10 Strange Music Albums By Mainstream Acts

Any significant change in direction by an established act with a large fan-base is always going to result in controversy. This remains, though, one of the more fascinating areas of popular music history. There are many reasons why an artist might drastically alter their sound. For some, it's a gradual process, a result of their desire to explore new territory and absorb new influences. For others, it might be a step away from the over-commercialism of their previous output, often towards a more mature representation of their creative impulse. A change in personnel also often results in an altered sound.

Teen-idols, in particular, are stuck fast in an evolve-or-die situation, so too those artists highly identified with a particular genre which might fall prey to sudden shifts in taste. Many acts, of course, are content to stick to their habitual feel, and do so to great effect, and there is nothing wrong with that.

For this list, however, we have selected ten of the most unexpected and surprising left-turn's by major acts. It's fair to say that every album on this list caused ripples of shock, some positive, many negative. All have an interesting story behind them.

There aren't many artists who have enjoyed such a long and celebrated career as Neil Young. Equally, there are few who produced such an unexpected left-turn as displayed on the singer's twelfth studio album, Trans. Previously known for his majestic country-rock songs, with this 1982 album the singer served up a baffling set of vocoder and synth-driven tracks.

An examination of the unique circumstances at the time tells much. Young had just parted company with his long-term label, Reprise, and signed with Geffen Records. The singer's new contract guaranteed him complete creative control over his output, with a very healthy payout.

Very few people knew, but during that period Young dedicated himself to seeking out new ways of communicating with his son, who was born with cerebral palsy. The repetitive nature of Young's music at the time, together with a quest for new avenues of exploration, both related back to the artist's therapy work with his child.

So displeased were Geffen Records that owner, David Geffen, filed a lawsuit against Young for having produced willfully un-commercial music. The singer counter-sued and both claims were eventually dropped.