The Top 5 Rock Operas of All Time: A Rock Opera

In Which I Listen To A Whole Bunch Of Rock Operas, So You Don't Have To

When I was writing my rock opera-

Waitasec- hang on? What? When you were what?

When I was writing my rock opera, I wanted-

Whoa, you can’t just throw something like that out there and then just mosey on! You mean to say you wrote a rock opera?

Yeah, I did. And you’re gonna hear all about it, believe me! But not just now. By the way, who are you, anyway?

(In a deep, Vincent Price-esque voice) I’m your conscience! (Laughs uncontrollably) sorry, sorry….oh boy, that was funny. Sorry, I just always wanted to say that. It sounds so super-villain-y. I’m just a literary device, really, I’m here to make you more believable and, what do they call it, conversational? Really I’m just you, working things out in your head, as another character. Get it?

Uhhhh, sure?

Anyway, what are we going to hear about now?

Now we’re going to hear about the serious research I did at one point when I was diving in to the world of rock operas. I wanted to be sure I, as they say in academia, “consulted the literature” before diving in on writing my own. I wanted to understand the conventions, the standards, the tricks and commonalities that all rock operas share.

Well ok, but why?

So that I could blow them all to bits and ignore them when I wrote my own, I suppose! I mean, we’re talking ROCK operas here, not actual operas!

OK gotcha. So, what did this “research” entail?

Mostly it involved me digging out my worn copies of Who records I hadn’t listened all the way through to in quite a while, along with some other favorites, and looking up albums I’d heard about but never listened to and listening to those all the way through. Usually this involved some whiskey and late hours, or me driving around by myself blasting Pretty Things and Queensryche and Deltron albums that I didn’t think my family really wanted to listen to.

Sounds horrible.

Yeah no, it wasn’t. I found some great albums I had never heard before. And some that I thought would be better. But I got to listen to a bunch of records. And I sort of revisited the process these last couple weeks because I was thinking of writing this post. And I discovered something new that I hadn’t thought of before!

Which is?

Which is that there are hardly any true rock operas at all! If you define them the way I think they should be defined.

This is where I say WTF are you talking about.

What I mean is, there are certain “opera" conventions that have always existed in the classical music world, you know, everyone from Puccini to Mozart to Schoenburg to John Adams to Anthony Davis has done certain things with their operas- they have an overture, they have certain themes and motives that keep coming back through the whole thing, for example. And I think like rock and roll itself, “Rock Opera” is freeing, it’s ok to do away with some of those conventions if you want.

I follow you, but I’m not sure where you’re going with this.

The thing is, there’s one opera convention that you can’t do away with, because if you do, it’s not an opera at all! Of any kind!

In your opinion.

In my opinion, which is the only one that matters here, because this is my thing.

Right, ok. So ok, I see what you’re doing here, big buildup to the payoff, hang on, let me get my snare drum….hold on, it’s here somewhere…here we go…now, where are my sticks? Feel like I just saw them….uhh…ok, here they are, behind the guitar case. So, ahem! (drum roll…..)

You’ve got to have different singers singing the different characters!!

(cymbal crash) Really? That’s your big payoff?

Think about it- if Roger Daltrey sings the part of Tommy, AND the part of the Acid Queen, AND the part of the Pinball Wizard, what do you have?

Uhhhh, a damn good album? (drum noodling in a vaguely Keith Moon style)

Well maybe, yeah, and I, uh, I don’t want to tip my hand here. But whatever it is, it’s not an opera. If there were an International Group for the Betterment of Rock Operas (IGBRO), which is an imaginary organization that I just made up, and if I were the Chancellor of that group, which I can be since I made it up just now, that would be my rule: if you’re gonna call it a rock opera- or at least if you want me to- you gotta have different singers!

Well fine, I see the logic I guess. But that leaves….what does that leave?

Well that’s the problem. It leaves a lot less than everyone assumes there are! And again, not to tip my hand, but it brings up some weird things- Tommy, or the ‘68 album version of Tommy, is not a rock opera, because there’s really only one singer. Well, two. There’s a movie soundtrack version from ‘75, the one with Elton John singing “Pinball Wizard” and Tina Turner as the “Acid Queen”? That one is a rock opera, with a different voice for each character in the story. But there’s a problem with that album.

Which is?

