THUS II: Not a rock opera.

I love how people feel the need to label to works of original art in an attempt to 'classify' them...really all that does is bring it down to the level of crap art that the piece in question is striving to rise above. Okay...just a little annoyed...let me clarify: THUS II has been called '...a rock opera.' It's not. It has also been referred to as a 'concept' album. If I may be so bold, ALL ALBUMS ARE CONCEPT ALBUMS! All albums have a theme in one way or another. Not all have a unifying narrative but do stand together, on a single tangible medium for one reason or another. Maybe the artist thought they sounded good together...the theme could be as simple and broad as that. Or maybe the songs were written in a single creative burst that seems to urge the artist to release them as a recording of that period. Still, another possibility is that an artist may want to put songs together which collectively express a narrative. That is all that THUS II is. Yes, it is a gapless album. Yes, it has been a big production. And yes, it has a certain narrative to it...but it's not The Wall or a Dream Theater album. I simply wrote songs that reflect elements of my life (just like the first album), organized them into three suites consisting of four songs each, and connected them musically so that the album flows. I feel it necessary to inform that for the mild mannered listener who would rather have an album that is more simply organized that there will be two versions of it: a gapless, and a standard version. For technical and musical reasons, it is taking me an absorbitant amount of time to get both versions to my liking without compromising the integrity of the narrative. Granted, the gapless version will be in the order of the events which occured, so as to accurately project a loose 'story'...I'm not expecting anyone to necessarily say 'wow! That was really enlightening...' The 'plot' points are there simply because I was driven to write it that way. Nobody has to get it. I only want people to enjoy the music. If they're interested in the concept, great! If not, then you've got a pile of good music that I put years of my life into. Much like Brian Wilson's SMiLE album. I don't think lots of people understand that album without an explanation of it's concept. That's why I'm writing this blog about THUS II. If you're totally against 'concept albums' and consider them preachy and long winded, then I urge you to pick up the standard version of the album. It will flow nicely like a well organized collection of songs. If you're into a slightly bigger production, with loose narrative and gapless flow (no pauses between songs), you'll want to pick up my preferred, definitive version. Just don't call it a rock opera. Ugh