With lots of the good folks here complaining that bands change their sound or become more commercialized I put forward this question:

What bands, that have at least a 20 year history, have kept true to their original sound over their career?

In other words, if someone not too familiar with this band listened to a few tracks from their first record, most recent record and a mid career record, it would all sound to them as if it came from the same record. If a band has been around for 35 or 40 years and the last 25 all sounds the same, that doesn't count. I would give a pass (or allow) a situation where the singer died or had to leave the band, but they kept their overall sound.

AC/DC

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bolexman
AC/DC

I fully expected that to be the first answer. (One of my personal favorites)

Hahaha Bluzdude. Yes it is so true. A thread like this is tailor-made for AC/DC. You may as well ask "what band do the Young brothers play in?" I live in Melbourne and grew up on AC/DC. They were my first concert ever when I was 12 years old. Such a great band. I saw them again last year and they were better than ever. Apparently they are "Malcom Young's band" and he has the final say in everything. So he has ultimate credit for staying true to original sound.

George Thorogood and The Destroyers

Modern Talking (hahahaha - every song sounded exactly the same)

more serious: maybe ZZ Top

Elmore James .....



ROCKMAN

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colonial
U2

no they didn't

Motörhead

I say a band can change their production values on the surface, but the original sound ( as in 'message')i s still present. Like ZZ Top. They added sequencers, but it's still that Texas Boogie.
On the other hand U2 had tried t9 shake their own MO up totally, from the ground up. As in songwriting structure, producer, stance.

The Allman Brothers Band, although they drifted into a more countryish sound in 1973-76 when a certain pianist named Chuck took the place of one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived, and then returned to the original sound.

However, one could play their first album (1969), Shades of Two Worlds (1991), and the most recent studio album, Hittin' the Note (2003), without much of a difference in style. Or better still, because they're predominantly a live band, there's not much difference in overall sounds between Fillmore East (1971) and One Way Out (2003).

Chuck Berry

Dunno about The Allmans they vary between generic blues and the most mind-blowingly innovative blues ever committed to the tape with some great country rock thrown in for a good measure.

Cheap Trick.

Susan Boyle

CCR

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BluzDude
With lots of the good folks here complaining that bands change their sound or become more commercialized

Which is actually a rather shortsighted complaint anyway.
We wouldn't have had Jumpin'Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, Gimme Shelter, Monkey Man,
Brown Sugar, Bitch et cetera et cetera et cetera, if the Stones would have kept true to their
original sound.

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stones_serb
Dunno about The Allmans they vary between generic blues and the most mind-blowingly innovative blues ever committed to the tape with some great country rock thrown in for a good measure.

you must have missed the arista years

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keefriffhard4life

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stones_serb
Dunno about The Allmans they vary between generic blues and the most mind-blowingly innovative blues ever committed to the tape with some great country rock thrown in for a good measure.

you must have missed the arista years

You're spot on but I plan to get those albums

Public Enemy. My favourite hip hop group.

BLUE OYSTER CULT

Jethro Tull MEZ

The Cult.

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The Mez
Jethro Tull MEZ

You think This Was and Stand Up sound at all like Aqualung and Thick As A Brick?

Almost every bluesman ever. I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to never change your sound, I mean, I enjoy AC/DC but once you've heard one album you've heard them all.

Bon Jovi has kept true to their sound. a sound that sucks. same with Kiss.

? The Who?

2 1 2 0

The Ramones : Mosrite + Marshall.

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Rockman
Elmore James .....

yeah...but....he wasn't a band...and he only recorded for about 12 years....and he started using sax in his sound in latter recording sessions...

but, otherwise, you couldn't tell one elmo song from the next! way to go, elMO!!!

luv burdon's tribute song to him...no mo' elmo