Posts tagged Jethro Tull

(Review from amazon, allmusic)

This is a hodge-podge of live recordings from 1969 to 1992, at various locations around the world.

Opening with the loud, bluesy “To Be Sad Is a Mad Way to Be” (which is a definite throwback to the This Was album), the music advances across the decades, crossing the 1970s with a three-minute excerpt from A Passion Play into a medley of Aqualung material and on to their various 1980s incarnations and repertory, by which time Martin Barre is pretty much sharing the spotlight with (if not outright stealing it from) Anderson.

The “Passion Jig” from a 1975 Paris concert is an instrumental piece salvaged and adapted from part of A Passion Play, which is a clever way of reviving music from a concept album. It contains a slightly harder edge too. Another excellent track is a medley, “Wind-Up/Locomotive Breath/Land of Hope and Glory”. There are a number of lesser-known works that are well done and enjoyable. One such work is the nearly 11 minute long song “Budapest” which is somewhat devoid of catchy hooks, and yet is interesting to hear and analyze.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano, vocals, harmonica, mandolin
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, marimba
- Clive Bunker / drums, hooter and charm bracelet (1, 2)
- Glenn Cornick / bass (1, 2)
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion (3, 4)
- John Evans / piano (3, 4)
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass (3)
- John Glascock / bass, vocals (4)
- David Palmer / keyboards, orchestra conductor (4)
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolins, vocals (6-15)
- Gerry Conway / drums, percussion (5)
- Peter-John Vettese / piano, synthesizer (6, 7)
- Doane Perry / drums (6-11)
- Martin Allcock / mandolin, keyboards (8-11)
- Dave Mattacks / drums (12-15)
- Andy Giddings / keyboards (12-15)

Track List:
01. To Be Sad Is A Mad Way To Be (Stockholm Concert Hall, 01-19-1969)
02. Back To The Family (Stockholm Concert Hall, 01-19-1969)
03. Passion Play Extract (Paris, 1976)
04. Wind-Up + Locomotive Breath + Land Of Hope And Glory + Medley (London, 1977)
05. Seal Driver (Hamburg, 1982)
06. Nobody’s Car (London, 1984)
07. Pussy Willow (London, 1984)
08. Budapest (Leysin, Switzerland, 1991)
09. Nothing Is Easy (Leysin, Switzerland, 1991)
10. Kissing Willie (Tallin, Estonia, 1991)
11. Still Loving You Tonight (London, 1991)
12. Beggar’s Farm (Pullman, WA, 1992)
13. Passion Jig (Chicago, IL, 1992)
14. A Song For Jeffrey (Chicago, IL, 1992)
15. Living In The Past (Montreal, Canada, 1992)

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Dave Pegg, Gerry Conway, Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Beacons Bottom Tapes (1993) (@256)

29 Sep 2009

(Review from amazon, allmusic)

This album features the then-current lineup of the group, documenting their latest approach to songs ranging across 24 years of their history — featuring some reimagined and reworked arrangements.

There are three groups of songs: a recording session from Beacon’s Bottom in Nov ’92 with the full band playing their live arrangements of classic songs, 4 songs recorded at Ian Anderson’s house in a similar manner in December, and a rearrangement of Cheerio by Dave Pegg playing all the instruments.

With the exception of Cheerio, this is Tull live without an audience. Some pieces are very similar in arrangement to the originals; some differ considerably.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, harmonica, mandolin (1-7, 9, 11-14)
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, marimba (2, 6-7, 9-14)
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolins, vocals (2, 6-9, 11-14)
- Andy Giddings / keyboards (2, 5-7, 9, 11-14)
- Doane Perry / drums (2, 6-7, 9, 11-14)

Track List:
01. So Much Trouble (2:30)
02. My Sunday Feeling (3:56)
03. Some Day The Sun Won’t Shine For You (2:02)
04. Living In The Past (3:26)
05. Bouree (3:32)
06. With You There To Help Me (6:13)
07. Thick As A Brick (9:01)
08. Cheerio (3:58)
09. A New Day Yesterday (8:01)
10. Protect And Survive (3:06)
11. Jack-A-Lynn (4:57)
12. The Whistler (2:52)
13. My God (10:02)
14. Aqualung (7:31)

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Jethro Tull – In Concert (1991) (@256)

28 Sep 2009

3 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

Rather than “little light music”, in this album we are treated with a more rocking live experience, from the “Catfish Rising” tour.

The opener seems to be “Minstel in the Gallery” at first, but only for 25 seconds (much like a radio spot) then transitions into a harder rocking “Crossed-Eyed Mary”. “Heavy Horses” is a highlight, its acoustic passages are very well rendered, the vocal part being on par. As the song develops the band plays harder and harder without denaturalizing the song. “Still Loving You Tonight” from their then-latest album is a great song with a very strong guitar play from Martin. Slow-paced, just to cool down, very emotional solo.

A concert staple, “Thick as a Brick”, a bit too short for its fans is not forgotten. The band returns to its bluesy roots with “A New Day Yesterday” followed with a “Blues Jam”. A rocking “Jump Start” from the “Crest of a Knave” concludes this live affair.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, vocals mandolin, harmonica
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Doane Perry / drums
- Martin Allcock / keyboards
- Dave Pegg / bass

Track List:
01. Minstrel In The Gallery / Crossed-Eye Mary – 4:08
02. This Is Not Love – 5:04
03. Rocks On The Road – 6:41
04. Heavy Horses – 9:19
05. Tall Thin Girl – 3:40
06. Still Loving You Tonight – 4:42
07. Thick As A Brick – 7:48
08. A New Day Yesterday – 5:49
09. Blues Jam – 3:15
10. Jump Start – 6:56

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Dave Pegg, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Live in Carnegie Hall (1970) (@256)

27 Sep 2009

7 comments

(Review from allmusic)

This album contains an additional hour of the group’s November 4, 1970 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York (two pieces were previously issued on Living in the Past album). Preserved on a 16-track master tape, this “Benefit” tour show for the drug rehabilitation program Phoenix House was the group’s most prominent American gig up to that time.

The band’s sound at the time of the recording is a pounding mix of hard rock, acoustic folk music, jazz elements, and Ian Anderson’s vocals, alternately sage-like and fierce; some of the flute acrobatics don’t translate too well to tape, even in Carnegie Hall, but the transition from “Sossity, You’re a Woman” into “Reasons for Waiting” — featuring exquisite organ playing by John Evan — is beautiful enough as to make up for the flaws elsewhere, as well as reminding listeners of one of the more hauntingly beautiful songs in the group’s early repertory; they also unveil a song that was still, by Anderson’s own account, a work-in-progress, entitled “My God”.

It’s a good representation of what the band sounded like in its second incarnation, when they were still establishing themselves outside of England.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano, vocals, harmonica, mandolin
- Clive Bunker / drums, hooter and charm bracelet
- Glenn Cornick / bass
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, marimba
- John Evans / piano

Track List:
01. Nothing Is Easy – 6:06
02. My God – 11:10
03. With You There To Help Me – 6:46
04. A Song For Jeffrey – 5:45
05. To Cry You A Song – 7:59
06. Sossity, You’re A Woman – 2:15
07. Reasons For Waiting – 3:55
08. We Used To Know – 3:18
09. Guitar Solo – 8:23
10. For A Thousand Mothers – 4:47

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Aqualung Live (2004) (@256)

06 Feb 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Of limited interest for the newbie to progressive, this live version of such a classic album as Aqualung is certainly quite a pleasure for confirmed Tullheads.

One of the interesting thing is that those songs are recorded (at a radio’s initiative) by the latest Tull line-up and some of those musos were not even born when the album got its release. Comparing how those songs done live compare with the original studio version, there are adaptations done here and there, but overall the songs remain true to their original spirit.

The songs are played in the original sequences of the album and only Cheap Day Return is coupled with Mother Goose (there is a keyboard intervening imitating an accordion for an example of adaptation). Everyone of the songs gets a superb treatment and it is clear now for those that thought so, that there was not one single track weaker than the stronger and rockier ones.

Actually this album tends to magnify the beauty of the shorter and more acoustic tracks that might have been over-looked at in the original album. It was a real curiosity to see how “My God” would translate on to stage, and they do not try to escape the choir parts. We are also treated to an extended intro of Locomotive Breath but more importantly an exquisite intro-ed Hymn 43.

As bonus to the album, there are the interviews and in between songs banter with the typical Anderson humour. A treat, they are a bit of a pain with repeated listening, but nothing that a skip or eject button cannot fix quickly.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / vocals, flute, acoustic guitar
- Martin Barre / guitar
- Doane Perry / drums, percussion
- Andrew Giddings / piano, organ, keyboards
- Jonathan Noyce / bass

Track List:
01. Aqualung (7:56)
02. Cross-Eyed Mary (4:34)
03. Cheap Day Return (1:43)
04. Mother Goose (5:39)
05. Wond’ring Aloud (2:00)
06. Up To Me (3:35)
07. My God (8:27)
08. Hymn 43 (4:22)
09. Slipstream (0:59)
10. Locomotive Breath (5:19)
11. Wind-Up (6:40)
12. Riffs – another monkey (1:27)
13. Recording the original (2:05)
14. Choosing my words with care (1:17)
15. Hummmmmm 43 (0:35)
16. A different kettle of very different fish (1:02)
17. But is it any good? (1:42)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Live at Montreux (Live 2003) (@256)

19 Dec 2007

(Review from allaboutjazz.com)

While it’s called The Montreux Jazz Festival, it’s always made clear from the very beginning that it’s always been more than just jazz.

