It’s Time to Resurrect the Concept Album

1. What’s your favorite concept album of all time?

I’m biased, of course because it was the first album I played on, but I’m going with The Metal Box album “Public Image Limited”. Three 12″ singles preserved in a circular tin with the PiL logo embossed in the lid.

2. How do you classify a concept album?

One that pulls you in, creates a story and strips away the stresses of the outside world. There was form to the function – the wild low end of the dub bass from Jah Wobble necessitated the expanded grooves. Just selecting one of the three discs was a process different from just putting a regular album on the turntable. This was different in every way.

3. Why do you think concept albums resonate with musicians and fans?

It’s almost as if the music takes on physical form – migrating into other parts of life. In the case of Metal Box, fans actually baked chocolate brownies in the lid! Fans want to be delighted and surprised and inspired – not just by the music I think, so a concept album to me is a full experience.

4. Do you have any theories as to why we don’t see as many concept albums these days?

Well, album sales in general have dropped, and it’s difficult to elaborate on a theme digitally. There are also a lot of distractions and reasons to click somewhere else. Musical theater has also siphoned some of that energy. I gather there’s a voice in a creative’s head saying, “Never mind making this a concert album… it’s a musical! 

1.  What’s your favorite concept album of all time?

There are so many great concept albums, Tarkus, I Robot, Sgt. Pepper’s, Joe’s Garage, Dark Side of the Moon to name a few. My personal favorite is Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. While it is never listed in the great concept albums, the narrative and composition is one idea with good storytelling and remarkable musicianship. My preferred concept “band” is Eloy, the Germany prog rock band. All of their albums, especially Dawn and the Power and the Passion are great storytelling with trend setting prog rock to support it.

2. The criteria for concept albums is a bit murky. What constitutes a concept album in your opinion?

It’s an album where sum of the songs has far more importance, inference and purpose than any of the particular tracks. It has diverse lyrical and melodic themes that re-occur throughout the record, artwork that expresses the musical vibe and liner notes that are readable. Commonly, the category is attached to prog rock bands of the 70s. But when one listens to Bach’s Mass In BM or Tupac’s Me Against The World, these are the embodiment of a concept album as themes reemerge frequently.

3. Why do you think concept albums resonate with musicians and fans?

You find yourself sitting on a giant bean bag with headphones on, a black light shining, incense burning, a double album in your lap, contemplating the incredible artwork of Roger Dean while hearing The Fish and Mood For A Day back-to-back on side two.This is why these albums reverberate with fans. One song leads to another and before you know it, you have listened to the entire collection. In a strange but similar way to Yes’ Fragile, Zappa’s Joe’s Garage featured the Central Scrutinizer who reappears throughout the record and mesmerizes the listener as well.

4. During 60s, 70s, and 80s there were far more concept albums being recorded. That number has dropped significantly this century and we typically only see them from artists who are already well established. Do you have any theories as to why we don’t see as many artists recording concept albums these days?

With a click of a button we have become an instant gratification society. All the distractions in today’s world makes it more tricky for the artists to deliver reflective records that inspire a teenager or any listener to absorb an entire album over and over again. In the past, the listener’s voyage to discover anything new, took energy and adventure. Sometimes that exploration traversed another fork in the road and directed us to something greater than we were seeking in the first place. In today’s world, the immediate joy of the single is adequate pleasure and side two is never reached. On the aforementioned Yes Fragile album, we would have only heard Roundabout and South Side of the Sky as singles and never made it to it’s legendary side two. While today’s music is just as good as the past, the journey to discover it isn’t quite as in depth. And the search for it has been replaced with key words for a single song.