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 can hurt a demon!! That's right. I'm back. And I'm a BLOODY ANIMAL!
Spike ,'Showtime'
Buffista Music II: Wrath of Chaka Khan
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.
DXMachina - Oct 06, 2004 9:52:27 am PDT #5250 of 10003
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
Betsy HP - Oct 06, 2004 10:15:53 am PDT #5251 of 10003
If I only had a brain...
I'm glad they list Meat Loaf on the also-rans; maybe "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a rock operetta?
Frankenbuddha - Oct 06, 2004 10:40:15 am PDT #5252 of 10003
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
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.
Hayden - Oct 06, 2004 11:07:03 am PDT #5253 of 10003
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
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.
DXMachina - Oct 06, 2004 11:10:45 am PDT #5254 of 10003
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
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.
Polter-Cow - Oct 06, 2004 11:15:19 am PDT #5255 of 10003
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
What about the new Green Day? I hear it's a punk rock opera.
Frankenbuddha - Oct 06, 2004 11:26:00 am PDT #5256 of 10003
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
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?
Hayden - Oct 06, 2004 11:48:47 am PDT #5257 of 10003
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
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.
Jon B. - Oct 06, 2004 12:16:34 pm PDT #5258 of 10003
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
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.
Hayden - Oct 06, 2004 12:36:37 pm PDT #5259 of 10003
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
But it was just an album well before it was a movie.
So true. The real question is whether the Styx album with "Mr. Roboto" counts as rock opera.