List of rock operas (albums)

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Following is a list of rock opera albums, listed by year. This list does not include song cycles or select concept albums that have some of the characteristics of rock operas.

This song or music-related list is [Incomplete listsincomplete]; you can help by [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ expanding it].

Contents

1 1960s
2 1970s
3 1980s
4 1990s
5 2000s
6 See also

1960s

The Beach Boys, SMiLE (1967)
The Electric Prunes, Mass in F Minor (1968)
Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow (1968)
The Who, Tommy (rock opera) (1969): The album which arguably popularized the term rock opera. Later a movie and revival as well, in a Broadway production.
The Kinks, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969): This innovative rock opera was released in November 1969; it was originally intended as the basis for a BBC television musical which never came to be. Although the album's significance was initially eclipsed by Tommy, over the decades its reputation has grown and some even consider it the first 'true' rock opera since, unlike Tommy, the songs on Arthur tell a coherent story.

1970s

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
Smoke Rise and James Lineberger, The Survival of St. Joan (1971)
Ray Ruff, Truth of Truths - A Contemporary Rock Opera based on the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (1971)
David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
Father John O'Reilly and The Contemporary Mission, Virgin (1972)
Stephen Schwartz, Pippin (1972)
The Who, Quadrophenia (1973)
The Kinks, Preservation Act 1 (1973) and Preservation Act 2 (1974)
Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974): Famous prog-rock opera.
David Bowie, Diamond Dogs (1974): originally written as a rock opera version of George Orwell's novel 1984, but Bowie was denied the rights to produce it by Orwell's estate. He used the completed tracks on Diamond Dogs without alteration
Alexander Zhurbin, Orpheus and Eurydice (1975)
The Kinks, Soap Opera (1975)
The Kinks, Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975)
Rush, 2112 (1976): tells a dystopic story set in the year 2112.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita (1976)
Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell (1977): a modernized adaptation of Peter Pan similar to West Side Story's treatment of Romeo and Juliet. It was never staged and only the album was released. However, the tracks are fragments of an earlier musical that the composer/writer (Jim Steinman) of the album had written.
Frank Zappa, Joe's Garage (1979)
Pink Floyd, The Wall (1979): The tale of a rock star, from childhood to mental breakdown. On the album itself, the story is somewhat muddled and unclear; the following movie helped to explain several portions.

1980s

KISS, Music From The Elder (1981): A young hero's quest to slay an elf.
The Residents, Mark of the Mole (1981)
Jim Steinman, Bad for Good (1981)
Styx, Kilroy Was Here (1983): In the future, Rock and Roll is against the law. But rebel Jonathon Chance finds the former rock-star Kilroy hiding out in the Paradise Theatre and together, posing as robots, they start the revolution and take down Dr. Righteous for good.
Szorenyi, Levente/Brody,Janos, Istvan a Kiraly (1984)
Pete Townshend, White City (1986): Subtitled "A novel," a video was released in conjunction with this album.
Tom Waits, Frank's Wild Years (1987)
Iron Maiden, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) By many regarded as the epitome of conceptual heavy metal albums
Kansas and Bob Ezrin, In the Spirit of Things (1988)
The Residents, God in Three Persons (1988)
Queensrÿche, (1988): A story of love, sex, death, power, religion, corruption, betrayal, greed, and madness.
Townshend, Pete, (1989): Based on a science fiction story of the same name by Ted Hughes.

1990s

Kaleidoscope, White Faced Lady (1991): Recorded in 1970-71, this album is about the life and death of a Marilyn Monroe-inspired character.
Savatage, (1991): A musician's rise and fall in New York City.
GWAR, America Must Be Destroyed (1992)
GWAR, RagNaRok (1995)
GWAR, We Kill Everything (1999)
W.A.S.P., The Crimson Idol (1992)
Meat Loaf, (1993): A sequel to Bat Out of Hell written/composed again by Jim Steinman.
Randy Newman, Faust (1995)
Savatage, Dead Winter Dead (1995): Develops and follows characters in and around the war in Bosnia.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1995): Despite it's "and Other Stories" title, one single story about an angel that rescues a lonely runaway and returns her home for Christmas.
Ayreon, The Final Experiment (1995): A blind, medieval minstrel receives visions from the future.
Fear Factory, Demanufacture (1995)
Argyle Park, Misguided (1995): A first person narrative that tells its story solely by the thoughts of the narrator. Rather than have the songs explain the events, they simply show the narrator's reaction. It uses industrial music rather than traditional rock. Deals very heavily with themes of betrayal, pain, and confusion.
Edge of Sanity, Crimson (1996): Features a single 40 minute track, telling a story in the distant future when human civilization is about to end.
Iced Earth, The Dark Saga (1996): Tells the origin story of the comic book character Spawn in musical form.
Marilyn Manson, Antichrist Superstar (1996)
Johnathan Larson, Rent (1996): A group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive under the shadow of AIDS.
Mägo de Oz, Jesús de Chamberí (1996): This album tells the story of the new Jesus born on a poor block in Madrid and how he makes his prophecy become real.
Jim Steinman, Tanz der Vampire (1997): A rock opera musical about Vampires, based on the Roman Polanski movie with the same name.
Mike Watt, "Contemplating the Engine Room" (1997): Uses a ship, and Naval life as a metaphor for recounting Watt's first band, The Minutemen, with parallels to Watt's Father, who served in the Navy.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Christmas Attic (1998): A young girl, Christmas Eve, an attic of treasures, and magic in the air.
Shadow Gallery, Tyranny (1998): The guilt of a weapons engineer pushes him towards an emotional escape on the internet, leading him to plot an attempt to rectify his past.
Savatage, The Wake of Magellan (1998): Historical and factual, deals with life, love, drugs, suicide, and violence; told mainly form the point of view of an old man who is a descendent of the great explorer, Ferdinand Magellan.
Ayreon, Into the Electric Castle (1998): Several men and women are plucked from different places in history to walk the halls of the fictitious "Electric Castle".
Blind Guardian, Nightfall in Middle Earth (1998): Based on the Fall of the Noldor in J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.
Marilyn Manson, Mechanical Animals (1998)
Lacrimosa, Elodia (1999): A tragic-love story divided into three acts. An album about love being slowly overwhelmed, separation, murder and a second chance.
Dream Theater, Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999): A young man enlists the help of hypnotherapy to go back in time to solve a murder mystery.

