WELCOME!

Thank you for visiting the FAA1340H: The Concept Album in Popular Music Class Website! This webpage has been designed to share what we have learned about concept albums, in hopes that the information we provide will be beneficial to anyone that wants to learn just a little bit more about the Concept Album genre! We hope you find our page useful and if you have questions or comments we would love to hear from you! You can contact us through our professor at pruettl@merrimack.edu.

Who are we?

We are a group of students from Merrimack College in North Andover, MA enrolled in a class titled "FAA 1340H: The Concept Album in Popular Music." This course explores the musical genre of the concept album. We have worked to develop our active listening skills while also learning to make informed and skilled analysis. We have studied concept albums from a variety of decades and musical styles. Overall, after a semester of studying the concept album, we now have a solid understanding of the genre. We have also developed deeper, more active listening habits.

How To Use This Website?

• The Concept Album page was created in order to understand the various concept albums that there have been throughout history, and a deeper explanation of some of the most well known albums. Concept albums have played an important role in the history of music. They have shed light on issues, ideas, history, etc. that needed to be brought into the eyes of society. Our website was created for other students, teachers, and individuals to have a reference to the term concept album to gain insight and knowledge on the topic.
• The Home Page of this album is showcased for the definition and further analysis of what a concept album is since this topic is vague. Everything that you need to know in order to understand the idea of a concept album can be found on our home page.
• On the sides of the website, there can be seen dates from the 1950's- present. The 1950's began the idea of the concept album. Located under each tab are concept albums that are popular from those times, as well as analysis of the artists and the soundtracks.

A Definition:

A concept album is a musical genre in which the individual songs are connected together by a theme, plot/story, and/or repeating melody or other musical elements. The genre began on the LP vinyl record format, but has progressed over the past seven decades to be produced on cassette tapes, CDs, and in digital MP3 and other audio formats. A concept album should be listened to as a whole album in order for the listener to understand the overall concept. Many famous albums today are concept albums, such as The Wall by Pink Floyd and Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Some writers believe that the concept album genre could also include soundtracks, cast recordings, greatest hits albums, and others.

Precursors to the Concept Album:

We can find precursors to the concept album in classical music. There are examples of various themes and concepts occurring in music hundreds of years before the genre rose to popularity. Operas and symphonies, for example, became popularized as early as the 17^th and 18th centuries respectively. Like a concept album, these are larger works that could also tell a story or follow certain themes. In the 19^th century, we start to see many common themes throughout music. This period of music as a whole starts to follow the strong overall theme of organic unity, which becomes important when publishing collections as a whole. Larger and more elaborate works were being composed that followed various themes including love, death, the supernatural, politics, and nature; which we can see in operas, songs, symphonies, and other genres. Beethoven for example, used recurring melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic themes throughout his multi-movement symphonies. Genres such as the song cycle also start to appear where separate songs are published together as one whole collection meant to not only be enjoyed in the homes of the public, but to also be listened to as a whole. A good example of this is Franz Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin. By the 1940's and 50's, artists are beginning to do a similar thing by recording albums as a whole that may follow certain themes or even a plot. In classical music, operas had arias and recitatives, symphonies had movements, and the concept album has songs to portray its concept. Throughout the 20th century, the concept album genre began to popularize greatly and is still a growing genre today.

1940s:

It is argued that the first concept album emerged during the 1940's with the release of folk artist Woody Guthrie's album Dust Bowl Ballads (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_album). This particular album was released in July of 1940. In short, the concept of Dust Bowl Ballads was that the songs on the album were all about the difficulties (primarily economic) that many American laborers were facing during the 1930s, as well as the Dust Bowl that came over the Midwest during that time. "Beginning in the late 1940s, Jazz artists began experimenting with sounds and styles. These concepts became the theme of the record. Whether it was rhythms, chord progressions, or scales, jazz was at the forefront of the movement." (The Concept Album: a Brief History) Some of these jazz artists included famous musician Miles Davis, who began crafting what would become concept albums in the 1950's with the release of Birth of the Cool. Frank Sinatra is also credited with the development of the concept album with his first ever release, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, on March 4, 1946.

1950s:

In the 1950's the concept album was in its infancy. Musicians like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were some of the first artists to try their hand at crafting a concept album using a more jazzy musical style. Prominent concept albums of the time include Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours, which was released in April of 1955, and whose concept surrounds feelings of a lost love and heartbreak. Another concept album from this decade is Sleep Warm by Dean Martin. There was a bedtime theme for this album with its tracks being "lullabies for moderns". It was released in March 1959.

Early 1960s:

Despite the massive success of pop music generated by bands such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys during the early half of the the sixties, country and folk musicians were the ones who are most remembered for producing concept albums during this time. Entering 1960, Johnny Cash was in the prime of his career and released his first concept album, Ride This Train, in 1960. On Ride This Train, a narrator speaks before the beginning of each song to give context to the listener. All of the songs on the album describe different experiences, people and places around the United States which are visited via train. Johnny Cash builds on many of the themes on which Woody Guthrie made his career. Cash devoted an entire album to the blue collar way of life, titled Blood, Sweat & Tears (1963), which made him popular among working class American listeners.

1965-1970:

In the United States, this was the time of the Second Korean War. In the music industry, drugs were widely used and played a role in influencing artists and the music that they created. There was a lot of variation in rock music styles during this time period. British rock and pop bands, like the Beatles, began to have a lot of success and influence on newer bands in the United States. The late 1960's was the prime period for the concept album; it was the time when many bands were creating them and they were becoming very popular. Some of the most popular concept albums to this day are Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band Club by The Beatles in 1967, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys in 1966, and Tommy by The Who in 1969. In 1969, there was a music festival called Woodstock that celebrated popular music with live outdoor concerts over a two day weekend.

