Various Artists: Colonel Jeffrey Pumpernickel: A Concept Album

Probably no development better symbolizes rock music's acceptance as an art form, or the inherent problems of that acceptance, than the concept album. Sure, everyone loves Tommy, but who would want to listen to Rick Wakeman's Journey To The Center Of The Earth today It takes a rare brand of talent to tie a narrative to music better suited to conveying the frustrations of teenagedom, and an even rarer brand of talent to make the effort seem worthwhile. Colonel Jeffrey Pumpernickel is a concept album conceived, presumably with tongue in cheek, by Chris Slusarenko, and executed likewise by an impressive roster that includes Guided By Voices, Quasi, The Minus 5, Grandaddy, The Minders, and others. The story of a colonel who might also be a robot, at least according to Richard Meltzer's liner notes, it's putting it mildly to suggest that Pumpernickel falls short of the narrative craftsmanship of Dickens. As a parody of concept albums, and a relaxed showcase for the talent involved, it proves considerably more successful. The members of the perennially overlooked Poster Children, for example, achieve positively U2-esque grandeur on "Back In Uniform," while Stephen Malkmus' "Blue Rash Intact (Quarantined–Strong Hallucinations Due To Severe Allergies)" suggests the sound of a lost Pavement stab at techno cheese. On a scale of long-term relevance, the saga of Colonel Pumpernickel probably ranks closer to Wakeman's work than Pete Townshend's, but as an engaging toss-off, it nicely passes the time. That's an achievement preferable to those of most concept albums anyway.