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.
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.
So true. The real question is whether the Styx album with "Mr. Roboto" counts as rock opera.
I'm not sure if it's even music.
t /reflexive Styx mockery
Now that I got that out of my system, I have to confess my high school ownership of
Grand Illusion.
Still,
Freaks and Geeks
managed to redeem "Come Sail Away."
Now that I got that out of my system, I have to confess my high school ownership of Grand Illusion.
My older brother had that. I recorded it onto 8-track so I could play it while driving. But I liked the Paradise album more (too lazy to see if that's the correct title).
