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 2 History and Time 2.1 Unusual Time Signatures 2.2 The Bible 2.3 Ancient History (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 5 Notable

Science

Science Fiction & Space

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

Weather

• "Out of the Blue" by Electric Light Orchestra

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

History and 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

Unusual Time Signatures

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

The Bible

• The Story of Moses by LIGHT
• When Dreams Become Reality by Thieves & Liars (the Biblical Joseph)

Ancient History (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

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
• Freudiana by the Alan Parsons Project
• Gaudi by the Alan Parsons Project
• USA by RIAA.

Literature

• 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)

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

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.

Notable

• Srgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - the Beatles disguise 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)