Jingle.Boy's Top 50 Concept Albums - The Top 2 to wrap things up

[lonestar]

And it all started when some dipshit showed up at your place of work in 2010 

You will always be my first. 

(granted when you visited was right before I got sober)

[senecadawg2]

That's a beautiful story, RJ. And what a beautiful album too. It's certainly one of my favorites if not my favorite among the lesser-known DTF darlings.

[Dr. DTVT]

And it all started when some dipshit showed up at your place of work in 2010 

You will always be my first. 

(granted when you visited was right before I got sober)

Exactly.  You said, “I don’t want to end up like this loser dipshit.”  And thus the road to recovery began.

[DragonAttack]

I'm glad I checked in on this write up.  I'm looking forward to hearing the last half hour of this LP tomorrow.

Now I get to read more of Morawintersoul's writings.

Lonestar:       (and keep metal head banging from the front row  )

[Stadler]

Beautiful, RJ.   Both the review and the story.  Thank you. Sincerely.


(But it sucks to be Chad; top THAT with seven through one.  There better not be any Russell Allen in there!)

[TAC]

Or anymore Damian Wilson, who renders the BTB unlistenable.

[Evermind]

Or anymore Damian Wilson, who renders the BTB unlistenable.

Damian Wilson is not on this album unless I've missed something

[jingle.boy]

Or anymore Damian Wilson, who renders the BTB unlistenable.

Damian Wilson is not on this album unless I've missed something

That's how much Tim hates Wilson ... he detests the music that he only THINKS Wilson sings on!

Tim... you know the male voice is Herbie Langhans?  He who also fronts Lightbringer of Sweden.

[TAC]

Oh why did I think Damian Wilson sang in this?


EDIT: I had this confused with the Headspace album.

[lonestar]

Beautiful, RJ.   Both the review and the story.  Thank you. Sincerely.


(But it sucks to be Chad; top THAT with seven through one.  There better not be any Russell Allen in there!)

Thanks man 

[Zydar]

I've been aware of this album for a couple of years, but never took the time to give it a listen. I will give it a spin in the near future.

[Dr. DTVT]

I'm gonna rewind a bit here...

Chad you MF'er.  You put that Jorn Dracula album on here and I can't find it on iTunes, Bandcamp, or Amazon other than an overpriced physical CD and I stopped buying physical media a few years ago (except for special stuff).

[jingle.boy]

I'm gonna rewind a bit here...

Chad you MF'er.  You put that Jorn Dracula album on here and I can't find it on iTunes, Bandcamp, or Amazon other than an overpriced physical CD and I stopped buying physical media a few years ago (except for special stuff).

Wow... didn't realize they'd pulled it from Spotify.  Best I can do - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgvwI1OlO8p51rEtLZwtuQjjNmWvvGcqN

[Lonk]

Never heard of Beyond the Bridge. Interesting album, I'll need to listen to it a few more times but liked it on first listen.

[Dr. DTVT]

I don’t touch Spotify except for podcasts.

[jingle.boy]

7. Daydream XI / Circus of the Tattered and Torn [2017]



Thanks go to Glenn Harveston's Top 50 on this one as well (just like M.I.GOD) - although Tim should get a shout out, since he pimped them on me at one point (probably from their debut album), but they just didn't click for some reason.  And it wasn't until a year or so after discovering this album that I realized they also played on ProgNation at Sea - sadly, I never went to watch them. :-(.  This topped my AOTY list for 2017. The album goes on a metaphorical journey, where Phillip, the Circus master, takes his new apprentice, Circe, across the various acts of this Circus. Each song represents a feeling or aspect of human life, channeled by the storyline of each character. The band has composed a piece that unearths nuances and emotions and a blend of blazing progressive metal with touches of hard rock, symphonic prog, and even power metal.  Simultaneously, they provide an accessibility factor of intense and emotionally personal songs with enough hooks for all fans of these genres to enjoy.

