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This is subjective... On my list if all-time greatest albums is a slot reserved for Tom Petty. It holds what I feel is his greatest album: Into the Great Wide

by KGIII 9y ago

This is subjective... On my list if all-time greatest albums is a slot reserved for Tom Petty. It holds what I feel is his greatest album: Into the Great Wide Blue It is one of the last good albums to be made as the dying art which was the whole album telling a story, or of a concept, in its entirety. Today, the goal is a couple of singles and some filler, and is a small market behind other delivery methods. The album talks about him, what he has been, and what he had hoped to be. He talked about ideas such as being a rebel without a clue to taking control of his life and not living up to the expectation of others. He spoke about having some fun and just being able to make some noise. It was a very riveting and passioned album, full of tracks just far ahead of average to be good - but telling a whole story that is great. Is there any one single phenomenal song? Not really... There are no bad songs, either. It's just above average, which is a feat to do across a whole body of work. It was typical Tom Petty and, I think, the best of his work and thus belonging in my list of favorites. He will be missed.

kakarot 9y ago
To be fair, the idea of the concept album only goes back a few decades. Before that, most albums were made to pad and sell singles. Nothing has changed today in that respect. There are plenty of modern artists that produce concept albums. It's all a matter of where you look. If you're looking at the Top 40, well yeah, that has always been single-driven music since the dawn of radio.
- KGIII 9y ago
  There are still a few out there, but it is not nearly as popular as it once was. Even Zofo sold a story. I recall them being more popular, leading to rocumentaries and rock operas, things like that. They do still exist, just not as frequent and not as popular, at least not from what I see. Unfortunately, they also didn't last very long. I'd say they went fairly strong for about 2.5 decades. Their peek sort of correlated with arena rock in the 70s and 80s. There is still some arena rock, but that seems to be tapering off.
Xoros 9y ago
If you like concept albums, you should listen to the last Marillion album F.E.A.R
TYPE_FASTER 9y ago
> It is one of the last good albums to be made as the dying art which was the whole album telling a story, or of a concept, in its entirety. I was just thinking about that the other day, listening to "Wish You Were Here." I miss that. Maybe it's still out there, and I just haven't found it recently.
- KGIII 9y ago
  I have heard some claims that they still exist and I can't argue they don't, only that they are rare and that I don't really enjoy the music from any of the examples I've been shown. I understand that it is one of the reasons people are enjoying some of the new material on vinyl. As before, the album art ties in with the story/concept. My struggle is finding some that I an appreciate. I love music from all sorts of genres and music that spans the ages. I have difficulties finding more modern examples to appreciate, unfortunately. There's a whole bunch of new music. The ability to create and distribute music has never been higher. Discoverability has been difficult, in my case. I struggle to find anything that I can really appreciate. Note: I am intentionally being careful to not say that the music is not good. I am not in a position to decide what is good. I can only authoritatively state what I enjoy.
  - basch 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_albums https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_albums https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/11/the-18-best-concept-albums-of-the-21st-century-so-far.html?a=1 https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/11/the-18-bes... I am a fan of Janelle Monae – Metropolis, Suite I: The Chase (2007), The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) (2010) what about Deltron 3030, even though its almost 20 years old?
- Grue3 9y ago
  I recommend "The Most Lamentable Tragedy" by Titus Andronicus (2015).

by KGIII 9y ago

kakarot 9y ago

To be fair, the idea of the concept album only goes back a few decades. Before that, most albums were made to pad and sell singles. Nothing has changed today in that respect. There are plenty of modern artists that produce concept albums. It's all a matter of where you look. If you're looking at the Top 40, well yeah, that has always been single-driven music since the dawn of radio.

KGIII 9y ago
There are still a few out there, but it is not nearly as popular as it once was. Even Zofo sold a story. I recall them being more popular, leading to rocumentaries and rock operas, things like that. They do still exist, just not as frequent and not as popular, at least not from what I see. Unfortunately, they also didn't last very long. I'd say they went fairly strong for about 2.5 decades. Their peek sort of correlated with arena rock in the 70s and 80s. There is still some arena rock, but that seems to be tapering off.

Xoros 9y ago

If you like concept albums, you should listen to the last Marillion album F.E.A.R

TYPE_FASTER 9y ago

> It is one of the last good albums to be made as the dying art which was the whole album telling a story, or of a concept, in its entirety. I was just thinking about that the other day, listening to "Wish You Were Here." I miss that. Maybe it's still out there, and I just haven't found it recently.

KGIII 9y ago
I have heard some claims that they still exist and I can't argue they don't, only that they are rare and that I don't really enjoy the music from any of the examples I've been shown. I understand that it is one of the reasons people are enjoying some of the new material on vinyl. As before, the album art ties in with the story/concept. My struggle is finding some that I an appreciate. I love music from all sorts of genres and music that spans the ages. I have difficulties finding more modern examples to appreciate, unfortunately. There's a whole bunch of new music. The ability to create and distribute music has never been higher. Discoverability has been difficult, in my case. I struggle to find anything that I can really appreciate. Note: I am intentionally being careful to not say that the music is not good. I am not in a position to decide what is good. I can only authoritatively state what I enjoy.
- basch 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_albums https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_albums https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/11/the-18-best-concept-albums-of-the-21st-century-so-far.html?a=1 https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/11/the-18-bes... I am a fan of Janelle Monae – Metropolis, Suite I: The Chase (2007), The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) (2010) what about Deltron 3030, even though its almost 20 years old?
Grue3 9y ago
I recommend "The Most Lamentable Tragedy" by Titus Andronicus (2015).