# Musicians/groups that underwent huge transformations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244 "2005-01-05T18:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/21 "2005-01-06T00:49:21Z")
One of the most extreme transformations has to be Talk Talk. Most people only remember them from their cheesy synth-pop hits Talk Talk and It’s My Life. Gradually through three albums their sound grew more refined, somewhat Gabrielesque. Then they released [Spirit Of Eden.](http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,172341,00.html) No synthesizers, no drum machines. Elongated, elliptical songs with long stretches of virtual silence, punctuated by crashing guitars, organ, and incredibly distorted harmonica. The follow up, [Laughing Stock](http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,172344,00.html), was more of the same. Naturally, the record company was appalled, and the band folded shortly thereafter. I strongly recommend those last two albums. It’s not for everybody, but those who like it fall in love with it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/22 "2005-01-06T01:11:03Z")
Wire. Freaking phenomenal band. Anyhow, _Pink Flag_ was one of the seminal punk albums of the 70s. Their followup, _Chairs Missing_ shed the skin of punk for the more angular and intellectual sounds of post-punk. _154_ started drifting towards New Wave, which _A Bell is a Cup Until it is Struck_ delivered in the late-80s. This was easily their most poppy record to date. Then after a few weird (It’s Beginning To & Back Again) and weak (_Manscape_ and _The First Letter_) efforts, Wire disappeared for more than a decade. They reemerged in 2002 with their stunning **Read & Burn 1 and 2** EPs, which were nothing like any Wire previous. These two EPs are relentless, one to three chord songs that sound like the musical equivalent of a jackhammer. They’re extremely repetative, hypnotic chord progressions that take their cue more from industrial music and speedcore than post-punk. If you just listen to the albums Pink Flag, A Bell is a Cup, and Read & Burn in succession, you would have trouble believing the same band produced all three equally incredible records. That’s the thing about Wire—they’ve reinvented (or, more accurately, matured) themselves several times, and each phase of their career is as strong as any other. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/23 "2005-01-06T01:37:48Z")
Pink Floyd went from heavy-duty psychedelia (Syd) to prog-rock experimentalism (Roger and David) to arena rock (Roger) to a shadow of their former selves (David). ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/24 "2005-01-06T01:56:48Z")
**Heart** went from some decent women in rock (Barracuda, Crazy On You, Magic Man, Straight On) to some truly awful 80s mainstream pop (These Dreams, What About Love). Thankfully, their current live efforts are focusing more on the rock than the pop history. ---
**Author:** ![iggy\_popov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@iggy\_popov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iggy_popov)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/25 "2005-01-06T02:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I think that **The Clash** transformed pretty majorly between _Give 'em Enough Rope_ and _London Calling_. [QUOTE] How about between London Calling and Sandinista? The Velvets went from avant-garde rock&roll then made a stab at pop music with Loaded. Iggy Pop went from the so called “godfather of punk” to his “Look I’m Iggy Pop and I have a synthesizer.” stage. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/26 "2005-01-06T02:55:12Z")
With In Rock **Deep Purple** went from about four albums of being a pleasantly innocuous, mildly trippy little late '60s pop band to being the globe-straddling, stadium-rogering early '70s **Deep Purple** : riffs like bulldozers, extended widdly-wee Blackmore guitar solos, show-off Jon Lord organ licks, and Ian Gillan shrieking like a banshee. Many considered this a good thing, myself included. Their lyrics were still crap, mind. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/27 "2005-01-06T03:09:07Z")