The 21st-century incarnation of Tull which, along with Barre, includes keyboardist Andrew Giddings, bassist Jonathan Noyce and drummer Doane Perry, is as flexible as any that’s come before. Whether it’s the elegant folksiness of “Life is a Long Song”, the strange amalgam of “Fat Man”, with Anderson on bouzouki, the pumping blues of “Some Day the Sun Won’t Shine For You”, on which Anderson proves he’s still got his harmonica chops from This Was, or the more progressive leanings of “Hunting Girl”, from “Songs from the Wood” album, Anderson’s choice of younger band mates has clearly been influenced by a need for perhaps the most stylistically diverse version of Tull to date.

There are some welcome surprises. Tull pulls out “With You There to Help Me”, from the largely overlooked Benefit, and it’s both reverential and contemporary, with Anderson’s flute soaring. His voice may have suffered from the ravages of time, but his flute playing clearly hasn’t.

While the band says the first half of the show as acoustic, the second electric, it’s not quite that clearly delineated. There’s nothing acoustic about “Hunting Girl”, which sits firmly between two instrumentals—Barre’s Django Reinhardt-esque “Empty Café” and the buoyant and slightly Spanish “Eurology” from Rupi’s Dance, which features Giddings’ accordion alongside Anderson’s lithe flute.

But the second half of the show is decidedly heavier, and also features more extended tunes, with the three Aqualung tracks and the episodic “Budapest”, from the “Crest of a Knave” album, all turning up the heat. Whatever deficiencies might be there in Anderson’s voice are made up for by the energy of his presence, his untarnished instrumental skills and the clean strength of the group. Barre has always managed to play a kind of intelligent metal when he kicks in the heavy distortion, and he remains a distinguishing asset to the band.

The album is testament to a group that, while having to adapt to a number of changes over the years, is still capable of putting on a fine show. Its glory days of releasing classic albums may be over, but with a set list covering its entire existence and continuing to reveal occasional surprises, it’s a group that still has plenty of life and validity to it.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, vocals
- Martin Barre / guitar, flute
- Andrew Giddings / keyboards
- Jonathan Noyce / bass
- Doane Perry / drums
with
- Masha / vocals (CD1 track 9)

Track List:
CD1
01. Some Day The Sun Won’t Shine For You (4:20)
02. Life Is A Long Song (3:31)
03. Bourée (4:57)
04. With You There To Help Me (6:33)
05. Pavane (4:28)
06. Empty Cafe (2:37)
07. Hunting Girl (5:30)
08. Eurology (3:39)
09. Dot Com (4:43)
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (5:00)
11. Fat Man (5:25)
CD2
01. Living In The Past (6:59)
02. Nothing Is Easy (5:10)
03. Beside Myself (6:39)
04. My God (8:30)
05. Budapest (11:29)
06. New Jig (1:27)
07. Aqualung (8:02)
08. Locomotive Breath (8:36)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Christmas Album (2003) (@256)

18 Dec 2007

(Review from allmusic)

With a mixture of re-recorded old songs, Christmas standards and new originals, Jethro Tull, in a roundabout manner, captures the tradition, warmth, and bittersweet feelings that are inextricably linked to Christmas; at the same time, the group’s 2003 lineup recapture the musical intensity of three decades’ past, and build on the classic Tull mood of sardonic humor, wry irony, and fierce passions that permeated all of their work from Stand Up to Songs From the Wood.

With a generous use of unamplified instruments like mandolin, acoustic guitar, flute, and accordion, this album resembles the production found on Songs From the Wood and Heavy Horses. In fact, three tracks from those two albums were reworked for this release; “Fire at Midnight”, “Ring Out Solstice Bells” and “Weathercock”. Only “Ring Out Solstice Bells” appeared to be the obvious choice for a Christmas album, but given Anderson’s offbeat perspective of things, the other two tracks assimilate nicely.

In addition, “Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow” sounds like it could have emanated from those 1977 and 1978 recordings, as could “Last Man at the Party” from 1974′s War Child sessions.

Among the re-recordings, pieces such as “A Christmas Song”, that originally had orchestral accompaniment, are redone without it, in new arrangements, while others that were done without orchestra get dressed up with strings. From the traditional side of Christmas, Tull gives “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” a jazzy adaptation reminiscent of “Bouree” from Stand Up (which is also revisited on this recording) and “We Five Kings” sounds rhythmically similar to “Living in the Past,” particularly the bass guitar line.

In addition to Bach’s “Bouree”, the majestic Gabriel Fauré piece “Pavane” is included, which features guitarist Martin Barre’s exceptional acoustic playing. He also does a solo composition as the album closer, the deeply evocative tone-painting “A Winter Snowscape” (from his own solo album), which takes some gratifying turns away from the most obvious melodic direction.

The album’s overall mix of folk, jazz, pop, rock and classical elements carries it beyond the holiday listening for which it was intended, and is all woven together so skillfully as to make this an essential Tull album, their first in almost three decades and their most musically rewarding. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you can enjoy the music anyway.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / vocals, flute, acoustic guitars, mandolin, piccolo, percussion
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Andy Giddings / keyboards, accordion, bass, organ
- Doane Perry / drums, percussion (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
- Jonathan Noyce / bass on tracks (2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15)
with
- Dave Pegg / mandolin (3), bass (4)
- James Duncan / drums (2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15), percussion (3)
- Sturcz String Quartet arranged by Laszlo Bencker (10)
– Gabor Csonka / 1st violin
– Péter Szilagyi / 2nd violin
– Gyula Benko / viola
– Andras Sturcz / cello

Track List:
01. Birthday Card At Christmas (3:35)
02. Holly Herald (4:15)
03. A Christmas Song (2:47)
04. Another Christmas Song (3:30)
05. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (4:33)
06. Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow (3:35)
07. Last Man At The Party (4:47)
08. Wheathercock (4:17)
09. Pavane (4:18)
10. First Snow On Brooklyn (4:55)
11. Greensleeved (2:39)
12. Fire At Midnight (2:24)
13. We Five Kings (3:14)
14. Ring Out, Solstice Bells (4:03)
15. Bourée (4:23)
16. A Winter Snowscape (4:54)

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Jethro Tull – Living with the Past (Live 2001) (@256)

17 Dec 2007

1 comment

(Review from allmusic.com)

Perhaps there haven’t been that many live Tull albums, it’s been ten years since the last. This is a collection of new live recordings from 2001, largely taken from a performance at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in November.

What makes this particular live performance noteworthy is that they bring back several original members for guest appearances in something that will surely delight longtime followers of the band, which is really who this album is aimed at.

On that level, this works quite well. Perhaps the sound is a little too clean, with each instrument clearly defined and detailed, and perhaps the performance leans more toward the professional than the inspired, but it’s enjoyable all the same, proving that Tull remained a strong live band well over 30 years later — and for those who have followed them for years, this will be as welcome as a visit from an old friend.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / concert and bamboo flutes, vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute (1-14, 18, 19, 21)
- Andy Giddings / keyboards, accordion (1-14, 18, 19, 21)
- Jonathan Noyce / bass (1-14, 18, 19, 21)
- Doane Perry / drums, percussion (1-14, 18-19, 21)
- Dave Pegg / mandolin, bass (15-17)
- Mick Abrahams / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals (20)
- Clive Bunker / drums (20)
- Glenn Cornick / bass (20)
- James Duncan / drums (14)
- Brian Thomas / violin (13, 14)
- Justine Tomlinson / violin (13, 14)
- Malcolm Henderson / viola (13, 14)
- Juliet Tomlinson / cello (13, 14)

Track List:
01. Intro – 0:22
02. My Sunday Feeling – 4:00
03. Roots to Branches – 5:34
04. Jack in the Green – 2:40
05. The Habanero Reel – 4:03
06. Sweet Dream – 4:54
07. In the Grip of Stronger Stuff – 2:57
08. Aqualung – 8:20
09. Locomotive Breath – 5:26
10. Living in the Past – 3:27
11. Protect and Survive – 1:01
12. Nothing Is Easy – 5:16
13. Wond’ring Aloud – 1:54
14. Life is a Long Song – 3:32
15. A Christmas Song – 3:05
16. Cheap Day Return – 1:12
17. Mother Goose – 1:57
18. Dot Com – 4:28
19. Fat Man – 5:06
20. Some Day the Sun Won’t Shine for You – 4:13
21. Cheerio – 1:36

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Dave Pegg, Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – J-Tull Dot Com (1999) (@256)

16 Dec 2007

2 comments

(Review from progressiveworld.net, dprp.net, progreviews.com)

Jethro Tull’s last album of the nineties sees them still very close to the stunning style of “Roots to Branches”. The Middle-Eastern influences are still occasionally apparent and this album has a harder edge to it than “Secret Language of Birds”, the Ian Anderson solo album released around the same time. The quality, though, has perhaps dropped just a notch.

From the opening notes of “J-Tull Dot Com”, you know that this is Jethro Tull – and not just down to Ian Anderson’s trilling flute. That heavy sound that is uniquely Tull (and Tull clones) burst through from the opening track, “Spiral”. The tracks are certainly diverse, ranging from the “Aqualung” like “Hunt by numbers” through the softer “Nothing @ all” to the semi-spoken “Hot Mango Flush”.

