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Asnyou can imagine, I’ve had a bit of time on my hands of late, and so I’ve spent a fair bit of it on Spotify.
Exploring some Led Zepplin brought to mind the Honeydrippers - a band born of Robert Plant’s desire to do some rythym & blues work. Yet with only a 4-song EP to show for their efforts - all of which were covers - they didn’t ultimately produce much.
Then there was the Travelling Wilburys. Superb band with an amazing line-up, and songs that they both wrote and have since stood the test of time.
Wings might be mentioned for Band on the Run, but nothing much more; and besides: it was just an extension of Paul McCartney as opposed to it being an interesting change of musical direction.
Finally, there was the Passengers, made up of U2 and Brian Eno, whom nobody remembers, and whose output - while ostensibly different to U2’s normal output - was pretty much just a name given to the work Eno was doing with the band anyway.
Are there any other ‘secondary’ or ‘alternative’ bands you can think of that represent a different direction for the artist(s) involved, and are worthy of note - either because they were so good OR so bad?
Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Big Audio Dynamite. Very few of their songs have withstood the test of time. Although I liked it at the time.
Pantera completely re-invented themselves, going from a sort of hair/glam-metal thing to 'groove metal' (everyone loves pigeonholing, right?). I always thought it was weird to do that rather than just start a new band.
I think the obvious ones would be The Three Johns from The Mekons and Chris and Cosey arising from Throbbing Gristle. Pretty much thread closed 😉
Teh Quo!
Psychedelic Floyd-a-likes to three chord greebo-mongers!
Rotten from Sex Pistols to PiL?
Weller from The Jam to Style Council to his solo stuff?
Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?
Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?
Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?
Aye.
One album only though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10,_Upping_St.
I always thought it was weird to do that rather than just start a new band.
The beastie boys started out as a hardcore punk band before moving to hip hop, then late on put out an album of Jazz Funk instrumentals. All without any name or line-up changes bar there being a girl in the band when they first started.
Good call on Weller. I forgot about his ‘migration’.
David Bowie reinvented himself on each album
Madonna, Kylie and Fleetwood Mac spring to mind.
“Durran Durran” and Powerstation..
Durannies were ostensibly pop, talented and crafted writing but when they ditched L A Bon they became honed and slick. Thier talent manifested itself in pure Pop/Rock and arguably a better direction that the blandness of the “Durran Durran” middle years.
Never quite understood why Powerstation didn’t continue to stratospheric hights..
Seasick Steve
A Perfect Circle, started as a Tool side project and now seem to be quite successful as a band in their own right. Seasick Steve completely reinvented himself, which has cropped up a few times on here.
Chris Cornell deserves a mention for his solo stuff being different from Soundgarden / Audioslave and he seemed to be looking to take his solo stuff in an interesting direction before his death.
edit - 1 minute too slow on Seasick Steve
Madonna + 1.
Utter brilliance from her for decades now. I'm not a great fan and my favourite track by her is a cover. Nobody comes close to being able to reinvent herself like she has done and I fully expect we will hear from her again in the future.
Massive Attack went from producing this, which had the atmosphere of a great summer night out at a club with your mates...
Straight to this, which had the atmosphere like you'd just been dragged out of said club by the bouncers then taken down a back alley and had the shit kicked out of you..
Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?
There's a great documentary on the making of Screamadelica, which was basically a last gasp hail mary before they sank without trace
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010v8kh
(you can find it in bits on youtube still I think)
+1 for Fleetwood Mac.
Back in the day a lot of bands went from pop to heavy in order to cash in on "underground" music and get cred. Some renamed, some not (e.g. Simon Dupree and the Big Sound -> Gentle Giant).
Cash did it a number of times!
Great call on Madonna. Beautifully illustrated, quite literally, by this tweet from 6 Music when they did a Madge day not long back
https://twitter.com/bbc6music/status/1029865319093817344?lang=en
What about Terry Hall from the Specials? The Specials to Fun Boy Three, then lesser known tracks from memory with Dave Stewart and then a random album with rapper, Fundamental, Damon Albarn and some Polish gypsies.
Or as much as it pains me, Cliff Richard from 50's "Elvis-lite" to terrible christmas records.
