Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="connie, post: 2341244, member: 7882"] I genuinely think Jordy is right about many things. And I almost always find his (her?) comments thought-provoking (including here). And in fact, having read through the comments and considered the matter, I hereby withdraw my vote for the Beatles as the King of R&R, and bequeath the title to Chuck (for many of the reasons stated). That said, I stand by pretty much all of my comments in this thread, including those addressing the issue of how we define R&R. Now then . . . as to the "concept album" . . . I am not at all comfortable with the proposition that concept album is limited to "an album about fictional characters singing songs about their fictional lives all of it tied together within the concept of a fictional band is the definition of a concept album." That just seems too narrow to me. (And even then, Pepper does not really comfortably fit the definition. Paul says that he initially conceived of the idea. But it really did not drive what followed. "I'm Fixing a Hole", "Within You Without You", "Good Morning Good Morning" don't seem to fit the definition. Moreover, a number of the songs were not really written with Paul's concept in mind.) As I've said, I think the [I]concept[/I] of the "concept album" entered the popular lexicon as a result of Pepper. But I think many prior albums quite arguably deserve to be considered as such--something reflecting a whole greater than the sum of its parts--a kind of ethos characterized by any number of features: a lyrical thematic focus (Sinatra's "Only The Lonely"); a lengthy narrative (the post-Pepper "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway"); an instrumental mood ("Sketches of Spain"); a confessional anthem ("Blue"; "Tapestry"); or something else ("Piper At The Gates of Dawn"-- which was recorded just down the hall from the Pepper sessions). And so on. So . . . I guess I would be willing to include much of early Dylan in the "concept album" club. Admittedly, at some point one could begin to argue that just about every album that is not merely an arbitrary collection of tracks is a concept album. So, I appreciate the struggle to set limits. As for Pet Sounds . . . I must confess that while I grew up loving the early Beach Boys, I did not come to know Pet Sounds until the late 80s. Just one of those gaps in my experience. Only so many minutes in a day. But when I discovered it, I fell in love with it. I am not crazy about every single track. And it admittedly opens itself up to the criticism of being over-produced. But there are some lovely tracks. "Caroline No" is absolutely haunting and heart-breaking. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach