Concept album
Usually, in popular music, an album of an artist or group simply consists of a number of songs that the members of the group or the artist have written or have chosen to cover. In a concept album, on the other hand, all songs contribute to a single effect or unified story.
The album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles is generally considered to have been the first concept album. For this album, the members of the band were each supposed to adopt a fictionalized persona, and the title song, styled as the theme song of the fictional "Lonely Hearts Club Band", wraps around the rest of the album like bookends. However, most of the songs on the album are unrelated to the theme, and the fictional characters have little life beyond the introduction on the first track. There is thus some debate over whether Sgt. Pepper really qualifies as a true concept album, although its reputation as such helped in spreading the idea of concept albums.
Two albums that could be considered generally accepted candidates are S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things, which tells the life-story of the eponymous character, and Days Of Future Passed by the Moody Blues, which combines the acoustic instrumentation of the Moodys with the orchestral interludes of the London Festival Orchestra to document a typical "everyman's day". Both these albums were released in the same year (1967) as "Sgt. Pepper".
The concept album, as a concept, at times overlaps with rock opera and to some extent with rock musical.
Some other concept albums include:
- Freak Out! - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention (1966) - questioning the conventions of rock music and offering alternatives
- After Bathing At Baxter's - Jefferson Airplane (1967) - An attempt to catch the psychedelic experience in music
- The Story of Simon Simopath - Nirvana (1967) - A boy's wish to fly
- The Who Sell Out - The Who (1967) - A pirate radio station that plays only Who music
- In Search of the Lost Chord - The Moody Blues (1968) - A search for spiritual fulfillment
- The Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks (1968) - A call to return to the old ways of living
- We're Only in It For the Money - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention (1968) - razor sharp satire with both hippy culture and the establishment in its sights.
- S.F. Sorrow - The Pretty Things (1968) - A man goes insane
- Tommy - The Who (1969) - A deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard brings salvation
- Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire - The Kinks (1969) - A middle-aged man gradually loses touch with society
- To Our Children's Children's Children - The Moody Blues (1969)
- Lola Vs. Powerman - The Kinks (1970) - Ray Davies' psychosis and his distrust of the music industry
- Blows Against the Empire - Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship (1970) - The story of a group of people who steal a starship from the elite and found a utopia elsewhere
- Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon (1970)
- Escalator over the Hill - Carla Bley (1971)
- Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks (1971) - Down-and-out North Londoners express their disillusionment, paranoia, and dreams of a better life in a better place upon being relocated out of Muswell Hill when the gritty neighborhood was rebuilt following extensive damage by bombing in World War II.
- What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971) - Urban turmoil and changing times, the first album from a Motown artist that wasn't just a collection of singles
- Aqualung - Jethro Tull (1971) - Criticism of organized religion for breaking people's personal relationship with God
- Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull (1972) - One long musical track written around a poem by a fictitious child prodigy.
- Three Friends - Gentle Giant (1972) - Three old friends reminisce about their days as schoolchildren
- Pictures at an Exhibition - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1972) - Each song describes a picture; adapted from original composition by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie (1972) - story of a Martian Messiah, Savior and rock star named Ziggy Stardust
- A Passion Play - Jethro Tull (1973) - A man dies and comes back to Earth to help the people he loves
- Berlin - Lou Reed (1973) - A tale of a drug abusing couples' doomed romance
- Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (1973) - The various influences that can drive one mad
- The Six Wives of King Henry VIII - Rick Wakeman (1973) - One instrumental piece about each wife
- Quadrophenia - The Who (1973) - Four personalities in one alienated mod
- Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes (1973) - This concept album is based on the four part Hindu Shastric scriptures
- Desperado - The Eagles (1973) - Old western outlaws
- Preservation Act 1, Preservation Act 2 - The Kinks (1973, 1974) - The rise of a greedy developer and his fall at the hands of a moralizing dictator, set in and around a quaint English village.
- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis (1974) - A young man gets the opportunity to fix his past mistakes
- The Power and the Glory - Gentle Giant (1974)
- Diamond Dogs - David Bowie (1974) - Adapted from 1984 by George Orwell
- Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters - Robert Calvert (1974) - Satirical take on the crash-prone Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter" fighter planes sold to West Germany
- Journey to the Center of the Earth - Rick Wakeman (1974) - Adapted from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
- Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - Rick Wakeman (1975) - Adapted from the legends of King Arthur
- Radioactivity - Kraftwerk (1975) - Broadcast communications
- Schoolboys in Disgrace - The Kinks (1975) - childhood in the 1950s
- Soap Opera - The Kinks (1975) - ordinary people's dreams of stardom
- Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975) - Former band member Syd Barrett's decline into insanity, and the trials of stardom
- Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Alan Parsons Project (1975) - Adapted from various writings by Edgar Allan Poe
- Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson (1975) - A preacher who has fallen from grace
- Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John (1975) - Elton John and Bernie Taupin describe their rise to stardom
- Too Old to Rock And Roll, Too Young to Die - Jethro Tull (1975) - Nostalgia of a rocker who has reached his late fifties
- The Snow Goose - Camel (1975) - Concerns a goose in World War 2, based on a novella by Paul Gallico
- The Prince of Heaven's Eyes - Fruupp (1975) - The whimsical adventures of a young man who decides to leave his home in a small Irish village.
- Welcome to My Nightmare - Alice Cooper (1975)
- Hotel California - The Eagles (1976) - Temptation and the loss of innocence in the pursuit of celebrity
- Mothership Connection - Parliament (1976) - A messianic figure named Starchild comes to earth on a Mothership to bring the Funk to humanity
- Alice Cooper Goes to Hell - Alice Cooper (1976) - Alice Cooper goes to hell
- I, Robot - Alan Parsons Project (1977) - Based on the robot stories of Isaac Asimov
- Hope - Klaatu (1977) - the sole survivor of an arrogant race tries to make amends
- Animals - Pink Floyd (1977) - The common people are represented by sheep, the government by dogs, the rich by pigs
- One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic (1978) - imaginary nation ruled by Funkiness
- From the Inside - Alice Cooper (1978) - Based on Cooper's experience in an asylum
- Here, My Dear - Marvin Gaye (1978) - A description of the circumstances that led to Marvin's divorce. By the divorce settlement, the royalties went to the ex-wife. '(This isn't entirely accurate- any more information?)'
- The War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne (1978) - songs based on H.G. Wells's classic novel of Martian invasion, The War of the Worlds
- Uncle Jam Wants You - Funkadelic (1979) - a militant call to action to create the nation in One Nation Under a Groove
- Einstein on the Beach - Philip Glass (1979)
- The Wall - Pink Floyd (1979) - A rock star becomes alienated from his friends, family and fans, and seals himself behind a metaphorical wall
- Slow Train Coming - Bob Dylan (1979) Dylan's ducumented period of exploring his Christianity
- Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa (1979) (Originally released as two separate albums; Act I and Acts II/III) - follows "Joe," the prototypical rock-star wannabee, as he wastes his life pursuing a false dream, sinking to degrading new lows in self-esteem...
- Eve - Alan Parsons Project (1979) - Woman's overpowering effect on man
- The Turn of a Friendly Card - Alan Parsons Project (1980) - Gambling is used as a metaphor for life
- Gideon - Kenny Rogers (1980) - The tragic life of a fictitious cowboy
- The Electric Spanking of War Babies - Funkadelic (1981) - the title refers to the Vietnam War and the media's role in it; album concerns unFunkiness (see P-Funk mythology)
- (Music from) The Elder - KISS (1981) - Album of music for an unproduced musical finds a hero searching for and killing an elf
- 1984 - Rick Wakeman (1981) - Adapted from 1984 by George Orwell
- Paradise Theater - Styx (1981) - Chicago's Old Paradise theater's destruction is a metaphor for the destruction of America
- Nude - Camel (1981) - A World War 2 veteran who was stranded on an island alone is rescued; he can not cope with life in society and returns to the island
- Eye in the Sky - Alan Parsons Project (1982) - Concerns the loss of individuality in modern society
- Yes Sir I Will - Crass (1983) - album consists of a single 40 minute track critique of UK government policy regarding the Falklands War
- The Final Cut - Pink Floyd (1983) - "A Requiem for the Post-War Dream" - the disappointment of a soldier who returns from World War 2
- Kilroy Was Here - Styx (1983) - The story of the last rock star after rock music is banned
- Zen Arcade - Hüsker Dü (1984)
- The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking - Roger Waters (1984) - A man dreams of adultery
- The Chronicle of the Black Sword - Hawkwind (1985) - Based on the "Elric" novels of Michael Moorcock
- Misplaced Childhood - Marillion (1985) - A man recovers the innocence of his childhood
- White City: A Novel - Pete Townshend (1985) - The story of a poor outcast
- Le Parc - Tangerine Dream (1985) - Each composition is about a specific park
- The Queen is Dead - The Smiths (1986) - The end of the British Empire footnoted as a lament in mock empathy
- Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records - Chumbawamba (1986) - An album length critique of the then current Live Aid/Band Aid phenomena.
