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 of the Beatles is often considered to have been the first concept album, primarily because the title song, occurring in two versions, wraps around the rest of the album like bookends; however, most of the songs on that album are actually unrelated to one another.

The Beatles had grown tired of touring, and had the idea of making an album that would do the touring for them. McCartney's original idea was to create fictitious characters for each band member (The "Lonely Hearts Club Band") and make an album that would have been a performance by that fictional band. The cover of the album was designed to look like the band was performing in a park. The album starts with the Sgt. Pepper's theme, then introduces "Billy Shears" who sings the second song. The Beatles essentially abandoned the concept after the first two songs though. As such, then, Sgt. Pepper was not a true concept album, although its reputation as such helped in spreading the idea of concept albums.

A more generally accepted candidate is S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things[?], which was released in the same year (1967), and which tells the life-story of the eponymous character.

The concept album, as a concept, overlaps with rock opera and to some extent with rock musical[?].

Famous concept albums include:

• Eve[?] - Alan Parsons Project (1979) - Woman's overpowering effect on man
• Eye in the Sky[?] - Alan Parsons Project (1982) - Concerns the loss of individuality in modern society
• I, Robot - Alan Parsons Project (1977) - Based on the robot stories of Isaac Asimov
• Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Alan Parsons Project (1975) - Adapted from various writings by Edgar Allen Poe
• The Turn of a Friendly Card[?] - Alan Parsons Project (1980) - Gambling is used as a metaphor for life
• Alice Cooper Goes to Hell[?] - Alice Cooper (1976) - Alice Cooper goes to hell
• From the Inside[?] - Alice Cooper (1978) - Based on Cooper's experience in an asylum
• Welcome to My Nightmare[?] - Alice Cooper (1975)
• Into the Electric Castle[?] - Ayreon[?] (1998) - Several people from different times and place are placed in a strange place, the "Electric Castle"
• Imaginos[?] - Blue Öyster Cult (1988) - A supernatural entity wanders through history and impacts various world events
• Dust and Dreams[?] - Camel (1991) - Adapted from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Harbour of Tears[?] - Camel (1996) - The story of a group of Irish immigrants to the United States, the forefathers of guitarist Andrew Latimer[?]
• 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
• The Snow Goose[?] - Camel (1975) - Concerns a goose in World War 2, based on a novella by Paul Gallico[?]
• Escalator over the Hill[?] - Carla Bley[?] (1971)
• Yes Sir I Will - Crass (1983) - album consists of a single 40 minute track critique of UK government policy regarding the Falklands War
• Diamond Dogs[?] - David Bowie (1974) - Adapted from 1984 by George Orwell
• Outside[?] - David Bowie (1995) - A detective, Nathan Adler, investigates the murder of a young girl
• 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
• Magica[?] - Dio (2000) - A fantasy[?]-adventure
• Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence[?] - Dream Theater (2002) - The various stages, actions, and moods of depression and insanity.
• Scenes From A Memory[?] - Dream Theater (1999) - Past life regression and murder discovery
• 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.
• Leitmotif - Dredg (2001) - A man travels to different cultures to cure his spiritual affliction.
• Slow Train Coming[?] - Bob Dylan (1979) Dylan's ducumented period of exploring his Christianity
• Desperado[?] - The Eagles (1973) - Old western outlaws
• Creatures[?] - Elf Power (2002)
• When The Red King Comes[?] - Elf Power (1997) - A Tolkien-like fantasy world.
• Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy[?] - Elton John (1975) - Elton John and Bernie Taupin describe their rise to stardom
• Pictures at an Exhibition - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1972) - Each song describes a picture; adapted from original composition by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky
• Flower Power[?] - Flower Kings (1999)
• Joe's Garage[?] - Frank Zappa (1979) - A rock musician who is reviled for his music by a society that hates rock
• We're Only in It For the Money[?] - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention (1968)
• Freak Out![?] - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention (1966) - questioning the conventions of rock music and offering alternatives
• 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)
• One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic (1978) - imaginary nation ruled by Funkiness
• Uncle Jam Wants You - Funkadelic (1979) - a militant call to action to create the nation in One Nation Under a Groove
• Somewhere Out in Space[?] - Gamma Ray[?] (1997) - A science-fiction adventure based on 2001: A Space Oddissey[?]
• 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)
• Three Friends[?] - Gentle Giant (1972) - Three old friends reminisce about their days as schoolchildren
• The Chronicle of the Black Sword[?] - Hawkwind (1985) - Based on the "Elric" novels of Michael Moorcock
• Zen Arcade[?] - Hüsker Dü (1984)
• Dark Saga[?] - Iced Earth[?] (1996) - Adapted from the comic book Spawn
• Night of the Stormrider[?] - Iced Earth[?] (1992) - A man falls from grace and doubts organized religion
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son[?] - Iron Maiden (1988) - The story of a man with psychic powers
• Setting Sons[?] - The Jam (2001) - Three childhood friends meet again and discuss their lifes
• After Bathing At Baxter's[?] - Jefferson Airplane (1967) - An attempt to catch the psychedelic experience in music
• Aqualung - Jethro Tull (1971) - Criticism of organized religion for breaking people's personal relationship with God
• A Passion Play - Jethro Tull (1973) - A man dies and comes back to Earth to help the people he loves
• Too Old to Rock And Roll, Too Young to Die - Jethro Tull (1975) - Nostalgia of a rocker who has reached his late fifties
• Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon (1970)
• Abigail[?] - King Diamond (1987) - A pregnant woman is possssed
• Conspiracy - King Diamond (1989) - Another story about the insane grandmother (sequel to Them)
• The Eye[?] - King Diamond (1990) - About the French Inquisition[?] and witchcraft
• The Graveyard[?] - King Diamond (1996) - A man seeks revenge against the town mayor
• House of God[?] - King Diamond (2000)
• Them[?] - King Diamond (1988) - The story of a crazy grandmother (sequel to Abigail)
• Voodoo - King Diamond (1998) - People move to Louisiana and become involved in voodoo
• Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire[?] - The Kinks (1969) - A middle-aged man gradually loses touch with society
• Lola Vs. Powerman[?] - The Kinks (1970) - Ray Davies' psychosis and his distrust of the music industry
• Schoolboys in Disgrace[?] - The Kinks (1975) - childhood in the 1950s
• Soap Opera[?] - The Kinks (1975) - ordinary people's dreams of stardom
• The Village Green Preservation Society[?] - The Kinks (1968) - A call to return to the old ways of living
• (Music from) The Elder[?] - KISS (1981) - A hero searches for and kills an elf
• Hope[?] - Klaatu (1977)
• Radioactivity[?] - Kraftwerk (1975) - Broadcast communications
• Berlin[?] - Lou Reed (1973)
• Songs for Drella[?] - Lou Reed & John Cale (1990) - A tribute to Andy Warhol
• Misplaced Childhood - Marillion (1985) - A man recovers the innocence of his childhood
• Brave - Marillion (1994) - A runaway girl's battle to keep hope alive
• Antichrist Superstar[?] - Marilyn Manson (1996) The return of Beelzebub "I am the hydra/ Now youll see your star."
• 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.
• To Our Children's Children's Children[?] - The Moody Blues (1969) - Concerns itself with space exploration, and the reasons behind it
• In Search of the Lost Chord[?] - The Moody Blues (1968) - A search for spiritual fulfillment
• The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (1994) Trent Reznor's journey from fucked to even more fucked
• The Story of Simon Simopath[?] - Nirvana (1967) - A boy's wish to fly
• Remedy Lane[?] - Pain of Salvation[?] (2002)
• Mothership Connection - Parliament (1976) - A messianic figure named Starchild comes to earth on a Mothership to bring the Funk to humanity
• 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
• Iron Man[?] - Pete Townshend (1989) - Adapted from a story by Ted Hughes
• The Lifehouse Chronicles[?] - Pete Townshend (2000) - The Who live with a group of people in a communal environment
• White City: A Novel[?] - Pete Townshend (1985) - The story of a poor outcast
• Einstein on the Beach[?] - Phillip Glass[?] (1979)
• Animals - Pink Floyd (1977) - The common people are represented by sheep, while the government is symbolized by dogs
• Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (1973) - The ability of society to drive one mad
• The Final Cut[?] - Pink Floyd (1983) - The story of Roger Waters' father's death in World War 2
• The Wall - Pink Floyd (1979) - A rock star becomes alienated from his friends and family and seals himself behind a wall
• Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975) - Former band member Syd Barrett's decline into insanity
• S.F. Sorrow[?] - The Pretty Things[?] (1968) - A man goes insane
• Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche[?] (1988) - The gritty story of underworld criminals
• Kid A - Radiohead - Tranquil, computerized desolation
• Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon (1995) - The story of a Cuban gangster
• 1984[?] - Rick Wakeman (1981) - Adapted from 1984 by George Orwell
• 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
• Return to the Center of the Earth[?] - Rick Wakeman (1999) - Sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth
• The Six Wives of King Henry III[?] - Rick Wakeman (1973) - One instrumental piece about each wife
• Amused to Death[?] - Roger Waters (1992) - A sequel to The Final Cut[?] by Pink Floyd (Waters' old group)
• Radio KAOS[?] - Roger Waters (1987) - A man rescues his brother and saves the world
• The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking[?] - Roger Waters (1984) - A man dreams of adultery
• RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo[?] - RZA (1998)

