History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / Music

* JudasPriest's first album ''Rocka Rolla''. Need I say more?
** [[NotSelfExplanatory Yes, in fact, you do.]]

* This happens often in CountryMusic:
** Music/ShaniaTwain's first album was good, if unremarkable, mid-1990s mainstream country. Her second album, ''The Woman in Me'', paired her up with rock producer Music/RobertJohnMuttLange (who became her husband), and she developed (for better or worse) the slick crossover sound she's forever known for.
** ConwayTwitty was a rock/pop singer in his early days. It wasn't until the mid-1960s that he switched to country and became known for his sultry, romantic ballads.
** JohnnyCash was originally a rock and roll singer (and in fact was one of the earliest inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). In later years, he would often say that it wasn't ''him'' that switched genres; rather, but rather the genres themselves that changed. He just kept playing the same old music.
** Martina [=McBride=] had a very neo-traditionalist sound on her 1992 debut album ''The Time Has Come'', before adding a lot more pop influence. Even her breakthrough hits from the mid-1990s ("My Baby Loves Me", "Independence Day", "Wild Angels", etc.) can seem like this compared to the much slicker, poppier, melismatic sound she developed as early as "A Broken Wing" in 1997.
*** Likewise, Sara Evans' debut album ''Three Chords and the Truth'' in 1997 was far more traditional than everything that came afterward. It even had covers of Patsy Cline, Buck Owens and Bill Anderson.
** Before Big & Rich was founded, members Big Kenny and John Rich cut solo albums (which went unreleased until 2005). Although Big & Rich's music was a bizarre yet appealing country/rock/rap mashup, Big Kenny's solo album was psychedelic rock mixed with synthpop and John Rich's was unflinchingly bland late-nineties radio fodder.
** KeithWhitley was also rather mainstream country-pop until 1988's ''Don't Close Your Eyes'' and 1989's ''I Wonder Do You Think of Me'', which pushed him to a hardcore honky-tonk sound. Unfortunately, he died in late 1989.
** Similarly, listen to VinceGill's 1980s work on RCA Records versus his 1990s and 2000s material for MCA Records. The RCA material reverberates the hell out of his voice and throws it up against walls of keyboards (par for the course in the 1980s), while the MCA material shows him exploring mainstream country, traditional country and bluegrass with equal skill.
** KennyChesney is another pretty extreme example. In the 1990s, his material was barely discernible from any other young hunk in a cowboy hat, and he had a heavy twang. By the end of the decade, he started to lean a little more pop and his voice lost some of its nasality. He now sings without the slightest hint of twang, and alternates between arena rock, JimmyBuffett-esque beach country, and slow, acoustic numbers such as "You and Tequila".
** RascalFlatts sounded very much like a boy band on their first album, particularly on "Prayin' for Daylight" and "This Everyday Love". This basically meant catchy hooky choruses, breezy high-voiced harmonies, and none of the band members playing instruments. By the time the second album came out, they shifted to a more country-pop sound, replete with two of the band members playing their own instruments (lead singer Gary [=LeVox=] doesn't play anything) and slightly more substantial songs.
** On Rodney Atkins' first single, he sang in a tremolo-heavy voice like Roy Orbison. He also dressed like a cowboy and sported a mustache. After a five-year hiatus, he returned with an image more akin to labelmate TimMcGraw before changing again to a more family-man appearance and sound.

* It wasn't until ''Sunshowers'' or ''Phantoms'' that Ume gained some attention, so it would understandingly be jarring for newer fans to go back into 2005's ''Urgent Sea''. The production is more raw with their HardRock influences more upfront than their usual {{Shoegazing}}, and contrasting with [[GrowingTheBeard Lauren's later dreamier style]], she had a heavier edge (you could even tell she's from Texas in this one). And oh yeah, there's also [[CarefulWithThatAxe screaming]] involved.

* The music of ''HannahMontana'' star EmilyOsment might count. Her earlier songs like "Hero In Me" and "I Don't Think About It" are straightforward late-Oughties teen pop, enjoyable, but relatively unremarkable. She hadn't quite found her feet vocally, and the songs were written by outside writers. Her EP, ''All The Right Wrongs'', was more personal and much better sung, and musically more Adult Alternative-influenced and harder-edged. Her full-length debut, ''Fight Or Flight'', is well-crafted, catchy SynthPop with more poetic lyrics, and Emily's vocals are are very strong. She's taken a jazzy/acoustic bent with the "Ramshackle" music she's released on YouTube.

