They were more abundant in the 60's and 70's but they still crop up from time to time. Here we can list our favorites of all time.

Jehovakill by Julian Cope
An unusual choice, perhaps, but it is such a work of singular passion and inventiveness. Cope completes his conversion from pop-rock master to Arch Druid with this epic rumination on pagan religions, extra terrestials and ancient civilizations. Fascinating and intense.

Zen Arcade by Husker Du
Sprawling, unweildy and absolutely brutal at times, it's never dull. They had the nerve to take hardcore music seriously and changed the face of music with it.

Every Pink Floyd album from "Dark Side" through "Final Cut." Roger Waters also did a number of solo albums after leaving Floyd, but on efforts like "The Pros and Cons of Hitchiking", some pretty good songs are ruined by Waters' insistence on screaming instead of singing most of the lyrics, and sonorously reciting the rest.

Odgen's Nut Gone Flake by The Small Faces
A delightful Cockney fairytale in which a young boy named Happiness Stan sets out to discover the missing half of the moon, aided by a magical fly and a misunderstood hermit named Mad John. Contains "Lazy Sunday Afternoon", a Cockney answer to the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday".

Remember The Future by Nektar
A bluebird from outer space relates the history and future of our little planet. Like Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" this whole album is one long song divided into two halves.

I'll have to think about this one. There's a couple that spring immediately to mind, but I'd rather go over my collection before I say anything.

Roger's best solo album was Radio K.A.O.S.. I saw him on that tour and he put on an excellent show! The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking was a disappointing, disjointed album.

The Who Sell Out!

Hadn't thought of that one, yet. Hmm. I'm still thinking about it. Odds are I'm gonna go into a rant about concept albums in general.

Get ready. You have been warned.

Bring it on, Benn.

Just remember that we just may compile a surprisingly long list here of the good ones.

A few more:
Frank's Wild Years - Tom Waits
Hang on St. Christopher....

Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
Actually when released on vinyl each side was its own "concept". Side 2, or "The Ninth Wave", is still quite powerful. Side 1 had the hits.

Scheherazade and Other Stories - Renaissance
A guilty pleasure, perhaps. When they're good they're very very good, when they're bad....A classic is a classic, so put this one in the good file.

We're forgetting The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed.

Concept albums, in general, STINK!

But....Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche.

The Wake of Magellan by Savatage. Or how about something like Thick as a Brick? Or maybe anything by Rush--never mind a concept album, they've had a concept *career* thanks to Ayn Rand.

"Concept albums, in general, STINK!" - BF

It'd be almost tempting to agree with that. It is, however, more accurate, to me, to say that concept albums are problematical.

One problem is identifying what is a "concept album". There are probably three kinds of concept albums. The obvious sort is the narrative. These are albums that tell a story through a collection of songs. Then there is the thematic concept album. These are a collection of songs held together by a common idea. Then there's the gimmick. This is the rarer of the three. Off hand, I can only of one example, and that's The Who's The Who Sell Out.

The gimmick concept album is the least of the three. Don't get me wrong, I like The Who Sell Out, but it's built on a weak concept and would probably a stronger album without the "commercials". It's definitely the best of The Who's 60's records. Beating out even Tommy, the prime example of the narrative concept album.

From all the books, articles and interviews I've read, Pete Townshend spent a lot of time working on the story for Tommy. Despite all the careful character development, plotting, etc. that Towser went through before The Who recorded the record, Tommy is an overrated bust. What story there is to Tommy is muddled and sketchy. I takes a lousy movie to really make sense of it.

And this is a major obstacle virtually all narrative concept albums have to overcome. In general, the stories they tell can be told in four or five songs, or one for that matter. For example with Tommy the only songs you really need are "Overture/It's A Boy", "You Didn't See It", "Christmas", "The Acid Queen", "Pinball Wizard", "There's A Doctor I've Found", "Go To the Mirror", "Smash the Mirror" and "Miracle Cure". Admittedly, that's more than four or five songs, but it's also less than half the l.p. The plot wouldn't be that badly effected and you'd still have some very good songs.