The album shows where Tull are after more than 30 years: they’re still fresh and discovering something new without forgetting their roots. Even if there are few jaw-dropping moments here, everything from the lyrics to the production is done with the elegantly competent style that has become Jethro Tull’s hallmark.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, bamboo flute, bouzouki, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Andy Giddings / Hammond organ, piano, accordion, chromatic and qwerty keyboards
- Jonathan Noyce / bass
- Doane Perry / drums
with
- Najma Akhtar back vocals on track 2

Track List:
01. Spiral (3:53)
02. Dot Com (4:26)
03. Awol (5:21)
04. Nothing @ All (0:56)
05. Wicked Windows (4:42)
06. Hunt By Numbers (4:02)
07. Hot Mango Flush (3:51)
08. El Nino (4:43)
09. Black Mamba (4:59)
10. Mango Surprise (1:16)
11. Bends Like A Willow (4:54)
12. Far Alaska (4:08)
13. The Dog-Ear Years (3:34)
14. A Gift Of Roses / Silence / Secret Language of Birds (9:37)

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Jethro Tull – A Little Light Music (Live 1992) (@320)

15 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

“A Little Light Music” is a long and loving look at a legendary journey through the years, from the early “Bouree” ’round presently to Catfish Rising. What’s impressive is how Tull still fills out the old swashbuckler’s suit, handling the dusty sword once more with care and charisma. Was “A New Day Yesterday” so long ago, did “Under Wraps” just come unwrapped so soon? “A Little Light Music” isn’t concerned with the business of When; it answers Now. The whole body of Tull, from apple to zanzibar, is as vital today as twentysomething summers ago. Time passes, wine matures and temples crumble; Tull lives on.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mandolin, harmonica, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolin
- Dave Mattacks / snare drum, bass drum, hi-hat, cymbal, glockenspiel, percussion, keyboard

Track List:
01. Someday The Sun Won’t Shine For You (3:59)
02. Living In The Past (5:08)
03. Life Is A Long Song (3:37)
04. Under Wraps (2:30)
05. Rocks On The Road (7:05)
06. Nursie (2:27)
07. Too Old To Rock: Roll Too Young To Die (4:44)
08. One White Duck (3:15)
09. A New Day Yesterday (7:34)
10. John Barleycorn (6:34)
11. Look Into The Sun (3:46)
12. A Christmas Song (3:46)
13. From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser (3:51)
14. This Is Not Love (3:53)
15. Bourée (6:06)
16. Pussy Willow (3:32)
17. Locomotive Breath (5:52)

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Dave Pegg, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Nightcap Unreleased Masters (1973-1991) (@320)

14 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

This outtakes album covering the period from 1973 to 1991 contains work from the sessions which ultimately led to “A Passion Play”, plus later material, some of which saw the light of day in different formats on other albums. The collection is in two distinct parts. CD1, subtitled “The Chateau d’Isaster Tapes”, was recorded in France in 1973, between the release of “Thick as a Brick” and “A Passion Play”, while CD2 is a more eclectic gathering of tracks omitted from the various Tull albums released up to 1991.

“Chateau d’Isaster Tapes” that’s being called this way by Ian Anderson due to the process by which this record was made. The infamous 1973 recording sessions at The Chateau D’Herouville, near Paris, were never completed due to ill-health, technical and production problems, and the sudden decision of the band to return to the UK from temporary and ill-advised tax exile. Rather than continue with the Chateau Tapes, the band decided to begin with a virtually new work which quickly became the more down-beat and controversial “A Passion Play”.

In some ways, these recordings are a bit of a tease. While they are largely complete in themselves, they come across at times as disjointed in this context. Some additional dubbing (mainly flute) was added around 1991, but these are essentially the tracks as they were originally laid down. Although some of the music found its way onto “A Passion Play”, “War Child”, and “Minstrel in the Gallery” in different guises, these recordings have much more in common with “Thick as a Brick”. The performances have all the qualities which made “Thick As A Brick” such an essential album.

CD2 is a different story, but is nonetheless interesting and worthy of investigation. Here we have a collection of disconnected tracks from the 1970s through to the early 90′s, which were omitted from the albums for which they were intended for a variety of reasons (“Rock Island,” “Catfish Rising”, “Broadsword And The Beast” and “Too Old To Rock And Roll”). Some were too similar to other tracks already on the albums, while others were considered too radically different to the other tracks. What is undeniable though is that these tracks are in many cases equal to, and occasionally superior to, those tracks which were selected. “A small cigar” is interesting, as it was apparently dropped by Anderson because of its pro-smoking implications! Other highlights of this set include the lighter “Broadford Bazaar” and the classically (Bach) based “Man of Principle”.

While the ever present Ian Anderson appears on all tracks and Martin Barre only misses a couple, the consistency of the first disc is notably absent. This can be attributed in part to the line up changes the band experienced over the period, and perhaps more significantly to Anderson’s enforced change of vocal style during the 80′s. as a result of illness.

Line-up:
CD1
- Ian Anderson / flute, balalaika, mandolin, Hammond organ, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- John Evans / celeste, piano
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, backing vocals
- Barriemore Barlow / drums
CD2:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano, vocals, harmonica, mandolin
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, marimba (1-8, 10-14, 16-18)
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion (1, 2, 4)
- John Evans / piano (1, 2, 4)
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass (1, 2, 4)
- David Palmer / keyboards, orchestra conductor (4, 9)
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolins, vocals (3, 5-8, 10-14, 16, 18)
- Gerry Conway / drums, percussion (6, 7, 10-13, 16)
- Peter-John Vettese / piano, synthesizer (6, 13)
- Doane Perry / drums (3, 5, 8, 14)
with
- John Bundrick / piano, Hammond B-3 organ (3, 5, 8)
- Scott Hunter / drums (17)
- Matthew Pegg / bass (17)

Track List:
CD1
01. First Post (1:54)
02. Animelée (1:41)
03. Tiger Toon (1:36)
04. Look At The Animals (5:09)
05. Law Of The Bungle (2:32)
06. Law Of The Bungle Part II (5:26)
07. Left Right (5:01)
08. Solitaire (1:25)
09. Critique Oblique (9:03)
10. Post Last (5:35)
11. Scenario (3:26)
12. Audition (2:34)
13. No Rehearsal (5:12)
CD2
01. Paradise Steakhouse (4:01)
02. Sealion II (3:21)
03. Piece Of Cake (3:40)
04. Quartet (2:45)
05. Silver River Turning (4:52)
06. Crew Nights (4:33)
07. The Curse (3:39)
08. Rosa On The Factory Floor (4:38)
09. A Small Cigar (3:39)
10. Man Of Principle (3:57)
11. Commons Brawl (3:24)
12. No Step (3:38)
13. Drive On The Young Side Of Life (4:13)
14. I Don’t Want To Be Me (3:29)
15. Broadford Bazaar (3:38)
16. Lights Out (5:16)
17. Truck Stop Runner (3:47)
18. Hard Liner (3:47)

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Dave Pegg, Gerry Conway, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Catfish Rising (1991) (@256)

13 Dec 2007

3 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Catfish Rising” is Jethro Tull’s first album from the nineties.

One of the most notable improvements this album has over its immediate predecessors is the production- it’s very organic sounding, with a welcome return of the acoustic guitar and mandolins that so characterised their best work in the 70s. It’s also good to hear some ‘real’ drums after the clinical nightmare of the syn drums, and keyboards thankully at last take a back seat. More importantly, the quality of songs here is a massive improvement over the undistinguished ‘Rock Island’- whilst there are perhaps fewer classics than ‘Crest Of A Knave’ had, this is a far more consistent and satisfying album.

The album returns slightly to ‘Stand Up’, with its rock songs tinged with folk and blues. There are a few tracks that continue the hard rock momentum of the previous albums, such as the storming opener ‘This Is Not Love’ which erupts from the speakers from the get-go due to the punchy drumming of Doane Perry and a catchy hook to accompany Martin Barre’s rock solid riffing. ‘Occasional Demons’ is in a fairly similar mould and again is a reasonably strong track.

Elsewhere, there is a return to the blues roots the band started out with. Indeed, the closing ‘When Jesus Came To Play’ is practically ‘This Was’ in style! The over-the-top innuendo of ‘Roll Yer Own’ is a wonderfully realised bottleneck blues parody, harking back to the days where euphemisms like ‘jelly roll’ were commonplace due to the wonderful acoustic guitar and mandolin strumming alongside Anderson’s vocal performance.

‘Doctor To My Disease’ lyrically occupies the same space, but is an altogether heavier track with some scorching electric guitar riffs and flute work. Anderson hams it right up with ‘Like A Tall Thin Girl’- the mandolin driven riff takes you right back to ‘Fat Man’, but has some of the most ham-handed double entendres this side of David Coverdale you’ll ever hear! ‘Sleeping With The Dog’ continues this overall theme, a loping blues ballad with some fine flute playing. The plaintive acoustic balladry of ‘Still Loving You Tonight’ shows a rather more sensitive side, however, and has some very fine acoustic guitar leads from Martin Barre. ‘Gold Tipped Boots…’ is a lot of fun, with more jaunty flutes and mandolins.

There are a few songs that occupy the folkier territory of their late 70s work, such as the acoustically driven ‘Rocks On The Road’, whilst the wacky ‘Thinking Round Corners’ wouldn’t have disgraced ‘Songs From The Wood’ with its propulsive flute motif and a gleefully crazed vocal performance that harks back to wonderful classics such as ‘The Whistler’.

The oft-brought up criticisms of Tull in this period of how they were sounding too much like Dire Straits only comes into play once with ‘White Innocence’, one of those storyteller tracks like Dire Straits’ ‘Romeo And Juliet’.

