Your favorite rock concept album

[Kaz]

Concept albums are serious intercourse ing business. Literally, they're serious. At least, more serious than your typical collection of songs. It's a dangerous style of album, because more often than not, it turns into something dreadfully boring and pretentious. But some musicians can make pretentious sound like a masterpiece.

First off, let's get one thing straight. I don't consider The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper to be a concept album, because apart from the opening song and its reprise, there's no unified theme or musical structure. Bitch all you want.

Then again, even if Sgt. Pepper was a true concept album, I think it still wouldn't be my favorite...definitely not over this:



The Who - Quadrophenia

Mr. Pete Townshend has always been a master at concept albums, but that talent never came to such a perfect boil as it did with Quadrophenia, the tale of the split personality Mod kid Jimmy and his experiences in (then) modern day England as he pops pills, goes to shrinks, gets kicked out of his home, winds up homeless on the beach, and even confronts old friends (Bell Booooy!!!). And don't forget the scooter.


Major album highlights:

The opening "I Am the Sea"
CAN YOU SEE THE REEEEEEAL ME, DOCTAH, DOCTAH??? Listen to that intercourse ing bass.
The instrumental summary "Quadrophenia"
Is it me...for a moment?
ZOOT SUIT, WHITE JACKET WITH SIDE VENTS FIVE INCHES LONG
"Sea and Sand"
BELL BOOOYYY
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE, REEEEEEEEEEEEEIGN OOOOOOO'ER MEEEEEE (best moment in The Who's history)


In case you were curious, my second pick for best concept album would be Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, and third would be Pink Floyd's Animals.

Your turn. And please don't post poop unless you know for sure that they're actually concept albums. Tip: if the band says it's not a concept album (OK Computer, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, etc.), then it's probably not one.

[Syncopathic]

Mine would be this:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

I really love how true it is.
And here's quote from wiki that explains why it's my favorite.
"The lyrics deal with two typical neurobehavioural developmental disorders affecting teenagers in the 21st century: bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, and also with other common behaviour tendencies on youth like escapism through prescription drugs, social alienation caused by technology, and a feeling of vacuity product of information overload by the mass media. In an interview with Revolver magazine, Wilson described the main character of the story as "...this kind of terminally bored kid, anywhere between 10 and 15 years old, who spends all his daylight hours in his bedroom with the curtains closed, playing on his PlayStation, listening to his iPod, texting his friends on his cell phone, looking at hardcore pornography on the Internet, downloading music, films, news, violence..."

[Mystic]

Not rock, but whatever. It's about concept albums, good enough to me.



Without a doubt, Janet Jackson's 4th album, "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814", is one of the greatest albums created. The dance numbers are sharp, exciting, and sound great. The slow songs rock, and are beautiful to hear.

"Rhythm Nation" is a stunning dance track. I think due to it's highly upbeat nature, and great choreography during live performances, it's lyrics may not get all the attention they deserve.
[spoiler]"With music by our side
To break the color lines
Lets work together
To improve our way of life
Join voices in protest
To social injustice
A generation full of courage
Come forth with me"[/spoiler]

"State of the World" is another upbeat track with a great message. If you've ever listened to "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" by Michael Jackson, you get a sense of what kind of messages are in this song, though WYWTOM came out in 1991 unlike SotW, which was in 1989. The beat is somewhat funky.

"Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make)" can really only be describe by the lyrics.
[spoiler]"Children are called the future of an adult world
They are born with spirits so innocent
Til we teach them how to hate
Add to the world's confusion
We teach our kids rules
That we don't adhere to ourselves
Right or wrong
What example can they take
The people we learn from
Forge the ideas we become

Living in a world they didn't make
Living in a world that's filled with hate
Living in a world where grown-ups break the rules
Living in a world they didn't make
Paying for a lot of adult mistakes
How much of this madness can they take
Our children"[/spoiler]

[spoiler]"We would always have a TV turned on, usually to CNN...And I think the social slant of songs like Rhythm Nation, State of the World and The Knowledge came from that...I remember we all came to work the day of that schoolyard shooting in Stockton, Calif., and it was very heavy on our minds. That's where a song like Living in a World (They Didn't Make) fits in. It says that kids aren't responsible for what the adults have done. And while Janet didn't write that one, it was something we thought would be good for her to do, and she agreed."
?Jimmy Jam, Boston Globe[/spoiler]



Janet Jackson's 6th album, "The Velvet Rope", will always have a special place in my heart, due to the special content of this album, and the amazing integrity and singing Janet offers.

"What About" is a very moving song.

"Together Again" is uplifting, and makes you feel like everything will be ok.

"Velvet Rope" has great sound to it, and it's a perfect opening track to the album.

"Go Deep" is very sexy sounding, both in Janet's voice and the instrumentation. "Go Deep" is a great party song.

[spoiler]The concept behind The Velvet Rope was in introspective look into Jackson's bout with depression. Michael Saunders of The Boston Globe described the album as a "critical self-examination and an audio journal of a woman's road to self-discovery". Though Jackson expressed she always used her personal life as a source of inspiration for her music, she professed The Velvet Rope was her most accomplished album to date. Amidst the album's socially and morally conscientious songs, such as "Together Again", which is an homage to those Jackson has lost to AIDS, "What About", a song about domestic abuse and "Free Xone", which speaks out against homophobia, the album represents Jackson's two-year period of soul-searching.

    "I've always been able to push the pain aside, whether it was from my childhood, because being in the business, they always tell you it's not professional...It got worse when I said I'm going to take this on. And it got worse still. It took six months to record this album, but I feel it has taken 31 years. There were times I had to walk away from the microphone and come back a few days later when I could tackle it...Just because you have money doesn't mean you're happy. It doesn't mean that all your problems go away. Just because someone thinks that you're beautiful, it doesn't mean that you feel that way. Or that growing up in such a huge family, and seeing them having such great success, that you might feel worthless."
    ?Janet Jackson, The Boston Globe

The concept behind the album's title The Velvet Rope is both a literal depiction of the velvet ropes commonly used to separate crowds of fans, spectators, and media personnel from celebrities, and according to Jackson, the metaphorical velvet rope within every human being which keeps their true feelings separated from those around them.

    "This album is called 'The Velvet Rope' because it's about the need to feel special... Which I feel we all have. One example is when you go to the nightclubs. There's the people that have to wait behind the velvet rope vs. those that can just walk right in. They're 'special.' Then once the people are in, there's still this feeling that some of those 'special' people have, that they want to be separated from the rest. So there's another velvet rope, which leads to the VIP section. This need to feel special can bring out a positive side or a negative side."[/spoiler]

[Ron]

Concept?
Isn't Green Day's American Idiot considered a concept album? Along with the new one too right?
It'd have to be between those

[tibar21]

21st Century Breakdown by Green Day definately.
also The People or the Gun by Anti-Flag was great too.

[Ron]

21st Century Breakdown by Green Day definately.
also The People or the Gun by Anti-Flag was great too.

This post contains win.

[Kaz]

Concept?
Isn't Green Day's American Idiot considered a concept album? Along with the new one too right?

Yes...unfortunately.