A lot of rock concept albums also tend to be really bad science fiction stories. Rush's 2112, Styx' Kilroy Was Here (okay, so this is really 2112 remade.) and E.L.O.'s Time are examples of this. Often the stories have gaping holes in the plot that the songs do not cover. (Why is the protagnist of Time sent to the future?)

Then there's the thematic concept album. This is tricky. All great albums have an over-riding theme to them. That is why they are great. The Go-Go's new album, God Bless the Go-Go's centers on the themes of regret and forgiveness. But it is not a concept album. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's In Step deals mostly with Stevie's drug and alcohol addictions and his recovery from his addiction. It is also not a concept album. The Eagles' Hotel California is a look at decadence, but not a concept album, either.

On the other hand, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with its theme of death and insanity, is a concept album. So is Paul McCartney and Wings' Band On the Run (escape) and Styx' The Grand Illusion (deception) and Paradise Theater (the temporary nature of life, a longing for the past).

Of course, there are anomalies. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is considered a concept album. But it has no narrative, no overarching themes to it. At best it is a gimmick concept album.

That said, I have to say that in general, my preferences in concept albums lay with those that are thematic in nature, rather than gimmicks or narrative.

So, to end this long-winded diatribe, what are my favorite concept albums? Well, some are, despite what I've just said, narratives. But they're exceptionally well done. These are in no particular order.

1. From the Inside - Alice Cooper. A narrative, but it tells its story well. The songs work together to tell of Coop's attempt at recovering from alcohol addiction as well as his stay in rehab, and the people he met in the institution. Yet the songs work well separately.

2. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie. Another narrative, and a sci-fi one to boot. Still, it acts as a good metaphor for life as a rock star.

3. The Wall - Pink Floyd. Yet another narrative, but largely autobiographical. The theme of isolation is one everyone should be able to relate to. It could, however stand to shed a few unnecessary songs.

4. Quadrophenia - The Who. Not quite a narrative, more like an impressionistic painting. Still, it's either too British or I'm too American to really embrace it. Still, it's the best one The Who did.

5. Berlin - Lou Reed. Dark and horrifying, a look at a marriage disintegrating through abuse and addiction. Also very impressionistic.

6. New York - Lou Reed. Lou's affectionate, and very funny look at life in The Big Apple. Reed's sense of humor keeps things from getting too grim.

7. Eldorado - Electric Light Orchestra. A cycle of songs centering on dreams, illusions and fantasies.

8. Aura - Miles Davis. A musical painting of Miles' career. Each track is named after a different color; "White", "Yellow", "Orange", etc. Beautiful.

Uh, god, sorry to take up so much and space. Hope it's worth it.

I just realized that I did not mention what separates a thematic concept album from a record with central themes. In one word, "intent". Stevie Ray did not set out to chronicle his battles with drugs and alcohol, but understandably it was on his mind as he created the In Step disc. On the other hand, the Floyd was probably consciously working on songs that would center on death and insanity for Dark Side of the Moon.

Good points all, Benn. And a good way of looking at the subject.

One good reason why many of these things fall flat is that the artist will often times bite off more than they can chew and become slave to "the concept". Many sound like rush jobs also (no pun intended). There's a big difference between a song and expository dialog set to music.

--> Ain't it funny how consistently good material makes all the difference no matter what you're doing?

I do like it when it works, though. You get brought into a world much deeper than a single song will do.

Take Sugar's Beaster for example. I'm not sure where that would fall, but I've always heard it as an exploration of human relationships told through the imagery of Easter: betrayal, sacrifice, redemption. A real song cycle. I'll either listen to it all the way through or not at all.

I thought about listing Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On?, but I'm not sure if it's a concept album or not.

One act that hasn't been mentioned so far is The Alan Parsons Project. They're another act, whose output is almost entirely concept albums. That's seems to be a qualification to be an art rock band; you must put out concept albums.

This is of a totally personal nature, but I can't imagine why you think Quadrophenia is one of The Who's best works. I can't listen to more than two tracks before I need to escuse myself. Ithe whole production is simply two...what's the word..."lumbering" I think is it. It's all just so over done tha it drowns under it's own weight. The lack of coherient story dosen't help much either (only Rael is harder to follow). Of course, that is just me...