2000s

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Beethoven's Last Night (2000): The story of what might have happened on a stormy night in Vienna when Mephistopheles comes to collect Beethoven's soul, forcing him to make some very difficult choices.
Marilyn Manson, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)
Symphony X, (2000): According to the Symphony X official website, the story is "based on legends of Atlantis, ancient Egyptian mythology, Astrology and Edgar Cayce's clairvoyant readings about Atlantean culture."
Nikolo Kotzev, Nostradamus (2001): The life of Nostradamus.
Laurence O'Keefe, (2001): The tragic adventures of the bizarre cave-dwelling freak from the pages of the Weekly World News. Albums exist for both the Off-Broadway and London West End productions.
Kamelot, Karma (2001)
Drive-By Truckers, Southern Rock Opera (2001): Based on the myths of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and of an Alabama rocker growing up in the 60's and 70's.
Loke E Coyote, Druid Four Winds (2002): The world's first Pagan rock opera.
Edge of Sanity, Crimson II (2003): One 43-minute song divided into nine movements detailing the aftermath of the original Crimson album.
Erik Norlander, Music Machine (2003): The dramatic rise and fall of a genetically engineered rock star.
Kamelot, Epica (2003)
The Lawrence Arms, The Greatest Story Ever Told (2003): Follows the tale of a man who ironically runs away from the circus, and the tale of his best freind and fellow circus preformer.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Greendale (2003): The story of the Green family (Grandpa, Jed, and Sun)
Acda en de Munnik, Ren Lenny Ren (2004)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Lost Christmas Eve (2004): A bitter, aging man whose life was tragically altered many years ago by the birth of his mentally retarded (and now estranged) son is guided back to him and gains greater understanding.
Spock's Beard, Snow (2004): A young albino man sets off on his own with a gift that helps him achieve cult-like status.
Ayreon, The Human Equation (2004): A comatose patient who barely survived a car crash faces the monsters of his past.
Say Anything, Say Anything is a Real Boy (2004): The story of a boy who is cursed by having all his innermost thoughts and feelings burst forth from him in the form of fully-orchestrated rock anthems. [link]
The Fiery Furnaces, Blueberry Boat, (2004): An indie rock opera from a band highly influenced by The Who.
Green Day, American Idiot (2004): The first "punk-rock opera" is a coming-of-age story revolving around teenager Jesus of Suburbia as he searches for identity in a heated political climate. This album became a quadruple platinum album. Tells the story of a boy who leaves suburbia and returns to find it isn't anything like he remembered.
Shadow Gallery, Room V (2005): Continuation of the Tyranny story.
The What Ifs, The Pizza War (2005): A pizza delivery boy and vice principal wind up in an intergalactic fast food conflict. [link]
Kayak, Nostradamus - Fate of Man (2005): About French author of prophecies Nostradamus.
Kamelot, The Black Halo (2005): Based on Faust by Geothe.
The Fiery Furnaces, Rehearsing My Choir (2005): Featuring the band member's grandmother, tells the story of her life.
Avantasia, The Metal Opera (2001 [part 1], 2002 [part 2]): Tells the story of a Dominican novice, who fulfills the prophecy of an alternate dimension.
Nikolo Kotzev, Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus (2001)
Panic! at the Disco, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005): Tells the story of a couple with problems, the woman cheats and the man ruins their wedding and possibly kills her.
Harvey Danger, Little By Little, (2005): Although interpretation is argued by many fans the album roughly tells the story of Sean Nelson’s life on his 3 year hiatus from Harvey Danger.
Ludo , Broken Bride, (2005): A powerful 5-track album which tells the story of a man attempting to go back in time to prevent his lover's death in a car crash, but instead finds himself in the future trying to escape a gruesome apocalypse.

List of rock operas (albums)

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

See also