Concept albums
 

What exactly constitutes a concept album? Does it need a storyline? Is it enough for songs to share the same general theme?

And what are some of your favourites?

"unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical."

I've always thought of a concept album that way... Like something that somehow all ties in together. My favorite kind of albums are albums that are completely conceptual -- aesthetically, lyrically, etc.

Like Visions by Grimes is definitely a concept album , aesthetically. I think pretty much every album Bjork has made could be considered concept albums.

I think that concept albums tend to be more inaccessible, as they tend to be longer and unrelenting in their motif.

I like to regard concept albums as something where everything ties in together, and there is an underlying theme that courses through on every conceivable level. I personally believe every album should be a concept album. It feels like buzzword terminology and heresay, but oh well.

Deloused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta is something I would consider a concept album.

My favorite album of all time is...



Shaking the Habitual by The Knife... I think you can look at that album as a concept album in every conceivable way. The underlying message of the album is to question what we perceive as fact and to try to look at things from different angles. It is meant to be regarded in a political sense, but I guess they felt that it would be hypocritical to urge people to question their innate beliefs and how they have been conditioned to view things like gender and sexuality while making an album that didn't question normality in a compositional, aesthetic sense. It's an album that essentially questions everything it can possibly question and foregoes any sense of normality, simultaneously contradicting itself by featuring a series of very linear, drawn out drone and dance pieces, but there are also very dynamic tracks, an allusion to the idea that even dynamic sounds can because normality.

The result is a slightly left field pop duo that completely turns pop on it's head and makes the most abrasive album ever conceived in the realm of electronic pop.

Good question. I think there needs to be a story but that's a broad statement. something like A love Supreme qualifies and has no real lyrics other than the title repeated. But it has an overall theme of spirituality. Some good ones:

The Wall
The hazards of love
A love supreme
Operation Mindcrime

Maybe the best ever.

Operation: Mindcrime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Man, I wore that album out. Still in my top 20 favorite albums of all time I think.

Have ya seen the DVD?

Oh yeah, several times

I think at its heart, for me anyway, a concept album has to either tell a story or have some loose theme linking the songs. I'd consider among the best, as already mentioned, The Wall, then The Lamb lies down on Broadway by Genesis, 2112 (first side) by Rush, Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Chapter One by Hostsonaten, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman, Misplaced Childhood and also Brave by Marillion, On Air by Alan Parsons as well as The Turn of a Friendly Card by The Alan Parsons Project.

Incredible album and yes, total concept masterpiece.

If you fancy reading my review....
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1403995