Part of the reason I rate Quadrophenia so highly is that I consider it one of The Who's most challenging works musically. It does take several runs through it to get used to the music. While I agree the storyline isn't much, I feel it's more of an "impression" of the Mod era, rather than a true story; more stream of conscious. Tommy on the other hand, suffers from very poor production, and a sketchy, at best, story. Tommy is really meant to be a story. I think Quadro is more an homage, a reminiscent look back on The Who's beginning. The Who Sell Out, while a better made album than Quadro, and probably a better album period (it's been too long since I've heard it.), it is not as good a concept album as Quadro.

I think in general, Quadrophenia is the more rewarding album musically. Of course, I could get The Who Sell Out again, listen to it, and change my mind.

(Don't worry. Odds are, I won't take it as an insult if someone disagrees with my tastes in music. Just so long as they don't try to get personal.)

Pete Towwnshend has changed some subtle details in the different incarnations of Tommy, causing significant changes in the storyline. In the original version, it was Captain Walker who murdered the lover of Tommy's father. In the movie it was the lover who murdered the father.
Also, in the broadway musical, there is a change in the lyrics for "We're Not Gonna Take It." In the orginal version, this made Tommy out to be a dictatorial messiah whose followers rebel against him because of his authoritarian stance. In the musical version, Tommy tells them that they should follow themsleves instead of looking to him as a messiah, they rebel against him because they can't handle the idea of thinking for themselves.

>In the original version, it was Captain Walker who murdered the lover of Tommy's father.

Should have read "the lover of Tommy's mother.", obviously.

Speaking of Rael...

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis

Man, it's been a while, but as I recall- besides some "get on with it" moments- it really is quite good. Some real standout songs: "Lillywhite Lilith", "Cuckoo Cocoon", "Counting Out Time" and "The Cage" - they were still doing that one long after Gabriel left.

I've got a friend who really likes that album, Miko. I'm not too fond of Genesis, or most art rock bands to begin with.

The changes you mention Todd just reinforces, in my mind anyway, that Townshend has never really understood what Tommy is about. You should try reading the various comments he has made over the years about it. He gets a bit contradictory at times.

Thought of this at work last night, another reason I'd rate Quadrophenia so highly is because I really don't feel that The Who Sell Out has any songs on it as powerful as the Big Three on Quadro ("Dr. Jimmy", "5:15" and "Love Reign O'er Me"). "I Can See For Miles" is, in my opinion, the stand-out track on Sell Out. I don't mean to insult your tastes, Blitz, but there's nothing else on Sell Out as good, as powerful as "I Can See For Miles". "Rael" comes close, but it's too much of an experiment. It's Townshend trying to find Tommy. The precursor to Tommy.

"Dr. Jimmy" is one of the biggest, most rebellious "f... you"s The Who had done since "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "My Generation". "5:15" is a giddy high. And "Love Reign O'er Me"..., Sorry, nothing on The Who Sell Out can match the desperate need expressed in that song. It's one of Roger's best vocal turns on a Who album, if not outright THE BEST. Only "I Can See For Miles" comes close. (And yes, I think "I Can See For Miles" is one of The Who's best songs.)

But that's just my own shoddy li'l ol' opinion.

And I would bother trying to get you to change it. Unfortunately, I can't change mine any more than yours. I admit that most of Sell Out as it was released origionally pales in comparison to "I Can See For Mines" (aside from "Silas Stingy", "Tatoo", and "Armania City In The Sky"). However, and you can howl and curse all you want at this, one should also include the extra tracks from the CD in any oppinions of the album. "Hall Of The Mountain King" is, in my humble oppinion, one of the best things The Who ever put to tape; the same goes for "Meloncolia". "Early Morning Cold Taxi", "Glittering Girl", and "Glow Girl", while not neccecarilly as good, are much better than the tracks on the album as well. Even the Coke jingles are better. Call me whatever you wish, but I agree with the notes included with the re-issue which propose it to be the complete Sell Out rather than the expanded. And with that in mind, I find it far superior to Quadro.