It’s not very good. It’s bloated, over-produced, and it’s got a strung out, tired-sounding Keith Moon. Whereas the ‘68 Tommy is lean, mean, and it’s got peak Keith Moon, which means it’s peak Who. And we’re picking the 5 best rock opera albums of all time here! I mean, these are the kick-assingest, hardest-rockingest-

All right, all right, I got it. So maybe let’s stop blabbing and cut to the chase? What are the top 5 rock operas of all time?

Yeah, let’s get into it. But let’s pretend we’re at, say, the IGBRO convention, in some slightly dingy hotel ballroom that’s been hastily converted to a sort of awards ceremony banquet, cheap folding tables with paper tablecloths, hors d’oeuvres littering each table, a motley crew pulling on cheap beer and whiskey sodas awaiting the announcements…as a matter of fact, would you mind narrating this? So we can better picture it?

Uh, sure, I guess, why not…here we go

(Interstichial music plays…there is guitar feedback, fast, intense drumming, grandiose Hammond organ chords, the stray synthesizer melody…it all sounds vaguely epic, somehow…the crowd is a mix of characters you might see thumbing through the ‘new arrivals’ section at your local record store or working behind the counter, some rock journalists and bloggers who have paid their own way- it’ll be good for your “exposure,” their editors told them- some guys in leather jackets and a guy in a ponytail with a Marillion T-shirt argue at the bar. The staff looks bored. Finally the Chancellor takes the lectern, looks out at the crowd with a thin smile, and clears his throat. “Thanks everybody for being here” he tells the crowd. “I’m not gonna go on any more than I already have, so here they are, the Top 5 Rock Operas of All Time and Forever, as Chosen by us…or well, me?)

He presses a remote and the screen above the lectern displays the first card:

#5: Jeff Wayne: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds (1978)

The Story: Based on H.G. Wells’ novel (and not on the famous Orson Wells radio broadcast, so we’re in Victorian-era London here and not 1930’s-era New Jersey), Martians invade in their big silver cylinder ships, take over London and meet stiff resistance in the form of local soldiers and artillerymen who they mostly incinerate with their death-rays. We meet a wandering journalist who narrates the action (actor Richard Burton, but when he sings his thoughts he’s Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward), a parson (Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott!) and his wife; an artilleryman, the journalist’s lover, and the ‘Voice of Humanity’ (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band vocalist Chris Thompson). Eventually, the Martians succumb not to the fighting prowess of humanity but to the bacteria of earth for which they have no natural defenses. An epilogue set 80 years later eerily hints that the Martians have regrouped and will be back for another try (sequel???).

The music: Mostly lengthy disco-era jams that stretch past 10 minutes or so- but surprisingly engaging, with crunchy guitar parts, synthesizer melodies and string sections that come in and out, all featuring Burton’s august narration. These are balanced by some vintage 70’s-sounding pop songs- “Forever Autumn”, sung by Hayward, was an actual hit single.

Why it’s an opera: All the characters are voiced by different singers and actors. Different leitmotifs (musical themes) keep reappearing with different characters.

Why it’s not an opera: It relies heavily on Burton’s narration, and some scenes are spoken, rather than sung. Still, overall it’s epic and operatic in the best way, so I’m calling it an opera.

But is it rock? Yes. Even the disco jams are pretty rocking. Overall, this is a very weird and great album. And the original LP came with an illustrated booklet that tells the story (note to self- find that album!)

#4 The Coup- “Fat Cats, Bigger Fish” and “Pimps (Free Stylin’ at the Fortune 500 Club)” from Genocide and Juice (1994)

The Story: Our unnamed hero, a small-time street hustler (Boots Riley), is cruising around Oakland one night, broke. He pickpockets a guy in a “tweed suit”, talks his way into a free meal from Burger King, then runs into his cousin, just off from working a private party at a fancy club. They switch clothes so our hero can rip off some rich people by impersonating a waiter at the party. But when faced with David Rockerfeller, J.P. Getty and Donald Trump (this is 1994!!) spitting rhymes and cutting deals with the mayor, he splits, realizing he’s “getting hustled only knowing half the game.”

The music: Straight up West Coast party music hip-hop.