The band sound recharged, yet have in a sense gone back to their acoustic roots and sound far more comfortable there. What’s more, the subsequent studio album ‘Roots To Branches’ continued the momentum and was even better.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic mandolin, electric mandolin, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, percussion, vocals, drums and keyboards
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Dave Pegg / bass, acoustic bass
- Doane Perry / drums, percussion
with
- Andy Giddings / keyboards on tracks 1, 4 and 8
- Foss Paterson / keyboards on track 10
- John “Rabbit” Bundrick / keyboards on track 11
- Matt Pegg / bass on tracks 1, 4 and 7
- Scott Hunter / drums on track 7

Track List:
01. This Is Not Love (3:57)
02. Occasional Demons (3:49)
03. Roll Yer Own (4:26)
04. Rocks On The Road (5:32)
05. Sparrow On The Schoolyard Wall (5:22)
06. Thinking Round Corners (3:32)
07. Still Loving You Tonight (4:32)
08. Doctor To My Disease (4:35)
09. Like A Tall Thin Girl (3:38)
10. White Innocence (7:44)
11. Sleeping With The Dog (4:26)
12. Gold-Tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie (3:41)
13. When Jesus Came To Play (5:03)

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Dave Pegg, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Rock Island (1989) (@192)

11 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Hard on the heels of the Grammy-winning “Crest of a Knave”, Jethro Tull turned out a nicely crafted album of rock tunes in the same vein. Most of the material has a hard rock feel, featuring Martin Barre’s electric run-wild-guitars. To apply different keyboard playing styles, Martin Allcock, Peter-John Vettese and John Evans were invited, but Evans refused having lost his interest in music years before.

What the album lacks is the previous humour and lightness. This seems to make all too serious. The same happened to earlier albums like Benefit and Heavy Horses and are by fans sometimes referred to as “the dark albums” (when you look at the lyrics, much of this album deals with themes of alienation and loneliness-see the cover’s lonely island), separation from the mainstream of society and wandering down (those) “Strange Avenues”. There’s nothing on here to compare with the warmer, more comfortable stuff you’ve seen previously.

The opener “Kissing Willie” sounds a bit like “Steel Monkey”, With such a title, I can only hope that they are going to be rocking all over again.The opener “Kissing Willie” sounds a bit like “Steel Monkey”.

The title track is more elaborated : it is almost the longest track and has some nice theme changes. A very good tune after all : a bit mysterious in its initial phase, then completely salvage during a great instrumental passage (the whole band being involved).

Other highlights include “The Whaler’s Dues” : complex song like in the good old times, a bit dark, clocking at almost eight minutes. “Big Riff and Mando” is another very good Tull composition : great accoustic guitar, wonderful flute, some hard-rocking rhythm changes. The closing number is also very good. Nothing to do with some other Tull ones. It starts as a acoustic pure instrumental with a crystal clear guitar sound and evloves into a hard and scary theme.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mandolin, keyboards, acoustic guitar, drums on tracks 2 and 7, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Dave Pegg / bass, acoustic bass, mandolin
- Doane Perry / drums
with
- Martin Allcock / keyboards on tracks 1 and 10
- Peter-John Vettese /keyboards on tracks 3, 4, 5 and 6

Track List:
01. Kissing Willie (3:32)
02. The Rattlesnake Trail (4:02)
03. Ears Of Tin (4:55)
04. Undressed To Kill (5:25)
05. Rock Island (6:54)
06. Heavy Water (4:12)
07. Another Christmas Song (3:32)
08. The Whaler’s Dues (7:53)
09. Big Riff and Mando (5:58)
10. Strange Avenues (4:10)

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Jethro Tull – Crest of a Knave (1987) (@256)

10 Dec 2007

(Review from progreviews.com)

After a three-year break due to Anderson’s throat problems, Jethro Tull made a comeback with “Crest of a Knave” in 1987.

As a teenage boy whose main previous exposure to Jethro Tull was their classic stuff, I wasn’t quite prepared for the mostly laid back offerings that greeted me here. Where were the contrapuntal bass runs? The Hammond organ? Did I pick up a Dire Straits album by mistake (not that there’s anything wrong with that)?

Returning to Crest of a Knave all these years later, I am quickly reminded about what really bugged me about the album then. The worst things remain the thin, late 80s production and the icky drum programming, neither of which have worn well. That being said, as a mellow grown-up I find that myself enjoying this album much, much more. It’s the renewed quality of the songwriting here that makes Crest of a Knave memorable.

There are two genuinely classic Tull tracks here. “Farm on the Freeway” mixes Barre’s Knopfler-influenced guitar with Anderson’s flute highly effectively, and the band uses a two chord sequence masterfully to build suspense. The song builds up and we’re treated to one of Barre’s best guitar solos with Tull before the song return to its quieter and still not quite resolved beginnings. “Mountain Men” is another song which builds up from a slow beginning. The highlights here are the composed guitar riffs which are comparable with some of Steve Hackett’s early contributions to Genesis.

As with most of Jethro Tull’s albums, the lyrics stand out for their ironic perspective on life. Alongside the more serious observations are two pieces about Eastern European women he chatted up on tour, and completely failed to get into bed. And who could remember the Thatcher era and not smile at the line “Hey Mrs. Maggie won’t you come on over. Hook me up to the power lines of your love”?

Surprisingly, the album put Jethro Tull back in the spotlight again, winning a hard-rock Grammy.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, guitars, keyboards, drum programming, percussion, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Dave Pegg / electric bass, acoustic bass
with
- Doane Perry / drums on tracks 2 and 7
- Gerry Conway / drums on tracks 3, 4, 6 and 8
- Ric Sanders / violin on tracks 6 and 8

Track List:
01. Steel Monkey (3:40)
02. Farm On The Freeway (6:31)
03. Jump Start (4:55)
04. Said She Was A Dancer (3:43)
05. Dogs In The Midwinter (4:37)
06. Budapest (10:05)
07. Mountain Men (6:20)
08. The Waking Edge (4:49)
09. Raising Steam (4:05)

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Dave Pegg, Gerry Conway, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – A Classic Case (1985) (@256)

09 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, starling.rinet.ru)

It does not take you to be a Tull fan first before enjoying this album as the music is quite accessible to many ears. But if you are a fan of Tull and orchestral music, this album is a must. It’s common that when you love certain band you would be wondering on what if the band’s original composition is re-written for an orchestra arrangement.

This album is a totally instrumental collection of great Tull songs (and one Ian Anderson’s solo “Fly By Night”) composed by David Palmer – the band’s active member in the early years – with The London Symphony Orchestra.

The arrangements are fabulous! David Palmer is a very bright guy indeed. There are places where you can’t really replace a rock instrument by an orchestra, like on the guitar solo on ‘Aqualung’: all such parts are given to Martin Barre to play. Ian Anderson, too, turns in some strong flute parts. But best of all is that the orchestra provides a terrific substitute to Ian Anderson’s voice – on ‘Locomotive Breath’, for instance, Anderson replaces the first verse with a flute part, and the second verse is all strings, and it’s not any worse than the actual singing.

Same goes for ‘Aqualung’, ‘Bungle In The Jungle’ (here included in a medley together with ‘Teacher’ and another re-run of ‘Locomotive Breath’) and ‘Too Old To Rock’n'Roll’. Best of all, though, is ‘Thick As A Brick’; the only downside about that one is that they could have done a more significant chunk of it than just four minutes – come to think of it, the suite seems almost perfectly fit for a symphonic performance.

Line-up:
- David Palmer/ orchestral arrangement, orchestra conductor
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Ian Anderson / flute
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Dave Pegg / bass
- Peter-John Vettese / keyboards
- Dave Burgess / drums

Track List:
01. Locomotive Breath (4:16)
02. Thick As A Brick (4:24)
03. Elegy (3:41)
04. Bourée (3:10)
05. Fly By Night (4:12)
06. Aqualung (6:22)
07. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll; Too Young To Die (3:27)
08. Medley: Teacher/Bungle In The Jungle/ Rainbow Blues/Locomotive Breath (3:58)
09. Living In The Past (3:29)
10. War Child (4:56)

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Jethro Tull – Live At Hammersmith (1984) (@320)

08 Dec 2007

(Review from amazon, progarchives.com)

This comes from the tour to support the album “Under Wraps” in 1984. In the middle of the tour, Anderson would develop serious throat problems. The rest of the tour was cancelled and Jethro Tull was sidelined for almost 3 years.

It is a mix of what Tull sounded like in 1984: Electronic keyboards, fast flute solos, and a screaming guitar by Martin Barre.

This is not one of Jethro Tull’s better live performances. The songs are muddled and muffled, there is very little energy or innovation in many of the tracks. Jethro Tull would always play around with the songs, changing them drastically from the studio versions. There would be blazing solos from Anderson, Barre and Evans. They would run songs to together or overlap them. On this album, Jethro Tull does play around with some of the older songs like Locomotive Breath and Living In the Past. But the newer material is played much like the studio versions.

A surely imperfect (and short!) concert, and maybe one strictly for the fans, but “Live At Hammersmith ’84″ can’t be called bad. Just very edgy (and part of a free-rock experiment Jethro Tull soon abandoned), uninteresting here and there, plus made of lots of adapted, refreshed (or modified) ideas.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute,acoustic guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Doane Perry / drums
- John-Peter Vettese / keyboards
- Dave Pegg / bass

Track List:
01. Locomotive Breath (2:36)
02. Hunting Girl (4:56)
03. Under Wraps (4:30)
04. Later, That Same Evening (4:03)
05. Pussy Willow (4:44)
06. Living In The Past (4:29)
07. Locomotive Breath (7:43)
08. Too Old To Rock’N'Roll: Too Young To Die (9:08)

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Dave Pegg, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Under Wraps (1984) (@192)

07 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

An inflexible, mechanical opus whose brisk digital bitstream buffets the dreamcraft a bit rudely in the beginning. “Under Wraps” is one of Jethro Tull’s most inhospitable works.