- Abigail - King Diamond (1987) - A pregnant woman is possessed
- Radio KAOS - Roger Waters (1987) - A man rescues his brother and saves the world
- Never Mind the Ballots... - Chumbawamba (1987) - The anarchist arguments against voting released just before the 1987 UK general election.
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Iron Maiden (1988) - The story of a man with psychic powers
- Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche (1988) - A young man disillusioned by American society joins an underground terrorist organisation.
- Them - King Diamond (1988) - The story of a crazy grandmother (sequel to Abigail)
- Imaginos - Blue Öyster Cult (1988) - A supernatural entity wanders through history and impacts various world events
- Conspiracy - King Diamond (1989) - Another story about the insane grandmother (sequel to Them)
- Iron Man - Pete Townshend (1989) - Adapted from a story by Ted Hughes
- Rhythm Nation 1814 - Janet Jackson (1989) - A song cycle on heroism attempting to conquer the tragic social issues of the day
- The Eye - King Diamond (1990) - About the French Inquisition and witchcraft
- Songs for Drella - Lou Reed & John Cale (1990) - A tribute to Andy Warhol
- Slap! - Chumbawamba (1990) - A celebration of working class heroes and ordinary peoples' resistance.
- Dust and Dreams - Camel (1991) - Adapted from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Into The Light - Gloria Estefan (1991) - Deals in part with bouncing back from near tragedy
- Amused to Death - Roger Waters (1992) - A sequel to The Final Cut by Pink Floyd (Waters' old group)
- Magic and Loss - Lou Reed (1992) - Growing old and dying, written in honor of two departed friends
- Night of the Stormrider - Iced Earth (1992) - A man who is betrayed by religion turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth
- Psychoderelict - Pete Townshend (1993)
- The Crimson Idol - W.A.S.P. (1993) - The story of a kid that goes insane
- The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (1994) Trent Reznor's journey from f----d to even more f----d
- Brave - Marillion (1994) - A runaway girl's battle to keep hope alive
- Outside - David Bowie (1995) - A detective, Nathan Adler, investigates the murder of a young girl
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon (1995) - The story of a Cuban gangster
- Dead Winter Dead - Savatage (1995) - A Serb boy and Muslim girl fall in love in war-torn Sarajevo
- Obsolete - Fear Factory (1995) - The future is a Wellesish 1984 in which machines rule and the government controls
- Dark Saga - Iced Earth (1996) - It tells the story of the comic book Spawn, in which a man dies and goes to hell. He sells his soul in order to return to his true love on Earth. But he soon discovers that she is married to his own best friend. He is left completely alone in the world, and although he has good inside, he is influenced by dark forces.
- Antichrist Superstar - Marilyn Manson (1996) The return of Beelzebub "I am the hydra/ Now you'll see your star."
- Christmas Eve and Other Stories - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1996) - An angel is sent to earth to find the good of Christmas day
- Pinkerton - Weezer (1996) - Album with several songs based on an adaptation of Madame Butterfly
- The Graveyard - King Diamond (1996) - A man seeks revenge against the town mayor
- Harbour of Tears - Camel (1996) - The story of a group of Irish immigrants to the United States, the forefathers of guitarist Andrew Latimer
- Somewhere Out in Space - Gamma Ray (1997) - A science-fiction adventure based on 2001: A Space Odyssey
- OK Computer - Radiohead (1997) - In an Orwellian 1984-ish society, each song documents the narrator's experience within the world.
- When The Red King Comes - Elf Power (1997) - A Tolkien-like fantasy world.
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1997) - Songs based on the life of Anne Frank.
- Voodoo - King Diamond (1998) - People move to Louisiana and become involved in voodoo
- My Arms, Your Hearse - Opeth (1998) - A dead man contemplates his lover mourning him
- RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo - RZA (1998)
- Nightfall in Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian (1998) - Adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion (Specifically, the Quenta Silmarillion)
- Into the Electric Castle - Ayreon (1998) - Several people from different times and place are placed in a strange place, the "Electric Castle"
- Electro-shock Blues - Eels (1998) - A story of death and a funeral, and the love that arose from it.
