re: Best Concept Album(s) of the 90s

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - TFLips

My mistake...YBPR released in 2002. Still love it so I'm gonna leave it cause it's close.

quote:

---

Ween - the Mollusk.. you're welcome

---

I nominate this as well. They're a lot like The Flaming Lips and The Mollusk was actually released in the 90's so kudos.

Tool "AEnima"

Still my favorite from them--probably not as centered "theme"-wise as a lot of concept albums, but it always struck me as one of the best albums of the '90s.

TDS and AS are two of my favorite all-time albums.

1999 had The Fragile though, and it's a masterpiece AND a concept album (bascially the character from TDS slowly breaking apart and becoming human again after turning into a machine in TDS)

quote:

---

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane

---

and

quote:

---

Ween-the Mollusk

---

I was upset to not see any Coheed on this list but then remembered it was the 90s and they didn't release their first album until '01

Closer brought nine inch nails to a whole new audience with mtvs popularity. It was a great video too, I listened to it through as with the fragile recently. Tds is just more personal for me, I relate it to a few important times in life.

Mechanical animals is a great album, it's just so polished. Its supposed to be though, and holy wood was like..a watered down version of antichrist superstar.

quote:

---

I have to disagree with best work, I think it's his most abstract and extensive work as an artist.

The downward spiral is one of those albums that has a life of its own. It was unique and really put nine inch nails in everyone's head. Those who hadn't heard of phm and broken etc now search for those records and look forward to more.

I'm proud that new orleans was such an influence to antichrist superstar. It's defiantly my favorite manson album. I tried listening to his latest few and I just..the thrill is gone.

---

TDS was NIN's watershed moment. It's an amazing album in a ton of different ways. It's dark, chaotic, gritty. The production is top notch (this is where people starting taking Reznor seriously as a producer), the videos were great, you have the best Johnny Cash song ever performed on it and the self-destruction athem, Closer was an unlikely hit ("I want to frick you like an animal" is the chorus and it somehow hit mainstream rotation) that put it's hooks in every person in the country at the time. That song itself is a masterpiece. This album is amazing and it was exactly what was needed at the time (Anyone remember NIN's woodstock 94 performance? incredible)

But The Fragile is just a masterpiece from start to finish. It shows growth and maturity, yet still retaining the edge. It's the favorite vinyl (3 LPs) I own. From beginning to end it's just incredible. I'll never forget the day it came out and my mom took me to the store to get it (Cd warehouse on FL) and I popped in left side and the first notes of Somewhat Damaged played. I was hooked, my mom loved it, it was an amazing ride. Looking back on the fragile with all the instrumental pieces and cohesiveness of that album just is unmatched. If you read about the production, Reznor was in terrible place mentally and drugged out, suicidal, from the TDS era tours. He was talked into going out and renting a house on the ocean to gather himself, he took a piano and basically almost commited suicide. He didn't though and then he created La Mer. Then the fragile was conceived. He also collaborated with his band on this album more than any other, they all had seperate rooms networked just pumping out riffs, loops, etc. This was all done in New Orleans. The Fragile became so ambitious that Reznor couldn't finish the mix and had outside help come in and make sense of all the mass of material he had. They decided to keep some of the songs instrumental because he couldn't conceive lyrics to them all. My favorite song off that album is an instrumental (Just like you Imagined) It really is fitting the name of the album is The Fragile and to me it's his masterpiece. It holds a dear place in my heart. I feel vulnerable every time I listen to it. But I love it from start to finsh.

Antichrist is the same for me, a masterpiece, filled with turmoil. For me more teenage angst. It's about rising up and becoming God-like from nothing basically. This album feels powerful to me even to this day. There is some crazy energy they captured on it. I have been recently playing this album and it holds up over the 20 years. IT's because it's basically TDS part 2.

dredg - Leitmotif