Who remembers concept albums?
In the 70s we all listened to them. There was no shame in it. But then punk rock came along and opened our eyes. We all realised what a pile of pretentious nonsense they were all and they were all consigned to the back of the wardrobe with all the other pre-punk records that we were all so dreadfully embarassed by. Pink Floyd’s The Wall was pretty much the last of dying breed.
Over the years, of course, most of the albums have made their way back out of the wardrobe. Or actually, in many cases they were re-bought on CD. We’re no longer embarassed by the records that we bought before 1977. But I don’t remember seeing any new concept albums released.
Until last year. Just before christmas, a friend lent me a copy of The Streets’ A Grand Don’t Come For Free and as he gave it to me he told me to make sure that I listened to the songs in order. “They tell a story”, he said.
And he’s right. It’s a concept album. Finally, 25 years after punk killed them off, the concept album has re-emerged as a valid musical form. And it did it in style by also being an album that made many critics’ “best albums of the year” list. Ok, so it’s not covering deep concepts like The Wall, but it _is_ a concept album. It tells a silly little story in much the same way that Quadrophenia did. It’s nice to have them back.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m just off to dig Tales from Topographic Oceans out from the back of the wardrobe.
I can think of three post-70’s concept albums I own off the top of my head:Iron Maiden’s “Sevent Son Of A Seventh Son” (1988) had one theme running through the album, about the life of the titular fellow.Fear Factory’s “Obsolete” (1998) came with a booklet which pre and post-scripted events around the songs (including camera movements), which formed the basis of an idea for a movie set in a dystopian future.In Dream Theater’s “Scenes From A Memory” (1999) all the lyrics are part of a script (provided in the booklet), with different styles of singing used for the main characters. (One of my favourite albums)
A vew more off the top of my head:Queensryche – Operation MindcrimeMarillion – Misplaced ChildhoodIQ – The WakeIQ – SubterraneaNine Inch Nails – The Downward SpiralNeil Young – GreendaleGreen Day – American IdiotA Perfect Circle – The Thirteenth StepU2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic BombThere have been plenty of concept albums since the 70s, its just that most don’t make a big deal that there is a story or theme running through the songs.Although I recommend you steer clear of anything by King Diamond. Just because it’s a concept album, doesn’t mean it’s any good ;)