When one listens to non-instrumental music, the point (sometimes) is to tell a story. While one could spend all day looking for a real story in Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” you already know that she’s in the fast lane between California and Japan. The song is remarkably catchy but one isn’t looking to Ms. Swaggy P for an investigation into post-racial discourse in the 21st century.
When one puts on Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane,” for more than eight minutes, you are taken through the trials and tribulations of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a champion prizefighter who was falsely accused and then convicted of triple-murder. While the trial made headlines, it was the song that brought the case to a wider audience.
And such is the power of music, to tell a story if you so choose. And those that do so for an entire album have a chance to put together a cohesive narrative akin to a musical novel, where you can clearly see the parts being played in your head.
While sometimes it doesn’t work at all—yes, I’m looking at you Lulu, the ill-fated concept album created as a collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica—when well executed, it can create a perfectly crafted hour or more of music that can make you laugh, cry and everything in between throughout the course of the album.
To open the discussion of greatest concept albums, one has to start with Pink Floyd. Arguably—no, not arguably—THE two best concept albums came from Pink Floyd, starting with 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon.
The Dark Side of the Moon takes you through the full life cycle in under 45 minutes, with every song seamlessly segueing into the next and featuring the best closing sequence of songs in “Brain Damage” into “Eclipse” to close an album on this side of the moon.
But, to find the real best concept album, one needs to jump to 1979, to the release of The Wall. Centering around the life of Pink, this more than 80-minute rock opera takes us through all of the dark and depressing things that happen to him as he builds a metaphorical wall around him.
This incredibly dark album features outstanding songwriting from Roger Waters, who either wrote or co-wrote all 26 songs on the album, a remarkable feat itself, but made all the more impressive by the album’s cohesion.
While concept albums usually lack a lead single, The Wall featured three: “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” “Run Like Hell” and “Comfortably Numb,” which features one of the greatest guitar solos in rock music history.
But bands beyond Pink Floyd have mastered the concept album. The Who’s Tommy had an exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when I visited nearly a decade ago. While the movie version is certainly worth seeing—mostly because of Elton John playing the local pinball champion—it is the original concept album, which came out in 1969, years before either The Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall that got me hooked on the concept album.
While I could write about Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage or Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, instead, I’ll focus on two modern day examples of the concept album done exceptionally well.
In 2010, Arcade Fire released their third studio album, The Suburbs. While The Suburbs is not a concept album the way The Wall or Tommy is in terms of telling a single, cohesive story throughout the course of the album, there is a narrative thread that runs in each and every one of the tracks on the album, focusing on the titular character, though this one requires a little bit of an artistic leap to personify Win and Will Butler’s hometown outside of Houston, Texas into a character.
To close this column out, let’s look at the best concept album of the 21st century, Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. While the rest of the albums listed throughout this column fall under at least the broad definition of rock, Lamar’s hip-hop opus, his second album, is a masterpiece that could only be construed as a concept album.
As the album progresses, the autobiographical (with some liberties taken) story of a 16-year-old Lamar brings you into the backseat of his car and doesn’t let you out for the more than hour-long album. In an era where everything needs to be “Fancy” and music is “All About That Bass,” it’s refreshing to see a concept album go platinum.
While certainly not for every musician to try, a well-crafted concept album can transcend time and make a more than 40-year-old album seem brand new.
Do you think concept albums fall flat? Email Brian your opinion at weidy@wisc.edu
