Early signs of a change in musical direction

[Z]

So I'm listening to CTRL by SZA a lot lately and it really sounds like an album that was being made over a long time, with the remnants of an earlier sound in the form of the most Frank Ocean-y songs. Then there's a few like Prom with a lot more going on, the sound of someone a lot more confident in a studio and I'm like "oooh, if the next album continues down that direction I'll be delighted!"


Anyway, this got me thinking of other acts where songs on one album sound more like what followed than the rest of that album or at least strongly hinted at some kind of evolution in sound.
First one to spring to my mind is Woods by Bon Iver, which is probably a better bridge between his first and third album than anything on his second.

Another Green World is a pretty obvious transition towards ambience from Eno but i can't recall if his earlier albums alluded to that much.

[Phil_A]

The title track of Three Imaginary Boys sounds more than anything else on that album the template of the next phase of The Cure, a clear sense of Smith distancing himself from his earlier "funnier" stuff and pointing towards the oppressive gloom of 17 Seconds, Faith et al.

Shame they had to ruin it by sticking a crap throwaway bonus track on the end, I assume that was the label's doing not the band.

[Icehaven]

Muse's first album sounded largely like early Radiohead (particularly Matt Bellamy's singing) just with a few more crunchy riffs, but by the second one they'd heavied up quite a bit, the signature bombast and Queen-ery had started to kick in and they've pretty much stuck to that and kept ramping it up ever since. I find them unlistenable now tbh but it's still odd to remember hearing Showbiz and thinking they were just Radiohead wannabes.

[phantom_power]

A lot of Bowie albums have a song or two that hint at his future direction, such as Rock and Roll With Me and 1984 in Diamond Dogs hinting at the soul direction of Young Americans and The Secret Life of Arabia on Heroes pointing towards the world music vibe of Lodger

[greenman]

The krautrocky title track to Station to Station as well is a pretty clear move towards Low.

[Better Midlands]

When The Prodigy got The Chemical Brothers to remix Voodoo People.

https://youtu.be/41kXJLheSrc

[The Culture Bunker]

"As You Said" by Joy Division does suggest that if Ian Curtis hadn't died, they may well have gone down similar avenues that New Order would do. Not sure how much of the band are actually on it, mind - could just be Sumner and Hannett fucking about.

[thraxx]

The title track of Three Imaginary Boys sounds more than anything else on that album the template of the next phase of The Cure, a clear sense of Smith distancing himself from his earlier "funnier" stuff and pointing towards the oppressive gloom of 17 Seconds, Faith et al.

Shame they had to ruin it by sticking a crap throwaway bonus track on the end, I assume that was the label's doing not the band.

Good call. You kind of lose tracks with The Cure as they changed musical direction so many times. I've always thought The Hanging Garden going into Let's Go To Bed is one of the strangest departures in music by a 'proper' band. I'm sure i've read how they got from one to the other but i'd like to reacquaint with why Smith they ended up doing it.

[Absorb the anus burn]

I Zimbra / Drugs.............. Remain in Light is on its way.

[Sebastian Cobb]

[tag]Bob Dylan places jacket over amplifier[/tag]

[itsfredtitmus]

Heaven Born and Ever Bright = rockier cardiacs

[the]

When The Prodigy got The Chemical Brothers to remix Voodoo People.

https://youtu.be/41kXJLheSrc

Few things to say on that (which I'm sure you already know about):

- On the UK release of the Voodoo People single, they're still credited as Dust Brothers for the remix

- On the US release (credited as Chemical Brothers), the BDP sample was reversed (so presumably uncleared then). Beastie Boys sample still intact though. Came in a weird clippy digipak-type case that I can't remember the name of

- The Prodigy did a reworking of this remix called Voodoo Beats - usually performed live, though the studio version is on their greatest hits.

All that aside though, what change in musical direction are you saying this remix signalled? The Prodigy were already doing guitarry stuff by then (hence the original, and stuff like Their Law).

[Better Midlands]

Few things to say on that (which I'm sure you already know about):

- On the UK release of the Voodoo People single, they're still credited as Dust Brothers for the remix

- On the US release (credited as Chemical Brothers), the BDP sample was reversed (so presumably uncleared then). Beastie Boys sample still intact though. Came in a weird clippy digipak-type case that I can't remember the name of

- The Prodigy did a reworking of this remix called Voodoo Beats - usually performed live, though the studio version is on their greatest hits.

All that aside though, what change in musical direction are you saying this remix signalled? The Prodigy were already doing guitarry stuff by then (hence the original, and stuff like Their Law).

The Prodigy change in direction was the fact that they slowed down their singles from 130-150 bpm to about 100-110 bpm.

Claim to fame - BITD I sold an original release 12" copy of The Dust Brothers - Song To The Siren to a very proud Ed Simons dear old mum, "Andrew Weatherall's doing a remix" she told me!

[Sebastian Cobb]

Some bloke I sort of know (off of the Internet) was mates with Tom, he told me a sordid story about his mate falling in the pond in virgin hq at one of their album launches.

[Satchmo Distel]

Barbarism Begins at Home is the funkier side of The Smiths and a sign that Marr was becoming bored with the indie guitar sound they'd had up to then. But Morrissey's tastes tied them down to some degree so they ended up going back to T Rex rip-offs, etc.

[holyzombiejesus]

I guess B&S' Stay Loose and Your Cover's Blown were a sign that they were trying to break away from the more indie sort of stuff. Don't think that they ever reached those heights when they tried to do so again though.

[saltysnacks]

"As You Said" by Joy Division does suggest that if Ian Curtis hadn't died, they may well have gone down similar avenues that New Order would do. Not sure how much of the band are actually on it, mind - could just be Sumner and Hannett fucking about.

New Order but with Ian Curtis' lyrics and singing would have been very interesting.

[the]

The Prodigy change in direction was the fact that they slowed down their singles from 130-150 bpm to about 100-110 bpm.

I never really considered the idea that The Prodigy's singles slowed in BPM from that point, but now I think about it, you're right.

I suppose I used to put the run-up to the stuff on The Fat Of The Land down to Liam's acquisition of an SP-1200, thus a shift towards making more hip hop styled beats.

...

I was listening to Tales Of Ephidrina by Amorphous Androgynous the other day, and wondered if it represents the exact mid-point of FSOL's transition between the rave/techno production house era and the more abstract avenues pursued from Lifeforms onwards.

I always find myself either defending their ambient/trippy stuff to ravers, or defending their prolific dancefloor years to loungey types. Their stuff is spot-on on both sides of the divide! But an amazing transition.

[imitationleather]

"As You Said" by Joy Division does suggest that if Ian Curtis hadn't died, they may well have gone down similar avenues that New Order would do. Not sure how much of the band are actually on it, mind - could just be Sumner and Hannett fucking about.

I remember reading that touring was having such a negative effect on Curtis's health, that even if he had lived he would have left Joy Division after Closer.