Early 1970s:

During the 1970’s concept albums began to take a new direction following their origin in the 50’s and 60’s, where we begin to see a turn towards progressive rock and “Rock Operas”. It is during this time period that concept albums started to become more lengthy and theatrical, as we see in the case of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974). Artists move from albums with songs that have central and related themes to albums that tell full stories in the way a play or musical does. The increase in technology also allowed for more advanced production along with psychedelic styles and effects, which can be heard in Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973). Towards the end of the 70’s concept albums began to dwindle in popularity before being replaced with singles made for the radio and MTV in the 80’s.

1975-1980:

The latter half of the 1970's saw a decrease in demand for concept albums. Most of the greats had moved on to other projects and concept albums were often seen as generic or inflated. Some of the few who were still making new concept albums included Frank Zappa, with albums like Joe's Garage and Tinseltown Rebellion, and Pink Floyd with The Wall (1979). Zappa's music was noted for its innovative recording techniques, such as xenochrony, and for its impressive musicianship. This was paired with lyrics and concepts that were intended to be comedic and not be taken seriously, which made for a desirably intriguing combination for listening. Pink Floyd's album The Wall is noted for further establishing the genre of rock opera, which entails a comprehensive storyline complete with characters and dialogue. This is considered one of the last great classic concept albums.

1980s:

The 1980’s saw an increase in the use of digital recording and the first digital compact discs were marketed by Sony and Philips. During this decade, electronic genres began to develop. For example, Electric Light Orchestra released their concept album Time in 1981, which utilized electronic instruments over orchestral instruments. Another example of this new trend is Kilroy was Here, an album released by Styx in 1983. It was similar to a rock-opera and had two hit singles, "Don't Let it End" and "Mr. Roboto". The song "Mr. Roboto" was synthesizer-based, featuring a robot-like catchphrase that was created with a vocoder. In 1988, Iron Maiden released the concept album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. It was their first album released to feature keyboards, and string synthesizers were also used! Sadly, the 80’s also saw a fall in concept albums because of the emergence of MTV, which added to consumer preference for singles over albums.

1990s:

When looking at the concept albums and styles of music present in the 1990s, it is evident that not only were groups and artists creating powerful music centered around important concepts to younger generations, they were combining different styles to create unique concept albums. Influences from earlier decades had strong impacts on the styles of music in the 90's, and led artists to take two styles of music and fuse them together to create new styles. The newly created punk rock and hip hop soul became very popular among these younger listeners.

2000s:

Ways of listening to music changed as technology became more advanced. The invention of the iPod made the process of listening to music easier and allowed quick access to millions of different albums, songs, and artists. Quick accessibility to music through applications such as LimeWire, iTunes, and Spotify allowed concept albums to become more popular and available in just a few clicks. In addition, reality competition shows including American Idol, X Factor and more, allowed artists to become well known. With the rise in popularity of these types of shows, audiences from around the world were able to hear and learn more about artists. Even if a contestant on one of the shows was just covering a song by an artist, viewers would be compelled to look up the original artist to hear their version. This helped to broaden the audience of concept albums, as well as make them more widespread.

2010s:

The 2010's created a shift in music style towards electronic, synthpop, pop; being of most significance, alternative rock, dance, electronic dance, and hip hop. During the 2010s, singers begin performing and creating music at a younger age as well as widespread choices of instrumentals. A rise in boy and girl bands, as well as solo artists can also be seen during this period in time. In relation to concept albums during this decade, some examples include Beyonce's Lemonade, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, and Twenty One Pilots' Blurryface just to name a few. With the rise of video streaming, concept albums have been able to reach a broader range of audiences beyond just the physical album.

Conclusions: Whither the Concept Album?

Pop culture is known for having trends, and things rise and fall in and out of popularity. Vinyl records have come back into style in recent years, and the same can be said for the concept album. A timeline of the history or vinyl records highlights its return to popularity. Concept albums are on the rise, despite the popularity of buying digital versions of singles rather than physical copies of albums. It seems that this trend will continue, especially if more consumers learn what a concept album is. Beyonce's Lemonade has put a spotlight on the concept album genre since its release in 2016.

Unifying Theme / Plot

Concept albums can be connected through a theme, plots, or through musical connections or production. When connected through a theme, each song will reflect this theme. One example of a concept album that is connected by a theme is Frank Sinatra's album In the Wee Small Hours, where each sone reflected the theme of loneliness and sadness. Another example is Electric Light Orchestra's album Time where each song reflects the theme of the future. Some albums are connected through a plot, like The Wall by Pink Floyd. This album tells a story of abandonment and isolation, which is symbolized by a metaphorical wall. another example. When the album is connected through a plot, each song will tell a story in order to fulfill the plot. When a band writes a concept album, they usually have a story to tell. Some concept albums which tell a story through a plot are later developed into Rock Operas. Rock albums grew out of concept albums in the mid-1960’s, which brings the creation of rock operas closer to the songs of classical tradition than to opera. For example, Tommy by The Who is a major rock opera that was performed in concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1969. This performance was a part of a tour by The Who. Tommy told a story of a ‘deaf, dumb, and blind boy’ and his spiritual journey. Peter Townshend, who was the chief composer of Tommy, created the plot of the album.

Carol DiMaiti

John Rockwell. "Rock opera." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.