I wouldn't include Bowie or Madonna, because they were always fluid and doing lots of things. But definitely not Madonna, cos she was always pop.
I'm going to say Dylan.
Kraftwerk were a an experimental rock / psyc. jam band.
Radiohead were a cheesy top fourty rock band
Katy Perry was a christian rock singer I think? Now she likes to melt your popsicle etc
Sorry, but that's rubbish Molls! Are you saying pop music doesn't evolve? That its somehow inferior to more 'proper' music?
Madge re-invented herself because she constantly read what was coming next, judged the cultural mood, then got the writers, muscicians and producers on board to collaberate with on her next project and make it commercial. She's been consistently ahead of the game.
I'd say that makes her ten times more valid as an artist than a lot of the shite that gets talked about in hushed tones
Massive Attack went from producing this......Straight to this
Not quite straight to, Protection came in between.
Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?
I always thought that Strummer was co-writer/co-producer only on that record, nit sure he appeared as an artist. I bought it the other day...you're right, it's not aged well!
The beastie boys started out as a hardcore punk band before moving to hip hop, then late on put out an album of Jazz Funk instrumentals.
Was this the In Sound from Way Out compilation, or have I missed one?
I'll submit PWEI - their first EPs we're grebo garage pop
And who can forget Sub Sub and how they turned out in the end!
In sound from way out and they did a second one who’s name escapes me. Beck should be on the list too. The difference from Odelay to Morning Phase is pretty big. Both excellent albums though.
Sorry, but that’s rubbish Molls! Are you saying pop music doesn’t evolve? That its somehow inferior to more ‘proper’ music?
No idea where you got either of those from. Of course it evolves, but SR is talking about a complete step change. Madonna continued making pop, it just evovled and changed. A re-invention would have been if she'd come out and done hard rock or folk or something; a change to a completely different genre.
Madge re-invented herself because she constantly read what was coming next, judged the cultural mood, then got the writers, muscicians and producers on board to collaberate with on her next project and make it commercial. She’s been consistently rubbish.
And I ain't no anti-pop snob, I've just never liked Madonna.
Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?
Massively - to Paliament funk to US rock n roll roots to electro whatevers.. etc!
Documentary about their "lost Memphis tapes" that was supposed to be their next release after Screamadelica is on Sky Arts next week some time.
The Damned as well - early punk 3 minute machine gun nutters, to pomped out psychedelic hideousness, goff etc, (on to a bunch of old granddads tribute band to themselves). I watched the Damned docu the other day and what a sad sight it was.
I’ll submit PWEI – their first EPs we’re grebo garage pop
Pwei were consistent in that they were a steaming pile of crap throughout.
Prodigy
The Shamen
Pink Floyd
Edit: Poppies were great - way ahead of their time. My mate used to share a house in Brum with Clint back in the day and also the drummer from Napalm Death! Good times.
Everything but the Girl made a bit of a move from indy to EDM style.
Kings of Leon went from being a lo-fi arty alternative band to stadium rock.
Arguably Bruce Springsteen. Started out as an average singer songwriter on the first few albums before hitting on the now recognisable e-street band sound.
Neil Young.
Ministry.
Anathema.
Was this the In Sound from Way Out compilation, or have I missed one?
"The Mix Up" from 2007 - which as a title sounds like it would be a compilation but it was all new material
Also
Nick Cave
Jacknife Lee
Johnny Cash
T(yrannosaurus) Rex
Depeche Mode
Human League
Norman Cook
Sub Sub and Doves were the same band, weren't they?
The great Joni Mitchell - from wistful folky arty stuff to full-on jazz?
Tom Waits from boho barfly beatpoet to radical percussion and scary dancing
Wayne Hussey went from being a member of Dead or Alive, to front man of the Mission.......now there's two opposite ends of the scale!!
While we're on the subject of PWEI, what about Clint 'Greebo' Mansell turning his hand to become Soundtrack Composer Of The Year 2011.
Apart from 'Black Swan' I hadn't realised he'd done so many.
Alanis Morisette started as cheesy pop no?
"
Sub Sub and Doves were the same band, weren’t they?
They were indeed. They changed course after they recorded and engineered a whole Sub Sub album over about 6 months then when they finished it, there was a fire at the studioand it burnt down destroying everything. All the existing masters, the lot!
