The 10 Greatest Concept Albums
Submitted by podizz on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 08:19
Tags:
- Dark Side of the Moon
- Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club
- Tommy
- The Wall
- Freak Out!
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
- The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
- Quadrophenia
- Thick as a Brick
- Achtung Baby
Here's my two cents....
King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (The First ever concept album.....I think)
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
And how is Sgt Peppers a concept album? The only concept in it is the creattion of the "Lonely Hearts Club Band" but that only covers two songs.
Yea, I think you may have an argument there with Sgt Peppers, one that I'm beginning to side with more and more after listening to the album again. Sgt Peppers is recognized by many as one of the first "concept" albums, but it seems as though this concept fell by the wayside early on in the project. One argument many use is that the album concept is the transformation of a world-famous pop band into an unknown brass band, and this new found anonymity has given them the freedom to write this very different and very groundbreaking album. While this may not be a strict concept album in the lyrical sense, the seemless transitions and carefully placed song lineup give the album an added cohesiveness.
For me, this argument seems a little thin upon closer examination. What do others think?
not a concept album. they are random songs, not about any one thing/person/place, and NOT strung together seamlessly: one song does not need another for any sort of identity. and the idea that a band is masking itself as another band for one album would in theory make every single album ever created a concept album the artist says in the liner notes that it was another band who sang the songs. The Beatles did not stay with the pseudo live concert that the opening track suggests which would have given a bit more credence towards a concept, though that would have been weak as well.
The Modern Dance is much more conceptual than anything represented here, and many others say that Zen Arcade is the ultimate concept album, but that is for you to decide; i am not a die hard fan of the album to draw the line from the beginning to the end of the concept. We're Only In It For The Money is another.