The troubling point for longtime listeners is the increased role that electronics play in the storytelling; a song like “Astronomy” sounds more like Thomas Dolby than anything on “Broadsword and the Beast”. “Under Wraps” #2 at least offers a tantalizing picture of the soul in the machine, and may be the first foothold from which fans scale the slick digital face presented them.

After repeated listens, it turns out, Jethro Tull hadn’t changed the way they write their music, just the instruments they use to play it. Synthesizers and electronic drums (provided mostly by Mr. A this time) leap in and out of the mix the same way that a mandolin or portative organ might have earlier. The result is more jarring and less tantalizing than earlier efforts, but altogether not so different otherwise.

It’ll be small consolation at first as you wonder where the magic went, but it’s there, hidden under the sheets and ultimately worth the detective work it takes to find it.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Dave Pegg / bass
- Peter-John Vettese / keyboards

Track List:
01. Lap Of Luxury (3:37)
02. Under Wraps #1 (4:03)
03. European Legacy (3:23)
04. Later, That Same Evening (3:53)
05. Saboteur (3:33)
06. Radio Free Moscow (3:42)
07. Astronomy (3:38)
08. Tundra (3:41)
09. Nobody’s Car (4:08)
10. Heat (5:38)
11. Under Wraps #2 (2:14)
12. Paparazzi (3:48)
13. Apogee (5:29)
14. Automotive Engineering (4:05)
15. General Crossing (4:01)

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Jethro Tull – Broadsword and the Beast (1982) (@256)

06 Dec 2007

7 comments

(Review from progreviews.com)

Sporting a Viking cover, fantasy lyrics and a Martin Barre who had obviously been practicing his scales, Jethro Tull seems to have been trying to pull in the metal crowd with this album. Or at least role-players who are geeky enough to be able to read the runes on the cover.

Never a band to restrain themselves within the conventions of a specific musical genre, least of all progressive rock, here Jethro Tull use a dazzling palette of musical colours. “Fallen on Hard Times” uses a folky mandolin, digital synthesisers and slide guitar on top of a sophisticated blues groove. The album has the oppressive mood of an approaching storm cloud, and features a guitar solo laden with ultra-fast scales in the mode of so much metal at the time. It is then followed by the decidedly feminine “Pussy Willow”. Underpinning all of this is a band who, in its current form, only came into existence on the previous album, “A”, and were just starting to click as a unit.

In common with Tull’s best latter-day efforts, this album has a few songs that stand out. “Clasp”, whose digital synths are perhaps a little dated, nevertheless shifts very well between atmospheric, folky and digital moods, all of which are beautifully married to the lyrics. “Broadsword” is a favourite with the aforementioned role-players, while “Slow Marching Band” and “Cheerio” are sweet pieces that round out each side very nicely.

Lyrically, Ian Anderson has a running theme of the demons and battles of modern-day life, marrying dark ages imagery with modern, urban concerns. This is particularly succesful on “Clasp”, which deftly explores the failure between individuals to connect due to either lack or excess of information. Ian Anderson’s wry humour is also evident in “Fallen on Hard Times”, whose tale of woe among the mighty could easily be a sly reference to Tull’s own situation as a band that could no longer fill stadiums, yet could still manage a comfortable living playing at their hobby.

Good songwriting, a cohesive band and brilliant arrangements. Had any one of these elements been missing, this album would have been a complete mess.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Gerry Conway / drums, percussion
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolins, vocals
- Peter-John Vettese / piano, synthesizer (1,13,16)

Track List:
01. Beastie (3:57)
02. Clasp (4:11)
03. Fallen On Hard Times (3:12)
04. Flying Colours (4:39)
05. Slow Marching Band (3:38)
06. Broadsword (4:50)
07. Pussy Willow (3:53)
08. Watching Me Watching You (3:40)
09. Seal Driver (5:10)
10. Cheerio (1:00)

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Dave Pegg, Gerry Conway, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – A (1980) (@256)

05 Dec 2007

(Review from wikipedia, progreviews.com)

“A” was recorded as an intended Ian Anderson solo album before Jethro Tull’s record label asked that it become credited to the group to help the label get through overall slow record sales. This is the reason for the album’s title, as the tapes were marked “A” for “Anderson”. It is noted for its more synthesizer-based sound and deemphasis on folk music influences, a fact which creates controversy among many of the band’s fans.

“A” features a dramatically different lineup of Tull from the band’s previous album, Stormwatch. Former keyboardist John Evan, organist David Palmer, and drummer Barriemore Barlow were all de facto fired from the group and former bassist John Glascock died soon after the recording of Stormwatch. The only members of Tull to appear on both Stormwatch and “A” are Ian Anderson and Martin Barre. This is also bassist Dave Pegg’s (of Fairport Convention) first appearance on a Tull record but he had already become a member of the band in 1979, replacing John Glascock on the “Stormwatch” tour.

Conflicting reasons have been given for the lineup change. Anderson said that he wanted to take the band in a different direction from the folk rock and progressive rock of the 1970s. Barriemore Barlow was unhappy in the band and has stated that he would have left anyway. However Anderson had never intended to replace the ‘classic’ Tull lineup with the musicians who recorded “A”, but was forced by Chrysalis Records which had decided to release his ‘solo’ album under the name Jethro Tull.

From the album’s opening, a rapid run of notes played on Jobson’s Yamaha CP80, followed quickly by the rest of the band breezing in with a laid back pop sound and almost disco-styled bass from Pegg, you know you are in for something different. Jobson in particular contributed quite a bit to this new direction in sound with his more precise, classicially-trained style of playing and textures of CP80 electric piano, Moog, and violin. This was quite a contrast to former keyboardist John Evan’s preference for ‘classic rock’ Hammond and piano. Add to this the occasional use of vocoder and Pegg’s fretless bass, and the differences from the last line-up are striking.

However, this is definitely still a Jethro Tull album, with the band’s intelligent lyrics, their penchant for intricate arrangements, and great hooks still very much present. A is an album that creeps up on you. The first few times played, “Crossfire” or “Fylingdale Flyer” can be a bit on the bland side, but upon repeated listens, quickly grow on. The album doesn’t really hit its full stride, however, until “Black Sunday” an extended piece showing that this new line-up could easily tackle the classic, progressive sound of the band as well. Beginning with an ominous Moog introduction from Jobson, the song soon enough explodes into a rush of frenetic energy with Anderson in full form.

The second side, while largely continuing further with the band’s new sound, also has quite its share of moments. The underrated “Batteries Not Included”, clearly not the type of song that would appear on a 70s Tull album; taps around neurotically with an insistent, robotic riff. The bluesy “4.W.D.”, while not Tull’s most sophisticated tune, is still pretty catchy. While “The Pine Marten’s Jig” sounds as if it missed the boat by a few albums, the album redirects and closes with the beautifully serene “And Further Out”.

Regarded by many as a transitional album for a destination that never really arrived (Craney and Jobson departed after this), A has more than its share of staunch loyalists among the diehards of Tull fandom. Even if you’re not immediately impressed with it, stick it through and you may come to appreciate how it got its reputation.

Line-up:
* Ian Anderson – flute, vocals
* Martin Barre – electric guitar
* Mark Craney – drums
* Dave Pegg – bass
* Eddie Jobson – keyboards, electric violin

Track List:
01. Crossfire (3:54)
02. Fylingdale Flyer (4:36)
03. Working John, Working Joe (5:04)
04. Black Sunday (6:36)
05. Protect and Survive (3:37)
06. Batteries Not Included (3:53)
07. Uniform (3:34)
08. 4.W.D. (Low Ratio) (3:42)
09. The Pine Marten’s Jig (3:28)
10. And Further On (4:22)

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Dave Pegg, Eddie Jobson, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Stormwatch (1979) (@256)

04 Dec 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)

‘Stormwatch’ released in 1979 is the last of a trilogy started with ‘Songs from the Wood’ and ‘Heavy Horses’ and dealing with nature in a wider sens. While previous albums of the trilogy were more nostalgique with Ian Anderson as the gentlemen farmer of yonder days, ‘Stormwatch’ looks with an perspicious eye into the future, especially the destruction of nature.

The previous two albums were heavily influenced by folk creating a pleasant bucolic atmosphere where the sweet sound of the flute was basic for the melodic sound; Stormwatch is heavier and more oriented towards rock and roll. Even though the classical flute doesn’t disappear, it is more aggressive and less frequent, heavy guitar riffs by Martin Barre take the lead with the well known and powerful vocals of Ian Anderson.

Stormwatch has vigor, drive, appeal, liner typeset of folksy heading, powerful points of a brief excitement, good call on diverse sensations (dark to foolish, ambient to fiendish, sculptural to emotive), the thrill succinct faked symbol and the mood of Tull rand.

It is sometimes rumored that album closer “Elegy” was a homage to John Glascock — who was very ill at the time due to a congenital heart defect and would die shortly after the album’s release. Actually, it is an elegy to David Palmer’s father and is one of the few tracks on which Glascock plays.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, mandolin, classical guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass, vocals (plays on 2, 9 and 10)
- John Evans / piano, organ
- David Palmer / synthesizers, portative organ, orchestral arrangements

Track List:
01. North Sea Oil (3:11)
02. Orion (3:58)
03. Home (2:45)
04. Dark Ages (9:14)
05. Warm Sporran (3:35)
06. Something’s On The Move (4:27)
07. Old Ghosts (4:23)
08. Dun Ringill (2:42)
09. Flying Dutchman (7:45)
10. Elegy (3:34)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Bursting Out (Live 1978) (@192)

03 Dec 2007

(Review from rollingstone.com, wikipedia)

Bursting Out (1978) is Jethro Tull’s first exclusively live album. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour of May and June 1978, but it is not certain where each track was recorded.

