Artists who have tackled the concept album were faced with a difficult task: finding a way to deliver a consistent, coherent story or set of themes or set of characters while still creating engaging, quality music. Some traveled to space or mystical worlds, while others kept it grounded in historical events. Others delved into their own narratives. Here we’ve got our list of top concept albums.
The Beatles—Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Release: 1967
Concept: Adventures of a fictitious band meant to stand in contrast the Fab Four
Small Faces—Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake
Release: 1968
Concept: A character named “Happiness Stan” searches for the other half of the moon
Release: 1968
Concept: Based on a short story written by Phil May about the character of Sebastian F. Sorrow
The Kinks—Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
Release: 1969
Concept: The story of Arthur Morgan, a carpet-layer, and his family in post-war England
Honorable Mention: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Who—Tommy
Release: 1969
Concept: The story of Tommy, a deaf and blind pinball champion
David Bowie—The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Release: 1972
Concept: Bowie in space. As an alien. With aliens.
Jethro Tull—Thick as a Brick
Release: 1972
Concept: A fictional adaptation from a poem written by a fictional young poet
Honorable Mention: Aqualung
Genesis—The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Release: 1974
Concept: The story of a young boy named Rael, who lives in New York City and battles mythological beasts
Willie Nelson—Red Headed Stranger
Release: 1975
Concept: A narrative about a man on the run after killing his wife and her lover
Pink Floyd—The Wall
Release: 1979
Concept: The story of a character named Pink dealing with hardships and isolation
Honorable Mention: Animals; Dark Side of the Moon
Frank Zappa—Joe’s Garage
Release: 1979
Concept: Characters interact in a world in which the government is trying to ban music
Drive-By Truckers—Southern Rock Opera
Release: 2001
Concept: The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd in the South during the 1970s
The Mountain Goats—Tallahassee
Release: 2002
Concept: An account of a couple’s rocky relationship
Queens of the Stone Age—Songs for the Deaf
Release: 2002
Concept: An account of a road trip from L.A. to the Mojave Desert and the radio stations heard along the way
Release: 2004
Concept: Based on the story of an English yacht that sank beneath the Cape of Good Hope and left its four surviving passengers stranded for 19 days before they resorted to murder and cannibalism
Release: 2004
Concept: The story of the “Jesus of Suburbia,” his journey to the city, his self-destruction and his martyrdom
Okkervil River—Black Sheep Boy
Release: 2005
Concept: Based on the antihero of Tim Hardin’s “Black Sheep Boy” song
The Decemberists—The Hazards of Love
Release: 2009
Concept: A maiden falls in love with a shape-shifter in a fantastical setting complete with fairies and other mythical creatures
Honorable Mention: The Crane Wife
Release: 2010
Concept: Technology in the modern world, loss of innocence, the American dream, capitalism, conformism—all within the scope of the suburbs
Release: 2010
Concept: About the Civil War … kinda. “Really, it is a record about how the conflicts that led our nation into that great calamity remain unsolved, and the effect that this ongoing division has on our personal relationships and our behavior,” said singer Patrick Stickles.
Be the first to comment!