Concept Albums

[Beantown Express 2.0 6,559]

11 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

You didn’t answer my question. 

I guess I don’t understand your question then. From Wiki.  Sounds like a concept album to me.

Loosely based on George Orwell's political fable Animal Farm, the album's lyrics describe various classes in society as different kinds of animals: the predatory dogs, the despotic ruthless pigs, and the "mindless and unquestioning herd" of sheep.^[9] Whereas the novella focuses on Stalinism, the album is a critique of capitalism and differs again in that the sheep eventually rise up to overpower the dogs.^[9][10] The album was developed from a collection of unrelated songs into a concept which, in the words of author Glenn Povey, "described the apparent social and moral decay of society, likening the human condition to that of mere animals".

 

[yoladu 4,105]

The story or narrative of most concept albums are pretty hokey, this one is no exception, BUT the songs on this album are immense.

Fucked Up - David Comes to Life

 

 

the story if one was inclined to care:

David Eliade is a worker at a light bulb factory in late 70's, early 80's England. David meets Veronica Boisson, an activist, and the two fall in love. Though David enjoys being in a relationship with Veronica, David starts to worry that something wrong is going to happen. The two build a bomb as a form of protest and attempt to bomb the factory. The bomb fails to destroy the factory, however, and ends up killing Veronica in the process. David feels sorrow for spending time with Veronica, thinking that it was all a waste, something the narrator agrees on. David also feels guilty for causing Veronica's death.

The story then introduces an acquaintance of David named Vivian Benson, who tells David to not trust narration. David then realizes that he is a character in a story, being controlled by Octavio St. Laurent, the story's narrator. David and Octavio fight for control over the plot, but David loses the fight and comes out feeling worse.

Vivian then reveals to David that she witnessed the bomb blast, and that Octavio was the cause of Veronica's death. Octavio accepts that having Veronica die was wrong. However, Octavio defends his action, saying that because he was cast as a villain, he was merely doing his job and should not be blamed. Veronica's spirit returns to David and David realizes his time with Veronica was worthwhile. David, glad with his experience, returns to the factory to relive everything again

 

 

 

[yoladu 4,105]

the songs on this concept album are unforgivably sad, but really beautiful.

The Antlers - Hospice

the story:

Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman's traumas, fears, and disease as a metaphor for an abusive relationship.

 

light hearted, fun stuff.

[DougO 5,256]

On 4/6/2021 at 9:17 AM, gtown04 said:

Dream Theater

Metropolis Pt 2 - Scenes from a Memory

Was about to post this one. Good choice.

 

[Serak The Preparer 3,434]

Concept album is definitely a bit fuzzy. I can think of three great Lou Reed albums for example. Is New York a concept album? It is maybe the least "concepty" but attempts (I think successfully) to capture the feeling of New York in the 80's, from AIDS to poverty to race relations. It has a theme, but is it a concept?

More concepty is Magic and Loss is a song cycle about him losing a friend to cancer. Most explicitly concept of the three would be his fantastic collaboration with John Cale, Songs for Drella, about the life and death of Andy Warhol.

[yoladu 4,105]

12 hours ago, Serak The Preparer said:

Concept album is definitely a bit fuzzy. I can think of three great Lou Reed albums for example. Is New York a concept album? It is maybe the least "concepty" but attempts (I think successfully) to capture the feeling of New York in the 80's, from AIDS to poverty to race relations. It has a theme, but is it a concept?

More concepty is Magic and Loss is a song cycle about him losing a friend to cancer. Most explicitly concept of the three would be his fantastic collaboration with John Cale, Songs for Drella, about the life and death of Andy Warhol.

love this.
 

 

[James Knox Polk 11]

Edited April 8, 2021 by James Knox Polk

[Buzzrock 14,947]

Concept album is definitely a bit fuzzy. I can think of three great Lou Reed albums for example. Is New York a concept album? It is maybe the least "concepty" but attempts (I think successfully) to capture the feeling of New York in the 80's, from AIDS to poverty to race relations. It has a theme, but is it a concept?
More concepty is Magic and Loss is a song cycle about him losing a friend to cancer. Most explicitly concept of the three would be his fantastic collaboration with John Cale, Songs for Drella, about the life and death of Andy Warhol.

I never thought of it as a concept album, more a collection of stories, but New York is fantastic. Every time I put it on I’m glad I did.

[DoobieWah 1,467]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:03 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

If you changed the titles of the songs on Animals, would it still be a concept album?

Of course. Don’t you?

[Bojack 2,082]

On 4/7/2021 at 1:50 PM, yoladu said:

the songs on this concept album are unforgivably sad, but really beautiful.

The Antlers - Hospice

the story:

Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman's traumas, fears, and disease as a metaphor for an abusive relationship.

 

light hearted, fun stuff.

This is one of my favorite records of the last 15 years.  I saw them at SXSW the year it was released, literally in someone's back yard. They only played songs from Hospice.  

[dcbc 14,521]

On 4/3/2021 at 11:20 PM, Neonmoon said:

I’m going to go against the usual picks *cough* any Pink Floyd album or Radiohead album

so I submit 

Fantastic album, and I've always loved that it only has ten songs.  But I think the Mollusk is more concepty. 

[tigol 2,407]

 

[tigol 2,407]

 

[ultimaton 2,982]

NIN has two of my favorites:

Edited April 19, 2021 by ultimaton

[Luv2win 27]

Early abstract - ambient concept