The Biggest Album to Album Changes in Music History

Albums: Graduation (2007) to 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

In the short period between the release of Graduation in 2007 and 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, Kanye West experienced multiple events that affected him emotionally and, as a result, artistically too. Kanye went from rapping with the utmost confidence on “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” to expressing his vulnerable side through auto-tuned vocals on “Love Lockdown.” Auto-tune was one of the album's defining features. Lots and lots of auto-tune.

Kanye already told us that we couldn’t tell him nothing, so we should have been a little less surprised when he decided to go in a completely new direction with the release of 808s & Heartbreak. While some fans are still in denial that 808s & Heartbreak even really happened, the rest of us can actually appreciate it (or even love it) and understand the genius behind this transitional period for Kanye. Ignore the auto-tune for a moment and you will notice the production. Kanye took a slight hiatus from the sample heavy beats we originally knew him for and put more focus on the drums, building the album around the Roland TR-808 drum machine, giving it its signature, almost tribal feel. This album was an introduction to a more minimal side of Kanye, one that he finally fully realised on Yeezus.

Albums: Pet Sounds (1966) to Smiley Smile (1967)

In 1967, when The Beach Boys released their Smiley Smile album, the initial response was mixed because of the sudden change in sound. While the album still contained the perfect vocal harmonies that The Beach Boys are known for, the music was quite different from the multi-layered, grandiose, Baroque pop masterpiece that was Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds is a record that countless other artists now say inspired their own work, with its psychedelic tendencies and intricate production values, and the contrast with the record they released a year later, which was much more lo-fi in scope, shocked many people at the time. Really, what these two records highlight is the incredibly high level the Beach Boys were working at in the late '60s. Two classics, with two different styles—not many bands can say the same thing.

Albums: Flesh Tone (2010) to Food (2014)

Kelis is well known for trying new things whenever she wants, regardless of what others may have to say. In 2010, Kelis switched things up by going from the R&B/pop of Kelis Was Here to Flesh Tone, a dance album. The first single off the album, “Acapella,” was a hit in the clubs and the album was produced by the likes of Will.I.Am, Benny Benassi and David Guetta, all who are known for their dance and electronic music.

Fast forward to 2014 and Kelis is switching up her style yet again, and in an even bigger way than before. Her new album, Food, which will be released on April 21, is far from the electro beats of Flesh Tone. For Food, produced entirely by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, Kelis traded in the drum machines for actual drums, horn sections and other big band instrumentation. Although Kelis has proved that she can do anything, this feels much more comfortable for the soulful-voiced singer than a dance album. On the first single, “Jerk Ribs”, Kelis’ voice flows effortlessly over the big band in the background.

Long-time supporters are sure to happy with this great return to form, while Kelis is likely to win new admirers with her effortless, timeless, excellent new record (which we've been lucky enough to enjoy already).

Albums: Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) to Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

With Another Side of Bob Dylan, some were already worried that Bob Dylan was changing. He was steering away from the protest songs he was known for. The lyrical content on this album was now more personal, but the rest was familiar—solo performances with acoustic guitar and harmonica.

For his next album, Bob Dylan made even more drastic changes. This time the change was not just the lyrical content but the sound of music as well. Unlike his previous albums, on Bringing It All Back Home Bob Dylan was backed by a rock band. He introduced electric guitar to his music, further alienating the fans of his acoustic folk music.

Although the changes sparked some controversy, Bringing It All Back Home was Dylan's first album to break into the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The lead single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues," was also Dylan's first single to chart in the U.S.

Albums: Human After All (2005) to Random Access Memories (2013)

With all of the success that Daft Punk has had this year, nearly everyone is familiar with the mysterious French robots by now. But before they were getting assistance from Pharrell and Nile Rodgers, they put out a raw dance-rock album that was generally unfavorably reviewed, but still had some real high-points.

Their 2005 release, Human After All, is probably most known for its biggest hit “Technologic” (which was given a boost outside dance music when Busta Rhymes sampled it for “Touch It” in 2006). Where Human After All, as well as their previous albums, featured raw, abrasive sounds, and are based around house music, their latest album Random Access Memories is a much smoother affair, with a wider variety of different sounds and styles.

On top of that, the wide variety of featured vocalists and collaborators marks a sharp change from Human After All, which was recorded primarily, with two guitars, two drum machines, a vocoder and one eight-track machine by just Daft Punk and their producer.

Albums: Bridging The Gap (2000) to Elephunk (2003)

The Black Eyed Peas have undergone a few major changes in the past, the most notable being the addition of Fergie, while a smaller aesthetic change was their decision to formally go by The Black Eyed Peas rather than just Black Eyed Peas. Besides expanding the group, BEP has also expanded their sound over the years.

