3 Albums That Marked Major Musical Shifts in the Careers of Icons

Nobody wants to be a one-trick pony. Especially a musician, as one of the most essential points of the craft is to consistently experiment and break down barriers. This is simply the nature of any talented musician. Hence, when they hit it big doing one thing, they seemingly want to diverge from it and try something new. And more often than not, they do so with their albums.

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Many iconic musicians have changed their sound drastically. As a matter of fact, that is what makes them such icons. That being said, here are three albums that marked major musical shifts in the careers of some of the most iconic musicians of all time.

‘Highway 61 Revisited’ by Bob Dylan

This very well might be the most evident example of a musician changing their style, as Bob Dylan made the polarizing decision to ditch his acoustic sound for an electric one. Devout music fans associate Highway 61 Revisited with the death of the younger and folk-singing Bob Dylan. While that is partially true, the album also showed that the man contained musical multitudes.

Following the release of the album in 1965, Dylan’s album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Though, more importantly, it showed the world that Bob Dylan would not mold into the image the public had created.

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ by The Beatles

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was absolutely earth-shattering not only to The Beatles but also to the world. However, regarding The Beatles, the album marked a shift away from the sound that introduced them to the world. Furthermore, the lyrics on the album did not consist of themes such as teenage love, angst-fueled loneliness, and other adolescent tropes. For their career, it was a completely transcendent album.

Released in 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Even if this album flopped, The Beatles further proved that they were a musical force to be reckoned with.

‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars‘ by David Bowie

Before David Bowie released The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, he was just David Bowie, a humble yet talented rock ‘n’ roller. Following the release of the album, the masses knew him as Ziggy Stardust. That persona was the eccentric, otherworldly humanoid who propelled popular rock ‘n’ roll music into a completely different stratosphere.

Bowie released his cultural-shifting album in 1972, and after that, it peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 5 in the UK. Regardless of its chart performance, Bowie shed his skin, stepped into a new one, and introduced the world to glam rock through aberrant theatricality.

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