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The Concept of a Concept Album, by Scott Torgerson

  • wmsr60
  • 5 days ago
  • 11 min read

What makes a concept album a concept album, how the idea became popularized, and some personal favorite concept albums all in one article. 


To understand the history of the concept album, it is necessary to understand the concept of a concept album. A concept album is an album (obviously) in which all songs have a central theme, narrative, or cohesive idea instead of just a bunch of songs thrown together to reach the album standard. This theme, narrative, or idea can be achieved through instrumental, compositional, or lyrical means. This could be a specific instrument, melody, or lyric signifying a specific idea. Of course, a lot of musicians believe there is no clear definition for a concept album and really anything can be a concept album if you’re delusional enough, but the albums I will be discussing today are widely considered to be concept albums. 


The History of Concept Albums

The first modern day concept album, as we know it today, was released in 1940 by Woody Guthrie titled Dustbowl Ballads. Although there is no “main character”, all the songs follow a theme of dustbowls which was very innovative at the time, believe it or not. Woody Guthrie is essentially the grandfather of folk, and with this album he influenced future legends like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Although innovative, not a lot of musicians thought to take up this artform, but jazz musicians on the other hand, are willing to try anything. 


Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra both took a stab at concept albums in the 1950s. Frank Sinatra’s most famous example would be In the Wee Small Hours, released in 1955. Considered one of the first concept albums and one of the best albums of all time, In the Wee Small Hours follows the themes of heartbreak, introspection, and depression. It was incredibly influential, as he went directly against what musicians were doing at the time, which was to release an album of just all singles. Instead, he created the firm distinction between singles made for the radio and songs made for albums. This album was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, staying there for 18 weeks. Later in 1959, Miles Davis released Kind of Blue. Another album that is highly regarded as one of the best albums of all time as well as a perfect example of a concept album. Instead of the album following lyrical themes, it follows melodical and compositional themes. Miles Davis and his band had basically no rehearsal before the recording of the album. Davis only had a set of scales and melodies he wanted to be implemented into the album, forging the album’s theme through melodic passages. It was praised upon its release and cemented Miles Davis as one of the best jazz musicians of all time, but concept albums still weren’t very mainstream yet.


By the early 1960s, concept albums were highly featured in American country music with Johnny Cash’s Ride This Train (1960) and Ray Price’s Night life (1963) being prime examples, but little to none were featured in  mainstream rock or pop music. It wasn’t until 1966 when The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds that concept albums made their way to the mainstream. Although Pet Sounds is not really a concept album itself (I mean, if you’re delusional enough you can probably find a way to connect the songs), it was what the album inspired that makes it important. Pet Sounds had a HUGE influence on The Beatles, influencing them   to create their own unique sound just as The Beach Boys had done. In 1967 The Beatles created debatably the most popular and influential concept album of all time, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s a little meta with the main concept being that it’s centered around a band that is not The Beatles—and that’s about it. But it still counts! Since it’s The Beatles and probably because the concept itself was pretty simple, many bands tried their hands at this new concept album thing. 


Two years later The Who released an album with a comprehensive story, Tommy. It’s about this deaf, dumb, blind kid, Tommy Walker, who becomes a “Pinball Wizard” and a prophet for a little bit. Here, rock opera was fully realized and then came the hundreds that followed. The first one I want to shout out is the glam-rock goat, David Bowie’s 1972 concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. This one is also about a prophet figure: Ziggy Stardust,  an alien who becomes a rock star on an Earth that has five years left of existence, but falls into his own self-destructive tendencies and falls from grace. Widely considered one of the best albums of all time and just an overall fun time, I highly recommend it if you like The Clash or Talking Heads. The other one from this time period I want to shout out is the 1979 Pink Floyd album that has a movie with it, The Wall. The concept album as a concept  was perfected in The Wall, with a comprehensive story with a bold message with  great music and a movie to go along with it. It is another album that is regarded as one of the best albums of all time.


During the 1980s, MTV became popular and started to kill radio, it also started to kill the concept album due to artists focusing more on singles and their respected music video. There are still some good ones still being released to this day, but during the late 1960s to 1970s bands were just popping them out left and right. I will be going over my personal favorite modern day (1990s to now) concept albums, what they’re about, and why you should check them out. 