Also, I have trouble buying the thought that the lyrics, regardless of power (and I don't even see that, but for the sake of the argument...) can make up for the music. Should an album require you to "get used" to it? I don't think so. You ought to be able to jump right in and enjoy it. I just can't do that with Quadro. The lack of the close harmonies that have sadly gone missing in just about everything since Sell Out really cripple it, and the over all lack of energy deals the final blow. That's whay really makes Sell Out and even Tommy, flawed as it is, supperior albums. Everything on Quadro sounds forced and tired, like the band is doing it 'cause they have to, but they sure don't want to. This is bad enough for any album, but with a production as complex and weighty as Quadro's, it causes it to drown in it's own girth and destroys and hope of enjoyment.

Finaly, I don't see how Quadro can be an inferior "album" but superior "concept album". They way I see it, and album is an album is an album and that's what an album is. Just because it's got a "concept" attached, it's not some new entity to be judged by a whole new set of rules. It has to be able to hold up as well as any album that has no continuous theme running through it. If it can't work on those grounds, the simple fact that it's a "concept album" can't help it.

But then, that's just me...

Oh, by the way, what exactly is the story for "Rael", anyway. I can figgure out most of it:

The narator's home country, or at least the home of his religion, Rael, is being thretened by larger, outside nations (I wonder...israel?). He then setts off by boat to get to Rael and tells the crew to return on Christmas Day and look for a flag. If they find a Yellow one, he's wussed out and wants them to come get him. If they find a Red one, he's staying and dosen't need the boat any more, so they can keep it. The crew gets him there, but secretly have no intention of returning. There's then the instrumental stretch, which may or may not reprisent a battle or just the passage of time, and then the instructions concerning a Yellow flag are repeated, suggesting that the narator's given up. In it's origional incarnation, the song ends there, but the Sell Out re-issue adds an additional section that is beyond me. What is that part? The national anthem of Rael? As you can see, I'm confused.

Oh, and no, I won't discount "Rael 2" as not really being part of the song. I'll submit to it being meant to go someplace else in the song if some one can prove that, but if it's on the CD, it's as "real" as everything that was released before. (at least, that's what I say...)

Well, Blitz, the topic of this thread is "best concept album", not "best album", so I'm rating it accordingly. Besides, I said it may be inferior. I actually like it better than The Who Sell Out, right now anyway. The beauty of The Who is that I'm always finding something new to like in their work.

I've also found, that in the long run, the best albums are not always the ones I got into immediately, but the ones after repeated listenings I came to appreciate. I didn't really like Jimi Hendrix' Are You Experienced? the first time I heard it. (I know, heresy.) I had to grow into it after repeated listenings. The same holds true for Quadrophenia. I found after awhile, that songs like "Dr. Jimmy" and "5:15" were creeping into my mind and playing themselves. I wasn't ready for Hendrix the first time I heard him. I wasn't ready for Quadrophenia either. Albums that I get into immediately can sometimes, after awhile become boring, because there's not enough layers to it.

Those bonus tracks on the who re-issues bug me. They ruin Who's Next (hands down THE BEST Who album. PERIOD!) (IMHO, of course.) Do they integrate the new cuts into the body of Sell Out, or do they tack 'em on to the end? If they've slapped on to the end, I'm not sure I'd consider them part of the album. Besides, if Sell Out needs those songs to make it superior to Quadrophenia (which stands on its own without bonus tracks), well...

Daltrey had admittedly become the vocalist for The Who by the time of Quadro. In the long run The Who were ruined by Tommy. The success of that album, creatively, crippled them. However, immediately after Tommy they released Live At Leeds, one of THE GREATEST live albums of all times (f... Frampton Comes Alive!. It pales in comparison to Leeds. IMHO.) Then came Who's Next, the remnants of Townshend's failed "Lifehouse Project" (wouldn't work then, •••• well wouldn't work now.), The Who's best album (but I've said that already.)

The combined success of Tommy and failure of "Lifehouse" left The Who anchorless. They really didn't know what to do anymore. Quadrophenia I think was one last shot at having a direction before it really fell apart.

