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In Popular Music , a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical" (Shuker 2002, p.5). Most often they are pre-planned (conceived) and with all songs contributing to A Single Overall Theme Or Unified Story , this plan or story being the concept. This is in contrast to the standard practice of an artist or group releasing an album consisting of a number of unconnected songs that the members of the group or the artist have written, or have been chosen to perform or cover. Given that the suggestion of something as vague as an overall mood often tags a work as being a concept album, a precise definition of the term proves problematic. PROBLEMS WITH DEFINING A CONCEPT ALBUM In the contemporary rock era (from 1966 onwards - the point at which critics started to differentiate between "pop music" and "rock music" as a more serious form), there were, broadly speaking, two types of concept album: those that were essentially thematically-linked song cycles such as Pink Floyd 's '' The Dark Side Of The Moon '' which did not claim a storyline, and those that presented a narrative story that threaded the songs - such as Pink Floyd 's '' The Wall '' or The Who 's '' Tommy '' and '' Quadrophenia ''. Music critics of that era did not usually distinguish between the two types of concept album. An album that met either criterion was commonly referred to as a concept album. However, the distinction between the two types of concept album is important to note in respect to claims that are made as to which album may have been the first concept album in the rock era. Given this legitimate distinction, there are probably several contenders in each genre. Another difficulty in classifying whether a given album qualifies as a concept album arises from the fact that both musicians and their listeners, through the rock era, increasingly viewed the record album as a unified art form, not simply a collection of songs. Songs on many albums may have a certain sense of cohesion even if there is no unifying lyrical theme or narrative structure. That sense of cohesion may be imposed simply by the particular lyrical or musical concerns of a composer or group of composers at the time a record was recorded. Thus, many albums that cannot genuinely be labeled concept albums in a strict sense get so designated by their fans. The album '' OK Computer '' by Radiohead , is an examples of this tendency. In each of these cases, there was no intention by the performers to produce an actual concept album. Some albums without any single theme or narrative structure may nonetheless have a deliberate structure in which the order in which the songs are heard expresses a particular artistic intention. Such an album, or other collection of songs, may be best viewed as a Song Cycle , a broader notion, with roots in classical music, that may encompass many concept albums. EARLY EXAMPLES What could very loosely be considered the first concept albums were released in the late 1930s by singer Lee Wiley on the Liberty Records label, featuring eight songs on four 78s by Showtune composers of the day, such as Harold Arlen and Cole Porter , anticipating more comprehensive efforts by Verve Records impresario Norman Granz with Ella Fitzgerald by almost two decades. In the late '40s, Kansas City pianist Pete Johnson recorded the album ''Pete's House Warmin' '', in which he starts out playing alone, supposedly in new empty house, and is joined there by J. C. Higgenbotham , J.C. Heard , and other Kansas City players. Each has a solo backed by Pete and then the whole group plays a jam session together. In Folk Music , Woody Guthrie 's 1940 debut album '' Dust Bowl Ballads '' is also an early possibility. Frank Sinatra ,released many thematically programmed albums of the 1950s for Capitol Records starting with the ten-inch 33s '' Songs For Young Lovers '' and '' Swing Easy '',Perhaps the first full Sinatra concept album example is '' In The Wee Small Hours '' from 1955, where the songs – all ballads – were specifically recorded for the album, and organized around a central mood of late-night isolation and aching lost love, and the album cover strikingly reinforced that theme. However, notion of a concept album did not really gel at that point, and was not widely imitated, aside from occasional examples such as country singer Marty Robbins ' '' Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs '' from 1959, or Ray Charles 's ''The Genius Hits The Road'' (1960), where each song references one of the United States ("Georgia On My Mind", "Mississippi Mud", et cetera). Also released that year, Johnny Cash 's Ride This Train chronicled tales of Americana, woven together by Narrative by Cash himself and train sounds. Each track begins with "Ride this train to" and tells the story of that city. 1960S ROCK Perhaps the first examples from rock were the albums of The Ventures . Starting from 1961's ''Colorful Ventures'' (each song had a color in the title), the group was known for issuing records throughout the 1960s whose tracks revolved around central themes, including surf music, country, outer space, TV themes, and psychedelic music. Another notable example is '' Little Deuce Coupe '' (1963) by The Beach Boys , where each of the album's twelve songs was about America's car culture. In 1966, several rock releases were arguably concept albums in the sense that they presented a set of thematically-linked songs - and they also instigated other rock artists to consider using the album format in a similar fashion: '' Pet Sounds '', again by the Beach Boys, a masterful musical portrayal of Brian Wilson 's would-be state of mind (and a huge inspiration to Paul McCartney ); the Mothers Of Invention 's sardonic farce about rock music and America as a whole, '' Freak Out! ''; and '' Face To Face '' by The Kinks , the first collection of Ray Davies 's idiosyncratic character studies of ordinary people. However, none of these attracted a wide commercial audience. This all changed with The Beatles ' celebrated album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' in June of 1967. With the release of 'Sergeant Pepper', the notion of the concept album came to the forefront of the popular and critical mind, with the earlier prototypes and examples from Classic Pop and other genres sometimes forgotten. The phrase entered the popular lexicon. And a "concept album" - the term became imbued with the notion of artistic purpose - was inherently considered to be more creative or worthy of attention than a mere collection of new songs. This perception of course related to the intent of the artist rather than the specific content. In fact, as pointed out by many critics since its original reception, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is