A fluid, powerful, persuasive, and hugely entertaining work of melodic progressive-power-metal, with complex sections seamlessly giving way to gorgeous, pastoral segments, passionate vocals and musicianship out of the very top drawer, musical themes that get reprised again and again.  Metal-af riffs to die for, wild guitar exchanges and intricate rhythms, blazing guitar, bass, and keyboard lines dazzle around the arrangements with vocalist Tiago Masseti (who is also the mastermind behind the band and brilliant guitarist as well) soaring to the heavens, “The Circus of The Tattered and Torn” is an exciting and magnificent offering from a young band with multitudes of talent and truckloads of potential. Bold and ambitious enough that can easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the greats of the progressive metal scene. 

Now, where's that third album??

Fave Song - Circus of the Tattered and Torn

[wolfking]

I think....Tim sent me a song from these guys in a roulette......was pretty good, but never followed up.

[jingle.boy]

I think....Tim sent me a song from these guys in a roulette......was pretty good, but never followed up.

Their first album is a fucking ripper too.  I know he favours that one over this, so he may have sent something from the debut.

[TAC]

Seems every time I send them they don’t do well but when Chad sends them they score pretty high.

[jingle.boy]

Seems every time I send them they don’t do well but when Chad sends them they score pretty high.

Shopping cart karma, bitch!   

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Seems every time I send them they don’t do well but when Chad sends them they score pretty high.

Lethean sent them in my first round and they scored in the top half.  I listened to another song or two after, but haven't gotten around to an album yet. 

[wolfking]

Seems every time I send them they don’t do well but when Chad sends them they score pretty high.

I'm sure you sent me something from The Grand Disguise.  It did quite well from memory.

[Dr. DTVT]

Once you got to the top 10, I figured that it would be just classics and I could just nod and agree.  But NO, you had to put this out, and this month is already busting my wallet with new releases.  Jerk

[jingle.boy]

Once you got to the top 10, I figured that it would be just classics and I could just nod and agree.  But NO, you had to put this out, and this month is already busting my wallet with new releases.  Jerk

Yeah, I just spent the day at the jerk store.  Sorry.

[Dr. DTVT]

All that was left is you.

[jingle.boy]

Ok, back to the classics so Doc's wallet takes a break.

6. Pink Floyd / The Wall [1977]



What really can/needs to be said about this album?  I can't imagine anyone following here has not heard this album.  I said that Thick As A Brick is the Grandfather of all concept albums, and if that's the case, then this one is The Godfather.  Without a doubt, the greatest Concept Album/Rock Opera of all time*.  I defy anyone to point out a band that has also written a Concept Album since 1979, and doesn’t cite The Wall as an influence.  You probably can’t. But if you can, then I'd wager next week's pay that whatever influenced them can tie back to the wall by 1 degree of separation.  This caps off that 5 album run from Floyd that is arguably the greatest 5-album run in rock/metal history, and really was the climax of the bands career (The Final Cut was a definite drop off, and Water-less Floyd – while fantastic – was still Waters-less).  The Wall is noticeably harsher and ‘angrier’ than any other Floyd release preceding or following.  Inspired by Waters’ and Gilmour’s feelings of alienation while touring in 1977, and culminating by spitting on a fan in Montreal, Waters wrote the story of protagonist's (Pink) self-imposed isolation after years of traumatic interactions with authority figures and the loss of his father as a young child, all symbolized through a metaphorical wall.   The album brings together so many themes (musical and lyrical), so much emotion, so much reality that it sucks you into the world that Waters writes, and you can feel the panic, anxiety, loathing (self and for others), distress and terror that consumes Pink.  Choirs, helicopters, orchestra’s, telephone operators, screeching tires, TV shows, movie samples all contribute to the reality of the experience – and that’s what listening to the Wall is … an experience.  Classic Albums Live has done re-creations of The Wall, and it takes a dozen musicians (+ the child choir) to recreate this one.  Add to that what is arguably the best guitar solo EVER, and this is an album has every trait that justifies it's place as the OG of Rock concept albums.

For those of us that saw it live, it was an event to behold.

Fav Songs … I simply can’t call out individual songs - and it's not like anyone needs to sample a tune to check the album out.  Fav Moments – Mother guitar solo, intro of Goodbye Blue Sky (“Did did did did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath the clear blue sky?”... in a single breath - gives me goosebumps just thinking about it), end of Happiest Days of Our Lives, the Judge in The Trial.

*so why is it only #6 you might ask.  Well, greatest =/= favorite.  And I've got five more that I'd sooner reach for above this.

[lonestar]

The first time I ever realized that an album could be more than just a collection of songs. The Wall changed how I listen to music. A masterclass in storytelling for sure.

[jingle.boy]

Oh, jfc.  I knew this was going to happen.  I was keeping the list in a separate file from my actual writeups, and I accidentally skipped over one of the writeups a while back.  And it won't make Stadler happy .  I was thinking this morning ... "wait, I know that The Wall is a Top 5 Concept Album of all-time for me".  Oh well, bonus one tomorrow (ironically, #13) to get back in sync for the Top 4.

 

[Lonk]

I wasn't big on Floyd until my college years. I knew some songs here there, but nothing really attracted me enough to listen to them. Then I saw my professor was running a "Pink Floyd" class, and I thought "easy A, why not?". All we did in the class was listen to their music in order, one album a week, and write about it. Best class I ever took and I became a huge Floyd fan because of it.

The Wall is just an incredible album

[TAC]

Just chiming in.

[wolfking]

Not a PF fan personally.

[Cool Chris]

The first time I ever realized that an album could be more than just a collection of songs. The Wall changed how I listen to music.

+1 for me.

[Kwyjibo]

Definitely a masterpiece.

[DragonAttack]

To pass the time during the NCAA hoops over the weekend, I read the wiki article, and then this incredibly in depth website  (if you didn’t already know of it)  https://thewallanalysis.com/

I didn't know of their financial problems at the time, or that Richard Wright was the only one to profit from the following tour.  I knew that Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, KISS,...) had produced it, but not of his immense involvement. 

I was aware of Michael Kamen's involvement (Queensryche, Metallica, Queen, Brian May and the '02 Winter Olympics theme, etc)

I did not know that Fred Mandel (Queen ‘Hot Space’ tour in North American and Japan, ‘The Works’, Brian’s ‘Starfleet Project’, Freddie’s ‘Mr. Bad Guy, and then touring with Supertramp and Elton John) also performed on this.

Or, in addition, on some backing vocals, Toni Tennille.

Toni Tennille?  WTW?!?!

This made for a nice listen last night.  Memories of my junior year in college <gulp>

[Stadler]

To pass the time during the NCAA hoops over the weekend, I read the wiki article, and then this this incredibly in depth website  (if you didn’t already know of it)  https://thewallanalysis.com/

I didn't know of their financial problems at the time, or that Richard Wright was the only one to profit from the following tour.  I knew that Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, KISS,...) had produced it, but not of his immense involvement. 

I was aware of Michael Kamen's involvement (Queensryche, Metallica, Queen, Brian May and the '02 Winter Olympics theme, etc)

I did not know that Fred Mandel (Queen ‘Hot Space’ tour in North American and Japan, ‘The Works’, Brian’s ‘Starfleet Project’, Freddie’s ‘Mr. Bad Guy, and then touring with Supertramp and Elton John) also performed on this.

Or, in addition, on some backing vocals, Toni Tennille.

Toni Tennille?  WTW?!?!

This made for a nice listen last night.  Memories of my junior year in college <gulp>

Don't forget Jeff Porcaro on drums for "Mother" and Bruce Johnston from the Beach Boys on vocals (same tracks as Tennille, who played with the Beach Boys with her husband).  I think Jeff's dad is somewhere on there too, according to the Steve Lukather autobiography I'm reading.