**The Eagles** went from being an almost-country band with Randy Meisner, to rock with “Hotel California” after picking up Joe Walsh, and then into dark rock with “The Long Run”. Of course, since all they do now is play their early hits, no one realizes that they had changed a lot by the time they quit. **Willie Nelson** went from being a twangy country star to an ‘outlaw’ and hero to the Skynyrd/Allman rebel crowd, to being a MOR singer of standards (“Stardust”), to basically just being an elder music statesman who sings whatever the hell he wants. **Waylon Jennings** went from being a rocker playing with Buddy Holly to a country star, and then ‘outlaw’ like Willie. There he stayed. **Johnny Cash** had so many career changes you can’t count them. From classic country to weird progressive rock/country to folk, back to country, then a reinterpreter of Rock classics. **Pat Boone** went from Christian crooner to heavy metal. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/28 "2005-01-06T03:21:13Z")
> [@ggurl](#): > > Genesis, beginning as a cool Peter Gabriel psychedelic outfit, changed into the crappy “new” Genesis with Phil Collins as frontman. Agree it was something of a transformation, but profoundly disgaree with the gratuitous ‘crappy’ slur. Their first post-Gabriel outing, “Trick Of The Tail”, is a great album, brimming with talent and invention. Many die-hard Genesis fans at the time, wary of what the post-Gabriel era would bring, and especially wary at the news that the beardy drummer was going to try and (gasp) _sing_, were very pleasantly surprised, and considered TOTT to be the best Genesis album up to that time. And “Wind & Wuthering” proved it was no fluke, either. The critical and commercial success of both these albums suggests that “crappy” is just your opinion, and not an especially well-informed one. As soon as you’ve written or recorded even one song that wins equivalent critical and commercial acclaim, do let us all know. We’d _love_ to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/29 "2005-01-06T03:27:34Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Agree it was something of a transformation, but profoundly disgaree with the gratuitous ‘crappy’ slur. Their first post-Gabriel outing, “Trick Of The Tail”, is a great album, brimming with talent and invention. Many die-hard Genesis fans at the time, wary of what the post-Gabriel era would bring, and especially wary at the news that the beardy drummer was going to try and (gasp) _sing_, were very pleasantly surprised, and considered TOTT to be the best Genesis album up to that time. And “Wind & Wuthering” proved it was no fluke, either. The critical and commercial success of both these albums suggests that “crappy” is just your opinion, and not an especially well-informed one. As soon as you’ve written or recorded even one song that wins equivalent critical and commercial acclaim, do let us all know. We’d _love_ to hear it. I agree. Genesis didn’t really start getting crappy until after _Abacab_, a few records into the Phil Collins era. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/30 "2005-01-06T03:34:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I agree. Genesis didn’t really start getting crappy until after _Abacab_, a few records into the Phil Collins era. Their self-titled 1983 album had some good stuff on it. _Invisible Touch_ not so much. _We Can’t Dance_ just plain sucked. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/31 "2005-01-06T03:58:26Z")
> [@Captain Crunchy Crunch](#): > > Similiarly, **Chicago** : Classic Rock to Adult Contemporary. > > I should just add that I find nothing wrong with these transformations. I like 70s Genesis, and I like 80s Genesis. I like 70s Chicago, and I like 80s Chicago. I do not, however, like 90s Chicago. 😉 What about 90’s Genesis? They had some semi-decent stuff in the early to mid 80’s but by the 90’s? Holy Moly-- save us from that crap! ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/32 "2005-01-06T04:07:58Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > As soon as you’ve written or recorded even one song that wins equivalent critical and commercial acclaim, do let us all know. We’d _love_ to hear it. I kind of doubt you would grant **ggurl** ’s opinion legitimacy even if that happened. Does anybody really buy the old “you are not allowed to criticize someone until you have achieved their level of success” argument anymore? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/33 "2005-01-06T04:17:40Z")
Wow-- all these comments about **Genesis** just confirm to me a thought I’ve held for some time now: no band has ever moved so far along the continuum of Utterly Fantastic -----\> Totally Disasterous as has **Genesis**. (Not saying they were ever all the way to either end of the spectrum… just that no other band has ever moved as far as they did.) PS-- I read \*\*ggurl’\*\*s comment of “…crappy “new” Genesis with Phil Collins as frontman” to mean right around _Genesis_ and certainly by _Invisible Touch_. But maybe she (or he) really feels that _A Trick of the Tail_, and _Wind and Wuthering_ are total crap. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/34 "2005-01-06T04:26:05Z")
