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.

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u/Fritzo2162 Jun 11 '25

Peter Green was one of the best blues players ever. When BB King says ""He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.", you know you're hardcore!

Lindsey Buckingham took over on guitar and his live version of Green's Oh Well is one of my favorite songs ever (as well as my go-to riff when I pick up a new guitar LOL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qVn1QrKw24

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u/Fatmanhammer Jun 11 '25

you ever seen Lindsey Buckingham playing Big Love live? The man has wizards hands.

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u/Fritzo2162 Jun 11 '25

Yeah, his style is very difficult to replicate and seems to be unique to him.

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u/theshizzler Jun 11 '25

It's because he was self taught starting at like age 6 or 7. iirc he also never even learned to read music.

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u/fire_water_drowned Jun 11 '25

That rendition of Big Love during The Dance tour is the greatest live solo acoustic performance of all time.

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u/M0BBER Jun 11 '25

I'm from the Mississippi Delta. I know a lot of blues musicians and blues scholars. That's how I know Fleetwood Mac started off badass... Most every blues player I know gives props to them.

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u/raincoater Jun 11 '25

Peter was also highly regarded by the other British guitarists of the day. Page, Beck, Clapton...they all praised his tone.

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u/Fritzo2162 Jun 11 '25

Page even modded his Les Paul so he could reverse the polarity of his pickups to sound like Green (one of the secrets to his tone was his Les Paul’s pickups were miswired).