Long-running music scribe Bill Kopp discovered concept albums as a youth (see below), and determined, with his third book What’s The Big Idea: 30 Great Concept Albums, to explore the concept across decades, genres, cultures, and of course, ever-shifting concepts. He was kind enough to take some questions over email.
Seattle Star: What were the first concept albums you ever heard, and how old were you? What were your thoughts about them?
Bill Kopp: The first album I heard that I was aware had a conceptual nature was Klaatu’s Hope, released in fall 1977. I was 14. At the time, I appreciated what I heard as musical adventurism. The concept itself—about the lone a survivor of a planet Earth that had destroyed itself—made an impression upon me only after repeated listens.
Seattle Star: How did your experiences with concept albums grow and change over the years?
Bill Kopp: In my younger years I didn’t seek out concept albums as such. My rule was that an album had to have at least three songs I liked before I’d consider buying it. But if I discovered that it had a theme, that was likely to draw me in even more and enhance my enjoyment.
Seattle Star: What gave you the idea for the book, and how did you secure a contract for it?
Bill Kopp: The idea for a book about concept albums had been knocking around in my brain for many years. When I discovered that one of my favorite current bands—The Church—had just released their first conceptual work, The Hypnogogue, I was keen to speak with Steve Kilbey about it. I knew from my own experience that he was a thoughtful and engaging interview subject, so I requested an interview.
By the time the conversation took place, I was thinking about writing the piece as part of a larger, book-length project. I emailed HoZac Books, the publisher of my second book (Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave) and asked if they were interested. They said yes, and off I went.
Seattle Star: As you explain in your introduction, it was within your power to stick with the classic rock era. Were you ever seriously tempted to do so, or did you know from the start you’d cast a wider net?
Bill Kopp: That wide-screen focus was a fundamental part of the project from the very conception. There’s a widely-held belief that the era of the concept album was roughly 1968-1975, and that it’s a subcategory of rock. I wanted to bust both of those misconceptions, so my book explores albums made between the mid ‘60s and present day, and it includes Americana, pop, hip hop and more.
Seattle Star: Did you conduct most of your interviews over Zoom? Did you ever use any other approaches?
Bill Kopp: All but two of the interviews were conducted via Zoom; the others were by phone. I have found that looking the interviewee in the eye (and them seeing me) makes for a vastly better conversation, so phone interviews are a secondary choice. In-person interviews weren’t practical, as my subjects are all over the globe. The days of big budgets and jetting around for in-person chats are largely a thing of the past.
Seattle Star: Did you contact most of the artists through management? Did you ever use any other means?
Bill Kopp: I have found that contacting artists via their publicist (if they have one) yields better results, so that’s usually my first route. I’ve been a music journalist for 20 years, so I know most of the high profile music PR firms, and they know me and my work, so that method made sense. Moreover, a publicist’s job is (usually) to get press for their client; a manager’s job often entails keeping distractions (or things thought of as such) away from their artists. In some cases I went directly to the artists, or contacted them through mutual friends.
Seattle Star: Which interviews were the easiest, the toughest, the wildest, the most surprising—and why?
Bill Kopp: They were all “easy” in the sense that the artists were enthusiastic to talk about works that often ranked among their favorites. A few were “tough” if only in terms of getting conversations scheduled with busy artists. I had been warned, for example, that William Shatner would be unlikely to grant an interview. Instead, he was happy to speak with me.
And I think that had I reached out to Pete Townshend about Tommy or Quadrophenia, he might well have passed, feeling—and rightly so—that he’s already spoken at great length about those works. And every interview surprised me in some way or another; I went in with as few preconceptions as possible, and crafted questions that I hoped would lead our conversations down interesting paths.
Seattle Star: Which, if any, albums did you leave out of the album because you could not secure an interview?
Bill Kopp: In my introduction, I mention Frank Sinatra’s 1970 LP Watertown; that was a record I very much wanted in the book. I reached out many times in hope of getting time with Bob Gaudio and/or Jake Holmes—the creative forces behind that record and another I wanted to explore, The Four Seasons’ 1969 album The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette. But neither ended up being available within the time frame I was working with. I have a master list with enough other great albums to cover that I could easily interview for and write another book.
Seattle Star: Poe sounds devastated and wrung out over the legacy of her father, explored over her Haunted album. How did you manage that interview?