Why it’s an opera: All the characters- even the girl behind the counter at Burger King, the cousin and the different rich people at the party - are different voices. And as short as it is, the story has a narrative arc and character development (at least for the main character). And yes, I know, I know: it’s only two songs. But you have to hear this to believe how good it is- the section where David Rockefeller and J. P. Getty trade verses over their cocktail table is priceless (“If you were blind as Helen Keller you could see I’m David Rockefeller/so much cash, up in my bathroom got a ready-teller”), but the larger point made by this two song mini-opera- that the lower-level street crime is tolerated and even encouraged so the larger machinery of capitalism can keep grinding (“Don’t let me get my flex on, do some gangster shit/make the army go to war for Exxon” raps Riley-as-Rockefeller)- is salient and still relevant.

Why it’s not an opera: It’s only two songs! What is it doing on this list?

But is it rock? I should explain, that when we say “rock opera”, we really mean “not opera opera.” Popular music opera. That isn’t Broadway. It doesn’t have to have loud guitars like the Ramones or Black Sabbath. This is straight-up 90’s West Coast hip-hop, so yeah, it’s rock opera.

#3- The Decemberists- The Hazards of Love (2009)

The Story: Like a lot of our relationships, it’s complicated (but worth it!). As best I can summarize from listening to the album along with the lyric sheet, William (Decemberists mastermind Colin Meloy) is the son of the Forest Queen (My Brightest Diamond lead singer Shara Nova), but he’s turned into a fawn, because magic (remember, this is the Decemberists we’re talking about). Margaret (singer/songwriter Becky Stark) finds the fawn/William, who changes into William; they have sex, she gets pregnant. With me so far? Good, ‘cause here’s where things get weird. They proclaim their love for each other, but the Forest Queen isn’t happy about it, because apparently she gave William immortality by making him a fawn, so she says he’s ungrateful. She says she’ll give the lovers one night together, but then reclaim William (at least that’s what I think is going on in the song “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid”). That’s Act 1. In Act 2, we meet The Rake (also Meloy), a sinister character who has murdered his 3 kids so that he doesn’t have to deal with raising them (as often happens in opera though, the villain has the best song: “The Rake’s Song”). Then weird and dark turns weirder and darker, as The Rake kidnaps Margaret, and the Forest Queen urges him to rape Margaret (again, at least I think that’s what’s going on in “The Queen’s Rebuke”) and the Queen will help him get away. But then the ghosts of the Rake’s murdered children show up, kill the Rake (I think?), and then William and Margaret escape only to drown themselves in the river because only in death can they be together (Hazards of Love, indeed). Whew.

The Music- Really pretty gorgeously crafted chamber pop/rock. Some riffs sound a little like recycled 70’s blues rock a la Humble Pie or Aerosmith, but that’s not a criticism (at least not from me!). And the various accordions, harmoniums, string sections, mandolins and the like that show up only add to the all-enveloping vibe that the Decemberists are so good at.

Why it’s an opera: Aside from the (admittedly circuitous) and typically tragic plot (for opera, I mean), all the characters are different voices (well, almost), and different musical themes keep reappearing, like the whole “Hazards of Love” riff and “Wanting Comes in Waves” riffs.

Why it’s not an opera: Meloy sings the lead character and also sings the main villain, plus some other minor characters. That’s not strictly opera, but hey, he wrote the thing, and it’s his band, so I’m giving him a pass here.

But is it rock? 100%. There’s a rumor flying around that the Decemberists are some sort of precious folk-rock band, and while I’m not familiar with their whole discography, this album should be enough to disabuse anyone of that notion.

#2 Jesus Christ Superstar: Original Album Version (1970)

The story: Before we get into the story of the last 7 days of Jesus’ life, (which you already know, anyway), let’s get this straight- normally “No Broadway” is one of our rules here in IGBRO, because we’re picking rock operas, not Broadway show tunes. And Jesus Christ Superstar, as even your Grandmother knows, was a Broadway (and London) show. But here we’re talking about the original album from 1970, before it was musical theater, before every drama department in every high school in America staged it every spring. Let’s ignore the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote this intending it to be a musical, and only made a rock opera album when they couldn’t get enough funding to produce a full musical, and let’s just listen to the album. Because you know what? I wanted NOT to include Jesus Christ Superstar on a list of the best rock operas, because it’s so….obvious. But I can’t, because it’s so good. Have you listened to it lately? It’s got some blemishes, for sure, and I’ll get to those in a second, but really the whole thing is spectacular long-form storytelling with rock music if you just forget about the other 7,000 times you’ve heard these songs. Which brings us to…