This double live album is almost too perfect. Bursting Out can’t be faulted on any of the usual live-record stumbling blocks: the performances exemplify Tull’s technical mastery and omnipresent energy, the track selection runs the stylistic gamut and provides a quick academic history of everything the group’s ever been about.

Of Jethro Tull’s previous albums, only a few aren’t represented here. There are five title tracks. These guys even reach back nine years to “Stand Up” for a hoary old blues, “A New Day Yesterday”. Other characteristic Tull sounds include folksy strumming (“Jack in the Green”), precise orchestration (“Thick as a Brick”), crunching guitar fireworks (Martin Barre’s interlude in “Minstrel in the Gallery”) and such ancient beer-blast standbys as “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath”. One could quibble about the choice of material but it’s a program notable for its balance.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, vocals, acoustic guitar
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, mandolin, marimba
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, glockenspiel
- John Glascock / bass, guitar, vocals
- John Evans / piano, organ, accordion, synthesizers
- David Palmer / portative organ, synthesizers

Track List:
CD1
01. No Lullaby
02. Sweet Dream
03. Skatin’ Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day
04. Jack-in-the-Green
05. One Brown Mouse
06. New Day Yesterday
07. Flute Solo Improvisation / God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / Bourée
08. Songs From The Wood
09. Thick As A Brick
CD2
01. A Hunting Girl
02. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die
03. Conundrum
04. Minstrel in the Gallery
05. Cross Eyed Mary
06. Quatrain
07. Aqualung
08. Locomotive Breath
09. Damnbuster’s March / Medley

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Songs from the Wood (1977) (@256)

02 Dec 2007

9 comments

(Review from vintageprog.com, progressiveworld.net)

Ian Anderson became a farmer in the second half of the 70′s, and his new and rural life-style gave him enough inspiration to Jethro Tull’s next album. As the title says, all the songs on the album are clearly inspired by the forest and nature. As a natural consequence of this, the folk-element in the music was taken a step further here, but there is still plenty of powerful electric guitar-work from Barre.

The title-track is the best known song of the album, and features great vocal-harmonies that get relieved by complex and aggressive instrumental-parts. The two other most progressive tracks here are “Velvet Green” and “Pibroch (Cap in Hand)”. Both these songs have also a clear baroque influence that works absolutely excellent.

“Hunting Girl” is the most aggressive song here, and the main melody is in a marvellous way being varied by playing it both as an aggressive riff and a polished vocal-part. The rest of the album is made up of very nice and beautiful tunes like “Cup of Wonder”, the catchy “The Whistler” and the Christmas-song “Ring Out Solstice Bells”.

Some truly fantastic tunes that have ever-changing music and lyrics bring you right into a living room in the countryside where Ian Anderson conjured up the principle of this album. What is most significant about this release is that it digs down and exposes all of the band’s talents and influences all at once on one album, nothing held back. Loved every second of it.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, mandolin, whistles, vocals, all instruments on track 2
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, lute
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, nacres, tabor
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
- John Evans / piano, organ, synthesizers
- David Palmer / piano, portative organ, synthesizers

Track List:
01. Songs From The Wood (4:55)
02. Jack-In-The-Green (2:31)
03. Cup Of Wonder (4:34)
04. Hunting Girl (5:13)
05. Ring Out, Solstice Bells (3:46)
06. Velvet Green (6:04)
07. The Whistler (3:31)
08. Pibroch (Cap In Hand) (8:37)
09. Fire At Midnight (2:27)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976) (@256)

01 Dec 2007

3 comments

(Review from progreviews.com, wikipedia)

Too Old To Rock and Roll can be explained as the result of an Ian Anderson/David Palmer ambition to write songs for a stage musical. Anderson had even gone so far as to have a person in mind for the lead role of aging rocker Ray Lomas: Adam Faith, a British rock singer from the early 1960s. Faith was unavailable but not interested anyway and the project fell apart from there. The hectic recording schedules of the 1970s being what they were, Anderson’s decision at this juncture was to appropriate the songs and plot of the musical for a concept album. An artist was enlisted to illustrate the story on the album sleeve in the form of a comic strip, and Too Old To Rock and Roll was rushed to completion as the next Jethro Tull album.

The story would follow an aging and retired rock star named Ray Lomas as he wins money on a decadent quiz show, but finds that society has changed so much that with no one left like him anymore, he has no way of enjoying his money the way he did in the 1950s. He then decides to commit suicide via motorcycle crash but fails and lands himself in a hospital coma for an undetermined amount of time.

When he awakes he discovers society has changed again, and his style of dress and music are now popular again. In, addition, the cosmetic surgery he is treated with after disfiguring his face in the crash makes him look twenty years younger. He has become an overnight sensation with the young kids who now try to dress and act like him.

Appearing as it does in the middle of a run of albums (Minstrel in the Gallery [1975], Songs From The Wood [1977] and Heavy Horses [1978]), Too Old suffers because it breaks the stylistic and creative continuity of a period (1975-1978). In other words, Too Old isn’t disappointing for what it is, but because of what might have been.

The album is hurt by its genesis as a stage production — the tracks that do the best job of advancing the plot, evincing the central themes and of generally being appropriate for use in a musical (“Bad Eyed And Loveless,” “From A Deadbeat To An Old Greaser” the melodramatic title track and “The Chequered Flag”) are the least Tull, the latter two also are the only examples of Jethro Tull’s ’70s tunes to sound dated and linked to their time period (both are very “mid-’70s”). Even then, the actual score of the album does not follow the strip exactly, leaving out details or, in some cases, changing the plot.

The songs that are the most interesting have drawbacks in that they aren’t very good at telling the story (like “Quizz Kid”, “Crazed Institution”) and also would sound hopelessly miscast as show tunes. Although “Salamander” is a good track, it’s pretty slight — it sounds like a cobbling together of “Only Solitaire” from Warchild with the acoustic intro to Minstrel’s “Cold Wind To Valhalla”. Elsewhere, “Big Dipper” and “Pied Piper” are decent songs.

Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has always said this album was not meant to be autobiographical of him as an aging songwriter, since he was young at the time. He says the point of the album was to illustrate how his style of music may go out of popularity with every other fashion and fade, but he is determined that if he sticks to it, everything comes back around and the style will rise again.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, electric guitar, percussion, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
- John Evans / piano
with
- David Palmer / orchestral arrangements, orchestra conductor
- Vako Orchestron / saxophone solo on “From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser”
- Maddy Prior / backing vocals on the title track
- Angela Allen / backing vocals on “Crazed Institution” and “Big Dipper”

Track List:
01. Quizz Kid (5:11)
02. Crazed Institution (4:48)
03. Salamander (2:52)
04. Taxi Grab (3:56)
05. From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser (4:11)
06. Bad-Eyed and Loveless (2:12)
07. Big Dipper (3:38)
08. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die (5:43)
09. Pied Piper (4:35)
10. The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive) (5:23)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Maddy Prior, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Minstrel in the Gallery (1975) (@256)

30 Nov 2007

10 comments

(Review from vintageprog.com)

“Minstrel in the Gallery” goes back to the classic Tull-style : powerful, heavy and complex progressive rock mixed with beautiful, acoustic folk-melodies. The sound is also richer and more symphonic.

The title-track opens with an acoustic, minstrel-like medieval part before it explodes into the heaviest and most hard-hitting instrumental-passage Tull ever recorded. The main part of the song is a catchy, flute-driven rocker that would become a favourite on stage for years to come. “Cold Wind to Valhalla” starts also as a soft, acoustic tune, but becomes more aggressive when the whole band kicks in and plays the excellent melody of the track. “Black Satin Dancer” is maybe Tull’s most overlooked classic ever. The main melody is one of the most beautiful Anderson ever wrote, and the string-arrangement makes it even more majestic. The sinister and heavy instrumental part is a prime example of progressive rock at its absolutely best and most dynamic. “Requiem” is a very nice and cosy acoustic ballad. The melody is maybe not the strongest or best, but what a great atmosphere and feeling. The second side opens with more acoustic beauty in the form of “One White Duck/Nothing at All” before you’re in for the ambitious, 17-minute “Baker Street Muse”.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, electric guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, string bass
- John Evans / piano, organ

Track List:
01. Minstrel In The Gallery (8:16)
02. Cold Wind To Valhalla (4:19)
03. Black Satin Dancer (6:52)
04. Requiem (3:45)
05. One White Duck/0^10 = Nothing At All (4:38)
06. Baker St. Muse (16:42)
07. Grace (0:37)

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Jethro Tull – War Child (1974) (@256)

29 Nov 2007

(Review from wikipedia, progreviews.com)

Originally meant to accompany a film project (the album was planned as a double-album set), it was reinstated as a ten-song, single-length rock album after failed attempts to find a major movie studio to finance the film. The “War Child” movie was written as a metaphysical black comedy concerning a teenage girl in the afterlife, meeting characters based on God, St. Peter and Lucifer portrayed as if shrewd businessmen.

“War Child” went back to separate songs of a more normal length, making the sound of “A Passion Play” more accessible. The music on Warchild is an elaboration of the style presented on “A Passion Play” and is stuffed to the gills with new sounds and instruments. An accordion supplements many of the tracks, as do strings. The album is dotted with non-musical sound effects: sirens, voices, shots, glasses clinking, etc.

