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Podcast: Pantheon - Podcasts for Music Lovers
Episode: Only Three Lads: Top 5 Rock Operas & Concept Albums
Description: This week, we tackle the lofty, ambitious, sometimes bombastic topic of rock operas and concept albums.
Most acknowledge that the rock opera was the outgrowth of the psychedelic era where, particularly in a post-Sgt. Pepper world, the rock n’ roll album became an artistic statement. As musicians sought to expand and alter the fabric of pop music, “rock operas” with narratives, character development, and distinct movements were being explored on records like the Pretty Things’ SF Sorrow (1968) and the Who’s Tommy (1969).
All rock operas are concept albums, but not all concept albums are rock operas. The...