Why Do A Concept Album?

Hello everyone, and welcome to another fun-filled article in which we explore some interesting music philosophy, while giving you some insight into why and how we created Moira's Lake.

In this essay, we focus on the idea of the concept album.

THE POWER OF STORY

People like stories.

Some of the most powerful messages to ever reach our culture have been delivered through a story. Whether it is philosophy in the stories of Ayn Rand, political commentary in the stories of George Orwell, spiritual stories in The Bible, Koran and other religious books, or morals in the fables of Aesop.

Regardless of your opinion of those books, their impact was far reaching.

Were someone to walk up to you and simply tell you their views on philosophy, spirituality, politics and morality, you might not be compelled to listen.

However, wrap that information into a fictional tale, with plenty of emotion, and suddenly people love it. They are captivated by great characters, and dramatic stories.

It is this very concept that brought me to embrace the idea of telling stories through music.

A collection of great songs on an album is fine, but connect them with an engrossing narrative, both from a story perspective, and a music one, and you've given people a chance to experience something many times more impactful than just a series of random songs.

All because of the power of story.

FEEL THE BURN

As nice as that sounds, most people do not view things this way. In fact, the concept album has a bit of a negative social stigma.

I can recall my own impression of concept albums in my younger years, and remember wincing and raising an eyebrow when a friend would recommend an album to me, saying that it was "a concept album".

"Hmmm... I don't know..." I thought as I tentatively took the CD from him. There was no way this album was going to be any good.

Wait.

Had I heard it yet?

No.

Face it, "concept album" is not really something you tell people about a record if you want them to give it the benefit of the doubt.

For years, decades even, the concept album has been put on par with the "Rock Opera". There are a rare few who like it, but for the most part it's seen as unfashionable, unpopular, unhip, and most often really corny.

HOW CONCEPT ALBUMS FAIL

With a few exceptions, most concept albums turn out to be pompous, over-inflated, poorly written plays, all lovingly committed to audio CD by over-achieving rock musicians.

Why would I say that?

The reason most concept albums fail, or at least end up in the "cheese" category is built into the core level of it:

They are created by rock musicians.

Not novel writers, screen writers, playwrites, or someone who understands the art of crafting story and characters.

Nope. Rock musicians.

So what's wrong with that?

Musicians, in general, know music (barely), and that's it.

And in general, they only know, fairly well, their own chosen style of music.

So when it comes to suddenly writing a piece of music that is based on a full story (which they have no experience writing) and fleshed-out characters (which they have no experience developing) and setting all that to music (in a way which they are not used to writing) the results are often more humorous, or sympathetic than intended.

Just because you can write bad poetry, does not mean you can write a good novel.

THE DANGERS IN DOING A CONCEPT ALBUM

Even when you have a story-based album that does not fall into the "cheese" category, there are other dangers to be aware of.

There are a few albums in particular I've heard, and even own, that upset the balance of story and music.

What does that mean, you ask?

Well, one danger is when an album goes way too far in favor of the story and concept. So far, in fact, that the music actually suffers and takes a back seat.

Sometimes they'll cram it full of needless dialogue and atmospheric transition that take way too long and put the listener out of the music. Or they'll write songs that are less catchy or flowing.

Yes, it's supposed to be an album based around a story or concept, but it's still an album, and it has to be a great listen, story or not.

On the opposite side, I've heard concept albums that just sound like normal albums from that band. A collection of unrelated songs (musically) that don't seem to tell any specific mood, story, or emotion, unless you read some of the lyrics.

In this type of album, the story feels like an afterthought, thrown over the songs at the last minute and retrofitted to apply to the music they wrote beforehand.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DO A CONCEPT ALBUM

As you've seen from the many reasons above, there are many pitfalls, challenges and worries to be concerned about if attempting to write a concept album, and many times, the overall execution of it is seen as cheesey, sub-par, aimless, or just plain silly.

Just to hammer it home, here are a few more practical reasons NOT to do one.

1) DIFFICULTY

Making a concept album is hard! All the thinking and planning that goes into making one is daunting enough to turn most musicians off before even starting.

2) APPEAL

As we already discussed, people have a preconceived notion about concept albums. Why give them something they already think they don't want?

3) DEMAND

Many in the new generation don't even listen to full albums much anymore. They want the individual singles only. A concept album goes against this trend.

4) ACCESSIBILITY

Many concept albums are complex musically, and are not very accessible on a first pass listen. Sadly, most people will never give anything more than one chance.

5) SUCCESS

With very few exceptions (like The Wall, or American Idiot), concept albums are not the kinds of records that furiously climb up the charts. Want success? Yeah, don't make a concept album.

6) ALIENATION

If you already have an established fan base, by creating an 'artsy-fartsy' concept record you will, guaranteed, alienate some of your previous fans. It's a given. No one wants that right?

SO, WHY DO A CONCEPT ALBUM?

Boy, that was kind of depressing.

I thought this was supposed to be about why it was a positive thing that we did a concept album?

Well, let me say this:

Being fully aware of what I discussed in this essay beforehand, we still made Moira's Lake.

Why?

• I believe in the power of a good story to connect listeners to the music.
• I love art, music and movies that can take me away to another place for a moment in time.
• Strong emotional music has the power to positively affect people lives.
• My goal is not to achieve financial success from this album, only to touch a select few people.
• Music is over-saturated on every TV show, movie, commercial and website. In order to stand out, you need to really give people an experience.
• Most experiences are short and fleeting. To really make a long-term impression, you need a deep, multi-layered immersive story that takes plenty of time to fully absorb and discover.
• No one else was telling the story or writing the music I wanted to hear, so I had no other choice.

TASTE YOUR OWN MEDICINE

You may be thinking, "You talked about how people fail at making a good concept album, and the dangers they often face in making one..."

(To which I nod).

"So, what about YOUR concept album, huh? Why is that any different?"

Good question.

Perhaps it's not any different.

I will be the first to acknowledge that maybe Moira's Lake falls into all of the negative examples I listed above.

It may not be perfect, it may suffer the same faults as other albums, it may never be appreciated, it may fail spectacularly.

In the end, I created Moira's Lake because it's what I want.

It moves me, it makes me feel, and it felt wonderful to do.

From the messages I get, I know that it's already been emotionally affecting people, and positively impacting a few lives.

Therefore to me, it is a success.

So maybe it is different.

Or maybe it's not.

However, that's up to you.


EDIT (12/15/09): For a more humorous, satirical look at concept albums, and progressive bands, read this article. 



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