a concept album only by some definitions of the term. There was, at some stage during the making of the album an attempt to relate the material to an obscure radio play about the life of an ex-army bandsman and his shortcomings but this concept was lost in the final production. While debate exists over the extent to which ''Sgt. Pepper'' qualifies as a true concept album, there is no doubt that its reputation as such helped inspire other artists to produce concept albums of their own, and inspired the public to anticipate them. Lennon and McCartney distanced themselves from the "concept album" tag as applied to that album. The Who 's '' ...Sell Out '', followed and took its concept as a Pirate Radio broadcast. Within the record, the band attempted to play each song in a different musical style, as if being performed by different bands. The album '' S.F. Sorrow '' (released in December 1968) by British group The Pretty Things is generally considered to be among the first creatively successful rock concept albums - in that each song is part of an overarching unified concept -- the life story of the main character, Sebastian Sorrow, the fact that the album format had now been effectively used to present a threaded storyline was noted by other artists such as Ray Davies of The Kinks - who was already working on his own project in this genre, '' The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society ''. Released in April 1969, was the " Rock Opera " '' Tommy '' composed by Pete Townshend and performed by The Who . This acclaimed work was presented over two discs (still unusual in those days) and it took the idea of thematically based albums to a much higher appreciation by both critics and the public. It was also the first ''story-based'' concept album of the rock era (as distinct from the ''song-cycle'' style album) to enjoy commercial success. The Who went on to further explorations of the concept album format with their follow-up project '' Lifehouse '' - which was abandoned before completion and with their 1973 rock opera, '' Quadrophenia ''. Five months after the release of ''Tommy'', '' (1970), '' Preservation Act 1 '' (1973), '' Preservation Act 2 '' (1974), '' Soap Opera '' (1975) and '' Schoolboys In Disgrace '' (1976). 1970S PROGRESSIVE ROCK Concept albums are considered ''de rigueur'' in the Progressive Rock genre of the 1970s, hence the name of the genre itself. Few "prog" bands reaped a lasting commercial or critical legacy from their albums' thematic storylines, mainly because they involved fantasy elements. This was the case, for example, with the German band Triumvirat which released an album called ''Spartacus'' based on the story of the Roman gladiator. Although the album is considered by some to be a classic example of a prog rock concept album, the band enjoyed only limited success. Most notably, Pink Floyd recast itself from its 1960s guise as a quirky psychedelic band into a commercial mega-success with its classic series of concept albums, beginning with '' The Dark Side Of The Moon '' from 1973, followed by '' Wish You Were Here '', '' Animals '', '' The Wall '' and '' The Final Cut '', with Roger Waters behind the themes and storylines. Yes also put out various concept albums during the 70's, most notably Tales From Topographic Oceans , which would become a defining album of prog rock but whose critical backlash would lead to the genre's decline and the rise of punk rock. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull wrote a number of concept albums, notably " Thick As A Brick " which had lyrics about how society can influence people with ideologies, and which included material intended to spoof the concept album genre. ''Thick as a Brick'' also broke new ground as a rock concept album for being recorded as a single track. CONCEPT ALBUMS IN THE 1980S AND BEYOND Though the progressive rock genre was beginning to disappear, concept albums had become a medium that continued. The progressive bands that were still around were still having major successes with concept albums. Styx had multiplatinum albums with 1981's, '' Paradise Theater '' (a concept album about a decaying theater in Chicago which became a metaphor for childhood and American culture) and 1983's '' Kilroy Was Here '' (a science fiction rock opera about a future where moralists imprison rockers). Pink Floyd had what was to become one of their most popular albums, '' The Wall '', which also became a movie. This was followed up by their '' The Final Cut '' album, based on the military experiences of Roger Waters' father. 80's metal bands released albums like ''; which tells a story of a heroin-addict joining a cult, seeking help, and finding those close to him dead by his own hands, and Iron Maiden 's '' Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son ''; which follows the folklore and myths of a seventh son of a seventh son having mystical powers, such as being clairvoyant, enjoyed major successes in the 80s. The eighties also brought back an earlier form of the concept genre - albums with unifying themes, not necessarily coherent stories. Bands like Journey would have an album like " Escape " in which all of the songs had to do with rebellion and escaping from one's present situation. Punk and New Wave also got in on the act. Black Flag had cult success with the '' Damaged '' album, about a psychological breakdown. The Dead Kennedys had one of their best known albums with '' Plastic Surgery Disasters '', a concept album about modern society's shallowness. Hüsker Dü 's '' Zen Arcade '' follows a boy who leaves home to face a harsh and unforgiving world. More modern examples include, "Lateralus" by Tool and "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them" by Murder By Death MUSICALS IN CONCEPT Many musicals make their first appearance as a concept album, because of the lowered cost of recording an album over mounting an entire stage production. Notable examples of this are the musical version of '' Les Misérables '' (originally a French concept album), '' Evita '', '' Jesus Christ Superstar '' ( Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber ) and '' Chess '' (Rice and Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson ). Albums recorded in this form are used to prove profitability - both to attract investors and to raise capital through album sales. SIMILAR PLANS A subset is the Historical Album , which is more closely tied with specific historically-accurate references to persons or places. The concept album genre overlaps with Rock Opera , of which the most famous early example is The Who's aforementioned ''Tommy''. The genre also overlaps to a lesser extent with Rock Musical , of which a famous early example is '' Hair '' (1967). SEE ALSO
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