Who has the best Concept album?

[MikeWaters]

Well for me it's The Wall because of its sheer genius. The songs(I Find) are much better than any songs on Tommy or Sgt. Peppers for example; Comfortably numb, ABITW(1,2,3), Young lust,Run like hell etc... and the concept is a whole lot better. It's a timeless album and it beats out all the rest. I know this poll might be leaning toward the wall(this is a PF site) but i wanted to see anyways.

[Piper]

I'm not sure, I suppose the Wall tho I think Tommy is just about as good, they're both great albums. I personally wouldn't rank Sgt. Pepper up there with Tommy and the Wall if we're purely concerned about the concept aspect of the album, since Sgt. Pepper (while it is a great album) does not have any particular continuing concept or story beyond the title song and its reprise.

Other concept albums I would rank among the best would be the PF albums from DSOTM to the Wall, some of the Who albums (I haven't yet but would love to hear Quadrophenia), um.. maybe Jethro Tull's Aqualung.. that's all that comes to mind now.

[Piper]

Hey I graduated from Embryo - oh I'm welling with pride.

[Greg]

what about Quadrophenia? thats one of the best concepts of all time, let alone one of the best albums of all time. It blows Tommy away.

[dogs_pigs_n_sheep]

what about Quadrophenia? thats one of the best concepts of all time, let alone one of the best albums of all time. It blows Tommy away.

I was 17 years old, and very full of drugs when I first saw Quaraphenia. I was so effected that I became a poser mod. I hated the f'ing rockers! Even though there weren't really rockers in Detroit Michigan. Or mods for that matter. Plus it was the mid 80s, and not the mid 70s. First time I tried uppers it was after I saw that movie. I thought I was English. Man, to be young. It was a lot of fun, but anyway, Quadraphenia has a warm spot in my heart.

[Pugs on the Wing]

The Wall for me too. I find the whole concept of Sgt. Pepper a bit vague. And although Tommy has some great songs, the concept is a bit convoluted and odd....a pinball wizard signifying a messiah figure symbolizing a rockstar and all (although kudos to Pete for not doing it in reverse, using a rockstar to symbolize a messiah figure). The Wall, on the otherhand, has a pretty universal and easy to identify with theme.

However, if Quadrophenia was in the mix, I'm sure it'd give TW a run for its money. Very universal theme, that. Not that "universal" theme necessarily means good, but both Q & TW have strong emotions and good music to back them up.

[Powderfinger]

The Wall, to me. I don't have any idea what Tommy is. The Wall goed so deep as a concept-album. Once, I've written a report about it, for school, it was five pages long. I don't think I could wrote something like that about Srg Pepper.

[MikeWaters]

If you want to have a bigger choice ive posted another poll on the concept albums

[mosespa]

First, I want everyone to understand that Pink Floyd is my all time favorite band and that The Wall is my all time favorite album.

HOWEVER...there are certain songs on Tommy (Christmas, in particular) whose chorus' seep into my brain and often end up bouncing around inside my skull for days after the last time I listened.

I guess the music of Pink Floyd is sooooooooo encoded into my DNA that I don't notice the songs bouncing around in my head, they're like my normal thought patterns, but there's something about Townshend's songwriting on Tommy that is pure GENIUS in my book.

I agree, the concept is a little convoluted, but if you see the movie (which STILL doesn't really get it right) it becomes a little clearer...although I should warn you, the film version of Tommy is the cinema version of disco.

Jack Nicholson should never have been allowed to sing.

But Elton John's version of Pinball Wizard kicks large amounts of butt.

[Neil]

Like Piper said - I really can't see Sgt Pepper as a concept album. I mean it's a bunch of awesome songs held together only by the title track and the reprise of the title track... I can't see any other sense of concept. Macca did it with Band on the Run and Venus and Mars - basically just reprising a few 'themes' and tunes throughout the album to make it gel. Like 'phrasing' in guitar speak

I like TFC and Amused to Death better as concept albums.. They're more interesting to me. Whereas The Wall and Tommy have specific story lines (like a novel really: with a start, middle and end) - TFC and ATD have a general 'theme'.. one about the horrors of war (and coping with those horrors years later), the other about society in general and the influence of TV on our lives.

I love the Wall and Tommy, but I prefer concept albums to be a bit more vague.. so that you can interpret them in different ways.

[MikeWaters]

I dont know i never really got into TFC as a concept album. I know that it is one but its way too much like the wall. And a lot of the songs are even gloomier, although still a good album i dont concider it one of the best concept albums.

[Pugs on the Wing]

I agree, the concept is a little convoluted, but if you see the movie (which STILL doesn't really get it right) it becomes a little clearer...although I should warn you, the film version of Tommy is the cinema version of disco.

Jack Nicholson should never have been allowed to sing.

But Elton John's version of Pinball Wizard kicks large amounts of butt.

Ken Russell, the director, is one of my all-time favorite directors, and I really love the album (Tommy), so by deduction, this should be one of all my all-time favorite, favorite movies. Well, I guess it is one of them, but clearly not as high as it should be. In fact, when I saw Tommy and Quadrophenia on a double feature ages ago, Quadrophenia was definitely my preference. I guess I've come to appreciate Tommy the movie more in recent years, though. If you've ever seen Russell's other works, you'll see he definitely has a penchant for the eccentric and glammy, almost an over-the-top decadence and creepiness.

But I loved Jack Nicholson's presence and performance. No, he's not a singer, but I guess that didn't bother me.

Elton John's performance, on the other hand, sort of nauseates me.

[Neil]

I dont know i never really got into TFC as a concept album. I know that it is one but its way too much like the wall. And a lot of the songs are even gloomier, although still a good album i dont concider it one of the best concept albums.

Yeah I suppose TFC is a continuation of The Wall.. almost like Roger made a point of mentioning the war in The Wall - then felt he didn't quite say it right (or enough). He probably felt the Wall dealt with lots of themes (alienation, paranoia, divorce, childhood etc..) and so then he wanted to concentrate on one specific area of it..

I guess all of the themes in The Wall Roger has developed and expanded on with his subsiquent albums.. war on TFC, sex on TPACOHH etc.

BTW - I've got no idea if I spelt subsiquent correctly

[JML]

Forgive me my answer. If I had to choose one of those three, I would choose Sgt. Pepper, it's the one I listen the most at the time. I have "explored" it much and I always find something new, I think it's more difficult than The Wall and Tommy.

Well maybe the real reason is that I have The Wall and Tommy but not Sgt. Pepper.

Ok... I'm quite a drunk at the time.

[David Smith]

Don't see how SGT Peppers is a concept album, i would have to say The Wall over Tommy though.

Ok, so Tommy is a better album IMO, but The Wall works better as a concept album because it's got a better narrative throughout. Something i can't really explain, but i don't think Tommy really had such a reliance upon concept, it was more about the music while The Wall did both which is why it's conceptually superior. With Tommy the concept seemed like an excuse to call it rock opera, with The Wall the concept created the music rather than the other way round.