# Full-album performance > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Full-album_performance > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Full-album_performance.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-album_performance > Source revision: 1357282557 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) A **full-album performance** (also called an **album-in-full** or **complete album** concert) is a [concert](/source/Concert) that features a recording artist performing one of their own [albums](/source/Album) in its entirety, usually in the original track order. Such concerts are commonly staged to mark an album's anniversary or to present an artistically significant work as a continuous whole.[1][2] The format was popularized in the mid-2000s by the British concert series [Don't Look Back](/source/Don't_Look_Back_(concert_series)), organized by the promoters of the [All Tomorrow's Parties](/source/All_Tomorrow's_Parties) festival, and by the end of the decade had become a recognized trend in live music.[2][1] Commentators generally trace the practice to the touring performances of the [Beach Boys](/source/The_Beach_Boys)' album *[Pet Sounds](/source/Pet_Sounds)* given by [Brian Wilson](/source/Brian_Wilson) from 2000 onward, which the critic Dorian Lynskey credited with "helping establish the practice, now ubiquitous, of playing classic albums in full."[3][4] The trend has also drawn criticism from some musicians, who have variously characterized it as nostalgic, complacent, or artistically regressive.[5] ## Origins and popularisation ### Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds Brian Wilson began performing the Beach Boys's 1966 album *Pet Sounds* from beginning to end around 2000. Lynskey dated the start of these performances to 2001.[3][4] A 2002 performance at London's [Royal Festival Hall](/source/Royal_Festival_Hall) was issued on the live album *[Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live](/source/Brian_Wilson_Presents_Pet_Sounds_Live)*.[6] Wilson revived the format for a 50th-anniversary world tour in 2016, again performing the record in sequence.[4][6] Lynskey wrote that Wilson's *Pet Sounds* concerts helped establish a now-common concert practice.[3] ### Don't Look Back The Don't Look Back series, curated by the promoters of All Tomorrow's Parties, invited established acts to recreate a single celebrated album in full.[1][2] An [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) feature in 2008 identified the series as "the trendsetter in getting bands to play their classic albums" and quoted the promoter [Barry Hogan](/source/Barry_Hogan), who framed the concept as a celebration of the album rather than a marketing device.[1] *[NME](/source/NME)* later wrote that the series had "popularized" the format, asking acts such as [Sonic Youth](/source/Sonic_Youth), [Dinosaur Jr.](/source/Dinosaur_Jr.), [The Lemonheads](/source/The_Lemonheads) and [Belle and Sebastian](/source/Belle_and_Sebastian) to perform seminal albums in full, after which "the complete album gig" became, in the magazine's description, a hallmark of cult bands with long-term followings.[2] Albums performed in full during the series and its associated festivals included [The Stooges](/source/The_Stooges)' *[Fun House](/source/Fun_House_(The_Stooges_album))*, [Gang of Four](/source/Gang_of_Four_(band))'s *[Entertainment!](/source/Entertainment!)*, and Belle and Sebastian's *[If You're Feeling Sinister](/source/If_You're_Feeling_Sinister)*, alongside sets by [Cat Power](/source/Cat_Power) and Dinosaur Jr.[1] At an All Tomorrow's Parties event in 2010, performers played complete albums including [Iggy and the Stooges](/source/Iggy_and_the_Stooges)' *[Raw Power](/source/Raw_Power)* (1973), [Sleep](/source/Sleep_(band))'s *[Holy Mountain](/source/Sleep's_Holy_Mountain)*, [Mudhoney](/source/Mudhoney)'s *[Superfuzz Bigmuff](/source/Superfuzz_Bigmuff)* (1990), and the [Sunn O)))](/source/Sunn_O)))) and [Boris](/source/Boris_(band)) collaboration *[Altar](/source/Altar_(album))*.[7] ## Characteristics and motivations Full-album performances are frequently timed to coincide with the anniversary of an album's original release.[4] The Associated Press described the format as "part marketing gimmick, part an act of nostalgia," and as a means of staging "communal celebrations of the album as an art form."[1] Because the format requires an artist to perform an entire record–including songs rarely played live–reviewers have treated the ability to sustain a complete album, or several in succession, as a demanding undertaking. A 2023 *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))* review noted that recreating "two, three or even four classic albums in their entirety for a run of back-to-back concerts" had once been regarded as a "Herculean feat."[8] Some performances expand the recorded material with additional staging or musicians. [Lou Reed](/source/Lou_Reed) performed his 1973 album *[Berlin](/source/Berlin_(Lou_Reed_album))* in full in 2006 with a roughly 35-piece ensemble and stage design by the artist and filmmaker [Julian Schnabel](/source/Julian_Schnabel); the production was explicitly associated with the Don't Look Back model of presenting a celebrated album in its entirety.[9] ## Critical reception The trend has been the subject of debate among musicians and critics. *NME* canvassed several artists who objected to the format: [Dave Grohl](/source/Dave_Grohl) called it "presumptuous" and "lazy," [Bloc Party](/source/Bloc_Party)'s [Kele Okereke](/source/Kele_Okereke) described it as "cynical" and "cringey," and [Billy Corgan](/source/Billy_Corgan) of [The Smashing Pumpkins](/source/The_Smashing_Pumpkins) called it "regressive."[5] Defenders have framed the practice as a celebration of the album as a complete work rather than as commercial nostalgia, a view expressed by promoter Barry Hogan in connection with the Don't Look Back series.[1] ## See also - [Concept album](/source/Concept_album) - [Concert residency](/source/Concert_residency) - [Don't Look Back (concert series)](/source/Don't_Look_Back_(concert_series)) - [Re-recording (music)](/source/Re-recording_(music)) - [Track-for-track cover album](/source/Track-for-track_cover_album) ## References 1. ["Albums make comeback as concert gimmick"](https://www.today.com/popculture/albums-make-comeback-concert-gimmick-1c9483798). *Today*. Associated Press. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Bands Playing Albums Live In Full Is The Trend That Refuses To Die. Here's Why"](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/bands-playing-albums-live-in-full-is-the-trend-that-refuses-to-die-heres-why-763031). *[NME](/source/NME)*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. Lynskey, Dorian (16 May 2016). ["Brian Wilson Entrances Bristol on Eve of 'Pet Sounds' 50th Anniversary"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/brian-wilson-entrances-bristol-on-eve-of-pet-sounds-50th-anniversary-203568/). *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Brian Wilson Takes 'Pet Sounds' on Tour: Embracing an Unexpected Career as a Live Artist"](https://www.billboard.com/pro/brian-wilson-pet-sounds-tour/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Bands Playing Their Classic Albums In Full Live: Cynical Nostalgia Or Brilliant Idea?"](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/bands-playing-their-classic-albums-in-full-live-cynical-nostalgia-or-brilliant-idea-vote-in-our-poll-18779). *[NME](/source/NME)*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Flashback: Brian Wilson Brings 'Pet Sounds' to the Stage in London"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/brian-wilson-pet-sounds-live-london-1117627/). *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["All Tomorrow's Parties 2010 In Photos"](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2010/09/07/129707926/all-tomorrow-s-parties). *[NPR](/source/NPR)*. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Spanning 250 Songs, Elvis Costello's 10-Night Residency in NYC Makes Him a Miracle Man: Concert Review"](https://variety.com/2023/music/concert-reviews/elvis-costello-gramercy-new-york-10-night-stand-concert-review-1235533360/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2026. 1. ["Lou Reed's Berlin"](https://reverseshot.org/reviews/entry/58/lou_reeds_berlin). *Reverse Shot*. Retrieved 1 June 2026. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Full-album performance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-album_performance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-album_performance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.