Not fancying going back in to the studio to record the same album, and obviously not feeling too upbeat, they decided to have a crack at something a bit different and picked up some guitars. The result was the achingly brillliant Lost Souls.
Just shows what bloody brilliant muscicians they are
Doves, really good indie band formed off the back of a dance acid band.
Mark Mothersbaugh. Went from Devo to scoring pretty much every film and kids tv show ever made!!
Norman Cook??
Housemartins/Beautiful South/Fatboy slim & some other things in between
Not so much a reinvention but an evolution....
Depeche Mode?
beastie boys?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs changed with every album
Idlewild- from scrappy punk to happy REM
And F***ed Up, nobody really knows what they're going to sound like tomorrow.
Joy Division to New Order. Unfortunately it took the death of Ian Curtis to force it.
Most of the ones I'd thought of already appear, here's a few others (apologies if they've already been done):
Jefferson Airship / Jefferson Starship / Starship
Early (punk guitars) Tubeway Army to late Tubeway Army / Gary Numan solo
Adam and the Ants in a couple of directions - Adam went from punk (having started as a pub rocker) to "new romantic" while the Ants went from being Ants to being Bow Wow Wow with the addition of their singer. (meanwhile Adam recruited a new set of Ants prior to pop domination).
Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie - both in "and the Banshees" and the Creatures - the latter was a completely different thing each and every time they rolled it out and the former progressed from goth/punk/rock (pick a pigeonhole to taste) and had their biggest hit with a dance themed single that also heavily featured an accordion.
Joy Division into New Order? Surely that's been mentioned and I missed it? [EDIT: While I was typing!]
Genesis
Yes (thinking "owner of a lonely heart")
Slade had tried a few different approaches before hitting gold with the glam rock thing
And of course, the band that started as a skiffle group, did some early rock'n'roll, had a big psychedelic hit before hitting the big time with that big, big metal sound: Spinal Tap!
If you take their first and last albums, you can see a fair old change in them there Beatles over only what? 6 - 7 years?
Manic Street Preachers? Or is that just called "growing up?"
Deep Purple: Similar to the Quo, first known for a big psychedelicish hit (Hush) before world domination in a different way.
The Yardbirds via a slightly meandering route into Led Zeppelin
While we’re on the subject of PWEI, what about Clint ‘Greebo’ Mansell turning his hand to become Soundtrack Composer Of The Year 2011.
I was going to mention this he did the soundtrack for Requiem for a Dream which is brilliant.
Couple more:
Bee Gees - their 60s stuff was very different to the disco stuff later on
Taylor Swift - started out as country (and / or western)?
Ministry
Beaten to it!
Synth-pop to full on industrial metal.
(ETA: learnt that from a forum member, so props where they're due)
The Byrds from folk rock to country.
The much derided on here Beatles from rock and roll act to psychedelia and stopping off a few places in between and after.
Beastie Boys, Primal Scream, Beck and Massive Attack as already mentioned.
And of course - Joe Cocker.
Arguably Bruce Springsteen. Started out as an average singer songwriter on the first few albums before hitting on the now recognisable e-street band sound.
Say what now? The East Street Band were there from the beginning, they just didn’t have that name until several months after the first album was released. From the first album he showed himself to be a songwriter of unusually lyrical skills, and arguably lost that and went more mainstream after ‘Born To Run’
Springsteen was signed to Columbia Records in 1972 by Clive Davis, after having initially piqued the interest of John Hammond, who had signed Bob Dylan to the same label a decade earlier. Despite the expectations of Columbia Records' executives that Springsteen would record an acoustic album, he brought many of his New Jersey-based colleagues into the studio with him, thus forming the E Street Band (although it would not be formally named for several months). His debut album <i>Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.</i>, released in January 1973, established him as a critical favorite<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference">[24]</sup> though sales were slow.
Two bands who continually re-invented themselves throughout their careers, (one continues to do so), are Talk Talk and King Crimson. Talk Talk went from an 80’s pop band to an ever-more stripped-down Indy/prog band, and KC, well, Robert Fripp just keeps on doing whatever the hell he wants, with little regard for what anyone else is up to, and I love him for it!
The keyboard player from D:Ream to a world-renowned physicist. That's a much bigger transformation than one pop niche to another.