Epic musical attempts to engage with American history have often been problematic. Meat Loaf's 'Ben Franklin Makes Love in a Foggy Grove of Trees' failed in live performance, with subtle actions that did not resonate in large venues. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Johnny Tremain' was criticized for its heavy lyrics, which were too intellectual for the audience of the 1970s. Additionally, concept albums like those by Gary Puckett and Tom Waits were scattershot attempts at capturing America's historical essence, not achieving a complete encapsulation until '2776: A Musical Journey Through America's Past, Present & Future.'
The history of epic musical attempts to meaningfully engage with the vast sweep of American history is, to say the least, problematic.
Meat Loaf's 'Ben Franklin Makes Love in a Foggy Grove of Trees,' though energetic enough on vinyl, failed to translate to live performance.
The Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber production of 'Johnny Tremain' was likewise moribund, its heavy lyrics deemed too intellectual for a complacent mid-nineteen-seventies American audience.
Concept albums like Gary Puckett & the Union Gap's 'Long Tan Coat of Albuquerque Disconsolate Rain' attempted to engage with American history but were scattershot and partial.
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