One last dash of purely personal oppinion (that's totally unrelated to anything here): I don't really like Are You Experienced?. I can't really think of any single Hendrix album that I like from start to finish, only individual tracks that are better than the surrounding mediocrity.

Anyway, I agree compleatly with your thoughts on the decline and fall of The Who, a tragedy if there ever was one. I really think that, during the Sell Out period, they were the closest thing this world has ever seen to the perfect band. Sadly, it was a fleeting glory at best.

Back to the subject at hand: I think it's unfair to suggest that, just because they're slaped on the end, the bonus tracks aren't really integrated into Sell Out. They couldn't simply drop them into what was all ready present, lest the entire flow of the album be disrupted. Also, thanks to the additional jingles, they do seem to be crafted just as carefully as the original tracks (aside from the obvious flaw of using the "Radio One" jingles instead of "Radio London"). Finally, the inclusion of "Rael 2" more than anything seems to indicate that the tracks are ment to be taken as equals to the earlier tracks. So, instead of tacking leftovers on, I see it as kind of a Sell Out Special Edition. Seen as it was intended for the first time. If so, it would make perfect sense that Sell Out needs the additional tracks to be superior to Quadro. How can an album stack up to anything with half of it torn out?

Finally, I know the subject is best "concept album", but like I said, there shouldn't be a difference between them and regular albums! Thus I too ranted accordingly

Keith Moon's death pretty much killed The Who, in my opinion. Can't think of a single track they did afterward that I actually like.

When The Who's Live At Leeds was reissued, the bonus tracks were integrated into the rest of the album (Thus ruining the album's effect). If, as you maintain, the bonus cuts on Sell Out complete or fulfill the promise of the album, I personally would find it more satisfying to hear them in the sequence that were meant to be in. Without knowing in what sequence they were meant to experienced in, what song was meant to follow "Rael", "Tattoo", "Mary Ann With the Shaky Hands", I don't see how you properly judge its merits. But that's just me.

To me, The Who Sell Out is at a period just before The Who reached the peak of their powers. To most fans, they reached their peak with Tommy. As far as I'm concerned, Live At Leeds was when they began to peak. The Who at the height of their musical abilities, their best album is Who's Next. After which, The Who lost their footing (due to a combination of drugs, alcohol [except Roger. He never really got into that.], the failure of the "Lifehouse" project, and the success of Tommy. Quadrophenia is The Who showing that they still have it. It was made only one album after Who's Next. It is the final peak of The Who's career. Next came Who Are You, which found Townshend even more lost and confused than he was on Who By the Numbers, except Who Are You is still a better album.

Just for the record, I rate The Who's album thus:

1. Who's Next
2. Live At Leeds
3. Quadrophenia
4. The Who Sell Out
5. Tommy
6. Who Are You
7. Face Dances
8. Who By the Number
9. Face Dances
10. A Quick One
11. The Who Sing "My Generation"
12. It's Hard

I'm ignoring the compilations. Otherwise, Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy would be #5.

My favorite Hendrix albums are Electric Ladyland and Band of Gypsys. Gypsys taught me how to listen to Hendrix. I've since come to truly appreciate his works.

Townshend would've agreed with you, BF. As a matter of fact, as I recall, he wanted to disband The Who after Moony's death. Roger was pretty much the force behind their staying together. Daltrey is by far the biggest Who fan of all. I think he has always believed in The Who. Kenny Jones, unfortunately, was a poor substitute for Moon the Loon. Simon Phillips and Zak Starkey have proven to be better, though neither were ever officially members of The Who.

I think The Who did put out some good songs post Keith, though. "Eminence Front", "You Better, You Bet", "The Quiet One", "Another Tricky Day", "Dig". The biggest problem facing The Who after Moony's death is that Pete Townshend was their primary songwriter. That's a problem because Towser was saving his best songs for his own solo albums. Even though Roger still believed in The Who, Pete didn't anymore.

I have more things to say about Thw Who and a few about Jimi Hendrix, but neither of them have much to do with concept albums (though I suppose you could really stretch it and call some of Electric Ladyland a concept album...No, never mind. That's just recuring musical themes). Instead, let's take it to the SHINY NEW subjects I'm starting about them!

