History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / Music

** Double-LP albums that exceeded a CD's original 74-minute runtime used to either edit down or remove tracks. Creator/WarnerMusicGroup was a serial offender, where most other labels simply issued double-CD sets of double albums that didn't fit on one CD. This practice mostly died out after 80-minute [=CDs=] became widely available in the late '80s, though albums that still surpass ''that'' might rarely see edits.

* Ted Leo & The Pharmacists: Their first album was an experimental and dub-inspired 19-song album released in 1999 titled "tej leo (?), rx/pharmacists". It can't even really be considered a TL/RX project because it was mainly just Ted Leo and a friend, Jodi Buonanno. Several of the songs sampled tracks, something the band in the future wouldn't revisit as a whole. It includes several lo-fi interludes like "Version: (To Decline to Take a Shower)", which seems to simply be a snippet of Ted singing acapella inside a shower. The sound of the guitar (echoing until it becomes feedback) would be used often in future works. Fans also don't like this album very much and for the longest time even Ted himself was overlooking it, but in recent times he's become more willing to play some of those songs live.

* Music/BeastieBoys started out as a punk rock group. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu5VkypHzoI No, really!]] That didn't last long, however- they quickly realized that punk wasn't going to be profitable and switched to rap. Considering how successful they were, it was probably a wise choice - specially as their musical instruction allowed for songs where they played the musical backing such as "Sabotage". The unexpected success of early single "Cooky Puss" was what eventually led them to start performing hip-hop, but even that release was pretty far from what they'd sound like on their first full album: The title song was a parody of instrumental breakdance music, with crank-calls to a Carvel restaurant as the only non-sampled vocals, while the only b-side that wasn't a "Cooky Puss" remix was "Beastie Revolution", a dub reggae jam [[note]]the liner notes to the ''Some Old Bullshit'' compilation explain that for these sessions, they ended up in a studio normally used for commercial jingles and couldn't get their punk songs to sound the way they wanted with the equipment provided, so they just started messing around with other styles[[/note]].

* Music/{{Descendents}}' first single, "Ride the Wild" / "Hectic World": As opposed to the melodic HardcorePunk they'd become known for, the two featured songs were sort of a mix of PowerPop and {{New Wave|Music}}, prominently featuring a SurfRock-influenced guitar-playing style with no distortion. In addition, Milo Aukerman hadn't joined the band yet, so members Frank Navetta and Tony Lombardo sang one song each. "Ride the Wild" and "Hectic World" were later included on the compilations ''Bonus Fat'' and ''Two Things at Once'', and the contrast with the rest of the material can be sort of jarring.

* [[Music/TylerBryantAndTheShakedown Tyler Bryant]] started off in his teens as a purely blues artist, with his first album, ''Born In Texas'', featuring a Texas-style blues sound that is very different from the Music/HardRock that he would later be known for. In fact, when he first made the switch from blues to rock, some of his earliest fans denounced him as a SellOut.

* Music/TheAvalanches' ''El Producto'' EP did have the same dense layers of [[{{sampling}} samples]] as their more well-known ''Since I Left You''[[note]](The parrot sample that would later show up in "Frontier Psychiatrist" even makes an early appearance in "Rap Fever")[[/note]], but used them to a somewhat trippier and slightly less danceable effect. More importantly, ''El Producto'' featured the group themselves rapping WordSaladLyrics over most of the songs - when vocals appear on either of their other albums, they're either samples or guest singers/rappers.

** [=CDs=] were originally designed with the ability to subdivide tracks into segments via an index-marking feature, mainly to distinguish movements in ClassicalMusic releases. A few early releases on the format included this feature, both classical and non-classical (e.g. the first CD release of Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/WishYouWereHere1975'' as part of the format's launch lineup in 1982, where each side of the LP was one twentysomething-minute track subdivided into the individual songs via index markers), but compatibility was quickly dropped from CD players afterward thanks to it being much simpler to just sequence tracks as SiameseTwinSongs.