Bridging The Gap, their last album before Fergie, had a groovier, soulful sound, and was, at heart, an alt hip-hop album. After officially adding Fergie to the group, The Black Eyed Peas started incorporating a wider range of styles into their production, moving towards a more chart ready sound. And this change brought dividends for the group, as they had their biggest hit with "Where Is The Love?," a song that propelled them into the mainstream, and down the pop path of all their subsequent albums.

Albums: Write Me Back (2012) to Black Panties (2013)

R. Kelly is known for, well, a lot of different things. Being versatile when it comes to creating music is one thing he’s certainly known for. In the last 5 years or so, R. Kelly had been making music your parents could lovingly two step to. 2012’s Write Me Back followed up his 2010 release Love Letter and continued that “Step In The Name Of Love” type trend. The lead single, “Share My Love” sounds (and looks, in the video) more like a classic R&B song from the early ‘80s than something recent.

And how does R. Kelly follow up albums like Write Me Back and Love Letter you ask? Black Panties. *record scratches*

A lot can change in a year. R. Kelly doing love ballads for your parents is so 2012, he’s over that. He’s updated his sound quite a bit and is back with some candy ruining sexual metaphors (looking at you "Cookie"). Black Panties is clearly aimed towards a younger crowd than his previous albums, both in terms of the production (DJ Mustard etc), the raunchy, x-rated subject matter, and the guest spots (2 Chainz, Young Jeezy).

Albums: Doggumentary (2011) to Reincarnated (2013)

In 2012, Snoop Dogg traveled to Jamaica to learn more about the Rastafarian culture and beliefs. By the time he returned to America, the Dogg had transformed into a Lion. Besides just changing his name and his hair, Snoop had also changed the sound of his music.

During his time in Jamaica, he was able to link up with well known dancehall and reggae artists such as Mavado, Popcaan, Collie Buddz and Mr. Vegas. Snoop said that he listened to artists such as Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, and Gregory Isaacs for inspiration while making Reincarnated. That influence can be heard on tracks like “Here Comes the King,” while the more uptempo, club ready tracks like “Fruit Juice” have a more apparent dancehall influence. And it’s no surprise that Diplo is the executive producer of Reincarnated since his work with Major Lazer has been heavily dancehall influenced since the beginning.

The album title Reincarnated is also quite fitting, since Snoop Lion is a new artist compared to the Snoop Dogg that everyone’s familiar with. Doggumentary's lead single, “Wet,” was a club single that he described as “the perfect anthem to get the club smokin’.” Interestingly, it was made for a really special party —Prince William’s bachelor party. Yes, you read that correctly. Seems like after you make a song for the Prince’s bachelor party there’s not much left to do but completely transform your whole identity and try and conquer a new genre. Snoop Dogg being reincarnated into Snoop Lion suddenly makes more sense now.

Of course, by the end of 2013 Snoop had already undergone another transformation, this time into Snoopy Collins for his throwback g-funk extravaganza with Dam-Funk, 7 Days of Funk.

Albums: Diamond Dogs (1974) to Young Americans (1975)

For most of the ‘70s David Bowie had been known for making music that veered between the genres, jumping from glam rock to psychedelic folk and back again with ease. “Rebel, Rebel” from his 1974 album Diamond Dogs embodied that rock sound that most of his fans were used to at the time.

By 1975, Bowie changed his style once again, making Young Americans, which reflected his self-confessed obsession with soul music. Bowie looked to '70s R&B trends for inspiration, all the time being aware that much of what he was appropriating was black music, and being clear that the record was "plastic soul," and represented "the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey."

Regardless, it was commercially successful, especially in America, even as it departed from the rock sound of Diamond Dogs.

Albums: Licensed to Ill (1986) to Paul's Boutique (1989)

When the Beastie Boys first came on the scene, they were marketed towards a rock crowd rather than the hip-hop audience that has now come to love them. Their debut album Licensed to Ill incorporated heavy electric guitar riffs throughout many of the songs. One of their biggest hits, “Fight For Your Right,” initially sounded like another party anthem, though it was neither a typical rock song nor an ordinary rap song either. They were blending the two genres together with their choice of instrumentals and vocal delivery.

They completely shifted gears when they dropped their sophomore album Paul’s Boutique three years later. Most of the heavy guitar riffs that had been prominent on their first album had been eliminated and replaced by samples of old funk records. The first single from the album, “Hey Ladies”, contains samples from James Brown, Kool & The Gang and Afrika Bambaataa just to name a few. By incorporating these samples into their music, it created a funkier sound with heavier bass as opposed to their previous sound that had influences of '80s hair metal.

The change of sound certainly worked in their favor as the eccentric flows of MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D seemed to fit much more comfortably over funkier beats than over heavy guitar.