The music: The band was mostly Joe Cocker’s backing band in 1970. They’re tight, they’re loose, they make even extended ‘jams’ like “What’s the Buzz” and “Everything’s Allright” sound fresh and exciting. The singers, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as Jesus, Hair’s Murray Head as Judas, eventual pop/disco hitmaker Yvonne Ellman as Mary Magdalene, and on and on, are uniformly excellent. The music is pretty killer 70’s rock mixed with 70’s soft rock ballads, and some inventive Broadway-like orchestrations, BUT there are a some cornball spots (I’m looking at you, “King Herod’s Song”) that still make me wince.

Why it’s an opera: Everybody sings, all the time, leitmotifs come and go and reappear again, there’s an actual overture with some of the themes that come back later, Mary Magdalene sings her big aria “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” right about where many classic operas have their big showcase aria for the star soprano (in the biz they call that ‘the 8 o’clock number’ because that’s when that aria hits when the opera starts at 7…really, you couldn’t get any more opera than this without a fat lady onstage at the Met.

Why it’s not an opera: It’s not not an opera.

But is it rock? Mostly, yes. I mean, look- the guy who sang ‘Highway Star’ sings the lead role! But, how much better would this album be without “King Herod’s Song”? To quote another blasphemous work of art, a lot.

#1 Prince Paul, A Prince Among Thieves, (1999)

The Story- Tariq (Breezy Brewin) needs to finish his demo tape in time for a meeting with the Wu-Tang Clan in a couple days. So he hits up his best friend True (Big Sha) for $1000 to finish the tape. True suggests instead that he join him in being a gangster to make the money, and Tariq reluctantly agrees, but only for 5 days. Not Much Of A Spoiler Alert: things don’t go as planned. Tariq tastes the gangster life and for a while enjoys the ride, as we meet a weapons dealer in “Crazy Lou’s Hideout” (Kool Keith), the master pimp “Count Macula” (Big Daddy Kane), the mob boss “Mr. Large” and his assistant (Chub Rock and Biz Markie), and some crackhead customers (Prince Paul’s old bandmates De La Soul). But then a web of deception starts to tighten. Tariq visits a prostitute in a motel room, thinking it’s a reward for a job well done, but it turns out his supposed best friend True, jealous of his success, has set him up. A corrupt cop (Everlast) throws him in jail; Tariq calls his Mom, who calls her Reverend, who bails him out, but he then seeks out True in “Showdown,” and True confesses his jealousy before the pair shoot each other. Here’s where the narrative gets tricky, and it took me a couple listens to figure it out. But since I did that, you don’t have to: the first two songs on the album are in fact the ending, as both Tariq and True have shot each other and Tariq lies dying as paramedics work on him (at the end, we find out that Tariq kills himself, thinking that True is dead). The entire album then, is a flashback, or maybe a life-flashing-before-my-eyes moment, except for the very last two songs (out of 35!) which function as a kind of epilogue: it turns out True was wearing a bulletproof vest, and the song on Tariq’s demo is now True’s song and is the hot new single on NY radio. The very last song, the title track, is that song, in which True toasts and lies about his dead friend- calling him a crackhead- but also offers his regret for what he did.

It’s been said that Prince Paul’s underlying motivation for A Prince Among Thieves and its tragic theme of betrayal was his own frustration and feelings of betrayal at being shunted aside by a hip-hop industry that he helped revolutionize with his groundbreaking production on the first De La Soul albums (especially De La Soul Is Dead, one of the GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, period, go ahead, fight me on that, I dare you), and his own estrangement from his friends and bandmates in De La Soul. That all may be true, but you don’t really need to know that to enjoy the album. Because, the music, well…