** [=CDs=] were originally designed with the ability to subdivide tracks into segments via an index-marking feature, mainly to distinguish movements in ClassicalMusic releases. A few early releases on the format included this feature, both classical and non-classical (e.g. the first CD release of Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' as part of the format's launch lineup in 1982, where each side of the LP was one twentysomething-minute track subdivided into the individual songs via index markers), but compatibility was quickly dropped from CD players afterward thanks to it being much simpler to just sequence tracks as SiameseTwinSongs.

* Music/Combichrist: This Industrial Band started out as a Hardcore Techn One. On their frist Album, ''The Joy of Gunz'', none of the songs have actual vocals, but most have spoken dialogue, taken from various sources or read by a computer voice, mixed in. While songs like these still made up half of their second Album, ''Everybody Hates You'', the concept of them was abandoned from the third Album onwards.

* Music/{{Maroon 5}}'s early stuff has a bit more soul/jazz influence. Wiki/ThatOtherWiki lists one of the genres for their debut ''Songs About Jane'' as "blue-eyed soul". If you listen to the demo versions of "Harder to Breathe" and "Sunday Morning" (released as part of the 10th anniversary edition of ''Songs About Jane''), the R&B influence is even more evident. Their later albums are almost completely pop-rock and, starting with ''Overexposed'', electropop. The band started out as a Music/{{Jellyfish}}-like PowerPop ''quartet'' called Kara's Flowers in the mid-[[TheNineties 1990s]], with Adam Levine as the band's sole guitarist.

* Music/CaptainBeefheart fans who stumble across his first album, 1967's ''Music/SafeAsMilk'', will be shocked to find that it's relatively normal, with very little of the weirdness that would appear in ''Music/TroutMaskReplica'' and ''Music/LickMyDecalsOffBaby''. (Early Installment Lack-of-Weirdness?) Captain Beefheart's Magic Band actually started out as a solid blues/rock band in the tradition of Music/TheYardbirds or Music/TheRollingStones in their early days. What's even crazier is that Captain Beefheart were a featured artist on ''Series/AmericanBandstand'' when ''Safe as Milk'' was released AND Don Van Vliet took questions via phone from a "Bandstand" kid who actually seemed to be a proto-fan.

* Music/TheRollingStones' musical output was very different in their early years, especially for fans who only know of them based on their last two-three decades of work. [[Music/TheRollingStones1964 Their self-titled debut]] from 1964 consisted almost entirely of covers (with one original song written by Jagger/Richards), and was heavily R&B-oriented. Their debut tour in the United States was a disaster - television hosts made fun of them for dressing as a ripoff of other successful [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] groups like Music/TheBeatles, and their former manager/publicist Andrew Oldham removed at least one man from the group (including future Stones roadie and session pianist Ian Stewart) because they did not fit the mould of "thin, long-haired boys" wearing identical suits. It was only on 1966's ''Music/AftermathAlbum'' that the group began to codify their signature sound, not only making the songs much more otherworldly and [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]], but unintentionally ditching the "boy band" image. Also, they became more [[IntercourseWithYou sexual]] than The Beatles.

* Music/DefLeppard's first two albums ''On Through the Night'' and ''High 'n' Dry'' have a much more straightforward heavy metal (for the time) sound. Not until ''Pyromania'' with a new guitarist and "Mutt" Lange on production duty did their signature melodic hard rock sound coalesce.

* Music/{{Descendents}}' first single, "Ride the Wild" / "Hectic World": As opposed to the melodic HardcorePunk they'd become known for, the two featured songs were sort of a mix of PowerPop and {{New Wave|Music}}, prominently featuring a SurfRock-influenced guitar-playing style with no distortion. In addition, Milo Aukerman hadn't joined the band yet, so members Frank Navetta and Tony Lombardo sang one song each. "Ride the Wild" and "Hectic World" were later included on the compilations ''Bonus Fat'' and ''Two Things At Once'', and the contrast with the rest of the material can be sort of jarring.
* Music/{{Devo}} started out as a punk rock band who did crazy things like wear diapers onstage (which is this page's image) before getting into their famous yellow suits and then switching to new wave and gaining the energy domes with ''Freedom of Choice''. Some songs were performed faster at first, and oddly enough, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrSAbW4WYTY&t=401s a bootleg recording of a 1978 concert]] has Jerry's yell of "Satis... FACTIIIIIIIIIION!" in the "Satisfaction" cover simplified to just "SATIS-FACTION!"

