Concept album

This article is about the topic of concept albums. For albums named "Concept", see Concept (disambiguation) § Music and arts.

A concert stage in front of a wall with 2 levels. Five men stand on a balcony, including Roger Waters, who is saluting with his arm and is lit by a spotlight. On the lower level is a drum kit and a man playing guitar.
Roger Waters (saluting on top) leading a live performance of Pink Floyd's The Wall, one of the best-known concept albums of all time[1]

A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually.[2][3] This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical.[4] Sometimes the term is applied to albums considered to be of "uniform excellence" rather than an LP with an explicit musical or lyrical motif.[5] There is no consensus among music critics as to the specific criteria for what a "concept album" is.[3][6]

The format originates with folk singer Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl Ballads (1940) and was subsequently popularized by traditional pop singer Frank Sinatra's 1940s–50s string of albums, although the term is more often associated with rock music.[7] In the 1960s several well-regarded concept albums were released by various rock bands, which eventually led to the invention of progressive rock and rock opera.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference barker2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cullen 2001, p. 98.
  3. ^ a b Elicker 2001, pp. 227–229.
  4. ^ Shuker 2012, p. 5.
  5. ^ Jones 2008, p. 49.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference independent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Luhrssen, David; Larson, Michael (24 February 2017). Encyclopedia of Classic Rock. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3514-8.