- Flower Power - The Flower Kings (1999)
- Return to the Center of the Earth - Rick Wakeman (1999) - Sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Dark Hallucinations - Steel Prophet (1999) - Partly based on the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Scenes From A Memory - Dream Theater (1999) - Past life regression and murder discovery
- Love And The Russian Winter - Simply Red (1999) - Love stories set in a world in a time of transition into the new millennium (the "Russian Winter" of the album's title)
- The Gay Parade - Of Montreal (1999) - A collection of songs describing a variety of surreal characters marching in a parade.
- House of God - King Diamond (2000)
- The Lifehouse Chronicles - Pete Townshend (2000) - The Who
- Beethoven's Last Night - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (2000) - Mephistopheles comes for Beethoven's soul one night
- Magica - Dio (2000) - A fantasy-adventure
- Haunted - Poe (2000) - chronicles the singer's emotional journey as she comes to terms with her relationship with her late father. Also ties into the novel House of Leaves written by her brother, Mark Z. Danielewski.
- MACHINA/The Machines of God - The Smashing Pumpkins (2000) - A rock star believes he hears the voice of God in the radio and decides to spread his message despite its cost on his love, his career and himself.
- MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music - The Smashing Pumpkins (2000) - A free, downloadable companion piece to "MACHINA/The Machines of God".
- Kid A - Radiohead (2000) - Homocidal genetically-engineered monstrosities (which represent capitalist exploitation) are let loose upon a complacent and denial-filled society.
- I am not a Freemdoom - Masters of the Hemisphere (2000) - The island of Krone Ishta, populated by many lake-dwelling creatures, is invaded by an evil dog named Freemdoom who drains the lakes in order to force the inhabitants to buy air-lungs, made in Freemdoom's factory. Mal and Ed, two native islanders attempt to stop him, but their plan backfires as Freemdoom grafts his henchman Gorgar's head onto Ed's body.
- Amnesiac - Radiohead (2001) - Kid A narrator returns from death, and puts together his past life piece by piece.
- Light of Day, Day of Darkness - Green Carnation (2001) - A single hour-long song of somewhat obscure meaning, involving enlightenment and the journey of life.
- Strange Little Girls - Tori Amos (2001) - Traditionally masculine songs redone from a feminine point of view
- Setting Sons - The Jam (2001) - Three childhood friends meet again and discuss their lives
- Leitmotif - Dredg (2001) - A man travels to different cultures to cure his spiritual affliction.
- Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse - Of Montreal (2001) - A fairy-like creature named Coquelicot falls asleep and dreams of a strange world in which various characters travel to a remote island and populate it with fantastical genetically-modified animals.
- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Dream Theater (2002) - The various stages, actions, and moods of depression and insanity.
- Scarlet's Walk - Tori Amos (2002) - Two female friends go on a cross-country trip
- El Cielo - Dredg (2002) - Booklet contains letters written by sufferers of sleep disorders; most of the songs on the album revolve around the subject of sleep.
- Creatures - Elf Power (2002)
- Remedy Lane - Pain of Salvation (2002) live with a group of people in a communal environment
- Snow - Spock's Beard (2002) - An outcast teenager transforms into a messianic figure
- Demon Hunter - Demon Hunter (2002)
- Truthless Heroes - Project 86 (2002)
- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2002) A Japanese girl attempts to save a city from destructive pink robots.
- Hail to the Thief - Radiohead (2003)
- De-Loused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta (2003) - A man tries to commit suicide via morphine overdose, but ends up in a week long coma laden with visions of humanity and himself. Upon waking, he decides to die.
- In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 - Coheed and Cambria (2003) - A story of love and war in a post-apocalyptic Earth.
- Taste the Secret - Ugly Duckling (2003) - The humorous trials and tribulations of the employees of an all-meat fast food joint, Meatshake and their competetor, Veggie Hut.
- Mount Eerie - The Microphones (2003) - The idea of human life in stages -- birth, life, death, and rebirth -- as told through the story of a man's journey to a mountain, the environment that overwhelms him, and his overcoming of it.
- The Raven - Lou Reed