Concept Albums: Favourite Albums Telling a Unified Story
By Matt Baker, June 7 2011
I’ll admit it: I love albums that tell a story. Not just have a consistent theme, or a couple songs that are related to each other, but ones where every song tells a different part of a single story and, when taken as a whole, reveal an entire plot. Some people accuse these albums of being pretentious and sure, some of them are, but when they are executed well they provide a listening experience that is unparalleled in depth and reward. So here, in no particular order, are my favourite examples of this type of album.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972) – David Bowie
I’m not entirely convinced that I should be including this album here, and if it wasn’t one of my all-time favourite albums I probably would not stretch my rules this far, but well, here we are. Personally I think that the title of the album is the main reason people think of it as an album that tells a story. Using the title as a guideline it is possible to read all of the songs as a plot, but I think that if we didn’t have that hint most of the lyrics would be just a bit too obscure to place all of the songs in the plot. That said, Starman, It Ain’t Easy, Lady Stardust, Hang On To Yourself, Ziggy Stardust and Rock and Roll Suicide have a pretty darn obvious plot line to follow.
The Hazards of Love (2009) – The Decemberists
I like to describe this album as an “indie-folk-prog-rock-opera”. Briefly, it tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a shapeshifter, angering his mother the evil Forest Queen. The Queen then sends a Rake to kidnap and rape her while her lover defies his mother to rescue the damsel. It ends poorly for everyone. Even I can agree that this is a bit of a crazy premise for an album, but it is so well executed that it doesn’t even matter. The album moves from quiet acoustic guitar to rollicking mandolins and harpsichords to shrieking electric guitars with a dynamism that perfectly captures the sweeping story. And my hat goes off, in particular, to the guest singers who voice the damsel and the Queen.
The Wall (1979) – Pink Floyd
It may not be my all time favourite album, but on numerous occasions I have proclaimed The Wall to be the greatest album ever made (because I’m clearly an authority on the subject) and I have yet to waver from this claim. This album comes as close to a true opera as any rock album ever has, spawning one of the most epic concert tours ever put together (suck it U2) and one of the craziest movies you’ll ever see. A masterpiece of studio craft, the obsessive battles of every aspect of The Wall pretty much broke Pink Floyd, but it was totally worth it.
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002) – The Flaming Lips
This is probably the most fun album on the list, and possibly as much of a stretch as Ziggy Stardust, but I still feel that it fits. Essentially, it is the story of a man who learns to love again with the help of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Yoshimi. But told as a battle between a girl and big killer robots. Awesome.
Berlin (1973) – Lou Reed
To follow the funnest album, we have the darkest album. Berlin is the tale of a violently imploding relationship, filled with substance abuse, emotional abuse and physical abuse. Really, if you can think of a type of abuse, it is probably in here. Interestingly, this album was produced by Bob Ezrin, who also produced The Wall and it feels a bit like a practice run for the magic that would happen six years later with Pink Floyd. It may be a bit hard to sit through (the children crying throughout The Kids aree just heartwrenching) but Berlin also contains Caroline Says II, one of Lou Reed’s best songs.
Tallahassee (2002) – The Mountain Goats
Yet another tale of a horrible relationship, Tallahassee is about co-dependence and raging alcoholism. Written from the point of view of a man who hates his wife but can’t live without her, Tallahassee is not quite as dark as Berlin, but it gets close. Filled with beautiful and frightening imagery, this album is designed for close listening, so turn out the lights, block out all the other noise and crank the volume.
Some shout outs: The Who – Tommy; Pink Floyd – Animals, Wish You Were Here; Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Airplane Over The Sea