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Generally thought to have started in the progrock era but in my collection I have two from the mid-fifties : West Coast Suite by Mel Torme which is about, well, the West Coast of the USA, and Just Strike A Match by April Ames which is an album about cigarettes ( I kid you not) . Favourite concept albums anyone ?
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The Concept album on 23:46 - Jun 9 with 3540 views
I think you could make a case for the concept album going back much earlier, to say Debussy's La Mer (The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra) premiered 1905 - An orchestral interpretation of the moods of the sea, the three parts running at around 24 minutes in total - it's a kind of proto concept album. And absolutely incredible, to boot.
Nearly all of Frank Sinatras albums in the 1950s were concept albums.
His album from 1955 'in the wee small hours' dealt with love, failed relationship etc and was recorded during his marriage breakdown with the lovely, though nuts, Ava Gardner. Not the most cheery of Sinatra albums, but it is a bona-fide classic.
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The Concept album on 07:57 - Jun 10 with 3336 views
The concept album coincided with the introduction to Punk. Two extremes of approach. I always viewed Punk as a big V Sign to all that at the time (I was about 13) but things seemed very black and white or binary back then. You liked one or the other. Nowadays, I guess kids are exposed to so much they seem to like lots of different styles of music. Which is, of course, a good thing.
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The Concept album on 12:05 - Jun 10 with 3074 views
Virginia Belmont. I’m not sure who she is but I imagine like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard she lives (lived?) in an old dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Her only companions, birds of every colour and description. Her mission in life to bring about world peace via the recordings of her loyal feathered friends.
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The Concept album on 16:13 - Jun 10 with 2940 views
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon hasn't been mentioned yet which is a surprise. It could be described as the pinnacle of the rock concept album. I think it's true that the concept was inspired by Syd Barrett's declining mental state.
I rarely listen to it now but when it came out in 1973 everyone was spell bound by it. I'll never forget seeing Pink Floyd perform it at Earls Court in the same year it came out.
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The Concept album on 20:53 - Jun 10 with 2735 views
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon hasn't been mentioned yet which is a surprise. It could be described as the pinnacle of the rock concept album. I think it's true that the concept was inspired by Syd Barrett's declining mental state.
I rarely listen to it now but when it came out in 1973 everyone was spell bound by it. I'll never forget seeing Pink Floyd perform it at Earls Court in the same year it came out.
Atom Heart Mother wasn't well received but I love the lengthy opening track. It falls away with a whimper after that but I still play it on occasion.
Ps….who was it that said “ hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way “ quoted on Dark Side Of The Moon ?
[Post edited 10 Jun 21:33]
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The Concept album on 05:19 - Jun 11 with 2579 views
The Concept album on 21:30 - Jun 10 by colinallcars
Atom Heart Mother wasn't well received but I love the lengthy opening track. It falls away with a whimper after that but I still play it on occasion.
Ps….who was it that said “ hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way “ quoted on Dark Side Of The Moon ?
[Post edited 10 Jun 21:33]
I think it's taken from Thoreau
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things"
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The Concept album on 15:07 - Jun 11 with 2446 views
There are so many crackers out there, but here are three of my favourites:
Mei, by Echolyn. A single track prog epic which is haunting, melodic, bombastic yet at times melancholic, with an orchestral feel.
Six, by Mansun. So much going on, a chameleon of an album, full of twists and turns.
Map of the past, by It Bites. John Mitchell, a producer/singer/guitarist, decided he was such a big fan of It Bites that he would attempt to revive the band, a band which jacked it when their front man/singer/guitarist left to pursue a solo career. The chemistry between Mitchell and stalwart and creative genius John Beck was excellent and this is the second of the two albums the reanimated band produced. Full of singalong hooks and unexpected instrumental passages, yet still boasting the It Bites sound, this is the better of the two, I reckon. It was inspired by some old family photos Mitchell stumbled across.
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
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The Concept album on 17:13 - Jun 11 with 2398 views
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