Though a number of songs are remnants of the afterlife story, the tone is never dark or somber. The music is more rock-oriented than either Thick as a Brick or A Passion Play, and Martin Barre is back in a big way on several of these songs, with some very heavy lead guitar. It sounds like the band had a grand old time making this album, and the strongest tracks shine robustly. “Back Door Angels,” the album’s longest song, impressively melds the progressive rock of the previous two albums with the metallic crunch of Aqualung. “Sea Lion” — a holdover from the pre-Passion Play sessions in France — doesn’t have a particularly strong melody but the driving, insistent music wins over. The light “Skating Away,” (which also pre-dates A Passion Play) is a great Jethro Tull song. “The Third Hurrah”, while probably too over-the-top to safely qualify as tasteful, nevertheless provides an energetic reprisal of the “Warchild” theme.

The album closes with “Two Fingers”, a bloated remake of the Aqualung-sessions refugee “Lick Your Fingers Clean” finishes the album and causes the listener to feel like (s)he may have gone one plate too many down at the all-you-can eat buffet.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, spanish guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, glockenspiel, marimba, percussion
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, string bass
- John Evans / piano, organ, synthesizers, piano accordion
with
- David Palmer / orchestrations and conducting, members of the Philomusica of London

Track List:
01. War Child (4:36)
02. Queen And Country (3:01)
03. Ladies (3:18)
04. Back-Door Angels (5:31)
05. SeaLion (3:38)
06. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day (4:11)
07. Bungle In The Jungle (3:37)
08. Only Solitaire (1:29)
09. The Third Hoorah (4:50)
10. Two Fingers (5:10)

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Jethro Tull – A Passion Play (1973) (@256)

28 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

Despite its musical qualities, “Thick as a Brick” received mixed reactions from both the press and fans but it was still nothing compared to the merciless butchering that “A Passion Play” had to go through.

The record consists of yet another album-length suite, but of a much darker tone. “Thick as a Brick” follows the life of one man, from birth to death. “A Passion Play” follows the afterlife of one man, from heaven to hell.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this album is interrupted by a silly story called “The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles”, narrated by John Evans, with orchestration from David Palmer. It sounds like your silly children’s book story. After that, the music resumes. The second half of the album is a bit more accessible, in which the music is more melodic. This part does sound like several different songs and you can tell where one ends and one begins.

The music has lots of rhythm changes and the charm resides in the miscellaneous echoed sax parts and the catchy, melodic & well played piano.

Definitely not for the Jethro Tull newbie; though the complexity, inaccessiblity and originality of “A Passion Play” might be pretty attractive once you get to know Tull music.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitars, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, timpani, glockenspiel, marimba
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, vocals
- John Evans / piano, organ, synthesizer, spoken word

Track List:
01. A Passion Play (Part 1) 21:35
02. A Passion Play (Part 2) 23:30

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Jethro Tull – Living in the Past (1972) (@256)

27 Nov 2007

7 comments

(Info from progarchives.com)

How a band could make a single and still not sell-out?

Although this is a compilation of all the singles they put out in the early years (most didn’t make it to the original studio albums), this is an absolute must-have for all early Tull fans. ‘A’ sides differ from their studio album counterparts, also there are live tracks and unreleased gems — not odds and sods by any means.

Line-up:
* Mick Abrahams / Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
* Ian Anderson / Flute, Guitar, Mandolin, Violin, Balalaika, Organ, Vocals, Tin Whistle
* Barriemore Barlow / Drums
* Martin Barre / Guitar, Back Vocals, Descant
* Clive Bunker / Percussion, Drums, Glockenspiel, Back Vocals
* Glen Cornick / Bass, Organ (Hammond)
* John Evans / Organ, Percussion, Piano, Celeste, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Organ, Mellotron, Back Vocals
* Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / Bass, Alto Recorder
* David Palmer / Synthesizer, Conductor, Keyboards, Saxophone, String & Orchestral Arrangements
* Lou Toby / Strings, Arranger, Conductor, String Arrangements

Track List:
CD1
01. Song for Jeffrey – 3:23
02. Love Story – 3:05
03. Christmas Song – 3:07
04. Living in the Past – 3:23
05. Driving Song – 2:42
06. Bourée – 3:46
07. Sweet Dream – 4:04
08. Singing All Day – 3:05
09. Teacher – 4:11
10. Witch’s Promise – 3:51
11. Inside – 3:48
12. Alive and Well and Living In – 2:47
13. Just Trying to Be – 1:36
CD2
01. By Kind Permission Of (Live) – 10:10
02. Dharma for One (Live) – 10:00
03. Wond’ring Again – 4:15
04. Hymn 43 – 3:20
05. Locomotive Breath – 4:26
06. Life Is a Long Song – 3:20
07. Up the ‘Pool – 3:13
08. Dr. Bogenbroom – 3:01
09. For Later – 2:09
10. Nursie – 1:35

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – Aqualung (1971) (@256)

26 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com)

Jethro Tull’s evolution toward progressive rock reached its peak with the classic “Aqualung”. The album has a kind of a split-concept where the first side features songs about poor people and social differences, while the second side is about the problems and evil of organized religion.

The album is a superb blend of heavy-progressive rock mixed with tasty, acoustic melodies dominated by Anderson’s distinctive flute-playing and Martin Barre’s excellent guitar-riffs.

The opening title-track demonstrated all sides of the band very well and is the best song on the album, even if it’s one of the few Tull-tracks to feature no flute at all. “Cross Eyed Mary” starts with some mellotron and flute before it goes into a crunching rocker where Anderson sings aggressively about a female Robin Hood. “Mother Goose” and “Wond’ring Aloud” are among Tull’s finest acoustic ballads with beautiful melodies and tasty string-arrangements.

Side 2 starts with the sinister “My God” and this track is next to the title-track the most progressive song on the album. The mid-part where a choir joins Anderson’s flute is one of the most magical moments here. The blasphemous “Hymn 43″ shows Tull from their most rocking and catchy side, but “Locomotive Breath” captures that side of the band even better with one of the greatest rock riffs in history. The closing-number “Wind Up” starts as a ballad but turns into yet another hard rocking tune with a great sense of melody and a quite progressive structure.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute,acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, descant recorder
- Clive Bunker / drums, percussion
- John Evans / piano, organ, mellotron
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, alto recorder, backing vocals

Track List:
01. Aqualung (6:37)
02. Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09)
03. Cheap Day Return (1:23)
04. Mother Goose (3:53)
05. Wond’ring Aloud (1:55)
06. Up To Me (3:15)
07. My God (7:13)
08. Hymn 43 (3:19)
09. Slipstream (1:13)
10. Locomotive Breath (4:26)
11. Wind-Up (6:04)

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Jethro Tull – Nothing Is Easy : Live at the Isle of Wight (1970) (@256)

25 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Great live set from, obviously, England’s Woodstock — Isle of Wight Festival 1970. This live album is a must have for fans of their early albums.

A nice selection from each of their previous three studio albums, plus a real gem.. an intense performance of “My God” which was to come on the forthcoming “Aqualung” album.

Martin Barre is on fire on all eight tracks. Each song has tremendous passion and all the elements of a blues-rock event reminiscent of Cream in their heyday … just awesome power and energy oozing out of every note. Anderson sounds as prolific as ever, leading the band with conviction.

Even at the their folkiest and droning-est, Tull were still a hard rock band in those days with an irresistible propulsive force in their work — the performances are inspired and highly energetic.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / acoustic guitar, flute, vocals
- Martin Barre / guitars
- Clive Bunker / drums
- Glen Cornick / bass
- John Evans / keyboards

Track List:
01. My Sunday Feeling (5:20)
02. My God (7:30)
03. With You There To Help Me (9:58)
04. To Cry You A Song (5:40)
05. Bourée (4:34)
06. Dharma For One (10:10)
07. Nothing Is Easy (5:36)
08. Medley: We Used To Know/For A Thousand Mothers (10:37)

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Live, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – Benefit (1970) (@256)

24 Nov 2007

10 comments

(Review from progressiveworld.net, progarchives.com)

Jethro Tull’s third release was “Benefit”. Ian Anderson’s vocals are getting stronger and more dominating, while his flute playing maintaining its unfailing authority. Anderson’s writing is getting darker and he is being cynical in reference to being on the road and away from home. His feelings regarding the music industry were coming through as well.

Every track here is telling it’s own story, and each one is augmented with excellent music – it’s hard to say whether is music the background for the lyrics or vice versa. Whatever it is, it works perfectly. Anderson’s lyrics are emotional and clever in he same time, and the beauty of the lyrics and the music themselves is not buried under overaccentuated technicality, although this album is of high quality craftsmanship-wise.

The album is full of contemplative piano parts, which in correlation with unique Tull trademark – Ian’s flute – create a perfect amalgam and pleasant listening experience. The other side of the musical diversity is armoured with barrage fire of hard-rock moments which are not raw or notorious at all; hard-rock presented here is crafted well, reasonably polished, with a spice of furiousness; there are some absolutely astonishing moments where guitar sounds like a snake in spasm lashing both sides of stereo field, an unbeatable trick that surprised even the band members, because apparently it happened in studio by a coincidence.

“To Cry You A Song” is the strongest introduction to the fresh and new formula that they would continue to follow and develop for the rest of their long and fruitful careers. Although the group’s love of blues and jazz remained evident, they are leaning heavier towards more rock and folk arrangements, which allowed them to reach a much wider audience. “Inside” is another song that was to rapidly become a trademark of the Jethro Tull sound with Anderson’s flute taking a lead role and Martin Barre strumming a soft acoustic guitar in the background. Although Barre rarely remains in the background on any song, he is now more comfortable in his new surroundings and shows all of his colors on this album.

