Biggest Concept Albums

Ah A Passion Play, my favorite Tull Album

Devin Townsend's Ziltoid the Omniscient

Queensrÿche : "Operation: Mindcrime

I am not sure how to say much about all this. There are things that are (supposedly) BIG, and the contents is like a pulp fiction writer putting together small vignettes. You get the feeling the concept is ... wait a minute ... where? Then you get some things that are intentionally "underwritten" with no obvious idea as a concept and they stand out really well, but unlike many others, they don't go ... look at me, I'm a conceptual star! 

The ones that, at times, confuse me, is where it is all lyrics, and well, novels are like that ... just words, and you create your own mind movie and music ... but while some of them are far out, and very well done, when it gets to the end, you go ... did I read all 1000 pages of that thing? Or did I hear all of that before you decide you like it.

I always thought that things like The Gong Trilogy, was more of a very long story, well thought out for the most part, but difficult to put together as a good conceptual piece ... it still works nicely, but while all three albums were pushed as a part of the whole thing, I'm not sure that you and I can sit down and conceptually devise all the twists and turns of the whole thing, and its many changes, and then, we add the elephant to the discussion ... when it was stated that one album was all totally ripped and stoned ... and it is, conceivably, their very best!

MAGMA, fits somewhere else ... they have, at least, been consistent from the start, and have not really wavered that much from their novel ... it just has no ending, it seems like ... and for many of us, it just keeps getting better. I suppose that some of us think that the different language creates a sort of mythology to our mind and ideas, and some notes here and there suggest this and that is happening ... but you and I are still going ... really? It's still magnificent to listen to, but is that what a concept is supposed to be about?

I much prefer the "non-concept concepts" of some works ... I remember an album from NEKTAR called "Sounds Like This" ... and it was far out ... and then you went to see the band ... there it is ... no lie here, no concept, no ideas ... just the music and the band, and in my funny peanuts like world, that is a fabulous concept ... right up front, true, and visible ... but we would rather consider at least one other album of theirs as more important conceptually because of the lyrics. Although another album, was a bit of an assault, but it seems to have fallen off on the last song, that really, doesn't fit the whole thing, unless the idea is to actually say that we don't want to do this again, or at least one member doesn't, or can't ... anymore.

One of these days, I''ll cut up the idea of "concept" and try to figure out what it might be. I have been told by many that some of the things I write are quite conceptual, but I'm a total intuitive writer, and I don't even know what a concept really is, in my work ... I just keep up with my inner movie ... and am not really interested if someone thinks its this or that ... but it's funny to hear some folks try to break out ideas of a concept ... it tickles me silly and then some!