Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - Concept Albums

What is, arguably, the best concept album?

In my opinion, based upon somewhat limited experience, it would be a toss-up between Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Who's Quadrophenia.

The only other concept albums I can think of are Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche (which was pretty good at the time), Tommy by The Who and I think Iron Maiden had one called Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or something.

I'm partial to Animals by Pink Floyd. I think it qualifies as a concept album.

Worst concept album...

The Life of Chris Gaines.... Garth Brooks 'alter-ego.'




He tried this persona on like he was David Bowie becoming Ziggy Stardust or something.... oh my.... a Country artist trying to break the mold and thinking Country listeners would follow along.

Fortunately, he got back to all his honky-tonkin' quick enough so as not to confuse the C&W world too terribly much....

(note: I am not a huge Garth fan, nor do I think he's as awful as, say, SheDaisy.... just think Chris Gaines thing was hilarious......)

(second note: It's obvious I need to take control of the car radio back from my better half, who digs the country music)

Not the best but a good one is
"Run For Your Life"
by the Tarney-Spencer Band
from Australia
1979 A&M 4757

01 . No Time to Lose
02 . The Race Is Almost Run
03 . Won'tcha Tell Me
04 . Live Again
05 . Run for Your Life
06 . Don't
07 . Far Better Man
08 . Lies
09 . A Heart Will Break Tonight
10 . I'm Alive

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. This would be the greatest concept album of all time, logically, because it is the single greatest selection of songs ever recorded.

Radiohead OK Computer

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. This would be the greatest concept album of all time, logically, because it is the single greatest selection of songs ever recorded.

You beat me to it. Pet Sounds was so far ahead of its time that we weren't sure what we were hearing at first.

some of my faves:

Pretty Things | S.F. Sorrow
Genesis | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Johnny Cash | Ride This Train
Willie Nelson | Red-Headed Stranger
Rush | 2112
Aceyalone | Book of Human Language

- as far as the best, It's a toss up between Pink Floyd | The Wall and The Who | Tommy

Klaatu - Hope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_album

Phish sort of does the concept thing on Rift, with it's disjointed songs reflecting the random nature of dreams and sleep cycles. As well, on Billy Breathes they tie it all together with water/sea/ocean references throughout.

Trey's overriding inspiration from his Gamehendge song cycle pops up throughout all of Phish's catalog.

Another one I consider a concept album, even though it's more a song cycle is Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy. This one always seems like it sounds better when it's listened to straight through. It sounds like a journey through a volatile evening/night/dawn. Definitely her best work, IMHO.

Not really sure if it counts, but my vote goes to Metallica playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

I.Q.'s Subterranea.

Yes-Tales From Topographic Oceans
The Dura Ace of concept albums^^^

I also like the aforementioned 2112 and OK Computer, and Pet Sounds would be a great album if it hadn't been recorded by the Beach Boys, who're basically an overrated Monkees. ;)

As far as country goes, my favorite country act of all, the Statler Bros, did a few concept albums in the seventies,(The Statler Brothers Sing Country Symphonies in E Major, Holy Bible/Old Testament, Holy Bible/New Testament, Alive at the Johnny Mack Brown High School,) and they're all rad.

Beach Boys->BLECH!

Oh man, I'm so ashamed I forgot The Kinks | Arthur - or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire

* runs to put it on the turntable *

The Coolies - Doug

"...the Coolies followed the one-joke dig..? with the brilliant Doug, a trenchant "rock opera" about a skinhead who murders a transvestite short- order cook, gets rich by publishing his victim's recipes, falls into paranoia and substance abuse and ends up in the gutter. The sad tale is related through ingenious knockoffs of the Who ("Cook Book"), John Lennon ("Poverty"), the Replacements ("Coke Light Ice"), rap ("Puzzy Cook") and metal ("The Last Supper"), and in a comic book — not included with the cassette or CD, alas — designed by Jack Logan, of Pete Buck Comics fame. A quantum leap from its predecessor's one-dimensional silliness, Doug is a work of demented genius."

Moody Blues Days of Future Passed

I'm partial to Animals by Pink Floyd. I think it qualifies as a concept album.
+1000

Radiohead's Kid A is my other fav.

Damn....not one mention of Styx, Mr Roboto....

Does The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band count? If so, that gets my vote.

System of a down did some amzing things with mezmerize/hypnotize. If you don't like it on the first try, give'r time to grow on you. :)

Damn....not one mention of Styx, Mr Roboto....

hmmm..... probably not a coincidence....
:rolleyes:

^^^^ :roflmao:

Does The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band count? If so, that gets my vote.
Magical Mystery Tour, as well. :)

I think it was the Small Faces who did Ogden's Nut Brown something or other that I can vaguely recall having some sort of unified theme.

Album came in a tin can as well.

Ha, concept albums? Lets talk Trilogys!

Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Act I and Act II & III

Alan Parsons Project: I, Robot, Eye In the Sky and Ammonia Avenue.

Genius I tell you, pure genius!

Ha, concept albums? Lets talk Trilogys!

Magnetic Fields | 69 Love Songs (3 albums, 23 songs each)

Flaming Lips | Zaireeka (4 albums, designed to be played simultaneously- yet playable in any combo)

Yes-Tales From Topographic Oceans
The Dura Ace of concept albums^^^

I also like the aforementioned 2112 and OK Computer, and Pet Sounds would be a great album if it hadn't been recorded by the Beach Boys, who're basically an overrated Monkees. ;)

As far as country goes, my favorite country act of all, the Statler Bros, did a few concept albums in the seventies,(The Statler Brothers Sing Country Symphonies in E Major, Holy Bible/Old Testament, Holy Bible/New Testament, Alive at the Johnny Mack Brown High School,) and they're all rad.

Beach Boys->BLECH!


Heh heh, I have Alive at the Johnny Mack Brown high school.

Does anyone like Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds?

Rush-Subdivisions

Ha, concept albums? Lets talk Trilogys!

Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Act I and Act II & III

Alan Parsons Project: I, Robot, Eye In the Sky and Ammonia Avenue.

Genius I tell you, pure genius!


Have to love Zappa. Did you ever hear "Thingfish"?

Since we're on Zappa, 200 Motels and Just Another Band From LA. Billy the Mountain rocks!

Nix on Thingfish, but props to Billy the Mountain!

A mountain is something you don't want to **** with!

Love "Flo & Eddie" also :beer:

I saw the Frank and the band, with Flo and Eddie, run through Billy the Mountain at the Fillmore East in about 1971. I think I saw them about five times while Frank was still alive, twice at the Fillmore East, once at Carnegie Hall, once in the gym at the University of New Mexico, and one another time. Always a good show!

Odd that bowie was only mentioned in passing.

I'll throw out Prince's Purple Rain. He's not my favorite, but gotta give kudos where its due.

Odd that bowie was only mentioned in passing.
Ziggy Stardust among possible others.

In addition to others mentioned

The Who - Tommy (how'd you all forget this?)

Not the greatest but really good

Tool - Lateralus (sorta)
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute

The Clash - Sandinista

loosely conceptual...

In addition to others mentioned

The Who - Tommy (how'd you all forget this?)


It was mentioned. Not as prominently as Quadrophenia, which is as it should be, IMHO. And that's coming from a guy who's first album was Tommy.


Would the Police's Synchronicity qualify as a concept album? Springstreen & E-street's Born to Run?

Would the Police's Synchronicity qualify as a concept album?

I don't consider Synchronicity to be a concept album, or very good for that matter in comparison to their earlier stuff.

The Coolies - Doug

"...the Coolies followed the one-joke dig..? with the brilliant Doug, a trenchant "rock opera" about a skinhead who murders a transvestite short- order cook, gets rich by publishing his victim's recipes, falls into paranoia and substance abuse and ends up in the gutter. The sad tale is related through ingenious knockoffs of the Who ("Cook Book"), John Lennon ("Poverty"), the Replacements ("Coke Light Ice"), rap ("Puzzy Cook") and metal ("The Last Supper"), and in a comic book — not included with the cassette or CD, alas — designed by Jack Logan, of Pete Buck Comics fame. A quantum leap from its predecessor's one-dimensional silliness, Doug is a work of demented genius."