* Music/DefLeppard's first two albums ''On Through the Night'' and ''High and Dry'' have a much more straightforward heavy metal (for the time) sound. Not until ''Pyromania'' with a new guitarist and "Mutt" Lange on production duty did their signature melodic hard rock sound coalesce.

* Music/VelvetUnderground: People familiar with the seminal ProtoPunk group’s much more abrasive first two albums may be surprised to find out that their 1965 demo recordings consist entirely of acoustic FolkMusic. This does, however, anticipate the direction they would take on their LighterAndSofter third album, which is not entirely acoustic but certainly qualifies as FolkRock.

* Music/AmyWinehouse began as solely a {{Jazz}} singer on her debut album ''Music/{{Frank}}'', but by the time of ''Music/BackToBlack'' she had abandoned Jazz completely for {{Soul}}. Her look also changed in accordance with her shift in genres. By the time of ''Back to Black'' she started wearing her trademark beehive haircut and thick black eyeliner which reflected the fact that she was drawing on Soul, girl groups from the 1960s such as The Ronettes for inspiration as opposed to Jazz singers such as Music/FrankSinatra whom her first album was even named after.

* Music/{{Kiss}}: The second album, ''Music/HotterThanHell'' (1974), never became a huge hit with anyone other than die-hard Kiss fans, even in the wake of their later mega-stardom, and it's not hard to understand why: the record hardly fits the Kiss stereotype at all. Although the band had their "kabuki/dungeon porn" look by this time (as opposed to their appearance in the original version, Wicked Lester, where they were simply in street clothes and plain whiteface), only about two or three of the songs were similar to "Rock and Roll All Nite" or other classic Kiss hits. "Parasite" was more of a "stoner metal" song (seriously, you can just picture WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead rocking out to it, especially the Music/{{Anthrax}} cover version), while "Goin' Blind" has a very low-key, almost '90s alternative sound to it. Quite a few of these songs were written by guitarist Ace Frehley, who had much less of a "pop" sensibility than the other band members.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFOTY GFOTY (Girlfriend of the Year)]], one of the bigger names of the online Music/PCMusic label, has a distinctly wild, deconstructionist, and semi-parodic sound, based on taking pop music sensibilities and dialing their most loud, experimental, and hedonistic traits UpToEleven. Her debut single, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrgXTRTDYaw Bobby]]", however, is a rather straightforward pop ballad with an unusual amount of sincerity from her, though [[https://soundcloud.com/pcmus/gfoty-secret-mix it didn't take her too long afterwards to develop her]] {{signature|Style}} MindScrew-y and [[PoesLaw post-ironic]] style.

* Music/TheRollingStones' musical output was very different in their early years, especially for fans who only know of them based on their last two-three decades of work. [[Music/TheRollingStones1964 Their self-titled debut]] from 1964 consisted almost entirely of covers (with one original song written by Jagger/Richards), and was heavily R&B-oriented. Their debut tour in the United States was a disaster - television hosts made fun of them for dressing as a ripoff of other successful [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] groups like Music/TheBeatles, and their former manager/publicist Andrew Oldham removed at least one man from the group (including future Stones roadie and session pianist Ian Stewart) because they did not fit the mould of "thin, long-haired boys" wearing identical suits. It was only on 1966's ''Music/{{Aftermath}}'' that the group began to codify their signature sound, not only making the songs much more otherworldly and [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]], but unintentionally ditching the "boy band" image. Also, they became more [[IntercourseWithYou sexual]] than The Beatles.