I thought **Genesis** was a fine album. One of my favorite Genesis albums. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/35 "2005-01-06T04:53:32Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I thought **Genesis** was a fine album. One of my favorite Genesis albums. Ah yes, well opinions will differ, eh? Actually, I like a lot of _Genesis_. It’s just that that album is the most marked turning point southwards for the band, IMO. Most of \*And Then There Were Three \* is kinda sucky, some of _Duke_ is; only a few songs on _Abacab_ are bad, but by this point the band has changed significantly-- just that it’s still good stuff, only different. Same for _Genesis_ only less good stuff and by this time we have reached full Collins-ballad-glurge in “_Taking It All Too Hard_” this just becomes more sickening and overbearing on \*Invisible Touch \* and _We Can’t Dance_. Note that we see the beginnings of the Corrupted Collins Crap in "_Man on the Corner"_ on _Abacab_, but that song still had redeeming Genesis Style to it whereas the more developed later glurge has none. To make it more succinct: by the time Steve Hackett left the band they really changed (again). They had some good stuff on \*Abacab, Genesis, \* and a little on _Duke_. Other than that-- forget it. Geez— I sound like Patrick Bateman in _American Psycho_. Except that he exhorted the horrific newer Genesis and found the great old stuff “too intellectual.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/36 "2005-01-06T05:09:42Z")
1. **Exile** started out as a soul/disco band, and had a huge hit in the 70’s with “Kiss You All Over.” They later turned completely away from that sound and became a very popular Country & Western band. 2. **King Crimson** changed lineups repeatedly, and each time, came up with a very different sound. The early lineup sounded like a more gloomy version of the Moody Blues. Later, they turned to sax-oriiented jazz, then to heavy metal cum Bela Bartok, and finally to a New Age/African synthesis. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/37 "2005-01-06T05:27:03Z")
**Steely Dan** went from a full-fledged rock band to a duo almost totally reliant on studio musicians. The music changed too, from basic rock with a vague jazz tinge to slick, studio-enhanced fusion pieces. **Wanda Jackson** was a rockabilly singer who later turned around and performed only inspirational fare. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/38 "2005-01-06T05:41:06Z")
Someone upthread mentioned Deep Purple with Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie’s now one-half of a great Renaissance-rock band called Blackmore’s Night. (Well, _I_ like them, anyway.) Elton John has run the gamut from folk-tinged rock sensation to pop idol to bloated grand dame of schmaltz. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/39 "2005-01-06T05:56:07Z")
**Miles Davis** was the master of stylistic change, roughly from bebop to cool to modal to Gil Evans collaborations to whatever that amazing quintet with Shorter & Hancock was doing, through various forms of “fusion”…being in the forefront of the \*invention \*of many of these styles along the way. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/40 "2005-01-06T06:05:15Z")
A few that come to mind: Tom Waits went from smokey-piano ballads and jazzy songs in the early/mid70s to today sounding like a carnival barker for the Sanford and Son junkyard jamboree. Michael Bolotin (now Bolton) started out with a couple of “hard rock” (term used loosely) albums in the 80s before he became the suave love machine we know him as in the late 80s/early 90s. Alanis Morisette’s first couple albums were bubblegum crap pop. Her later more popular albums were alterna-crap rock. At least she kept the crap. The Afghan Whigs started out like any other guitar-based college rock band and by the time they broke up, Greg Dulli was convinced he was a black man living in Detroit during the Motown heyday. Bowie was already mentioned, he’s a good one. I don’t know if I’d call it a “huge transformation”, but listening to Fugazi’s First EP and their latest, you wouldn’t know it’s the same band. Ween’s early music was drugged out stupidness (even though I love it). They since have a much more polished and “real” sound. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244.md?page=3)