Friday, August 20, 2004
NEWSDAY
Progressive rock fans, rejoice: The concept album is making a comeback. Years after punk rock and grunge tried to kill off Yes, Rush and other 1970s prog-rockers, bands are rediscovering the pleasures of lengthy story lines, recurring characters and songs broken into "acts." They may not rival The Who's "Tommy" or even Styx's "Paradise Theater," but the ideas are, um, interesting:
Emo-punks Coheed & amp; Cambria are gaining a following with "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3," part of a series of fantasy-themed albums about a child who avenges his parents' deaths. Sample song titles: "The Ring in Return," "Three Evils [Embodied in Love and Shadow]."
The satirical indie band Camper Van Beethoven has completed what singer David Lowery calls a "rock opera" titled "New Roman Times" (due in October). It's about a troubled Texas teen who joins an elite military unit and invades a country. Sample song titles: "Might Makes Right," "I Am Talking to This Flower."
Green Day's forthcoming album, "American Idiot," due next month, includes a nine-minute "punk rock opera" called "Jesus of Suburbia," which is broken into four songs of widely different styles, according to singer Billie Joe Armstrong. Sample song titles: "City of the Damned," "Tales From Another Broken Home."