"At their best, singles are the distillation of all of the musical virtues an artist can muster, packed into two or three minutes. Albums are an extension of that: a collection of songs the artist wants the world to hear. By that measure, I see concept albums as the next logical extension: swinging for the fences with an idea too big for one song. I wanted to initiate a book-length exploration of concept albums as a way to open a window into the creative process."
"Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds was a smash success nearly everywhere except the U.S., and a popular stage show still runs in London. Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Gold Record. Ghostface Killah's 12 Reasons to Die was widely reviewed and made it to #27 on the mainstream Billboard 200."
Songwriters often condense musical virtues into singles of two or three minutes. Albums serve as extended collections of songs intended for listeners. Concept albums represent a further extension, pursuing a unifying idea too large for a single track and providing insight into creative processes. Wikipedia lists nearly 1,000 concept albums, with additional examples existing beyond that count. Concept albums have appeared consistently over more than fifty years and across most genres. Some concept albums achieved major commercial success and critical attention, such as Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, and Ghostface Killah's 12 Reasons to Die.
Read at Metro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley's Leading Weekly
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