* DemonHunter's first album featured heavy NuMetal influence, and Ryan uses a much different harsh vocal style than he does on all albums succeeding it.

* One could argue that TheBeatles were an example of this. Their first three albums were pure boy band pop music, meanwhile it wasn't until ''Beatles for Sale'' that they started to find their artistic footing. However it is argued that they didn't completely go from the [[FanNickname Fab Four]] to artists until ''Revolver'', which included much more experimental songs.

* The first two albums of {{Yes}} count. Along with the unique playing styles of founding guitarist Peter Banks and founding keyboardist Tony Kaye, Yes specialized in re-arranged covers of [[TheByrds Byrds]], [[TheBeatles Beatles]] and BuffaloSpringfield songs, while their originals showed more '60's pop influences. The band's second album, ''Time And A Word'' also incorporates orchestral accompaniment, which Yes would rarely use to such an extent until 2000's ''Magnification''.

* The first two MercuryRev albums bear the influence of Pink Floyd filtered through punk and noise bands, with some elements of world music and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. In other words, nothing like the LighterAndSofter (but fucking awesome) band's breakthrough fourth album ''Deserter's Songs''. The aptly named third album ''See You on the Other Side'' sounds closer, but is more of a palette cleanser than a bridge between the two eras.

* The first two MercuryRev albums bear the influence of Pink Floyd filtered through punk and noise bands, with some elements of world music and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. In other words, nothing like the LightAndSofter (but fucking awesome) band's breakthrough fourth album ''Deserter's Songs''. The aptly named third album ''See You on the Other Side'' sounds closer, but is more of a palette cleanser than a bridge between the two eras.

* "We Will Fall" from TheStooges' first album is a ten minute psychedelic drone that didn't inform anything they wrote afterwards.

* LadyAntebellum didn't have the big, grandiose, orchestral sound (e.g. "Need You Now") that much on their first album. They instead had a bit more of a rock edge, as evidenced on "Love Don't Live Here" and especially "Lookin' for a Good Time".

* Shadows Fall's first two albums, ''Somber Eyes to the Sky'' and ''Of One Blood'', feature a rather generic, though not bad, MelodicDeathMetal sound. It wasn't until their third album that they would develop the thrashy metalcore sound they are famous for. Even the band themselves were sick of getting their early work compared to Swedish melodeath bands, which is why they changed their sound in the first place.

* [[{{Animusic}} Animusic 1]] and its gravity-defying drumsticks in three of the seven videos.

* White Zombie are primarily known for mixing IndustrialMetal and GrooveMetal in the 90's, but started out as a chaotic, lo-fi NoiseRock band in the late 80's: They cited bands like The Birthday Party, Butthole Surfers, and BlackFlag as influencing this phase. RobZombie's voice was also only sometimes recognizable at this point - instead of the near GutturalGrowler vocal style he'd use in White Zombie's nineties albums (and throughout his solo career), he sang in more of a nasal, punk-ish sneer. The main thread running through both stages of their career are lyrical references to grind-house and horror movies and frequent use of SpokenWordInMusic. Interestingly, [[{{Music/Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] was a fan of their early work, as was IggyPop.

* White Zombie are primarily known for mixing IndustrialMetal and GrooveMetal in the 90's, but started out as a chaotic, lo-fi NoiseRock band in the late 80's: They cited bands like The Birthday Party, Butthole Surfers, and BlackFlag as influencing this phase. RobZombie's voice was also only sometimes recognizable at this point - instead of the near GutturalGrowler vocal style he'd use in White Zombie's nineties albums (and throughout his solo career), he sang in more of a nasal, punk-ish sneer. Interestingly, [[{{Music/Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] was a fan of their early work, as was IggyPop.