* Helalyn Flowers: The gothic rock band's first album had a rather IndustrialMetal-influenced sound. With their second album, they went somewhat LighterAndSofter and focused more on synthesizers, giving it a {{darkwave}} vibe.

* Music/BillyJoel is most famous for piano-based soft rock, though [[GenreRoulette he has ventured into pretty much every genre at some point.]] The work of his that fits this trope is ''{{Music/Attila}}'', a ProgressiveRock [=/=] PsychedelicRock ConceptAlbum about UsefulNotes/AtillaTheHun performed on a drum kit and a heavily distorted organ. It is widely considered one of worst albums ever.

* Ted Leo & The Pharmacists: Their first album was an experimental and dub-inspired 19-song album released in 1999 titled "tej leo (?), rx/pharmacists". It can't even really be considered a TL/RX project because it was mainly just Ted Leo and a friend, Jodi Buonanno. Several of the songs sampled tracks, something the band in the future wouldn't revisit as a whole. The sound of the guitar (echoing until it becomes feedback) would be used often in future works. Fans also don't like this album very much and for the longest time even Ted himself was overlooking it, but in recent times he's become more willing to play some of those songs live.

* Music/{{Journey}} was a jazz-based progressive supergroup with a hint of a commercial touch, but mostly with an anti-pop attitude. The first album had relics of Santana (understandable since the guitarist Neil Schon and singer Gregg Rolie were members of Santana's band before starting Journey), the second was more Zeppelin-ish, and the third had influences from (and on) Rush.

* Music/{{Underworld}} started out as a new wave/alternative pop band and released two albums (''Underneath the Radar'' and ''Change the Weather'') in this style, which also fetched them a minor American hit in the single "Stand Up". After a nearly five year recording hiatus following their second album, they emerged as an electronica/house group, which they have remained ever since.

* Music/{{Sugarland}}'s first album ''Twice the Speed of Life'' had slicker production (from Garth Fundis instead of their usual producer Byron Gallimore) and much less of a GenreRoulette feel. It was also the only album to feature guitarist/songwriter Kristen Hall. After she left the group, the other two members (lead singer Jennifer Nettles and guitarist/mandolinist Kristian Bush) decided to pursue a more dynamic, acoustic pop-influenced sound, often with lighter lyrics than Hall contributed. The vocal arrangements are diffrent, with nearly all songs featuring both Kristian and Kristen singing a low harmony; the albums recorded as a duo have more varied vocal arrangements, with some StepUpToTheMicrophone moments for Kristian, instances of Jennifer [[SelfBackingVocalist singing over herself]], backing vocals from bassist Annie Clements, and even a few songs where Kristian doesn't sing at all (most notably "Stay", where he at least contributes on guitar).

* Music/{{Nightwish}}'s debut album, ''Angels Fall First'', is their only studio release to feature vocals from keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. All of their subsequent releases would feature guest vocalists or (after he joined) bassist Marco Hietala singing when a song called for a male vocalist.

* Music/{{Genesis}}:

** ''I'm Falling'', a 12" single released two years before ''With Sympathy'' is also somewhat unique in the band's catalog: The title track is PostPunk heavily influenced by Music/TheCure and Music/JoyDivision, while the other two tracks, "Cold Life" and "Primental", do hint at the synth pop of ''With Sympathy'', but with more of a funk influence - "Primental" would be reworked into the ''With Sympathy'' track "I Wanted To Tell Her".

* Music/TheSmashingPumpkins: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rr7th61VOk&t=114s This performance filmed in 1988]] shows the band playing Music/TheCure-esque post-punk/goth-rock, a far cry from their GenreMashup blend of grunge, shoegaze, dream pop and metal in their heyday.

* Project Pitchfork's early works, especially the demo album ''Embryonal Thoughts'' they produced under the name Demoniac Puppets, were avant garde-type industrial in the vein of The Art of Noise, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, etc. rather then the borderline darkwave/EBM they are better known for.