BY MIKEY MIGO
A concept album is made when an artist tells a story with a collection of songs that carry the same theme and idea. There are some people who consider it a "concept album" when the arrangement of songs, which are unrelated, tell a story with emotion. Off the top of my head, Radiohead's "OK Computer" and Nine Inch Nail's "The Downward Spiral" come to mind. The songs are arranged in such a way that it gives an emotion of a character going through something horrible. To me this isn't a "concept album", but more of an "emotional journey". That's just my view on it. Yours may be different.
Going back in the day, a "musical album" could be considered the first series of the concept album. I don't really feel this is a fair claim because a musical mostly always has a stage play to go along with it. While the soundtrack/score is part of the concept, the album is secondary to the physical production.
The Ventures were the first rock band to really go full force with a concept album. They released many albums over the years dedicated to colors, surfing, outer space, and other randomness. The Beach Boy's put out "Pet Sounds" a few years later and it's about "Brian Wilson's mental state", but the band insisted that it's not meant to be a narrative. The first band to really nail the concept album was The Beatles with "Sgt. Pepper". While Lennon and McCartney didn't like the label the album was given, many would still consider this the first real concept album. Sure the "concept" was insane, but it's something that many people deemed the narrative as innovative. While I might not be a Beatles fan, I can see that and respect their work on this album. From there, the doors were open.
The rock opera "Tommy" by The Who was the next big concept album and admittedly so. To me, and I know I'm probably alone on this, I consider "Tommy" to be the forerunner of all future concept albums. It was a narrative from the start to finish. It's part of music history and the story is great. Soon after, The Kinks would release the first of five different concept albums. None would reach the success of "Tommy" and need less to say, the success of "Sgt. Pepper".
Now we're in the 1970's and this band called "Pink Floyd" releases the concept album of all concept albums. Of course I'm talking about "The Wall". Roger Waters put his mind to the limits on this one. Before "The Wall" we have "Darkside of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here", and "Animals". "The Wall" to many is the definitive concept album. If I were the president of music, everyone would be required to listen to his album from front to back at least a dozen times. If not, you'd be forced to hand over your membership card, ipod, and CD collection.
When I worked telemarketing a few years ago, a friend of mine told me about the Genesis concept album. I had never heard it until recently. The album was "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and it's quite remarkable. I'm not a huge Genesis fan, but I must give proper respect to the last notable concept album of the 70s.
The 80's was a bit dry when it came to concept albums. Styx was really the main band to put out any during this decade. With "Paradise Theater" and "Kilroy Was Here" they reached multiplatinum success. Queensryche and Iron Maiden also put out quality concept albums, but neither would be a landmark in either act's career.
There's been a handful over the past decade or so that have been impactful to music. The Mars Volta released "Francis the Mute", which I still think is their best work to date. Andre 3000's "The Love Below" is basically about trying to get laid, which was an awesome album that featured the hit "Hey Ya!" The Smashing Pumpkins put out "Machina"/"The Machines of God". Coheed and Cambria, whom I never cared for, have actually put out four albums that all connect and tell a story. So would they be considered a "concept band"? I don't know, but that makes me a tiny bit more curious about their music now. Not really.
The most successful concept albums of recent years can easily be narrowed down to three. The first would be Green Day's "American Idiot". The singles alone on this album are classics. I actually started to hate the album after it being shoved down our throats so much when it was still in heavy rotation. In retrospect, it wasn't the band's fault that they made music that was so accessible. Many long time fans called them "sell outs" for ditching their sloppy punk style of the past, yet they reached a career milestone and won a lot of awards to boot.
Another would be My Chemical Romance's "The Black Parade". To me this was a HUGE rip off of mid-90's Marilyn Manson and old school Bowie. The band would go on to use the excuse that Manson wasn't the first "spooky rocker", but unless you're blind you'd see that to be just an excuse. Look at Manson's "Coma White" video and tell me otherwise. Whatever wasn't taken from Manson's playbook was slyly stolen from Bowie. If you can't tell, I am not a fan of these guys. Their music makes me want to punch baby monkeys. (Please note: I love baby monkeys)
The third of the most successful concept album of recent years is Nine Inch Nail's "Year Zero". Trent Reznor refined the art of concept albums and telling a story. I won't get into all the details, but the reveal of the storyline was put out on flyers, many websites, hidden in T-Shirts, videos, and so much that everyone was talking about. Tracks from the album were "released" via flash drives left in arena restrooms. It was a great time to be a Nine Inch Nails fan. The album itself actually lived up the hype it received from the many media outlets to cover the clues. I wouldn't put it above The Fragile and The Downward Spiral would be a toss up. Still, I honestly believe the marketing and hype from this album has influenced many people and companies on how to draw interest into a release.
There are plenty more concept albums than what I covered today. A concept album is a beautiful thing if it's done right. Your preference is up to you, but it's awesome when a band expands out of just putting random songs on an album and calling it a day. When an artist actually uses his art as a narrative to tell a story then we're embarking on something special.
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