Some of the greatest classic rock albums of the 20th century were works that completely did a 180 compared to their artists’ previous releases. Some fans didn’t love the change, while others have continued to praise their brilliance in going toward new sounds and musical directions. Let’s look at just a handful of classic rock albums that totally defied expectations!
‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ by The Beatles (1967)
The era of Beatlemania pop-rock was over by 1967, and the creative integrity of The Beatles had taken a sharp pivot toward psychedelia. And absolutely no one was complaining. Sgt. Pepper is considered by music historians and diehard Fab Four fans alike to be the band’s best album of their career, and it’s hard to argue with that notion. This album was significantly different from their earlier works, though Revolver boasted more than a few psychedelic tunes. However, it wasn’t exclusively the full deep dive into psychedelia that made Sgt. Pepper so different from The Beatles’ previous works. This album boasted no singles, relied heavily on studio effects, and incorporated orchestras. And it all came together to make something truly incredible in what is one of the greatest classic rock albums of all time.
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‘Fleetwood Mac’ by Fleetwood Mac (1975)
This 1975 album was the first to feature Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. And with their introduction to the band came a wildly different sound from what Fleetwood Mac was doing previously. Ahead of these two legends joining the band, Fleetwood Mac was making gritty, rock-focused blues music. With Fleetwood Mac, the band pivoted toward melodic soft rock and folk-pop stylings. This album features some of the band’s most enduring tunes, such as “Rhiannon” and “Landslide”. And just two years later, the band dropped what would be their most memorable album, Rumours.
‘Led Zeppelin III’ by Led Zeppelin (1970)
Led Zeppelin was already on top of the world with their first couple of albums. Led Zeppelin II from 1969, specifically, was a No. 1 hit almost worldwide. And fans of that particularly hard rock, heavy metal album expected more of the same when Led Zeppelin III dropped in 1970. That wasn’t what happened.
This entry on our list of classic rock albums was significantly different from its predecessor and (arguably) even more successful, but it really sounds nothing like Led Zeppelin II. In fact, Led Zeppelin III focused quite a bit more on folk tunes and ballads over the hard-hitting jams found on the previous album. Fans expected hard-hitters like “Whole Lotta Love” and instead got folk Viking metal tunes like “Immigrant Song” and psychedelic jams like “Friends”. And it all came together beautifully, expectations be damned.
Photo via Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover