The Concept Album:

The concept album is a glorious thing. It takes rock and roll and its associated genres to another level of high art. Not that this is necessary, there's nothing wrong with non-concept albums, but an album that acts as a cohesive whole rather than a juxtaposition of random thoughts is something that is very difficult to do. And when these albums are strong musically as well as conceptually, well then, we've got something special don't we? The answer... is yes. We will start with the origin on the concept album, starting with the pioneer who developed the idea. I bet you would never guess who started the idea. We'll get to that. Then we will trace the concept album using the best examples from the fifties until modern day. If you think I have omitted an important album, then it is either not a concept album, you are wrong about it being a good concept album, or the artist is already represented, and I didn't want to waste space. The concept albums here illustrate a fundamental truth about who we are as people, good and bad. Needless to say, I highly recommend that you add each and every one of these albums to your library, if they are not already there. Without further ado, let us begin.

What is a concept album?

A concept album is an album by a group that is unified in some manner. It can tell a story, as in a Rock opera (The Who's Tommy), or it could be several meditations on the same theme, such as insanity (Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon). I do not count crappy nu-metal such as Linkin Park, because even though their albums seem to be all about pain and suffering, Linkin Park does not deserve the dignity of being mentioned in the same breath as bands like Pink Floyd or The Who. You may be saying to yourself, "But you just did that!" Well, you're wrong, because I took a deep breath in the middle of that sentence. I also do not count things such as symphonies, or works such as Mozart's Requiem, because technically it is based around a concept, it was not designed to be an album, because no one then knew what an album was.

Throughout this article we will meet musicians who are most comfortable writing albums as a whole, rather than individual songs. We will also see great musicians who are so talented, they experimented with the concept album after several normal albums. What does each album in this article have in common? Simple, they are essential albums to own for anyone who appreciates music. Still wondering who created the idea of the concept album? No, not the Beatles or Pink Floyd. A little known crooner from Hoboken, New Jersey, Frank Sinatra was the first person to explore this idea, which we will see below.

1955: Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

Starting with his album The Voice of Frank Sinatra, Sinatra was intrigued by the idea of a unified album. While he wasn't a songwriter himself, Sinatra's specialty was adding new levels of depth and feeling to other's songs. His first few albums were collections of his singles, arranged in a random order with no thought to an overall concept. In the mid 1950's Sinatra was fresh of of his break-up from actress Ava Gardner, and while choosing songs for the album, he noticed that many of them were ballads of loneliness. Sinatra decided that this was going to be the theme for the album. He carefully selected the order of songs, each one depicting a jilted lover, alone late at night, reflecting on his lost love and questioning his place in this world. The title track opens the album with a sorrowful note, and as the album progresses, the singer slowly works through his memories, finally deciding that though his love is gone, he will go on. While it seems trite at first, this album is an exploration into the ability of humans to endure. Love is the example in this album, but it can be anything. From Frank Sinatra, we will go now to a more commonly known early concept album

1967: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

One of the best, if not the best, albums of all time is a concept album. In 1966 The Beatles played their last live show together and were wondering how to exist as a functioning band without playing live. They decided to create an album that would go out on 'tour' for them. This album is meant to simulate a live album, with its introductions in the beginning, and farewells at the end. In between, the songs are as varied as any band's live act might be. While the concept of this album isn't as deep as some of the other ones on this list, no survey of concept albums would be complete without this masterpiece, which is unquestionably is.

1967: The Who - The Who Sell Out

While not as well known and not as influential as Tommy, this album played an important part in the development of The Who, as well as being a living tribute to the pirate radio stations that inspired the first generation of rock and rollers. In the fifties, the decade in which groups such as the Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, an others were growing up, the main radio station in Britain was the BBC. In America, Elvis and Chuck Berry were ushering in the Rock and roll but the British were offended by this 'noise of the lower class'. The BBC refused to embrace this music, instead preferring the classics. Young men, such as the Who's Pete Townsend, were forced to hear their rock by way of pirate stations, broadcasting from the British Channel. The signals were notoriously unreliable, but it was the only way to hear the music these young men craved. The Beatles changed all this, but it didn't stop Pete Townshend from writing The Who Sell Out as a tribute to these stations. The albums listens as if it were a radio broadcast, with bursts of static, and commercials between every song. This album, combined with the mini-rock opera "A Quick One While He's Away", laid the foundation for Tommy, Quadrophenia, and other influential rock operas.

1973: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon

With this album, Roger Waters established himself as Pink Floyd's main songwriter, as well as the finest concept album composer of his or any generation so far. Pink Floyd had tried vaguely conceptual albums before, doing three soundtracks, as well as a few side-length jams, but this album brought their abilities into focus, with far more effective results. Waters drew inspiration from the story of the band's previous songwriter, Syd Barrett, who had descended into a drug induced psychosis a four years prior. Waters used this album to explore what would drive a previously normal mind to lose its grip on reality. His biting lyrics, combined with David Gilmour's amazing guitar playing, Rick Wright's dreamy organ swells, and Nick Mason's Ringo-Starr-style drumming, would create the first of five consecutive concept albums in the next decade which would both redefine and provide the paragon of any concepts albums to come.

I will offer this warning before I proceed: Pink Floyd dominated the concept album for the next ten years, with no other band coming close since. Since I am trying to provide an overview of the best concept albums, I will not do a paragraph for each of the next albums. I will go on to other artists. Before you Floyd-heads get pissed at me, note that I am working on a piece that will discuss Pink Floyd from 1973 to 1983. It will not be diluted by any other band, so please bear with me.

1977: Jackson Browne - Running on Empty

Jackson Browne's previous albums, Late for the Sky and The Pretender were both critically acclaimed, and rightly so. Running on Empty is his masterpiece however, because it deals with such a fundamental part of being a successful musician, namely, the road. He deals with every part of the touring life. The highs of a successful concert (You Love the Thunder, Shaky Town), the weariness (The Road) and the freedom (Running on Empty) of the constant traveling. The drugs (Cocaine), the groupies (Love Needs A Heart, Rosie), and even the roadies (The Load Out) are mentioned. The presentation of the songs also is a tribute to the road. All the songs were new, but some were live, and some were recorded in a hotel room somewhere with just a piano, acoustic guitar, and Browne's singing. Because of this, the album is not considered a live album. It is truly a road album, and the only one of its kind.

The mixture of rockers (Running on Empty, You Love the Thunder, Stay, Nothing But Time), ballads (Rosie, The Road, The Load Out), and acoustic numbers (Cocaine, Shaky Town, Love Needs A Heart) provides a rich texture to the album. Each song is unmistakably Jackson Browne, but they are also deeper than most of his normal work. There is also a strange juxtaposition between the lyrics and music in some songs that lend credence to the upside-down life of playing two hundred dates a year all over the county, like Browne was at the time. For example, one would expect Cocaine to be a high tempo rocker, to simulate the drug's effect. Not so, as the song is the most mellow on the album. Because of this, we see how the drug use might give you a momentary boost, but its overall effect drains you much more than it gives you. Conversely, Running on Empty sounds like a song by a man who is slowing down, but it is the most up-tempo song on the album. Though it is about slowing down, it also illustrates the freedom that living a life on the road can afford you. This album is an essential concept album because it illustrates another aspect of life: the complexity of living. In this case, it is that a life on the road gives you freedoms that some men will never know, but it comes at the price of a weariness that even fewer men know.

1981: Styx - Paradise Theater

In the grand scheme of all things Styx, this album was the beginning of the end. Hard-rocking guitarists Tommy Shaw and James 'JY' Young had a hard enough times including soft rock songs such as Babe on previous Styx album. When 1981 rolled around despite three previous platinum albums, Shaw and JY were ready to put out an album of hard rock. Singer/Keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, however, had other plans. He envisioned a grand stage show in the vaudeville tradition while at the same time lamenting the loss of the venues in which they were performed. The result was Paradise Theater. Shaw put up with this album, but by 1983's Kilroy Was Here, he was all but done with the group, and it has never been the same since.

Paradise Theater begins with a grand fanfare depicting the opening of the fictitious Paradise Theater in the song 'A.D. 1928'. It is full of promise for the future, and the second track, 'Rockin' The Paradise' is filled with this optimism. It is not a coincidence that this takes place the year before the stock market crash that started the Great Depression. This optimism fades slightly with the next track, the laconic 'Too Much Time On My Hands', but it is still upbeat, as one can surely imagine worse things than having too much time on one's hands. Gradually the starry-eyed wonder that comes with the opening of the Paradise fades bit by bit until the dark track 'Snowblind', a hard metal rocker complete with drug addition references and a screaming guitar solo that seems to be echoing the pain of the singer. The second to last track, 'A.D. 1958' ends the saga of the Paradise Theater, all of its glitz, glamour, and wonder lost to the ravages of time. The album ends with the melancholy piano instrumental, 'State Street Sadie', which mourns all that has been lost over the course of the album.

Though the album doesn't claim a place on many critics top 100 or even top 500 lists, it is a deep album with a solid meaning, much like the other concept albums that we have discussed here. The concept of time making even the most grand things fall apart is a concept that resonates throughout humankind, whether it be the grandeur of the Roman Empire or the rise and fall of a band from the 70's to the early 80's. This album also relates specifically to the story of Styx, as mentioned before. It also became the pervading theme of the short lived reunion of the original members on 1995, and became the theme for their subsequent tour. But in a twist that the album would appreciate, it wasn't the same. Drummer John Panozzo would die of liver failure within months of the reunion, and Dennis DeYoung would b forced to withdraw from the public spotlight due to a medical condition upon conclusion of the tour. He would record one more album with the band before getting replaced entirely.

1999: Dream Theater - Scenes From a Memory

We have taken a mighty leap, from the pomposity of the 1980's, through the jaded cynicism of the early 90's, and into the bold, yet uncertain territory that existed at the turn of the century. And yes, I enjoy referring to a turn of the century that happened in my lifetime, so get used to it. For these last few albums, I will not be commenting as much, mainly as not ten years has passed since their release, so their full cultural and musical impact has yet to be felt. Since they are included here, however, I believe that this impact will be great, and thats right, you heard it here first.

Scenes From a Memory tells a very specific story, about a young man with strange dream delving into his past life and a generation-old murder mystery. Within this framework, the album addresses the nature of life and death, as well as the transition that exists between them. The album is surprisingly philosophical in its approach, especially towards the end (The Spirit Carries On). The album goes from soft to hard and back to soft again, it is difficult to adapt to any one mood, therefore the listener is caught up in the chaos that envelops the characters in the story. Shredding guitar licks are followed by incredibly poignant piano riffs, and much like life and death, nothing is certain as the album progresses. We think we have reached a suitable, 'happy ending' with the last words of the singer, but the four minutes of instrumental fade-out take increasingly darker turns, finally leading us to a less-than-fairytale ending that seems much more realistic in our day and age.

2000: Jag Panzer - Thane to the Throne

With the first worthwhile concept album of the new millennium, we turn to a story that is four hundred years young at the time of the album's release. Jag Panzer's Thane to the Throne is a grand metal interpretation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Jag Panzer is a band uniquely suited to bring both the passion and the brutality, the ambition and the relentless guilt of the play together. Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin's are able to express Macbeth's fears and desires from verse to verse, and the result is a fabulous interpretation of a classic work of literature.

The album roughly follows the play, emphasizing certain parts over others, not necessarily hitting each scene of the play. They assume that one is knows enough about the basic plot of Macbeth, so the listener is not spoon fed various plot points. Therefore, the effect Jag Panzer is going for is not diluted by anything extraneous. We hear everything from the point of view of Macbeth, so we get a deeper insight into his character as the band views it. All of the lyrics take the form of a soliloquy, so we are able to delve deeper into the motives and repercussions behind and following Macbeth's actions. We are able to clearly see and hear his mental decline in a way that the original play's format prevents. Think of it as all of the glory that is the play Macbeth, plus some kickin' guitar solos, laser precise drumming, and you've got a classic.

2003: Avantasia - The Metal Opera

The. Metal. Opera. The only three words you need to know. To say any more about this would be incredibly pretentious. But thats never stopped me before. What this two-part album lacks in narrative flow, it makes up for in unity of theme and grand scope. The story is convoluted and ultimately irrelevant, but the music is united and diverse enough to be a true concept album. The opera is the brainchild of Tobias Sammet, the singer and keyboardist of the best power metal group around today, Edguy. He has assembled an all-star class of European power metal musicians to make his grand statement.

The plot of the album involves a monk in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, dealing with a crisis of faith, as well as personal obstacles in his quest for salvation. This allows the songs to encompass things such as the nature of good and evil, exploration into the occult, as well as more earthly concepts such as love and honor. There are delicate piano driven ballads, face melting rockers, and some brilliant classically themed scoring in between several songs. With the exception of Pink Floyd's The Wall, rarely has a two-disc set encompassed so much thematic and musical ground. This is surely a concept album for the ages.

You may ask why the last three albums on this list are metal albums. The same reason why the first one is an easy-listening vocal album, and the ones on the middle are rock albums. Metal bands are the only ones putting out decent concept albums these days. Sure, to use one example, The Killers put out a decent concept album in 2006 with Sam's Town, but even as a fan of The Killers, I know that they don't deserve to be put in the same breath with the greats in this article. Not yet anyway. Power Metal groups seem to be the only ones left with the grandiosity of vision and the magnificence of scope willing to put out a kick ass concept album. What that says about the state of current music, I'll leave for you to decide.

Wait, no I won't. That's why you're reading this in the first place, to find out why. Because today's music has returned the singles oriented music that began with the dawn of rock and roll. Sure, the Chairman of the Board and The Beatles put out a concept albums, but it wasn't before the dawn of AOR (album-oriented radio) in the mid 1970's that the concept album was made into a true art form. Now we are at the point where an equally revolutionary artist is required to bring this art form back. And I don't think the top bands around now are up to the challenge. Can you imagine Linkin Park trying to put out a genre defying concept album, or did you just throw up a little in your mouth at that thought like I did? With the advent of digital music there are possibilities that were unthinkable a mere decade ago. So until the next band that comes along and defines an era of music with an album (or something wild that I don't even know about yet) that makes us rethink what an artist can achieve comes along, I, your loyal scribe, will be waiting. See you next time.