[micaela]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LingLing1337 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I absolutely could not stand Snow. It was cheesier than Dragonforce and Megadeth combined.

LOL -- Each to his own I guess! I really like Neal Morse. Can't really speak for the story behind Snow but I love the music.

 

[West726]

The Decemberists, Hazards of Love.

 

[SungTong]

Everyone here should check out The Trials of Van Occupanther by Midlake. Really interesting album, musically and lyrically. One of the few bands out there that can redo themselves and still sound great. Seriously, go purchase this album now.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Donna summer: Bad Girls.. Has a euro flavor techno/disco/pop.. ELO: Time

 

[thisbenjamin]

You made me break into the CD cabinet. thanks!

Johny Cash - Ride This Train is a cool early concept album, it tells of Americana by way of a traveling train with cool voice overs from Cash.

Anything progressive rock is a concept album, at least from the 70's and early 80's;

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Wish you were here, Animals, The Wall, then Final Cut

Rodger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (conceived near writing the Wall - similar concepts explored), and Amused the Death

Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Rush - 2112 (side A)

Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (several others related in the speed metal genre - but this is a classic - norse mythology at it's best!)
Iron Maiden - Seventh son of a Seventh Son
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

There are many, many others - i'll post as I think of more.

 

[thisbenjamin]

Alan Parsons, ELO stuff..

 

[fatcat28037]

 

[SiriuslyCold]

Porcupine Tree DeadWing (a surreal "ghost story," and "the idea's ultimately that this album will form a kind of companion with the feature film)

Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet (The lyrics deal with two typical neurobehavioural developmental disorders affecting teenagers in the 21st century: bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, and also with other common behaviour tendencies on youth like escapism through prescription drugs, social alienation caused by technology, and a feeling of vacuity product of information overload by the mass media.)

Porcupine Tree The Incident (coming Sept 14th - SW:"it struck me that ‘incident’ is a very detached word for something so destructive and traumatic for the people involved. And then I had the sensation that the spirit of someone that had died in the accident entered into my car and was sitting next to me. The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other ‘incidents’ reported in the media and news...")

Queensrÿche Operation: Mindcrime (The album begins with the protagonist, Nikki, lying in a hospital bed. He lies in a nearly catatonic state, unable to remember anything but snippets from his past. Suddenly, Nikki has a violent flashback in which his memories come flooding back in a torrent ("I Remember Now", "Anarchy-X"). He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution ("Revolution Calling"). At the head of this organization is a political and religious demagogue known only as Dr. X, who, manipulating Nikki through a combination of his heroin addiction and brainwashing techniques (à la The Manchurian Candidate), uses Nikki as an assassin.)

 

[salannelson]

Supposedly The Mars Volta's albums are themed but for the life of me I can't figure out what "Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed" means...

 

[sno1man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by West726 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Decemberists, Hazards of Love.

seconded. My favorite album this year so far.

Also check "come on feel the illinoise" by Sufjan Stevens. "Chicago" is the center piece and is just incredible

Or even more out of left field "My name is Buddy" by Ry Cooder about a cat and mouse who are friends. Cooder is one the true slide guitar greats

 

[LingLing1337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Out of left field: Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger has been referred to as the Dark Side of the Moon of country music. It's one of the very few concept albums in the genre and even had mainstream crossover appeal in the 1970s. If you want to try something different, go get a copy. Willie is one of the finest songwriters this country has ever had. He deserves a wider audience.

Thanks very much for this rather eclectic rec. I'll be sure to check this out, along with Duggeh's perhaps sarcastic recommendation.

I haven't even started looking at the second page yet! I'll be sure to check back later, I've got a lot of listening to do now...

 

[FalconP]

Currenly enjoying this -- don't laugh; it is a very fine album indeed: slices of lives in an apartment complex as seen through the eyes of an elevator operator.



While you're still on Willie Nelson, Yesterday's Wine is another concept album of his.

If you happen to be a Civil War buff, then you must have David Kincaid's The Irish Volunteer. Even if you aren't, you'll still want it for the great, rousing music.

Connie Dover's The Border of Heaven is a well-researched, well-presented account about the people who once toiled at the American Frontier. This subject also inspired Tom Russell to write his magnificant "folk-opera" The Man from God Knows Where

Leaving history behind and returning to the present, Lila Down's La Linea deals with another frontier -- the modern America-Mexico border. The tales of Mexican immigrants are recounted with sympathy, vehemence and sometimes, deeply uncomfortable humor.

 

[Drubbing]

Rush - 2112.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LingLing1337 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks very much for this rather eclectic rec. I'll be sure to check this out, along with Duggeh's perhaps sarcastic recommendation. I haven't even started looking at the second page yet! I'll be sure to check back later, I've got a lot of listening to do now...

Not sarcastic. It might be so far into tell-a-story mode that it goes way beyond the far limits of what might be termed a concept album but it's bloody brilliant.

 

[jinp6301]

Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm

It tells a VERY loose story but still a story