Alright by me, home.

The first two songs by The Who that I remember ever hearing were "Eminence Front" and "Happy Jack". My two favorites though, are "Pinball Wizard" and "Behind Blue Eyes".

Incidentally, the Russian band "Gorky Park" did a godawful version of "My Generation". I have the cassette with it on it. Its actually the worst song on the tape!

(Someone should write a parody called "Eminem Front"!)

Someone mentioned that Sgt. Pepper was a little too novelty. Well, it *is* a little novelty, but there is a theme of loneliness underlying the songs in the album (so I read somewhere)...

Sven, I may have been the one to make the "novelty" crack. Off hand, I don't remember. I hadn't noticed that "loneliness" was a theme of the album. Mm. I'll have to listen to it, and go over the lyrics again. All I remember is that it was supposed to be a concept album in which The Beatles "pretend" to be Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That concept was never really followed through, so I think it's more of a gimmick concept album.

Hmm. Come to think of it, "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" doesn't seem to be about loneliness. But I'm not going over in my mind all the lyrics of the song, so...

How about Days of Future Passed by the Moody Blues as a concept album?

HEY! What about Creedence Clearwater Revival? Almost all their albums could be thought of as concept albums, as they didn't hail from anyplace near a bayou. Bayou County and Willie and the Poor Boys really stick out in my mind as concept albums.

Willie is simpler, so I'll tackle it first: Put simply, Willie and the Poor Boys is a pour man's Sgt. Pepper (pardon the pun). The "concept" comes from they're pretending to be the the band mentioned in the title. Also like Sgt. Pepper, the idea is really carried in only two songs: "Down On The Corner" and "Poorboy Shuffle", the first of which introduces the band and the latter their supposed theme. The rest of the concept relies on the listener's imagination to carry it through (supported by a collecton of songs that would seem to fit in a band like the Poor Boys).

Bayou County is a bit more involved, and the concept stretches through out all following albums as well (however, it's first and best featured here). It is with this album that CCR really started it's "Bayou" image, despite the fact that they were all from suburban Calafornia. Once again, however, the concept is only mentioned directly in three songs: "Born on the Bayou", "Proud Mary", and "Keep On Chooglin'" all of which feature images and slang from the region. Again, the rest of the album relies simply on a simmilar sound to carry the concept.

Days of Future Passed is a concept album, Scott, and a great one to boot.

Uh, Blitz, if you're gonna talk about concept careers, you're gonna have to include KISS, Alice Cooper, Marylin Manson, Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice, The Backseat Boys, *NStink, etc., etc. To me, CCR was simply very heavily influenced by the Southern/Bayou sound, and were good musicians, and loved the music enough to successfully replicate it. John Fogerty to me, is an honorary Southerner.

Speaking of KISS, wasn't Music From The Elder their concept album? I've never heard it, and I'm not sure I want to.

Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans. Really the only concept album Yes ever did.

I wasn't talking about CCR's whole career, only the content of specific albums. I don't think there's really any artist's carear who didn't have some concept of themselves behind them.

Anyway, they did a lot more than simply replicate a style of music, they wove a whole mythology for themselves and the bayou (ok, so maybe I am talking about their career now)

That's what it sounded like to me. Of course, KISS had also created a whole mythology for themselves. Then the idiots removed the make up and destroyed the mystique.

Um, I'm not exactly what you'd call a KISS fan, so I'd appreciate it if you answered a question for me: are there KISS songs and albums out there that deal ENTIRELY with guys in goffy make up and whacked out costumes? If not, I don't think it counts. I'm trying to talk about the content of albums. What the band wears on the cover isn't included in that. CCR actually wrote songs about the bayou and all that, so the concept was musical in their case.

Right, but we're talking individual albums. Music From "The Elder" was KISS' concept album. Destroyer comes close.

I was talking about concept careers. In the Seventies the KISS concept was 1.) you never saw them without the make-up on and 2.) Gene was a demon in human form, Paul the reincarnation of a 17th Century Don Juan type, Ace was from another planet and Peter was raised by jungle cats. They almost had some people convinced.