* Music/WhiteZombie are primarily known for mixing IndustrialMetal and GrooveMetal in the 90's, but started out as a chaotic, lo-fi NoiseRock band in the late 80's: They cited bands like The Birthday Party, Butthole Surfers, and BlackFlag as influencing this phase. Rob Zombie's voice was also only sometimes recognizable at this point - instead of the near GutturalGrowler vocal style he'd use in White Zombie's nineties albums (and throughout his solo career), he sang in more of a nasal, punk-ish sneer. Interestingly, [[{{Music/Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] was a fan of their early work, as was IggyPop.

* Music/WhiteZombie are primarily known for mixing IndustrialRock and GrooveMetal in the 90's, but started out as a chaotic, lo-fi NoiseRock band in the late 80's: They cited bands like The Birthday Party, Butthole Surfers, and BlackFlag as influencing this phase. Rob Zombie's voice was also only sometimes recognizable at this point - instead of the near GutturalGrowler vocal style he'd use in White Zombie's nineties albums (and throughout his solo career), he sang in more of a nasal, punk-ish sneer.

* The Break Up's self-titled album was harder and more [[{{Industrial}} EBM-oriented]], in contrast with their major-label breakout ''Synthesis'', which is mainly {{goth}}ic {{synthpop}} / [[NewWave nu-wave]] / {{darkwave}}.

* The Break Up's self-titled album was harder and more [[{{Industrial}} EBM-oriented]], in contrast with their major-label breakout ''Synthesis'', which is mainly {{goth}}ic {{synthpop}} and [[NewWave nu-wave]].

* DreamTheater's first album, ''When Dream and Day Unite,'' is the only album by them to feature Charlie Dominci as the lead vocalist. The album itself sounds like a prototype of the style the band would develop with ''Images and Words''.

* ''Hunters And Collectors'' took their name [[AGoodNameForARockBand from a]] ''{{Can}}'' song, but you wouldn't know it from the "Oz Rock" or "Pub Rock" sound they cultivated from ''Human Frailty'' onwards. However, in their early years they released two albums and two [=EPs=] that reveled in the sound of Krautrock with a bit of post-punk thrown in. Their third album ''The Jaws of Life'' takes those influences and applies them to traditional song structures and is considered by some to be their best, but their mid 80s to early 90s work garnered more acclaim and especially more sales.

* The first album by DaYoopers included two dead-serious songs ("My Shoes" and "Critics Tune"), and the comedy songs on it were generally less ethnocentric to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan than they would be on later albums. It was also their only album besides ''Yoopy Do Wah'' not to include interstitial comedy sketches, and Lynn actually played a synthesizer instead of keyboard.

* ''{{Smog}}'''s early albums were full of noise experiments and song fragments that sound nothing like the folk and rock Bill Callahan is best known for. If you listen to any of his first three albums and then any of his recent albums, he's unrecognisable as the same vocalist, as his voice got a lot deeper over time. ''Wild Love'' (1995) is a transition between the two eras, and in terms of Callahan's voice, you can hear the early and later Callahan in his mid 90s output in general.
* ''HuntersAndCollectors'' took their name [[AGoodNameForARockBand from a]] ''{{Can}}'' song, but you wouldn't know it from the "Oz Rock" or "Pub Rock" sound they cultivated from ''Human Frailty'' onwards. However, in their early years they released two albums and two [=EPs=] that reveled in the sound of Krautrock with a bit of post-punk thrown in. Their third album ''The Jaws of Life'' takes those influences and applies them to traditional song structures and is considered by some to be their best, but their mid 80s to early 90s work garnered more acclaim and especially more sales.

* ''{{Smog}}'''s early albums were full of noise experiments and song fragments that sound nothing like the folk and rock Bill Callahan is best known for. If you listen to any of his first three albums and then any of his recent albums, he's unrecognisable as the same vocalist, as his voice got a lot deeper over time. ''Wild Love'' (1995) is a transition between the two eras, and in terms of Callahan's voice, you can hear the early and later Callahan in his mid 90s output in general.

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* Ayria's style has always generally been electro-industrial/futurepop, but her first album, ''Debris'', is noticeably lighter and more trance-influenced than later productions.

* A song example: after becoming such a CrowdSong from stuff FamilyGuy, {{Glee}}, and RockOfAges a person hearing {{Journey}}'s version of "Don't Stop Believing" for the first time may be surprised that Steve Perry sings the whole song all the way through