# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/41 "2005-01-06T06:13:01Z")
The undisputed king in this regard is **Ministry**. They went from pretty-boy techno synth pop to crunching, grinding, blow out your eardrums metal. Listen to _With Sympathy_, and then listen to _Psalm 69_ or _The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste_ and you’ll see exactly how far the went to the other extreme. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/42 "2005-01-06T06:32:35Z")
You shouldn’t forget Husker Du. They went from being a really thrashy punk/metal band to being a melodious but still hardcore band. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/43 "2005-01-06T07:06:54Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > The undisputed king in this regard is **Ministry**. They went from pretty-boy techno synth pop to crunching, grinding, blow out your eardrums metal. Listen to _With Sympathy_, and then listen to _Psalm 69_ or _The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste_ and you’ll see exactly how far the went to the other extreme. Did you _read_ the OP? hehehehehe… The fact of the matter when it comes to **Ministry** is that they had **always** intended to sound like they did in the _Halloween_ years - possibly even “harder” than that at the time - but they were suckered into their early sound by a “bait and switch” thing from their first record company. Alain Jourgensen has said in more than one interview something along these lines: “[_With Sympathy_ is the only album that I don’t like, and that’s basically because it was written by producers and by record company people. I just signed the contract and didn’t know any better and did what everyone told me to do, and then after that I just kinda said, ‘Well, fuck you. I’m gonna do it my way.’” [Cite](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:kuAtnqttIusJ:www.markprindle.com/jourgensen-i.htm+Alain+JOURGENSEN&hl=en&client=firefox-a) , but it’s pretty common knowledge amongst Ministry fans. My nomination for this category would be the obscure (to Americans) late 70’s - early 80s British band **Japan**. They started off as a ghastly “glam rock” sort of band (first two albums), then took a Giorgio Moroder disco stop (third album), then went into some slightly avant garde pop-electronica (fourth album) before settling in with a very Asian-inspired sound (fifth (and last) album). Perhaps what’s most shocking about the whole thing is that on the first two albums, the lead singer (David Sylvian) sounded like a bad New York Dolls clone, then from the third album onwards changed to a deeper version of Bryan Ferry. He’d later go on to do some _really_ minimalist stuff with Holger Czukay - you know, “music” with “prepared piano”, “harmonium” and “shortwave radio” listed as instruments… It’s one of the most shocking "before and “after” transformations in pop music, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/44 "2005-01-06T07:16:24Z")
> [@Rex Fenestrarum](#): > > Did you _read_ the OP? hehehehehe… It figures. It’s the only band in the OP that wasn’t bolded. Polls like this I usually look for the particular bands that were mentioned, and the lack of bolding caused me to miss it. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/45 "2005-01-06T07:35:57Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > It figures. It’s the only band in the OP that wasn’t bolded. Polls like this I usually look for the particular bands that were mentioned, and the lack of bolding caused me to miss it. Oops. No problem man… I’m just having a little fun with you! 🙂 ---
**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, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/46 "2005-01-06T08:07:15Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > The undisputed king in this regard is **Ministry**. I do dispute. I’m sure there’s many bands who have done as radical a transformation. Once again, listen to Wire’s _A Bell Is A Cup_ followed by _Read & Burn I_. As radical as Ministry’s transformation. (except unlike Ministry, Wire’s synthy New Wave was of highest quality.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/47 "2005-01-06T09:20:17Z")
Tori Amos, before she struck gold as a piano chanteuse, had a really embarrassing debut as frontwoman for a lite metal band called “y kant tori read.” Bobby Darin, as documented in the current film, tried lots of different musical styles but was never fully embraced by pop-rock, Tin Pan Alley, Brill Building or Dylan-inspired protest rock. It was like he tried to catch the tail end of every musical genre as it was already disappearing. Lyle Lovett started out as a straightforward Country balladeer, flirted with Jazz/Big Band for a while, and now he’s sort of floating in “adult contemporary” territory. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/48 "2005-01-06T12:36:43Z")
Listen to the first three \*\*Journey \*\* albums with Greg Rollie singing. Compare them to the soulless pop they churned out when Steve Perry took the mic! Holy Toledo. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Crunchy\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Captain\_Crunchy\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Crunchy_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/49 "2005-01-06T14:56:10Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 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. :eek: Wow, really? _Kiss You All Over_ is probably my favorite '70s Pop song. It’s right up there with **Gerry Rafferty’s** _Baker Street_, and **Seals & Crofts** _Summer Breeze_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![poeticyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@poeticyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poeticyde)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/50 "2005-01-06T15:24:36Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Ritchie’s now one-half of a great Renaissance-rock band called Blackmore’s Night. (Well, _I_ like them, anyway.) I love Blackmore’s Night! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/51 "2005-01-06T15:32:25Z")
Well, you could say KISS had a huge transformation when they released _Songs From the Elder_, but they try to pretend it never happened. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/52 "2005-01-06T15:32:40Z")