The music: Straight-up, wall-to-wall hip-hop BANGERS from beginning to end (and this is a loooong album!). I’m serious, albums without any filler deserve respect; hip-hop albums without any filler deserve national holidays on their release dates every year because they’re so rare (sorry, but it’s true), and hip-hop concept albums/rock operas (I’m not using the term “hip-hopera,” I’m just not) without any filler deserve a full-on 21 gun salute. This is a unicorn of an album, stocked with creatively produced classics like “Steady Slobbing,” and “What You Got (The Demo)”. All the characters deliver- Kool Keith is appropriately eccentric in “Crazy Lou’s Hideout,” De La Soul’s turn in “More Than U Know” is as good as anything on their own albums, Heroine’s phone call with Tariq as his girlfriend in “The Other Line” is hilarious and genuinely touching (she ends the call, “I’d do anything for your stupid ass”). And on and on, there’s not a bad track on here, including the skits that move the story forward, and that’s saying something. Also saying something is that this is up there with Prince Paul’s best work (that would be the first two De La Soul albums), and it’s a mystery to me why this album is mostly unknown outside of a small niche of Prince Paul heads (count me in) instead of being the widely aknowledged hip-hop classic that is.

Why it’s an opera: All the characters (even minor ones we only meet once) are different vocalists, and, though it might take a couple listens to follow it all, the story is a strong narrative the whole way through. Some snobs will claim that a guy needing money for his demo tape is not a ‘worthy’ subject matter for an opera (at least not like Martians invading Earth, or Jesus’ betrayal, or a tragic twisted love story, or even a thinly veiled expose of the rapacious machinery of capitalism). To you I say, this tragic opera (cause that’s what it is) is a note-for-note retelling of the Hero’s Journey- that ancient storytelling device that underpins such classic expressions of the human experience as The Iliad, Star Wars, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. All the beats are there, from the hero’s quest (“What You Got (The Demo)”) to the Monsters (“The Bust”) to the Dark Night of the Soul- (“Showdown”). So get over yourselves.

Why it’s not an opera: Most of the skits are set to music, but a few of them aren’t (including the one with comedian Chris Rock), so technically, this is more of a movie soundtrack with the dialogue left in….but we’re not going to nitpick here.

But it is rock? We’ve already established that the ‘rock’ in rock opera doesn’t just mean loud guitars and spandex pants, it means ‘not classical and not Broadway.’ So, yes.

(intertwining, distorted guitar riffs play an ascending chord pattern, drums pound, a wordless chorus intones held notes, a horn section stabs ever higher….it’s all vaguely epic and uplifitng-sounding, somehow…)

And just like that, it’s over, and the Chancellor presses stop on the slide show. There’s an awkward silence in the banquet room, a lot of shrugs, people looking at each other and mouthing “what the fuck?” The two guys in leather jackets sit glumly giving the thumbs down sign.

“Well,” the Chancellor says, “don’t all clap at once! Heh….”

A few people mutter to their friends, stand up, start gathering their phones and jackets. “Hang on everyone, I know this list is probably unique, we all have our favorites, how about we go and, you know, argue about it over drinks at the bar? First round’s on me? Or, on the company credit card, anyway?'“

“I guess, sure, why not”, says one of the leather jacket guys, and starts shuffling toward the bar. “Prince Paul, really?” he mutters, glancing at the Chancellor, who wraps his arm around the guy’s shoulder. The rest of the room follow them over to the bar, and people start ordering drinks, conversation picking up, the mood brightens. The Chancellor tells the bartender he’s got this round, and feels in his jacket pocket for his credit card.

“Hang on, it’s right, uh, it’s here somewhere….uhhh”

“Looking for something?” The small crowd turns toward the stage, where the guy in the Marillion shirt stands, brandishing the credit card the Chancellor is searching for. “You don’t deserve this organization! IGBRO belongs to us now! I’m cutting this credit card in half if you don’t give us a new list!”

“Jesus!!” cries the Chancellor. “No! Don’t do that, don’t do anything rash, come on now, let’s talk this out-”

“I’m cutting it!” replies Marillion guy.

“Ok! Ok!” shouts the Chancellor. “Look, you’re pissed off with my list, I get it…no Pink Floyd, no Ziggy Stardust, no Brave…look, it’s just semantics, I say they’re concept albums, not rock operas, that’s all. Don’t cut that card, please! I’ll tell you what, give me a few minutes, just give me that card, go have a drink, or hey, have a couple, I promise I’ll go work up a list of the best concept albums, we’ll call it a night? Yeah?”

Marillion guy considers it. He scans the small crowd, and they look back at him, motioning for him to give up the credit card…please?

“All right”, he says. “But this better be good, I swear….”