By the way, The Bee Gees are another conspicuous candidate for this thread. First fragile-sounding pop-folkers, then hirsute "Kings" of Disco. Barry Gibb even changed his singing style completely.
Not a band, but Tom Waits shift musical shift in the late 70s from the Blue Valentine/One From the Heart period right into Heart Attack & Vine period was pretty dramatic. Though of course you could say the same for Dylan's early jumps from acoustic folk to electric rock to country.
The Beach Boys did it more than once, firstly by mellowing into the Pet Sounds/Smile orchestrations then by spreading out the songwriting (due to Brian Wilson's mental issues) and injecting a simpler rock sound into 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up and Holland (the latter two with minimal Brian Wilson input).
The Beatles - every album sounds different from the previous one in key ways but the most obvious innovations are the Dylan/Byrds influence on the mid-period (Help, Rubber Soul), the Indian music George brought in, then the impact of LSD on 'Revolver' and 'Pepper', and maybe heroin on Lennon 1968-69 tracks (culminating in Cold Turkey, which the other three refused to put out as a Beatles track).
Small Faces were quite a different band by 1968 than when they started. The Who went from mod to rock. Pink Floyd obviously slowed their music down to a crawl post-Syd.
Southern variant of standard player rap on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994).
Stripped back electronic alien rap on ATLiens (1996).
Connecting to a vast smorgasbord of Southern influences on the why-isn't-there-a-ten-mics-rating-in-The-Source Aquemini (1998).
Into the drum 'n' bass stratosphere but taking the P-Funk along for the ride on Stankonia (2000). Also: Miss Jackson rules the world.
Yin/yanging the duo into two separate records that still sound kind of connected on Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003). Imperial phase continues with standard pop song Hey Ya!.
Fall back into mediocrity (barring the individual great track: Mighty O, The Train) but also unleash Janelle Monáe onto the world on Idlewild (2006).
Not a band, but Tom Waits shift musical shift in the late 70s from the Blue Valentine/One From the Heart period right into Heart Attack & Vine period was pretty dramatic. Though of course you could say the same for Dylan's early jumps from acoustic folk to electric rock to country.
I think also significant for Waits is the switch in the early from where at least tried to sing to the unintelligible noise from his later stuff. Not sure if this is deliberate of the ffectvof too much booze and cigarettes.
Southern variant of standard player rap on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994).
Stripped back electronic alien rap on ATLiens (1996).
Connecting to a vast smorgasbord of Southern influences on the why-isn't-there-a-ten-mics-rating-in-The-Source Aquemini (1998).
Into the drum 'n' bass stratosphere but taking the P-Funk along for the ride on Stankonia (2000). Also: Miss Jackson rules the world.
Yin/yanging the duo into two separate records that still sound kind of connected on Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003). Imperial phase continues with standard pop song Hey Ya!.
Fall back into mediocrity (barring the individual great track: Mighty O, The Train) but also unleash Janelle Monáe onto the world on Idlewild (2006).
All of that, except I also loved 'A Bad Note' on Idlewild.
Herbie Hancock. From a child prodigy playing Mozart with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at 11, through the modal jazz and post-bop of his 60's solo albums and Miles' Second Great Quintet, the early jazz-rock of 'Bitches Brew' era Miles, his own foray into the Afro-centric mix of free jazz, funk and electronics that was the wonderful Mwandishi band, the Sly-inspired jazz funk of the Headhunters band a brief disco period and dabblings with electro and hip-hop. Along the way he has recorded duet albums with fellow-pianist Chick Corea, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and Gambian vocalist and kora player Foday Musa Sosa, played in numerous piano trios and released several albums of standards with a diverse mix of vocalists. He wins this thread hands down.
The Beatles - every album sounds different from the previous one in key ways but the most obvious innovations are the Dylan/Byrds influence on the mid-period (Help, Rubber Soul), the Indian music George brought in, then the impact of LSD on 'Revolver' and 'Pepper', and maybe heroin on Lennon 1968-69 tracks (culminating in Cold Turkey, which the other three refused to put out as a Beatles track).
If we just take Abbey Road as an example, the stylistic variation and range of genres in most of the tracks is frankly astonishing.
Arctic Monkeys, never really got the early stuff but Tranquility Base Hotel I really like, markedly different.
The Damned, first album excellent Stooges style punk, second a bit of a hurried mess but still very listenable then into Machine Gun Etiquette post Brian James, hit the peak for me with The Black Album moved on from there and after the great Strawberries on to the poppy Phantasmagoria before it all got a bit patchy.
I thought that The Beatles had been exempted? (Or was that another thread?)
One further not-so-good example comes to mind: The Strawbs/Hudson-Ford/The Monks. Nowt much wrong with the first pairing as a folk-influenced pop act, but Richard Hudson and John Ford’s foray into new wave as The Monks left a little to be desired. (Suffice to say that the ‘other’ Monks were much better.)
Reckon I concur that Sub Sub/Doves should win this.
Not a band, but Tom Waits shift musical shift in the late 70s from the Blue Valentine/One From the Heart period right into Heart Attack & Vine period was pretty dramatic. Though of course you could say the same for Dylan's early jumps from acoustic folk to electric rock to country.
Though once you start introducing not a band then Bowie becomes the default answer.
Ultravox changed sounds with their change in vocalist though interestingly they were evolving more towards the band they became when Foxx left.
Stranglers always seemed comfortable in trying different sounds and tempo.
And how do The Clash fit in with this thread? Sometimes seeming like trying just a little too hard to switch/mash genres.
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