21 for 21—#20: Queensryche, "Operation: Mindcrime"

I had never heard of the band Queensryche until their huge hit "Silent Lucidity" from their album "Empire" was a ubiquitous presence on rock radio and MTV. You see, kids, the terrible cable channel MTV used to play just music videos. This was in the fall of 1990, and on the strength of that one single, I bought the CD. It's a fantastic blend of hard rock and sharply intelligent lyrics, and I was instantly hooked.

One of my best friends, Mike Tucker, was already a big fan of the group, and he turned me on to the band's epic 1988 rock opera, "Operation: Mindcrime," which comes in at number 20 on my countdown of my top 21 favorite CDs in my collection.

Rock concept albums are a tricky business. You have the great (The Who, "Tommy") and the not-so-great (Styx, "Kilroy Was Here"). "O:M" definitely falls into the first category. It tells the story of a disaffected drug addict who falls into the clutches of a manipulative revolutionary who turns the man into an assassin who thinks he's going to change the world for the better. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't.)

The album has all the proper elements of a successful concept recording: each song clearly advances the story forward, yet each song stands alone on its own merits of quality. Listening to the album today, the best aspects of late eighties metal-rock stand the test of time, most particularly Geoff Tate's sinister, soaring vocals and Chris DeGarmo's guitar virtuosity.

Even better, Tuck and I saw the band live in St. Louis during their "Empire" tour in which they performed the entire "O:M" album live on stage, with live characters and a full-stage concept video screen behind them. To say it was amazing really doesn't do the show justice. To top it all off, I caught DeGarmo's guitar pick at the end of their encore.

The band eventually broke apart, with DeGarmo leaving and the remaining members eventually firing Tate, who sued "Queensryche" for the rights to use the name "Queensryche." As a result of the lawsuit, the original members kept the name, but Tate still has the rights to perform "O:M" live. I can't imagine another singer telling this story. All of the tracks are worth listening to individually, but to truly experience the album, you should listen to the whole album from beginning to end. Thanks to YouTube, all you have to do is click below!