CCR wrote songs other than about the bayou. They were heavily influenced by that sound, but if you're gonna use that as a criterion, ELO was a symphony orchestra.

Re: CCR

Most bands are concerned with their image, how they are perceived, and maybe even the most successful are the ones who pay that their most attention. But I think it takes a step further to create a mythos about one's self, and CCR certainly did that under the helm of John Fogarty.

Whether they had a "concept" career is an interesting question, but a limited one I'm sure. Not many did what CCR did (in terms of scope). The comparrison to KISS falls a little short because, as unapologetic as they were, Paul and Gene and the guys knew they were riding a "theatrical gimic". It was knowingly done for entertainment's sake (what was the Seinfeld phrase, "not that there's anything wrong with it"?) and I believe CCR did it to make the music ring true.

Those of us around in the 70's (definitely not bragging here) will remember the whole Tom Waits "persona". He got a lot of mileage out of it and released a lot of great albums, but every time you saw him on SNL or the Tonight Show or something it was always as a "character". Eventually he even had to redefine himself (to great critical, and fan based, success). I've already listed Frank's Wild Years as a concept album because that was its' intent. To call all of the 70's albums "concept" would definitely be too broad, though.

Either way, I have most CCR albums and have heard the rest and I just can't define any of them as a "concept" album. Provocative point, though.

By the way, have any of you that are talking about CCR seen the episode of "Behind the Music" about the band on VH1? Really shows how slimy execs in the music industry can be.


Personally, I think John Fogarty has done some solo stuff that was just as good as classic CCR. "The Old Man Is Down The Road", for instance. I'm a avid baseball fan, and I'm sick to death of "Centerfield", however.

I've never heard any of John's solo stuff. Say, is "The Old Man Is Down The Road" reallythat close to "Run Through The Jungle?"

Close enough for rock and roll.

Spirit's The Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus is supposed to be a concept album but I don't hear it. It's just a collection of twelve great rock songs which don't appear to have any relation to each other.

Some people get a bit over-zealous with the "cocept album" thing. The notes in the Are You Experienced CD call it a concept album. Don't ask me what cocept they think is there...

Blitz, is your copy of Are You Experienced? on the Experience label? Mine's on the MCA label. I don't recall the liner notes saying any about AYE being a concept album.

BTW, I agree with you about how quickly records are called "concept albums." That's why early on, I attempted to work up a definition of "concept albums", and set up the different catagories.

As well you should have (and did a good job too). Yes, mine's on Experience.

Hey Blitz, does your copy of AYE? have "Stone Free", "51st Anniversary" and "Red House" on it? The MCA release I have has those three tracks added to it. Instead of letting them finish out the disc, they integrated them into the album itself. (I wound up listening to it yesterday. I enjoyed it.)

Sven, I went over the Sgt. Pepper's disc also. Yeah most of the songs do have a theme of loneliness and/or isolation to them. Interestingly, "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" are two exceptions. It's interesting because those are songs John wrote, y'know the guy who wrote "Help!" and "Nowhere Man"...

Yes, mine has the three tracks mixed in to the line up.

As for Pepper, I never really noticed the isolation theme, and I can't really bring myself to believe that it was intentional. So much has been read into Pepperalready that I'm VERY hesitant to buy into any theories about it. Also, Wouldn't the title song be an exeption? The only place where the "theme" shows up is the title, and Paul's admited that the only thing he was thinking about when he dreamed it up was making it odd.

I was wondering if that had become a permanent alteration or not. Of course, instead of asking about it, I could've looked at a copy of the CD.

That one can read so much into Sgt. Pepper's is probably why it is such a well loved album. I'm not sure how intentional the theme of loneliness and isolation are. It may have been a frame of mind type of thing.

Well, given the fact that they had just escaped the endless hell of touring, I'd have thought The Beatles' frame of mind to be a rather happy one.

Not necessarily. Being a celebrity can be like being a prison. You might have the money, but you don't have the freedom to go where you want without being mobbed by everybody. You can't be sure if the people around you are your real friends or hangers-on, people using you, basking in the glow of being with a *S*T*A*R*. Privacy is virtually non-existent. Also, this was the point in time when the end of The Beatles was just beginning.

