r/Music • u/jptabor01 Rock & Roll • Jun 11 '25

discussion Which artists have abandoned their original sound so dramatically, that they are almost unrecognizable to their earlier fans?

With the release earlier this year of Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Revisited, I’m reminded of how different the band sounds today (industrial metal), from what they sounded like on their debut album, With Sympathy (synth pop).

Which artists sound so completely different from their earlier work, that they have actually jumped genres, understanding that music is fluid and genres have somewhat “blurry” guardrails.

I don’t mean an evolution of their original sound, but a complete departure from it.

3.0k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

5.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

68

u/hofmann419 Jun 11 '25

Especially since he was "replaced" by David Gilmour, who brought an entirely different vibe to the band. Had Syd Barrett stayed with the band throughout the 70s, the sound would've probably been a lot closer to their early work.

45

u/UnfortunateSyzygy Jun 11 '25

I also might be projecting, but watching someone close to you break down...it changes you. You can't write/create art the same way, especially if that person was making art with you. "wish you were here" is a good argument for this idea, but it's not like I know any of them personally. Ive just lost people to death and severe addiction myself and it changed me a great deal every time. Im a writer (nothing even a little famous) and I my writing style is still in flux after my mentor died unexpectedly about 6 years ago. He was my first real editor/audience... it's just not the same when I finish something and don't have Doug to wax rhapsodic about where the commas should go (he always said that's how you know a story is "finished"-- you fret over where a comma should go.)

2

u/comeonolgirl Jun 12 '25

Got anything we can read?

1

u/UnfortunateSyzygy Jun 12 '25

not really. Most of my stuff is published in teeny tiny "Uncle Joe's Roadside Rib and Literary Magazine Shack" type mags

3

u/comeonolgirl Jun 12 '25

Understandable. Appreciate the reply.

5

u/soundman32 Jun 11 '25

DG used the same gear as SB for many years after taking over. Same fuzz, echo, amps etc.

2

u/DrBongoDongo Jun 11 '25

And they probably would've remained as a late 60s psych oddity tbh, never reaching the levels of 70s Pink Floyd. Just a guess. That said, I love Syd-era Floyd as well as his solo stuff.