I don’t mean a new musician or band that you liked the first album or two and then lost interest. I mean an established musician who after years of enjoyment went in a direction you just couldn’t follow?
This is not meant to be a thread to attack musicians for changing direction. They’re the artist, and are entitled to create the art they want, and if I don’t like it, oh well–too bad, too sad.
Tom Waits.
After 12 years and nine albums, Rain Dogs was the last I could tolerate. I’ve found a song or two of his since then that I like, but every time I’ve tried to listen to a full album, I just can’t take it.
I loved his bluesy, boozy, lounge singer style, but just can’t take the frenetic and cacophonous style he’s moved into since the mid-80’s.
Blood Sweat and Tears before David Clayton-Thomas joined them. Dropped the blues for pop, and made millions (though they do deserve credit for highlighting Laura Nyro – she should have accepted their offer and become their lead singer).
[Ancient history since their last good album was in 1972.] They started out as a weird psychedelic folk band with boatloads of unusual instruments, gorgeous lyrics and vocals that were as inspired as they were peculiar. An acquired taste, to be sure, but they had (and still have) a devoted following and to me their music was wonderfully strange and beautiful.
Then came Scientology, a few more decent albums and finally a horrible attempt to go mainstream. Then they broke up.
Steve Miller. I was a huge fan up until Fly Like An Eagle. He was (and still is) a great guitarist and wrote some great stuff until he went Top 40. I gave up a long time ago, but the last two albums have been decent. He may redeem himself yet.
I just found out that Sir Paul was in this tight little club band that played bars in a rough neighborhood in Hamburg.
And guess what? They played Rock and Roll! No, I am serious. McCartney had this whole other life before. You will not recognize the guy who did “My Love” and “Ebony and Ivory”.
Indie guitar master Bob Mould took an odd detour into electronic music that I was not thrilled about. Thankfully, he has returned to putting out guitar-based music, albeit with some electronic flourishes.
Huge fan up till the synth took over. And I got older.
I try some of the newer stuff from time to time. Doesn’t grab me like it used to. But I’ve developed different tastes over the years and listen to some shit I never dreamed I’d be listening to now.
I’ll add Pearl Jam. First couple albums were great. Then came The Suck.
I’m quite the opposite. I like some of his lounge singer stuff, but I far prefer the music he’s made since his wife turned him on to Captain Beefheart.
I am currently listening to one of his ambient electronica albums. It’s quite a lot better than most of the pop stuff he’s done since his rock band split.
First album, a voodoo blues masterpiece, one of the spookiest albums you’ll ever hear. A big influence on the aforementioned Tom Waits, too. The next few albums, a few more voodoo-blues classics and a lot of what sounds like directionless stoned messing around. After that, straightforward New Orleans funk-blues, with the occasional good song but mostly pretty ordinary stuff.
Rod Stewart, since “Atlantic Crossing,” has sucked big time. His albums before that were superb. Even the hit-or-miss stuff with Faces was pretty good. Oh Rod, Rod, Rod…
Andrew Bird when he was “Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire.” Made two absolutely amazing swing jazz crooner albums. Fanfuckingtastic live show. I loved them to pieces. I also loved his drummer’s side project, the Quality 6, which was the same band but with Kevin’s name on it.
Then Andrew became “Andrew Bird” and did some sort of indie album and now I think he’s a big indie star but I just sort of don’t care.
And second me on Pearl Jam but I can’t quite figure out what changed. I sort of think it was me, not them.