Mal ,'Shindig'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
Maybe you (and the other hangers-out here) could help me with good rock operas from the 60s and 70s.
The term makes me twitch almost as much as "compassionate conservative," and I don't know if these fit your criteria... but I'll throw "Street Hassle" (song, not album) and Funkentelechy versus the Placebo Syndrome into the ring. Could probably throw a few more George Clinton works in, but I'll go with that one.
Maybe you (and the other hangers-out here) could help me with good rock operas from the 60s and 70s.
IIRC, the original Jesus Christ Superstar album was promoted as a rock opera.
Heh, and according to Hec's link, I do remember correctly.
I'm glad they list Meat Loaf on the also-rans; maybe "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a rock operetta?
I'm having a hard time thinking of more examples of good rock operas.
I'm not familiar with them, but didn't Ray Davies and The Kinks do a ton of those in the early seventies? Or were they too "music hall" to be considered "rock opera"?
Glad to see the Crims fall on the side of good, even though I'd consider "In The Court" more of a song cycle than an opera. I actually think "Red" is almost more of a whole. That is if we're talking album and not song.
Thanks, y'all! That's some great material to work with.
Anybody got a better idea for a term to describe "indie rock opera"s? It's not all prog and art-rock doesn't really capture it. I'd use "teenage symphony to God" (TSG) but that seems fairly specific to Brian Wilson.
Just for the record, I love the Beach Boys singles, but Pet Sounds and Smile float my boat in a more complex way. I don't think Sgt. Pepper's is comparable to either Pet Sounds or Smile. Brian Wilson's musical genius (pre-breakdown, that is) is making each song and album only as lushly ornate as it needs to be, whereas the late period Beatles were gilding some fairly half-baked songs and ideas.
I'm not familiar with them, but didn't Ray Davies and The Kinks do a ton of those in the early seventies? Or were they too "music hall" to be considered "rock opera"?
Yeah, they were in David's link, too, but I prefer to think of them as "concept albums." Plus, as a group, they're probably the worst albums the Kinks ever did.
What about the new Green Day? I hear it's a punk rock opera.
Ah - Frank's Wild Years by Tom Waits. Actually, so are Black Rider, Alice, and Blood Money.
Although does it count if it's from an actual stage show?
Although does it count if it's from an actual stage show?
I would think so. Hell, Tommy was a movie. A bad one.
What about the new Green Day? I hear it's a punk rock opera.
The guy who writes Clap Clap Blog had some thoughts on that the other day.
Although does it count if it's from an actual stage show?
I would think so. Hell, Tommy was a movie. A bad one.
But it was just an album well before it was a movie.