Bill Kopp: My conversations—there were two, both quite lengthy and extensive—with Poe were among the most fascinating and enjoyable interviews of the entire project. She was wonderfully candid and open about the album and its inspiration. I’m not sure I’d characterize her as devastated or wrung out; Haunted is more about her coming to terms with her relationship with her father and how it fit into her life.
She’s a fine example of someone who has channeled pain into her art in a manner that yields beauty. The album has a richness and depth that’s easily overlooked by those who simply take it as well-crafted collection of great songs. Which it is, and there’s nothing wrong with appreciating it as such. (And Poe would agree.)
Seattle Star: The Firesign Theatre’s Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers, demonstrates conceptual mastery in the field of spoken word—using music only as an occasional adjunct. Do you admire any other concept albums from comedy troupes, and/or other folks using spoken word?
Bill Kopp: Several of Firesign Theatre’s albums are conceptual in nature, and as I discussed with Phil Proctor and David Ossman, they all fit together in a way. Other than their opus, though, I kept the book’s focus on music.
Seattle Star: Did you have a policy of English-only albums? I’m quite fond of, for example, Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno’s Per…Un Modo di Cristallo, Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, and Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson…
Bill Kopp: I didn’t consciously limit myself to English-language albums; Rick Wakeman’s album The Six Wives of King Henry VIII has no lyrics of any language!
Both the Gainsbourg album you mention and Autobahn were on the master list for consideration. With regard to the former, I had a policy of only covering albums for which I could conduct firsthand interviews with the artist or a key participant. Gainsbourg is many years gone, and his partner/collaborator Jane Birkin died in 2023, during the early stages of the book, before I could reach her.
Seattle Star: One of your other interviews for this book contains an apparent swipe at Styx—who certainly got very rich on concept albums. Were Styx always a non-starter for you, or did your views on them dim over time?
Bill Kopp: I like Styx’s earlier albums, especially Equinox and The Grand Illusion. I’ve seen the post-Dennis DeYoung lineup live, and they’re excellent. But I didn’t care at all for 1981’s Paradise Theater; to me it managed to be both lightweight and overblown.
Nonetheless, I saw Styx in concert on the Kilroy Was Here tour because a girl I was dating at the time loved them. Styx opened the show by projecting a short and conceptually-themed film starring the band members. It was laughably bad—high school play bad—and I was embarrassed for them. In my view, the whole Kilroy album was an ill-advised project, and the concert was not good. Not for nothing has the band steered clear of playing any of that music in the years since. And for that I say to them: Domo arigato.
Seattle Star: Six personal faves of mine that missed the book: Alice Cooper’s Along Came A Spider, Frank Sinatra’s Watertown and A Man Alone, King Kong’s Me Hungry, First Aids’ Nostradamus, and Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood. Any thoughts on those?
Bill Kopp: I’ve mentioned Watertown above. One criteria for inclusion was that I have to already know—and actively like—the album or I wouldn’t consider it. That would rule out most (but not all) of the ones you mention. If an album didn’t move me, I wasn’t the person to write about it for this book. I know of at least 1,000 concept albums; the book covers 30.
Seattle Star: You got Pete Townshend to talk to you. Were you ever tempted to focus on Tommy, Quadrophenia, or even White City?
Bill Kopp: White City would have been a fine subject, but I think Psychoderelict is a richer topic to explore. I was never tempted to cover Tommy or Quadrophenia, even though they rank among my favorites. I wanted to offer new ideas to readers, not cover the same ground that others have explored for many decades. In my conversation with Pete, he brought up both of those Who albums, and we ended up speaking about them (and Lifehouse) in depth.
Seattle Star: Any albums you wanted in that you had to leave out? If so, which and why?
Bill Kopp: I’m happy with the assortment I ended up with. I’d love to write another volume and explore more concept albums.
Seattle Star: A few interview subjects died before the book came out. Who were those, and what are your favorite memories of them?
Bill Kopp: Terry Draper of Klaatu died recently. My conversations with him were a delight. He was funny, forthright and more than willing to discuss the whole “Are they the Beatles?” manufactured controversy. I found him admirably self-aware. And Mark Volman of the Turtles is someone I had interviewed multiple times over the years; he was articulate and insightful. The deaths of both of them are a loss to the world of music, and of course to their families, loved ones and friends.
Seattle Star: What are your plans for the new year? Any new books on the horizon?
Bill Kopp: I’m a full-time freelance writer, so I always have a full schedule of projects, thank goodness. I also have a number of speaking engagements in the next couple of months; preparing for those keeps me even busier. I’m kicking around a few book ideas as well, and expect I’ll make moves on one of them sometime soon.
