Concept albums

From Wiki42

This is a list of suitably awesome concept albums arranged by subject which I don't think has really been done anywhere else on the Net.

Contents 1 Science 1.1 Science Fiction & Space 1.2 Weather 1.3 Scientific progress 1.4 Computers & Video Games 2 History & Time 2.1 Unusual Time Signatures 2.2 The Bible & Christianity 2.3 Ancient History & Myth (outside the Bible) 2.4 The Dark Ages 2.5 The Renaissance 2.6 19th Century 2.7 20th Century 3 Literature 3.1 C. S. Lewis 4 Politics & Philosophy 4.1 Pink Floyd 4.2 The Who 5 Notable

Science

Science Fiction & Space

• "Deltron 3030"
• "I Robot" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Discovery" by Daft Punk
• "Human After All" by Daft Punk
• "Sounds For The Space Set" by RIAA
• "2112" by Rush
• "Mothership Connection" by Parliament
• "The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein" by Parliament
• "Beyond The Planets" by Jeff Wayne, Rick Wakeman & Kevin Peek.

Weather

• "Out of the Blue" by Electric Light Orchestra
• "The Whirlwind" by Transatlantic

Scientific progress

• "Ammonia Avenue" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "On Air" by Alan Parsons. Explores the history of flight.
• "A Brief History of Rhyme" by MC Hawking

Computers & Video Games

• Frogger! The Frogger Musical by Paul and Storm.

History & Time

• "Time" by the Electric Light Orchestra
• "The Time Machine" by Alan Parsons
• "The Time Machine" by Rick Wakeman
• "Days of Future Passed" by the Moody Blues
• "To Our Childrens Childrens Children" by the Moody Blues
• "Pyramid" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Chrono Tied" by DJ Nerd42

Unusual Time Signatures

• "Time Out!" by the Dave Burbeck Quartet
• "Off the Beaten Meter; Mashups Beyond 4/4"

The Bible & Christianity

• "The Story of Moses" by LIGHT
• "When Dreams Become Reality" by Thieves & Liars (the Biblical Joseph)
• "!Hero" - modern retelling of the life of Jesus by Christian contemporary artists, kind of like a religious response to Jesus Christ Superstar.
• "?" by Neal Morse is about the Holy of Holies.
• "One" by Neal Morse is about the separation and reconciliation between man and God in the Christian tradition.

Ancient History & Myth (outside the Bible)

• "Spartacus" by Jeff Wayne
• "Spartacus" by Triumvirat
• "Ulysses - the Greek Suite"

The Dark Ages

• "Merlin; Bard of the Unseen" by Kayak
• "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" by Rick Wakeman

The Renaissance

• "Nostradamus - The Fate of Man" by Kayak
• "Leonardo - The Absolute Man"
• "Sola Scriptura" by Neal Morse explores the life and thoughts of Martin Luther.

19th Century

• "Poe; More Tales of Mystery & Imagination" by Eric Woolfson
• "The Glorious Burden" and "Gettysburg (1863)" by Iced Earth

20th Century

• "Addicted to Bad Ideas - Peter Lorre's Twentieth Century" by The World Inferno Friendship Society
• "Gaudi" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Freudiana" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "USA" by RIAA.

Literature

• "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds"
• "Tales Of Mystery & Imagination" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Jabberwocky" by Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman
• "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" by Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman
• "1984" by Rick Wakeman
• "Treasure Island" by Collosus Projects

C. S. Lewis

• "Ghosts & Spirits" by Phil Woodward. - a concept album about "The Great Divorce" by C. S. Lewis.
• "The Roar of Love" by 2nd Chapter of Acts (1980) - a concept album about "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" from the "Chronicles of Narnia" series by C. S. Lewis.
• The Alchemy Index by Thrice is about the four classical elements in a decidedly Lewisian brand of neo-classicalism.

Politics & Philosophy

• "Eye in the Sky" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "The Turn of a Friendly Card" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Vulture Culture" by the Alan Parsons Project
• "Balance of Power" by the Electric Light Orchestra
• "American Idiot" by Green Day
• "A Thousand Suns" by Linkin Park
• "Brush-Fires Of The Mind" by Sons Of Liberty
• "Volk" by Laibach

Pink Floyd

• "Dark Side of the Moon" is The Concept Album, like, the definitive example of the genre.
  • "The Dark Side of Oz" by the Problemaddicts is about the Dark Side of the Rainbow legend.
• "Wish You Were Here" is about separation between people and exploitation of artists by the music industry.
• "Animals" is a reworking of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" but very anti-capitalistic.
• "The Wall" traverses many themes, could be said to be about how isolation from others can rot the soul.
• "The Final Cut" is an anti-war album.

The Who

• "Tommy" is a Messianic figure made up by the band.

Notable

• "Srgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - the Beatles disguised themselves as a lesser known band when traveling and decided to make an album as if they actually were these unusually colorful false identities, but they got so caught up in all the great songs they were writing that they kind of forgot what the concept was supposed to be and didn't turn out making a real concept album. Nevertheless, Srgt. Pepper is seen as a significant predecessor to the genre of concept album making.
• "Neil's Heavy Concept Album" - the concept is "not being a concept album."
• "Peter and the Wolf" (Prog Rock Version)