Albums: Return of Saturn (2000) to Rock Steady (2001)

Although No Doubt has always had a reggae and ska influence in their music, that influence became much more apparent with the release of Rock Steady in 2001. Instead of just a distant inspiration, this time the band actually traveled to Jamaica to work with popular dancehall artists and producers such as Lady Saw, Sly & Robbie and Bounty Killer, who appeared on the album’s first single “Hey Baby”.

This dancehall influence is a big difference from their previous album, Return of Saturn, which featured the hit “Simple Kind of Life,” and was filled with slower tempos and more balladry, rather than the complex production and heavy bass that would appear on Rock Steady. 

Albums: Tha Carter III (2008) to Rebirth (2010)

When you’ve been in the music industry as long as Lil Wayne has, the need for artistic growth is inevitable. But it’s not likely that many people could have guessed that the inevitable evolution of Lil Wayne would result in a rock album. Especially after the major success that was Tha Carter III.

Tha Carter III, which sold over a million albums in the first week, contained multiple radio hits like “A Milli,” “Mrs. Officer,” and “Lollipop.” There’s a bit of auto-tune here and there, but the quality of the album allowed that to be momentarily acceptable, since he was still delivering the kind of flows that even more traditional hip-hop heads had to respect. The great success of Tha Carter III is mainly due to the fact that the album had something for everyone. There was a smooth R&B hit for the ladies (“Mrs. Officer”), a hard hitting, bass heavy single (“A Milli”), and a club hit (“Lollipop”).

Even though Tha Carter III was wildly popular, Lil Wayne wasn't trying to get comfortable with his sound and duplicate that success. In the beginning of 2009, Wayne released "Prom Queen" and announced that he was making a rock album called Rebirth. Sure enough, in 2010 we got Rebirth. Although Wayne is still rapping (autotune included) throughout, the production on Rebirth was very different to Tha Carter III or anything he had done before. It included some basic rock riffs and power chords, plus Wayne's playful snarling and less than impressive guitar playing. It got mostly negative views, but you can't knock Wayne for trying something new. Not many other rappers—especially ones who were enjoying such great success—would be willing to switch up the formula so drastically. Sure, Wayne may not be very good at making rock music, but by ditching the formula and saying, "Fuck it, I'm going to do what I want," Lil Wayne proved to be more punk rock than most punk rockers.

Albums: The Boatlift (2007) to Rebelution (2009)

Remember when Pitbull was a reggaeton artist rapping in Spanglish? Think hard. That time actually existed not too long ago. Seven years ago, in fact, Pitbull was still releasing songs that had mostly Spanish verses. The biggest single from his 2007 album The Boatlift was “The Anthem” which featured Lil Jon and a sample of “Calabria” by Enur. But even though Pitbull rose to fame with the short-lived mainstream reggaeton obsession, he switched things up to make sure he didn’t fade away..

These days, when you think of Pitbull, the first thing that comes to mind is probably some repetitive club song that takes forever to get out of your head after just one (unintentional) listen. The current Pitbull sound, which is now his signature sound, got started when he released Rebelution in 2009. Singles like “Krazy” and “I Know You Want Me” leaned away from his Hispanic influences and more towards crunk influenced dance tracks. These songs were the first steps to what Pitbull is comfortable doing now, which is straight up pursuing a dance pop lane.

Albums: Revolver (1966) to Sgt. Pepper (1967)

While Revolver, on its release, was seen as a departure from the folkier Rubber Soul, that change was nothing in comparison to the shift to psychedelia that occurred on Sgt. Pepper. In retrospect, Revolver can be seen as the mid-point in between The Beatles basically making pop rock, and the band maturing and exploring new sounds and new recording techniques.

The Beatles have continuously evolved all throughout their career, but 1967 can be seen as a tipping point as the band started to dive deeper into an experimental psychedelic sound. Paul McCartney has repeatedly mentioned that The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album had a major influence on the making of Sgt. Pepper, and the fact that two such great bands making such stylistic changes resulted in some of their best work just confirms that a change in direction can often be a great move.

Albums: Can't Be Tamed (2010) to Bangerz (2013)

Miley Cyrus has changed her style, music and complete image so much that it’s easy to forget that she’s not a new artist. She has even referred to Bangerz as sort of a debut album for her, but before Miley was constantly sticking her tongue out and twerking everywhere (or attempting to to), she was trying but not succeeding to shed her Disney image on Can't Be Tamed. 

Although Can’t Be Tamed was a transitional album of sorts, it was still very far from what we hear on Bangerz. On Can’t Be Tamed, the production is mostly of a poppy dance influenced nature, making Miley sound very Hannah Montana. Her efforts to completely shed the clean-cut image weren't really accomplished until 2013, with Bangerz countrified “Rooting For My Baby" one of only a few nods to her past. As for the rest of the album, features by French Montana, Big Sean, Future, and Mike Will Made It help incorporate the hip-hop sound she was going for, and, I'm sure, make Miley feel like she's being really, really rebellious.