As opposed to The Bee Gees, who's psych rock stuff is very different from their later disco stuff. I'd argue they went through more stylistic changes than that even. All of it was high quality on most levels. Whether one era was better...I can't say
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Bands that dramatically changed their sound for the better?
- Thread starter spatters
- Start date
Journey certainly became more accessible once Steve Perry joined. Better? I suppose that's debatable.
Porcupine Tree started as a 1-person psychedelic/atmospheric prog to a 4-person prog-metal band before disbanding.
I would name Opeth as well (black metal to 70s prog), but that "most people agree improved" criteria is most likely not met.
I would name Opeth as well (black metal to 70s prog), but that "most people agree improved" criteria is most likely not met.
Go back and check out their actual songs in terms of lyrics and construct, and stop at the time that Keith Moon died.
Huge change in lyrical content, approach to what the albums are, instrumentation, etc. I can’t think of another band that sounded au courant in the mid-60s, late-60s, and the entire trajectory of music in the 70s. They literally put out albums that sounded relevant in a vastly changing musical landscape.
Now go and listen to their new album. It’s unmistakably The Who. The wild thing is that it doesn’t sound like an album from any particular phase of their career, all of which sound really different. At the same time, it isn’t really a “modern” sounding album either. It’s almost like an artifact of an alternate reality of what rock would have sounded like without Hair Metal, Grunge, Alternative, Nu-Metal, etc.
Don't understand that one...to me AC/DC has stuck very closely to their original successful formula unwavering for 50 years, same with ZZ Top.
Have you ever listened to the album “Who Are You”?
The band Halestorm put out an EP in 1999 (a decade before their first studio album), when Lzzy and her brother Arejay were still kids. Not really worth listening to, or really worth considering as part of Halestorm's body of work. But technically the same band with 2 of the same people, operating under the same name 
They used to be the house band for the Hells Angels.
Contemplate that for a minute.
Can’t think of any country music after 1980 that really deserves to be called country.
It was a dig at the former whiney voice rock n roll hillbilly twang screecher that everyone seems to love while bashing the guy who took them from a good band to an incredible phenomena. Yet it's not actually safe to say you prefer Brian to Bon even just a little bit on internet.
No, I said a ten year lifespan, a respectable run, from ‘64 to the autumn ‘73 release of the album, then do a tour, put it all to bed. Things were already starting to fall apart on them...Keith of course was a mess, collapsing on stage from drink and drugs during said tour, them having to play along with backing tapes(which kept going wrong, and which meant they couldn’t put the music across satisfactorily as a four-piece), Pete being a boozy wreck, and so on. When I heard the entire album for the first time, I thought, “how are they going to top this?”, and, you know, they couldn’t. By Numbers was disappointing, they sounded tired and out of ideas, Pete realizing that his famous line from “My Generation” was finally biting him on the ass. “Squeezebox” was an embarrassment, essentially 30 year old blokes telling schoolboy level dirty jokes. Then, talk about cash cows, they squeezed more out of Tommy with that trainwreck film. That set Roger off on his acting career, Entwistle tried hard to get his solo act going, and Keith was going down in flames. Who Are You was more of the same, but more gratuitous, more same old same old. Had they split up with Quad, with dignity, they still could have been involved with the movie later. They still made money off of that. “Emminence Front” and “You Better” could have easily been Pete solo songs, but those albums as a whole are forgettable. And there were always reunion tours to rake it in with, which they did anyway, becoming a Vegas act, but John didn’t make that gig. Kenny Jones was a great drummer...for the Small Faces.
Last edited:
Yes, I did, and instead of naming it that, and instead of potentially naming it “It’s Hard”, they should have named it “It’s Over”, or maybe “It’s Sad”, or “So Sad About Them”. As I mentioned in the above post, Quad was never going to be beat as an artistic statement. I saw them in ‘70, full of piss and vinnegar, then in ‘75, there was a marked decline.
Last edited:
Mr Bungle changes genres 3 times in 1 song
The 1975 is a modern band that does this routinely.
It's probably the only band that I can think of that has actually garnered a large following despite not really having "a sound". They sometimes sound like a completely different band on every song.
R&B (Jamiroquai-ish):
Punk rock:
80s retro:
Modern Pop:
Channelling a mix of late 80s rock - like Extreme - and maybe some new wave?:
It's probably the only band that I can think of that has actually garnered a large following despite not really having "a sound". They sometimes sound like a completely different band on every song.
R&B (Jamiroquai-ish):
Punk rock:
80s retro:
Modern Pop:
Channelling a mix of late 80s rock - like Extreme - and maybe some new wave?:
Last edited:
You can’t live your life always filled with piss and vinegar. The pivot that their music took was great, and best of all...appropriate. Bands that trade upon how loud or hard they are, and don’t do this just end up being sad. Like how the guy from The Cure looks these days when he puts his goth warpaint on.
Led Zeppelin of the same era was horrible. I’ve listened to the live recording of their final show in 1980 and it was like listening to a cover band that didn’t have their act together.
I haven't had time yet to read through the entire thread so if this is a repeat I apoligize but for me, the Doobie Brothers became an entirely new band......a much better band with a sound suddenly that I was keenly interested in with the addition of Michael McDonald. I was like: "whoaaaaaa". "NOW that's a band"!!!
