portion of the tracks. Even lead singer Andy Bell [[Creator Backlash|panned it]] [[Old Shame|years later]]. The worst part? Critics tended to like it, and it's a well-written album with a subdued, personal sound to it.

* [[Beck (musician)|Beck]], on '''every''' '''single''' '''album'''.

** From ''Guero'' onward, he's no longer been radically changing his sound on each release: but maybe it only seems that way, because (by now) he's ''already'' explored '''every possible''' genre.

* [[Led Zeppelin]], with their third album. The first two are mostly heavy blues-rock material; the third features only one blues song and an entire side of acoustic folk songs. Later albums would continue to explore different styles, but with hard rock being dominant.

* [[Franz Ferdinand]] executed one of these with ''Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'', breaking with the fairly typical (if well-executed) guitar-driven post-punk revival sound of their first two albums for a synthesizer-driven, dance-y sound. It works well, and they remain recognizably them.

* [[Panic! at the Disco]] did this with their second album 'Pretty. Odd'. They dropped the ! from their name and produced the album with a folksy 60's classic rock sound heavily inspired by The Beatles and The Kinks, a radical and very unexpected departure from their emo debut 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'. Understandably this divided the fan base into two groups: People who liked the fast pace and clever lyrics of 'Fever' and the new fans who liked 'Pretty. Odd'.

** Third album 'Vices and Virtues' is pretty much a combination of both.

* [[Talking Heads (band)|Talking Heads]] had a few; ''Remain In Light'' was filled with repetitious, dense African rhythms that sounded way different from their previous albums (Although it was hinted on in "I Zimbra" from Fear of Music). Three years later, they had ''Speaking in Tongues'' which was a more funky, synth-poppy album. Two years after, ''Little Creatures'' had more Latin influences, with some Americana which their next and final two albums both took inspiration from.

* [[Boards of Canada]]'s first two main releases, ''Music Has The Right To Children'' and ''Geogaddi'', which were laden with warm synthesizer sounds, were both greatly adored and critically acclaimed albums. Their third release, The Campfire Headphase which utilized guitar and a more pastoral sound, was released to a mixed reception.

* Every one of Falling Up's five records sounded generally different from the rest, as they moved more and more in the direction of experimental rock. They took it to a new level with "Fangs!" though, which saw a complete restructuring of their sound and how the band performed and recorded. Unfortunately it was also their last album.

* The [[Foo Fighters]], after their [[Post-Grunge]]-heavy first two albums ([[Self-Titled Album]] and ''The Colour and The Shape''), have decided to explore different styles - including an all-acoustic disc for their double-disc set, ''In Your Honour''.

** The Colour And The Shape is also their only album with a notable emo influence, which was caused by the band's bassist and then drummer (who had both been in Sunny Day Real Estate) contributing to the songwriting process. My Hero is the primary example of this, though so are the verses of Hey Johnny Park. Awkwardly, it remains the band's most popular album despite the fact they rock much harder these days.

* Rap superstar [[Lil Wayne]] decided to follow in the footsteps of his friend [[Kid Rock]] and record a [[Rap Rock]] album entitled ''Rebirth''. [[Your Mileage May Vary|It sucked hard]]..

* BT has changed sounds several times. His first album ''Ima'' was deep/progressive house, then he changed to drum&bass/trance/ambient/trip-hop for ''ESCM'' and ''Movement in Still Life'', then ''Emotional Technology'' was pop-trance, electro, and rock ballads. ''This Binary Universe'' was a complete [[Genre Shift]] to experimental ambient and new age material (influenced by [[Creator Breakdown]] due to his equipment being stolen and his daughter's kidnapping), then ''These Hopeful Machines'' ventured back down the ''Emotional Technology'' route, as well as incorporating elements of IDM and glitch-hop.

* [[Talk Talk]] started out as a [[New Wave]] band that already experimented with their sound as soon as during production of the second album. By the fourth one - titled ''Spirit of Eden'' - they may have became a [[Ur Example]] of [[Post Rock]].

* After helping define Melodic Death Metal in Sweden, In Flames began changing their style with ''Colony'' and to a greater extent with ''Clayman''. Then they released ''Reroute to Remain'' which is now considered by fans where "Old" ''In Flames'' ends and "New" ''In Flames'' begins. Each album after that has had its own distinct sound. This has lead to one hell of a [[Broken Base]]. Just check the comments on any of their music videos.

** Mostly due to heavy [[Executive Meddling]] in her first albums. The ones with her pink hair.

*** Well, to clarify, her first album was R&B/Hip-Hop, due to [[Executive Meddling]] (P!nk was supposed to have fronted an R&B girl-group, but was then offered a solo deal). She fought for more creative control with her second album, deciding to sing music in her preferred style. Each album reflects the people she worked with closely during the writing process (Linda Perry on "Missundaztood", Tim Armstrong of [[Rancid]] on "Try This", Max Martin for much of "I'm Not Dead"). The albums are also pretty good reflections of different periods in her life ("Missundaztood" dealt with much of her childhood, "Funhouse" was written during the time she had separated from husband Carey Hart).

* [[Pink Floyd]]. Listening to ''Piper at the Gates of Dawn'', then ''[[Dark Side of the Moon]]'', then ''[[The Wall]]'', then ''The Final Cut'', it's like four different bands ([[Justified]] for Piper, as their lead singer/songwriter became a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] shortly after it was finished.)

** More like five if you take into account their experimental albums like ''Ummagumma'' and ''Atom Heart Mother''.

* [[Dream Theater]] does this quite often, the most notable one being when [[Executive Meddling]] forced ''Falling Into Infinity'' to take on a more mainstream rock sound than the [[Progressive Metal]] of their earlier albums.

* Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm was well received and known for its heavy use of guitars and was generally considered an example of a good indie album. As the band's career progressed they released A Weekend in the City and Intimacy, two albums with increasingly dancier music and less emphasis on guitars and other standard indie fare. [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on the extent of their change.

* [[The Offspring]] became popular as a punk rock band with catchy upbeat songs. Their recent album ''Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'' has only two songs in their signature style with the rest being slow and more thoughtful. [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether this counts as [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]].

** To be fair, they often had slower, "more thoughtful" songs and interludes on almost all of their albums (except maybe ''Smash'') and they worked quite well, at least in counterpoint to the harder material - some of my favourites being album tracks where they skillfully blended the two (''Gone Away'' or ''Gotta Get Away'' (despite the similar titles, two quite different songs), for example). They diced with the powers of suck with ''Conspiracy of One'' but just about made it, however I'll admit ''RAFRAG'' didn't hit my local market with any kind of fanfare so I missed it... would be well worth trying out and seeing which side of the line it falls.

* Solar Fields was initially experimental ambient electronica, but shifted to trance for his ''Earthshine'' album, then returned to his former style for ''Movements'' and the ''[[Mirror's Edge]]'' soundtrack.

* Celtic Frost started out as a straight-up heavy metal band of the black/death style, with a Venom look. Then they incorporated electronica into their sound, a heresy at the time. Then they came out of nowhere with 'Cold Lake', which had them looking like a hair metal band and with a glam rock sound. Then they came out again with a new school black metal sound, their current incarnation, with a different band member singing and a more Rob Zombie-esque visual look.

* [[The Doors]]. The first two albums contained the brand of organ based psychedelic rock that they're known for. ''Waiting For The Sun'' was more eclectic based, having pop tunes, ballads and other oddities. ''The Soft Parade'' has a more big band sound, ''Morrison Hotel'' goes over the styles of the previous albums and ''L.A. Woman'' showcased the band during barroom blues.

** Basically, going from the incredibly messed up song "Gone With the Sin" (Razorblade Romance) from all the way back in ''1999'' to "Scared to Death" (Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice) may leave people wondering just who the hell they're listening to.

* Backseat Goodbye and ''The Good Years''. It diverges from his previous sound of pop-folk to a more solid folk-country (with pop elements). Some people [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|thought it sucked,]] some were like [[Growing the Beard|"cool,]] [[Broken Base|whatever."]]

* [[Deep Purple]]'s sound changed with every new line-up, starting off as hard-edged psychedelic rock and moving to progressive rock by their third album, at which point they changed line-ups and shifted to straight hard rock/heavy metal until they changed line-ups again, playing more blues-rock and funk-flavored hard rock. Their sound has stabilized nowadays to a classic-flavored hard rock, however.

* Parodied in the exhaustive fictional back-story of [[Spinal Tap]]. Their discography touches on moptop rock (the "Gimme Some Money" 45), psychedelic rock (their debut LP and ''We Are All Flower People''), extended live jams (''Silent But Deadly''), proto-metal (''Brainhammer''), progressive rock (''The Sun Never Sweats''), glam rock (''Bent For The Rent''), disco (''Tap Dancing''), and of course, heavy metal itself.

* [[They Might Be Giants]] moved up from "Two guys, an accordion, a guitar and a drum machine" to a full band for their fourth album ''John Henry''.

* A rather different example: [[K-On!|Houkago Tea Time]]'s songs are quite different in types of rock genres: "Fuwa Fuwa Time" is alternative rock (with some rapping at one point, even), "Don't Say Lazy" has some sort of melodic, but also a bit of post-hardcore rock feel into it. "Happy? Sorry!" is Synthpop, "Sweet Bitter Beauty Song" kinda sounds Grunge-esque due to the guitar shredding. "Shrew Way To Go" is mathrock due to the different time sculptures, and "Hello Little Girl" being no doubt their softest song. These are just the first season songs.