Recommendations

You’ve probably already heard of this one, and for good reason. Igor is an absolute masterclass of world building through music. From the first song, “IGOR'S THEME”, you are immediately transported to this deep synth-y, almost 80s-esque world with a one note bassline. Then, the drum loop kicks in and you’re in for a ride. Lyrics like “Ridin’ ‘round town, they gon’ feel this one” foreshadows the familiar melancholy that awaits the listener as Igor (the main character of the story) sets the scene with “EARFQUAKE”. The album paints the picture of a love triangle between Igor, some white guy, and some girl. Tackling topics of jealousy, unrequited love, and heartbreak, with standouts being the aforementioned  “EARFQUAKE”, “NEW MAGIC WAND”, and “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”. 


I’m about to spoil the ending, so this is your warning: although it seems as if Igor has accepted his situation, the ending note perfectly resolves to the beginning note in “IGOR’S THEME”, signifying the inevitable feelings you catch when you decide to befriend a crush instead of creating space. 


Every college student should listen to this album. I am being so serious about that. Transatlanticism is a term I had to learn for AP US History, but is also a made-up word by Death Cab for Cutie’s lead singer, Ben Gibbard, that is meant to describe the indescribable distance between two lovers whenever they’re not near each other. In my personal opinion it is an untapped yearner album, up there with Grace by Jeff Buckley. The album takes place in a year with the intro song “The New Year” being about another year passing and finding yourself in the same position you were in last year. After that you get this story of the narrator struggling to deal with a recent breakup, getting back together with his ex, and breaking up again all in 45 minutes. It is depressing, it is relatable, and it is prime real estate for the yearners out there. The song “Transatlanticism” is one of the best yearning songs of all time (yearning, in this context, being the feeling of longing for someone or something mostly portrayed through lyrical means), and yet I don’t see anyone talk about it. Please check this out if you’re a hopeless romantic or enjoy early 2000s rock. 


Once again, I am going to spoil the ending so this is your warning. The ending of this album is exactly like IGOR in the sense that the lasting static transitions perfectly transition to the beginning static, symbolizing the cycle of this toxic relationship. 


This album made me want to be a better man.  Denzel Curry has been a top rapper for years and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. On Melt My Eyez See Your Future, Denzel goes through a journey of growth, melting his perception of who he thought he was to set forth a better future. With the intro song, “Melt Session #1”, Denzel makes it very clear that this is an album traversing the inner-workings of himself, inviting the listener to “Take a ride on my train of thought”. From there the listener sits and listens to a man grappling with the fact that he was not as good of a man as he thought,accepting the fact that he needs to change. I highly recommend this album if you’re a fan of conscious rap/hip-hop, or if you’re a fan of JID or Kendrick Lamar.  


Guys, I’m coming out as a huge Twenty One Pilots fan. I have seen them three different times live and I’ve even met them. Although I am biased, I do genuinely believe people will look back at this album and call it one of the most influential albums of its time. Trench is just one part of a multi-album story that recently ended with Breach. Trench, though, is the better album at building this universe in which these albums take place. The Twenty One Pilots’ lore is too long for me to explain in this article, so just look it up if this interests you. Basically Trench is about Clancy who lives in Dema where people are governed by a bunch of leaders who call themselves “bishops”. These “bishops” promote depression and anxiety in hopes that they will eventually end themselves as it will bring them to paradise. In the album, Clancy is recruited by a band of rebels called “Banditos” who are located in the surrounding area outside of Dema called Trench. Believe it or not, they make this story make sense and sound incredible. I highly recommend this one if you were on Tumblr in 2016 or if you like alternative rock artists like Arctic Monkeys or Gorillaz. 


I had to recommend this absolute classic. The Black Parade is a flashback to the peak of concept albums in the late 1960s to 1970s mentioned earlier, only with a modern emo twist. It makes sense why it is a return to form of the hay day of concept albums given that musicians such as Pink Floyd influenced this album greatly with lead singer Gerald Way being inspired to use rock to create a cinematic story just as Pink Floyd did with The Wall. It follows a “Cancer” patient from diagnosis to death, following the memories of his life as he joins “The Black Parade”. The patient's fondest memory in his life was going to see a marching band as a young boy with his father, thus giving the name The Black Parade. It follows themes of death, regret, and existentialism as he finds meaning through memories. It’s beautifully poetic and honest; Gerald Way’s whiney voice all over  which I love. I would argue that this is one of the best albums of all time, I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of emo music or a fan of those classic concept albums I mentioned earlier. 


