3 Rock Albums That Feature Unconventional Instruments

Styles, tastes, and tactics are ever-changing things in the music industry. Thank goodness that they are, as exploration and experimentation are what make music so innovative. Well, these days, that is up for debate. However, there was a time when musicians consistently tried to push the envelope and change the boundaries of commercial sound. One way in which they did so was by featuring unconventional instruments on their albums and songs.

Videos by American Songwriter

The decades that are often associated with musical exploration and experimentation are the 60s, 70s, and 90s. Other than those three decades, most of the other ones consisted of predictable and fairly restrained music. Now, that is not a bad thing in the slightest, just different. Nonetheless, here are three rock albums that feature highly unconventional instruments.

‘Pet Sounds’ by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys never settled for anything predictable. Rather, they were always trying to catch their listeners off guard. That being so, when they made Pet Sounds, they were seemingly aiming to create an album with an unprecedented sound. And, thanks to their unique instrument implementation, they did just that.

On the album, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys utilized brass and woodwind instruments. While that is unique, it isn’t necessarily unconventional. The unconventional instruments the group used on the album include bicycle bells, sleigh bells, and even Coca-Cola cans. Do yourself a favor and try to identify when and where these instruments are used on the album.

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

If you thought we weren’t going to feature The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on this list, then you were mistaken. Released in 1967, this Beatles album is one of the premier albums that introduced the masses to psychedelic rock.

What helped make the album such a psychedelic masterpiece were the peculiar instruments featured in it. Some of the odd instruments The Beatles featured a few different instruments on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, including the sitar, harpsichord, glockenspiel, French horns, and piano strings. Not a piano, but individual piano strings.

‘Led Zeppelin IV’ by Led Zeppelin

Technologically speaking, Led Zeppelin’s album Led Zeppelin IV was incredibly complex, as it utilized unique recording equipment and electronic instruments. Other than the general quality of the record, this attribute surely helped Zeppelin’s album become an exemplary piece of musical experimentation.

In Led Zeppelin IV, the group utilized unorthodox instruments and equipment such as the Hammond organ and a Moog synthesizer, which is a piece of equipment that allows musicians and producers to utilize a plethora of different electronic sounds. Needless to say, Zeppelin utilized both pieces of equipment exceptionally well.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images