• Machina[?] - The Smashing Pumpkins (2000) - A rock star believes he hears the voice of God
• Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - (1995) - The journey from angst ridden youth to unconcerned maturity.
• The Queen is Dead - The Smiths (1986) - Imperialism's end lamented with empathetic mockery
• Snow[?] - Spock's Beard (2002) - An outcast teenager transforms into a messianic figure
• Dark Hallucinations[?] - Steel Prophet[?] (1999) - Partly based on the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Paradise Theater[?] - Styx (1981) - Chicago's Old Paradise[?] theater's destruction is a metaphor for the destruction of America
• Kilroy Was Here - Styx (1983) - The story of the last rock star after rock music is banned
• Le Parc[?] - Tangerine Dream (1985) - Each composition is about a specific park
• Scarlet's Walk - Tori Amos (2002) - Two female friends go on a cross-country trip
• Strange Little Girls - Tori Amos (2001) - Traditionally masculine songs redone from a feminine point of view
• Beethoven's Last Night[?] - Trans-Siberian Orchestra[?] (2000) - Mephistopheles comes for Beethoven's soul one night
• Christmas Eve and Other Stories[?] - Trans-Siberian Orchestra[?] (1996) - An angel is sent to earth to find the good of Christmas day
• The Crimson Idol[?] - W.A.S.P. (1993) - The story of a kid that goes insane
• The Who Sell Out - The Who (1967) - A pirate radio station that plays only Who music
• Tommy - The Who (1969) - A deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard brings salvation
• Quadrophenia - The Who (1973) - Four personalities in one alienated mod
• Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson (1975) - A preacher who has fallen from grace
• Tales From Topographic Oceans[?] - Yes (1973) - This concept album is based on the four part Hindu Shastric scriptures
• Pinkerton - Weezer (1996) - Strange cd but Weezer's second best. Boy starts off depressed, wishing for an asian girlfriend, when he finally finds her life is good. He finally loses her in the final track Butterfly. - Lanlost