I’m going to be upfront about this one: I have spent 100,000+ minutes listening to Car Seat Headrest. I really like this band, but I will be the first to say that they’re not for everyone. Twin Fantasy is like Transatlanticism in the sense that it’s about a long-term relationship and there’s some yearning involved. It mainly revolves around first love and explores maturing enough to realize the mistakes of your ways and of the relationship enough to forgive and to move on. The lore of this album is a little insane, being a remake of an album the lead singer, Will Toledo, made when he was 19 that sounds like it was recorded in a cave. Will decided to remake this album in a studio, but dived heavily into the theme of maturity and looking back on relationships with new perspectives, adding an insanely emotional climax to “Famous Prophets (Stars)” that wasn’t in the original. It’s even more emotionally impactful if you’re like me and listened to the hundreds of songs and demos he has about this one failed relationship. His fans did the math, and around 20% of his music is about this one person. It falls under the same formula of concept albums as the classics released in the late 1960s to 1970s, but with more teenage angst. It has songs to dance to, bang your head to, and to sit up late thinking about them to. I highly recommend it if you like Indie rock or bands like Pavement. 


I had to lump these two albums together because technically these albums are connected, but Mount Eerie is, in my opinion, the best story told in music. Also, I get to talk about my favorite album of all time, The Glow Pt. 2, so I’m not complaining. The first album in this two album story is The Glow Pt. 2 which follows a narrator, Phil, trying to navigate life after a really messy breakup as he slowly realizes even nature isn’t on his side. The album is just perfectly imperfect. It is filled with mistakes from cracked voices to wrongly plucked notes. However, instead of scrapping the recordings, Phil intentionally left them in to build off of creating a deeply personal and human sounding album. It is the perfect representation of despair, depression, and heartache in music with loud, grandiose songs like “Map” capturing the sound of utter despair while soft sweet acoustic songs like “I Felt Your Shape” capture the sound of heartbreak and longing. This is also a yearner’s album, but a yearner who likes to hike. Throughout the album, a bear figure is presented through lyrics and a foghorn that plays in between songs to symbolize his ex and in the song “Samurai Sword” he finally confronts this bear with his ninja skills.


I’m going to spoil the rest of the song, so consider this your warning. Despite his best attempts to battle the bear, he fails and dies. The last, six-minute, song is him bleeding out to death and only features two sounds: a heart beating and the faint sound of the first track, “I Want Wind to Blow”, as he blows away with the harshness of mother nature. 


Mount Eerie picks up directly from the ending of The Glow Pt. 2 with the heartbeat still beating, slowly turning into a different rhythm until there’s a fog horn and a samba band passing by. This is to symbolize Phil’s life until this point, the wildness and unpredictability of it. Now since the album starts with Phil dying, Phil is revived onto the island that holds Mount Eerie thus setting up the story of this new album. This album is a five act story with each song acting as its own act which follows Phil being revived on a beach, seeing a big black ship with big black clouds that symbolizes death. Being obviously frightened, he runs into the forest to climb Mount Eerie (a real mountain in Anacortes, Washington) to try to get away from these big black clouds. Once he gets to the top he gets eaten by vultures and eventually becomes one with The Universe. So why do I think this is the best story ever told in music? Throughout my entire life, I haven’t heard anything close to this album. It is best described as avant-garde folk, it’s very experimental. It contains a lot of distortion, a lot of static, a lot of different characters and perspectives (mainly the vultures, the universe, and big black death), and a lot of lyrics that stick with you forever. Both albums have lyrics that have genuinely stuck with me and will stick with me until I see that big black cloud, until I must climb Mount Eerie and see the universe as it was meant to be seen. It is masterful, it is beautiful, and you probably won’t like it. Check this out if you want the key to my heart or if you like indie folk music.


Those are all of my recommendations along with a short and simple history of concept albums. Now you know a little snippet of music history and can sound pretty smart to any middle aged guy who loves Pink Floyd. Please do try to give one of the albums mentioned a listen as it is a very unique experience that can connect you in a way you never saw possible and plus there’s nothing wrong with expanding your music taste.


 
 
 

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