And nobody’s mentioned **Radiohead** yet? The difference between _Pablo Honey_/_The Bends_ and the albums from _Kid A_ onwards is immense. Jangly indie pop nobodies to whatever you’d call their sound these days, thats a big difference. **Roxy Music** sounded a hell of a lot different at the end of their album making days. **Primal Scream** have gone through at least 4 different musical styles with different albums - compare _Screamadelica_ to _Rocks_ etc. **Doves** used to be a pop dance band called **Sub Sub** before they changed tack completely to the sound they have now. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/53 "2005-01-06T17:21:29Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Penelope Houston went from punk chanteuse with **The Avengers** to folk singer ( not a half bad one either - if you can find it and you probably can’t _On Borrowed Time, live in Frisco_ is worth a listen, especially for the acoustic rendering of her old punk tune ‘Corpus Christi’ ). > > - Tamerlane Wow I had no idea she was still making music. I loved their recording of We are the one. ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/54 "2005-01-06T18:24:37Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Does anybody really buy the old “you are not allowed to criticize someone until you have achieved their level of success” argument anymore? Missing the point, and a ‘straw man’ argument. This isn’t about whether anyone is _allowed_ to criticize. I made no reference to anyone being allowed, or not being allowed, to criticize, so you’re going off at a tangent. This is about whether an opinion is well-informed or not. My contention was that (a) the albums to which I referred had a lot of merit, irrespective of whether one happens to like that kind of music. There’s plenty of music which, as it happens, isn’t my cup of tea, but which nonetheless I can see has merit and brings pleasure to millions; and (b) that the kind of people who liked and appreciated Genesis at the point in their career under discussion, by and large, didn’t seem to think they had gone sucky when they released TOTT and WAW. Of course, it comes down to taste and opinion, but some opinions carry more weight than others. My 9 year old nephew doesn’t think much of Shakespeare or Mozart. But I think he will appreciate them both a bit more when he’s older, even if he doesn’t actually come to like them much. Likewise, to dimiss the achievements of TOTT and WAW as ‘crappy’ suggests to me that it’s not a very well-informed opinion. Which is what I said. My final point is that if someone actually has a go at writing a song, recording some music, singing etc., they often find it improves their appreciation of those who can do these things really well. It’s easy to be an armchair expert, dishing out praise and scorn based on ignorance. When you actually try these things, you see that there’s a lot more to it than you ever dreamed. And one’s appreciation tends to benefit accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/55 "2005-01-06T18:34:21Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > Wow I had no idea she was still making music. I loved their recording of We are the one. She was a librarian in SF for years while playing on the side :). Here’s her site: [http://www.penelope.net/](http://www.penelope.net/) - Tamerlane ---
**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, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/56 "2005-01-06T18:42:04Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Missing the point, and a ‘straw man’ argument. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I pretty much can tell I’ve won the argument when the other side starts pulling out worthless accusations of “straw man.” ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/57 "2005-01-06T23:17:14Z")
**Linda Ronstadt** went from California soft rock to Gilbert & Sullivan to standards to Arizona Mexican border music to … I don’t know where after that. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/58 "2005-01-06T23:50:56Z")
**Stiff Little Fingers** went from angry to sad (aka brilliant to gawdawful). In fact a lot of bands that started the 80’s well (especially UK ones), seemed to turn into steaming piles of smarmy smegma as the decade progressed… **Undertones** , **Stranglers** and **English Beat** , I’m looking at you. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/59 "2005-01-07T01:43:51Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > **Linda Ronstadt** went from California soft rock to Gilbert & Sullivan to standards to Arizona Mexican border music to … I don’t know where after that. To getting run out of Vegas for making Anti-Bush statements at a show… Honestly, did she even think about her target audience here? I mean, sure, it’s a free country. She can say whatever she wants. But she’d get a much warmer reception _almost anywhere else_ than harassing a bunch of people on vacation in Vegas. Of course, the rumor was that she did it to get kicked out of her contract there, so take it with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244/60 "2005-01-07T02:24:25Z")
John Lydon went from the Sex Pistols to PiL wich was a pretty drastic change. X went from being an awesome rootsy punk band to a better-than-avarage-but-still-kinda-mediocre slick MOR pop/rock band. although Exene has redeemed herself with her more recent stuff, especially with her band The Original Sinners. The Butthole Surfers went from playing acid drenched psychedelic scuzzy texas style no wave to putting out albums full of techno-ish dreck and ripping off “88 Lines About 44 Women” for big bucks. The Tubes went from cutting edge (for the time) satiric rock ala Zappa to slick pop. Alice Cooper (the band) were another bunch of Zappa inspired experimental rockers who changed their style after a couple of albums, and then the band became the man and he made a bunch of shit albums before recently returning to his old sound. Corrosion Of Conformity started out as a really sloppy punk band, then made one of the greatest hardcore albums ever (Animosity) then turned into a bad metal outfit. GG Allin’s first few records were cheesy new wave-ish punk before turning into the worlds most beloved piece of human filth ever. What? Nobody mentioned Pink Floyd? Compare Piper at the Gates of Dawn to the elevator music of Dark Side Of The Moon. The Sweet went from being one of the few good bubblegum bands then they put out some great glam anthems before churning out a bunch of really bad disco-folk-prog albums. I think cocaine helped a lot of bands put out really bad disco-folk-prog albums I saw Zappa mentioned, but I really don’t see that much of a difference between Freak Out an Broadway The Hardway. Frank had that whole Conceptual Continuity thing going on even before the Mothers were invented [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-groups-that-underwent-huge-transformations/283244.md?page=4)