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Thematic Albums

Double Helix

Double Helix

Member
At the time of its release (26 May 1967), Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was described by some critics as being a *thematic album (but I did not see it), as was Pet Sounds (I suppose that other than "Sloop John B" and the two instrumentals, the other songs were about the pangs of young love & growing up)

Certainly The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia would be included; Eagles' Desperado (not sure about Hotel California); Running on Empty would likely make the cut
Vangelis' works are frequently described as being "thematic"

Others? (depending on one's loosely defined time-frame, there are probably dozens)



*as distinguished from "concept" albums: sound tracks, original cast recordings, greatest hits collections. Wikipedia says that "it is suggested that the first concept album is Woody Guthrie's 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads" -- Obviously the terms are altogether subjective, and there is probably some overlap.
 
There are some notable albums that were the result of the artist going through a painful divorce, that I would consider thematic albums:
  • Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
  • The Police - Synchronicity
  • Peter Gabriel - Us
  • Tom Petty - Wildflowers
One of my favorite albums of all time is Frank Sinatra’s September of my Years, which is basically a reflection on the passage of time and growing older. Actually, during his years at Capitol, Sinatra recorded several thematic albums, beginning with Songs For Young Lovers.

But wait... now that I think about it, you probably mean thematic albums of original content, right? Sinatra wasn’t a songwriter, he curated existing songs to fit a particular theme. So probably not eligible for this discussion. However, the listening audience doesn't necessarily know or care who wrote the songs, they just accept the album content at face value, so in their minds, still a thematic album.

For me, there’s a fine line between a concept album and a thematic album. For example, I think Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian falls in both camps. But again, Cash only wrote two of the songs - the majority were written by Peter La Farge. However, they were all written specifically for the project, so I imagine that would qualify.

Other albums made up of wholly original material that I might consider thematic, include:
  • Joni Mitchell - Blue
  • Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad
  • Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
  • Lou Reed - Magic and Loss
And what about albums full of songs about partying and having a good time, by the likes of Van Halen, Jimmy Buffett, and countless others? They’re not necessarily deep, but technically, they are indeed thematic 😉

Fun discusssion!
 
Would Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon; or 'The Wall' be considered thematic? Boston's first album? Moody Blues albums all seemed to be themed based.

From my early fusion influences I remember Return To Forever, Jean Luc Ponty, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, and many others all having albums with a theme.
 
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Nekujak said:
But wait... now that I think about it, you probably mean thematic albums of original content, right?
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I hadn't thought about strictly original content necessarily, and the Sinatra references are apt.
Same for Buffett's decades-long party

Nekujak said:
For me, there’s a fine line between a concept album and a thematic album. For example, I think Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian falls in both camps. But again, Cash only wrote two of the songs - the majority were written by Peter La Farge. However, they were all written specifically for the project, so I imagine that would qualify.
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Indeed -- I also looked up Cash's At Folsom Prison set lists and found several numbers nodding to being behind bars

Spirit Groove said:
Would Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon; or 'The Wall' be considered thematic?
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Absolutely, good call(s)
 
Double Helix said:
I hadn't thought about strictly original content necessarily
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All good. I just presumed this being a songwriter forum, there would be an inherent slant towards writers of thematic song collections. But I agree, it's not necessary for the artist to also be the writer.


It's interesting... as I was trying to think of thematic albums, I wanted to come up with some examples that were more contemporary, but nothing came to mind, and it kind of drove home the realization that pop music stopped being album-centric sometime in the 2000s. A trend that has been further reinforced by music streaming.

That said, there's one recent album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, by Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, that is thematic in the musical sense, in that they intentionally tried to recreate the sound of 60s and 70s soul music. That album gave us one of the best pop songs in recent years IMHO, "Leave The Door Open".
 
My favorite "concept album" is, without a doubt, "The Soul Cages" by Sting – definitely my favorite Sting album and in my top five desert island records by any artist, I'd say.

I'll second the Police and Peter Gabriel recommendations too, stellar records!

I did spend quite a bit of time in my youth listening to "The Wall," which is about as "concept album" as it gets, and I still think it's a good record.
 
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