3 High-Minded Concept Albums From the 1960s We Love To Sing Along To

Back in the day, artists valued the concept album. Not only did rockers and other musicians want to create a number of standout, excellent songs. But they also wanted to arrange them together cohesively to tell a longer story.

That’s just what we wanted to dive into here. We wanted to explore three concept records from back in the day that raised some eyebrows. Indeed, these are three high-minded concept albums from the 1960s we love to sing along to.

‘Tommy’ by The Who (1969)

This 1969 record has to be one of the greatest concept albums of all time. Not only does it offer incredible songs (24 in total), but the narrative The Who tells is so interesting and specific that it leaps off the speakers. The album tells the life story of a blind, deaf, and mute pinball player. But he’s not just a pinball player. He’s the best pinball player ever. For those who might think this would make a good movie—it does! Fans of The Who and of this album will tell you, the 1975 rocks right along with the double-LP.

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ by The Beatles (1967)

Listening to this album from front to back makes you feel as if you’re in a theater. The concept behind this 1967 record from The Beatles is anonymity—the kind actors feel on stage when they’re playing other characters. Indeed, on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles are not The Beatles (at least, not all the time). But like a good sketch show, the album includes many different scenes (some don’t even connect to the opening number). That’s what happens when perhaps the greatest band of all time gets a little extra creative.

‘The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society’ by The Kinks (1968)

As the saying goes, the only constant is change. But that doesn’t make change easy. Sometimes it can be hard to see the streets and areas you grew up with undergo renovation. That’s just what The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society is all about. Indeed, the 1968 record by the British-born band The Kinks highlights the changing tides. Through a prism of loss and nostalgia, the band shares their shaken vision of modernity.

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