I thought of Doug when I first read the title of the thread, but thought that I would be the only person who had heard of it.

Lead singer Clay Harper wrote Doug while he was manager/owner of a pizza joint in the Little Five Points area – at the time the epicenter of the skinhead movement in Atlanta. The Coolies never made it big but did some touring and had a huge local following. In concert, they would play the songs from Doug in order because it tells a story.

I consider it the funniest album of all time – caveat: to fully appreciate the humor you have to be old enough to remember the height of the skinhead thing – the mid-1980s.

The Coolies - Doug

"...the Coolies followed the one-joke dig..? with the brilliant Doug, a trenchant "rock opera" about a skinhead who murders a transvestite short- order cook, gets rich by publishing his victim's recipes, falls into paranoia and substance abuse and ends up in the gutter. The sad tale is related through ingenious knockoffs of the Who ("Cook Book"), John Lennon ("Poverty"), the Replacements ("Coke Light Ice"), rap ("Puzzy Cook") and metal ("The Last Supper"), and in a comic book — not included with the cassette or CD, alas — designed by Jack Logan, of Pete Buck Comics fame. A quantum leap from its predecessor's one-dimensional silliness, Doug is a work of demented genius."
I was going to say Doug but, alas, you beat me to it!

"John Babbacombe Lee" (Fairport Convention) is a great concept album, with a well-realized narrative storyline. Pretty Things: "S F Sorrow" deserves another mention. Robert Fripp's entire "League of Crafty Guitarists" output is Concept with a capital "C": the concept is the music itself, rather than any narrative reference.

Just remembered... Rick Wakeman :The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table & Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record

You beat me to it. Pet Sounds was so far ahead of its time that we weren't sure what we were hearing at first.


Where does that put "Smile"?

Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime."



Also, Brian Eno "Music for Airports"



Was the Flaming Lips album "Soft Bulletin" a concept album? It was done in the spirit of "Pet Sounds".

Ha, concept albums? Lets talk Trilogys!

Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Act I and Act II & III

Alan Parsons Project: I, Robot, Eye In the Sky and Ammonia Avenue.

Genius I tell you, pure genius!

I like your taste in music. Got any Captain Beefheart or King Crimson?

Thanks, I have King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King.

I have some Gentle Giant & Mike Absalom too, if that counts for anything :)

damn, stacy seems to have the same taste in music as I do (did) and
posts what I was going to.
I'd say Quadrophenia for best concept album
2nd best Who Sell Out.
the best never realized concept album "Lifehouse"
(later became who's next)
(do I sense a theme here?)
I was going to include King Crimson, Alan Parsons (i Robot)
but Stacy beat me to them.
And I was going to add Best Overblown Bloated concept
anything by Rick Wakeman.

^^^ Should, we grew up smokin' the same dope and listening to 'The Q' (WIOQ 102) in quad, right?

Worst concept album...

The Life of Chris Gaines.... Garth Brooks 'alter-ego.




He tried this persona on like he was David Bowie becoming Ziggy Stardust or something.... oh my.... a Country artist trying to break the mold and thinking Country listeners would follow along.

Fortunately, he got back to all his honky-tonkin' quick enough so as not to confuse the C&W world too terribly much....

(note: I am not a huge Garth fan, nor do I think he's as awful as, say, SheDaisy.... just think Chris Gaines thing was hilarious......)





Just to clarify, The Life of Chris Gaines was actually a kind of soundtrack.
The Life Of Chris Gaines was to be a movie and they put the album out and then .......no movie.
Which really came back to bite Garth [and the powers that be] in the a**
No one understood without the story[movie] behind it and yes the album failed miserably.

Not a huge Garth fan, but I'm definately a fan.