Music

NEW YORK — Play it again, Sam. The whole album, please — and in order.

An unmistakable trend in concert-going is the growing number of acts performing their classic albums in full. Part marketing gimmick, part an act of nostalgia, the performances are above all communal celebrations of the album as an art form.

The album is being feted just as — thanks to iPods and MP3s — its demise is being portended.

To quote the Marvin Gaye album, "What's going on?"

At July's Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Public Enemy performed 1988's hip-hop classic It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Sebadoh played their 1993 lo-fi indie favorite Bubble and Scrape and Mission of Burma trotted out their 1982 post-punk full-length Vs.

Earlier this year at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California, Roger Waters played the Pink Floyd classic Dark Side of the Moon as his second set.

The concerts can be meaningful experiences for both artist and listener. The audience gets to hear the music exactly as they digested it — and perhaps grew to love it.

The trend is even visible in movie theaters. Currently playing in select theaters is Julian Schnabel's concert film of Lou Reed performing his 1973 album, Berlin. Reed also did a tour of Berlin last year.

Though Reed did the shows on his own, it was Barry Hogan who first suggested the idea to him. Hogan is a London-based concert promoter for All Tomorrow's Parties, a festival whose "Don't Look Back" series has been the trendsetter in getting bands to play their classic albums.

In its inaugural year in 2006, albums were performed by the Stooges (Funhouse), Gang of Four (Entertainment!), Belle & Sebastian (If You're Feeling Sinister), Cat Power (The Covers Record) and Dinosaur Jr. (You're Living All Over Me).

"When you first mention it to artists, a lot of them, their initial reaction is, `What's wrong with our new stuff?"' said Hogan.

But they've been quicker to come around to the idea, said Hogan. At the ATP festival Aug. 19-21 in the Catskills in upstate New York, Built to Spill, the Meat Puppets, Tortoise and Thurston Moore will all perform albums in full.

"Some people mistake what we're doing with 'Don't Look Back' that we're just trying to be quite retro," said Hogan. "It's more a case of we're celebrating the album."

Too much reflection, though, can stunt anyone's creativity. Built to Spill is currently recording a new album in Los Angeles, so lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch was hesitant to perform their 1997 album, Perfect From Now On, which will be the focus of their tour this fall.

"I put off listening to the album for a long time," said Martsch. "The first time I tried to listen to it, I couldn't even make it all the way through it. It was kind of boring to me. But after a few listens, it grew on me."