I gotta say that, while most of what you said was right on, I think you're a bit premature about when the whole breakup began. I wouldn't point to the downward slide until roughly Brian Epstine's death and all the stuff with the Maharishi and The White Album. (but we're getting off subject)

Two that haven't been mentioned yet from the late sixties:

S.F. Sorrow, The Pretty Things
To Samuel A Son, The Gods

I agree with a lot on here. Floyd, etc.

But I loooved Metallica's "Ride the Lightning."

Did the Moody Blues actually write the orchestral stuff on Days of Future Passed?

Another "concept album" artist that many folks forget is Joe Jackson. "Night and Day" (both I and II), "Blaze of Glory" (an autobiography in music), "Night Music" and "Heaven and Hell", although these last two fall into the dreaded trap of pretentious "art rock", by introducing overorchestrated complexity while failing to produce a memorable song. Apparently Joe, like fellow pianist Billy (ugh) Joel, feels that at this point in his career, he can no longer compete with younger rock musicians, and will spend his dotage turning out classical music. At least Joe went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.

>Did the Moody Blues actually write the >orchestral stuff on Days of Future Passed?

Sort of. Most of the orchestral pieces were written by Peter Knight, but he based these on the Moodies' original songs.

Can the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow considered to be the first rock opera? It had an unmistakable influence on both Tommy and The Wall, as well as the Gods' To Samuel A Son.

Belated thanks to you, Todd.

I almost hesitate to throw my own pair of pennies into the mix, but I'd like to nominate David Bowie's 1. Outside as an excellent concept album. It's a non-linear tale of the ritualistic murder of a 14-year old girl, whose body is displayed as art, and is told from the perspective of the suspects involved, the detective researching the case, and the victim herself. It's supposed to be the first part in a 4-CD set, but it came out in 1995, and I guess the initial spurt of enthusiasm for the project wore off. Ah well. It's still an excellent album; very dark and paranoid, with a slightly gothic-punk feel (akin to the World of Darkness role-playing games). The complete story written by Bowie is told in the liner notes, and he performs the character voices in the segues (including my personal favorite, the deliciously creepy Ramona A. Stone; she's what I imagine Gollum as sounding like).

Ok- have to stick in my two bits here!
Firstly- Kiss Music From the Elder was hated by fans at first. Then over the course of 20 odd years it became the album you enjoyed to be a true KISS fan (at least in the eyes of those rabid KISS fans who are the musical equivalents to Trekkies). Paul has said "It was a good album, just not a good KISS album" and I tend to agree. there are some great songs and heard in the right order (as in the remastered cd) actually is quite decent. But for fans of the band singing about rock'n'rolling all night and screwing girls, it kinda sounded bloated and s t u p i d. I suggest a look at the excellent documentary "Kiss:Behind The Make-Up" for more thoughts from the band and producer about this album.
And how ANYONE can call Destroyer a concept album is beyond me. What's the theme?? What's the story??
ELO's concept albums are great. Benn has already stated Eldorado as a personal fav, and I would agree, but then goes on to slate arguably the last great concept album of all time- Time. Brilliant, brilliant album with not a dud on it, the remastered cd actually enhances the story more.
But I think I can also add Queen's A Kind Of Magic as their best album ever. Yes, it's using the film "Highlander" as a springboard but every song (even the one from "Iron Eagle") can be connected with the story. And if "Princes Of The Universe" doesn't leave you gasping for breath then check your pulse.

"The Complex" by The Blue Man Group
Actually, it's like two concept albums. One half deals with a futristic world where everyone is stripped of their personage and forced to work in a giant office complex, while the second half focuses on creating the perfect rock n' roll experience. They come pretty close, I'll say. The Blue Man add something new to the mix with thier strange sound and at the same time they embrace classic rock ideas and sound. What a great band.

"The Man in the Picture" by The Space Invaders Are Coming
You haven't heard of The Space Invaders Are Coming, but that's okay. I can tell you, for sure, they own. The album deals with a man who switches places with his image in the mirror for one year. It's quite an intresting story and good music to boot.