concept albums
Unified musical works
A concept album is a music album unified by a central theme, narrative, or artistic idea rather than being a collection of unrelated songs.
The songs connect through recurring musical motifs, characters, or subject matter: The Who's "Tommy" is a concept album about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy.
The form emerged prominently in 1960s rock and remains associated with ambitious or pretentious artistic statements.
Progressive rock band
- The WhoBritish rock legends
- BeatlesIconic sixties rock quartet
- GenesisFirst biblical book
- David BowieStarman glam rocker
Jethro Tull · Radiohead · Green Day · My Chemical Romance · Kendrick Lamar · The Kinks · Nine Inch Nails · Styx
Determining element order
- seguesSmooth unbroken shifts
- crossfadesGradual audio overlaps
- soundscapesAmbient sonic environments
- artworkVisual creative production
gatefold · liner notes · orchestration · layering · mixing · mastering · sound effects · booklet
Sequence of fictional events
- protagonistStory's central figure
- arcCurved line segment
- themeCentral recurring concept
- motifRecurring thematic element
chapters · interludes · transitions · leitmotif · recurring themes · character development · allegory · song cycle
Upright structural boundary
- Dark Side of the MoonMoon's hidden face
- TommyBritish private, historically
- OK ComputerAcclaimed 1997 alternative rock album
- QuadropheniaWho concept album
Ziggy Stardust · American Idiot · Wish You Were Here · Arthur · The Downward Spiral
Pink Floyd
Progressive rock band
Jethro Tull · David Bowie · Radiohead · Green Day · My Chemical Romance · Kendrick Lamar · The Kinks · Nine Inch Nails · Styx · Mastodon
sequencing
Determining element order
- seguesSmooth unbroken shifts
- crossfadesGradual audio overlaps
- soundscapesAmbient sonic environments
artwork · gatefold · liner notes · orchestration · layering · mixing · mastering · sound effects · booklet · packaging
storyline
Sequence of fictional events
- protagonistStory's central figure
- arcCurved line segment
- themeCentral recurring concept
motif · chapters · interludes · transitions · leitmotif · recurring themes · character development · allegory · song cycle · overture
The Wall
Upright structural boundary
- Dark Side of the MoonMoon's hidden face
- TommyBritish private, historically
- OK ComputerAcclaimed 1997 alternative rock album
Ziggy Stardust · Quadrophenia · American Idiot · Wish You Were Here · Arthur · The Downward Spiral
- musical theateract, musical theater, scene, cast recordings, Evita
- 70s RockLed Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, The Who
- Prog RockKing Crimson, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Jethro Tull, prog rock
- Prog MetalTool, polyrhythms
- Visual Keihide, Versailles, elaborate costumes, teased hair, platform boots
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
album, concept, concerted, concepts, conceptual, conceptualize, conceptions, conceptualized, conceptualizes