Concept Albums - What are your favorites?

[Fizrider]

Tull - Passion Play

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood - although I tend to lump the entire Jester trilogy into one long stream of consciousness concept album of self-indulgent self-discovery inspired by girls in short skirts and the smell of patchouli oil.

Or maybe that was just MY version of the early 80's...

 

[Justin G]

Oops, missed a page! Still surprised at no mentions for Room V...

I couldn't get into that one at all. I loved their first three though, especially Tyranny.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Savatage - Dead Winter Dead and Wake of Magellan
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Fates Warning - APSOG
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory


~Brian~

 

[Logan5]

In negotiations right now for reissue.

I'm on that too. What about the other early albums?

 

[Smitdawg]

Kind of surprised nobody has brought up Serenity - Death and Legacy. Love that album. I love many of the bands that Glenn is bringing in this year, but Serenity is the one I am looking forward to the most.

Also, I must add my agreement on enjoying

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

I actually haven't heard a lot of the others. Will have to check some of them out.

 

[KingsGene]

Touched on briefly a bit ago, here's a definition of "concept album", courtesy of Wikipedia: "In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas with all songs contributing to a single overall theme or unified story. This is in contrast to the practice of an artist or group releasing an album consisting of a number of unconnected (lyrically or otherwise) songs performed by the artist."

So, I suppose one could argue their selections as the album being unified by a theme...but I don't see it for some. But, I digress...

If you didn't go to the link to check the rest of the story, I suggest it as it was quite a detailed retrospective.

Here's my list. The only thing new I can contribute would be the Porcupine Tree selection:
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
The Who - Quadrophenia
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
Dream Theater - Scenes From a Memory
The Who - Tommy
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Spock's Beard - Snow
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls

 

[DADRocks]

Kind of surprised nobody has brought up Serenity - Death and Legacy. Love that album. I love many of the bands that Glenn is bringing in this year, but Serenity is the one I am looking forward to the most.

Also, I must add my agreement on enjoying

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

I actually haven't heard a lot of the others. Will have to check some of them out.

The reason you haven't seen "Death and Legacy", is because dumb asses like me didn't know it was a concept album. If I did, it would be on my list. Imaginerium should of made my list. If Kingcow's Phlegathon is a concept, that would also be on my list.

 

[Smitdawg]

The reason you haven't seen "Death and Legacy", is because dumb asses like me didn't know it was a concept album. If I did, it would be on my list. Imaginerium should of made my list. If Kingcow's Phlegathon is a concept, that would also be on my list.

I may be mistaken on whether it should be considered a concept album. However, I did just look at the wikipedia entry for it (yes, I know, wikipedia isn't always correct) and it says "Death & Legacy is a concept album based on people of the past with historical impacts."

 

[Kez]

Checking in with some more love for Shadow Gallery - Tyranny..................................and Room Five, though Tyranny is much higher for me.

 

[spag]

Damn. This is one of those threads where you hope to discovery some cool new music, but instead find out that you listen to just about the same favorites as everyone else... Ok, there are a couple I will check out.

Also, didn't see this one on first glance through the thread, but I also really like:

Pink Floyd - The Final Cut

 

[spag]

PROG ROCK
Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Center of tthe Earth

"Return to the Centre of the Earth" even has Ozzy on it! :Spin:

Hell, just about every album Wakeman did was a concept album. I like a good number of them...favorites that would go on this list, in addition to "Journey to the Center of the Earth" would be:

Rick Wakeman - Myths And Legends Of King Arthur (1975)
Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973)

 

[J. Golden]

Rick Wakeman - Myths And Legends Of King Arthur (1975)

Hell yeah, he even put that bitch on ice

 

[Harris The Epic]

Hey, what about these gems?

I have no idea what many people think of Shadow Gallery, but I think they're one of the most overlooked Prog acts of the modern age. They've got everything needed to qualify as a great Prog band to me. I guess because they don't get any Live notoriety, that doesn't help much. :\
I love these albums though. I think that as far as the flow of the albums goes in the musical and lyrical front, it's actually quite the story, and quite the display of Prog-Aptitude.

 

[edgeofthorns]

I have no idea what many people think of Shadow Gallery, but I think they're one of the most overlooked Prog acts of the modern age.

Shadow Gallery is very well respected around here. I imagine Glenn has tried countless times to bring them to ProgPower too.

~Brian~

 

[spag]

Shadow Gallery is very well respected around here. I imagine Glenn has tried countless times to bring them to ProgPower too.

~Brian~

I don't think they tour since the lead singer passed, but I would love to see them.

It's weird this came up, as this week I've been listening to them a fair amount, in particular their first album. It's been a favorite since it came out.

 

[Harris The Epic]

Yeah, Mike Baker's passing was a huge tragedy, and I still wonder how the band plans to go on with a new voice. He was probably one of my favorite voices too. I'm really picky about singers and Mike Baker was definitely something special.

 

[FatesFan]

No real surprises in my choices. Many if not all have been mentioned here already it would seem.

QR - Mindcrime
DT- Scenes
Ayreon - Human Equation
Heavenly - Dust to Dust
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
Symphony X- The new mythology suite

and many more..............

But one I did not see any mention of is Extremes 3 sides to every story. This is an underrated gem for sure, especially the third act.

 

[ManipulatorGeneral404]

Somehow my favorite albums are concept albums. I think the greatest ones prove their worth in changing your mood and emotions while pulling you through the storyline.

THIS, to introduce my post. A great concept album needs to make me feel like I'm listening to an entire album front to back and not necessarily just a collection of songs, like I can feel what the main characters are feeling, and even more intangible, I must detect a sense of timelessness in the music and lyrics, one that places the music on the level of the best television, cinema, and literature by virtue of sharing what made its classics special. The 15 best-executed concept albums I've encountered, judging the criteria of overall quality, service to the theme, internal coherency, characterization, and timelessness, are these:

1. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2. Redemption - This Mortal Coil
3. Circus Maximus - Isolate
4. Ayreon - The Human Equation
5. Images of Eden - Rebuilding The Ruins
6. Hemina - Synthetic
7. Amaseffer - Slaves For Life
8. Vanden Plas - The Seraphic Clockwork
9. Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element
10. Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
11. Cynthesis - DeEvolution
12. Zero Hour - The Towers of Avarice
13. Lance King - A Moment in Chiros
14. Kekal - The Habit of Fire
15. Anthriel - The Pathway

It is by no coincidence that most of these and various other honorable mentions comprise the majority of my all-time favorite albums and rank among those I see the most of me within. These qualities are inextricably tied together for what makes a great album in my books, and I most frequently find them within concept albums, hence why I gravitate towards them.

 

[Islandstone]

Concept albums are often quite good. I like it when an album sounds like,just that, an album, and is not just a bunch of songs separate from each other.

Here are my picks:

Symphony X - V: The new Mythology Suite (My all-time favourite album)
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Circus Maximus - Isolate
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth
Vanden Plas - The Seraphic Clockwork
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls

 

[Harris The Epic]

Everyone here who says Ayreon says "The Human Equation".
To be honest, I find The Universal Migrator to be a way cooler sound and a really profound piece of Prog Artwork.