This new formula delighted listeners worldwide. The group’s diversity pleases those that love to rock and the other segment of listeners that enjoy the more folk, classica, and ethnic sounds that they offered on their previous release “Stand Up”.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Clive Bunker / drums, percussion
- Glenn Cornick / bass
with
- John Evans / piano, organ

Track List:
01. With You There To Help Me – 6:19
02. Nothing To Say – 5:14
03. Alive And Well And Living In – 2:48
04. Son – 2:51
05. For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me – 3:51
06. To Cry You A Song – 6:15
07. A Time For Everything – 2:44
08. Inside – 3:49
09. Play In Time – 3:49
10. Sossity; You’re A Woman – 4:30
11. Singing All Day (Bonus) – 3:07
12. Witch’s Promise (Bonus) – 3:52
13. Just Trying To Be (Bonus) – 1:37
14. Teacher (Bonus Original UK Mix) – 3:49

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – Stand Up (1969) (@256)

23 Nov 2007

(Review from progressiveears.com, allmusic.com)

Jethro Tull’s unique and peculiar mixture of raw blues, jazz motifs, pop sensibility, and folkish nuance attracted a diverse listening audience. Although the band had by this time lost guitarist Mick Abrahams and his blues-purist approach, still, it persevered, replacing Abrahams with the more-than-capable and somewhat more versatile skill of Martin Barre. Frontman Ian Anderson garnered considerable attention and musical press with his theatrical flutework and stage drama, and by the time Tull released its second recording, “Stand Up” just after issuing the Living in the Past (with its tricky, non-commercial 5/4 beat) single to strong acclaim, the band was in high demand.

The group’s second album solidified their sound. Its opening track “A new day yesterday” starts where their previous album left off but as the song flows new flavors are added: fine flute accompaniment, some rock guitar riffs. There are still elements of blues present in their music, but after the opening track, it is far more diminished — new lead guitarist Martin Barre had few of the blues stylings that characterized Mick Abrahams’ playing. Rather, the influence of English folk music manifests itself on several cuts, including “Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square” and “Look Into the Sun”. The instrumental reworking of Bach’s “Bouree” became a favorite concert number, with an excellent solo bit featuring Cornick’s bass.

As a story-song with opaque lyrics, jarring tempo changes, and loud electric passages juxtaposed with soft acoustic-textured sections, “Back to the Family” is an early forerunner to later epics. Similarly, “Reasons for Waiting” has a mix of closely miked acoustic guitar and string orchestra, all hung around a hauntingly beautiful folk-based melody.

The song “We Used to Know” later became the inspiration for Eagles’ 1976 hit song “Hotel California”. The chord progressions are nearly identical, and the bands toured together prior to the release of “Hotel”.

While hardly a “concept” album, lyrically the album devotes a lot to Anderson’s relationship with his parents (a subject continued on “Benefit”) and coping with new found pop stardom.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute,acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, piano, mandolin, balalaika, bouzouki, mouth organ, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, flute on “Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square” and “Reasons For Waiting”
- Clive Bunker / drums, percussion
- Glenn Cornick / bass
with
- David Palmer / string arrangement and conducting on “Reasons For Waiting”

Track List:
01. A New Day Yesterday (4:10)
02. Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square (2:12)
03. Bourée (3:47)
04. Back To The Family (3:48)
05. Look Into The Sun (4:21)
06. Nothing Is Easy (4:26)
07. Fat Man (2:52)
08. We Used To Know (4:00)
09. Reasons For Waiting (4:06)
10. For A Thousand Mothers (4:13)
11. Living in the Past (Bonus) (3:23)
12. Driving Song (Bonus) (2:44)
13. Sweet Dream (Bonus) (4:05)
14. 17 (Bonus) (3:07)

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – This Was (1968) (@256)

22 Nov 2007

10 comments

(Review from progarchives.com, allmusic)

In 1967, ex-members of early blues bands Blackpool (Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick) and McGregor’s Engine (Mick Abrahams and Clive Bunker) formed a band together. At first, the new band had trouble getting repeat bookings and they took to changing their name frequently to continue playing the London club circuit. A booking agent’s suggestion, Jethro Tull after the 18th-century agriculturist who invented the seed drill, stuck as the band’s name.

At the time, a lot of blues enthusiasts didn’t accept wind instruments at all, especially the flute, as seminal to the sound they were looking for, and as a group struggling for success and recognition, Jethro Tull was just a little too strange in that regard. Anderson’s antics on-stage, jumping around in a ragged overcoat and standing on one leg while playing the flute, and his use of folk sources as well as blues and jazz, gave the band the potential to grab a bigger audience and some much-needed press attention.

One of the first pop/rock records to feature a flute, their debut album is the start of a long and successful string of great albums, always daring. As you might guess this debut is hardly perfect, but still a must. While strongly bluesy but with a very present folk influence, the album boasts an unusual four instrumentals and a real tightness for such a young group.

Original lead guitarist Mick Abrahams contributed to the songwriting and the singing, and his presence as a serious bluesman is felt throughout, often for the better: “Some Day the Sun Won’t Shine for You,” an Ian Anderson original that could just as easily be credited to Big Bill Broonzy or Robert Johnson; “Cat’s Squirrel,” Abrahams’ big showcase, where he ventures into Eric Clapton territory; and “It’s Breaking Me Up,” which also features some pretty hot guitar from Abrahams. Roland Kirk’s “Serenade to a Cuckoo” (the first song Anderson learned to play on flute), their jazziest track ever, is one of the best parts of the album. The most famous track is “A Song For Jeffrey”, with aggressive flute / harmonica and bass guitar.

Following this album, Abrahams left and formed his own band, Blodwyn Pig. He was a blues purist, while Ian Anderson wanted to branch out into other forms of music; Abrahams and Cornick did not get along; and Abrahams was unwilling to travel internationally or play more than three nights a week, while the others wanted to be successful by playing as often as possible and building a world-wide fan base.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano, vocals
- Mick Abrahams / guitar, 9-string guitar, vocals
- Clive Bunker / drums, hooter and charm bracelet
- Glenn Cornick / bass
With
- David Palmer / brass arrangement and conducting on “Move On Alone”

Track List:
01. My Sunday Feeling (3:42)
02. Some Day The Sun Won’t Shine For You (2:49)
03. Beggar’s Farm (4:20)
04. Move On Alone (1:59)
05. Serenade To A Cuckoo (6:11)
06. Dharma For One (4:16)
07. It’s Breaking Me Up (5:05)
08. Cat’s Squirrel (5:44)
09. A Song For Jeffrey (3:23)
10. Round (0:49)
11. One For John Gee (Bonus) (2:06)
12. Love Story (Bonus) (3:06)
13. Christmas Song (Bonus) (3:06)

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Glenn Cornick, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams

Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses (1978) (@256)

20 Oct 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

An autumnal record, resplendent as the mosaic of leaves that met me in the woods this morning. It finds the middle road of challenging simplicity, of a charming fluent texture, of an short material that lasts as impression. Maybe something that “Songs From The Woods” didn’t achieve.

Similar in scope to “Songs From The Wood”, we’ve entered the dark part of the forest here, the sweet decay of dying leaves thick around us. While tinged with melancholy, “Heavy Horses” is ultimately a resilient effort, celebrating life in the midst of death. We’re immediately put on guard with the opening “…And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps”, invoking the image of the weathercock and the heavy weather ahead. The two themes — nature and inhospitable weather — bridge their last album and their next, Stormwatch, which has always suggested a trilogy.

The songs that follow are as ambitious as anything in their catalog, all hands on deck tending to their musical ministrations, suggesting a unique mixture of independence and teamwork. The unconventional rhythms and seemingly disjointed sounds might be initially daunting, but it soon yields to bedazzlement after a few sittings. Some songs adopt an irregular gait at first, but this technique allows the listener to pick apart different rhythms and weave them together into a cohesive fabric.

It is difficult to rank Jethro Tull albums; many become favorites for different reasons. “Heavy Horses”, however, is one of the clear contenders for their greatest achievement. Perhaps a most suitable album to demonstrate how not every time complexity,epic-structure or climax thinking are the only possible ways of wonderous musical moments. Sweet, subtile, sensational, relaxing, charming – ahh… what more is there to be said? A pleasure to talk about, to experience, to dream upon.

Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass
- John Evans / piano, organ
- David Palmer / portative organ, keyboards, orchestral arrangements

Track List:
01. …And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps (3:13)
02. Acres Wild (3:26)
03. No Lullaby (7:55)
04. Moths (3:27)
05. Journeyman (3:58)
06. Rover (4:16)
07. One Brown Mouse (3:23)
08. Heavy Horses (8:59)
09. Weathercock (4:03)
10. Living In These Hard Times (Bonus) (3:10)
11. Broadford Bazaar (Bonus) (3:40)

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Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, John Glascock, Martin Barre

Jethro Tull – Roots to Branches (1995) (@256)

06 May 2007

(Review from amazon.com)

Roots to Branches was an instant classic from the moment I first heard it. I bought it the day it came out and today it remains on my top three Jethro Tull releases of all time, usually occupying the very top spot and for good reason. Each song sounds at once as if it had always existed in some classic rock time capsule that had just been unearthed, and Eastern influences swirl throughout much of the record like the smoke from a hookah, hanging in the air with poetic grace. With Roots to Branches Ian Anderson found music that perfectly suited the changes in his voice and used it to great effect, sounding not unlike old wood polished with a deep finish over a period of many years.

The songs themselves are well crafted and rich in texture. Roots to Branches builds up slowly from out of the darkness and casts shadowy chords across a lyrical landscape of ever changing beliefs with a mixture of sadness and sarcasm. Rare and Precious Chain snakes its way through a hypnotic rhythm, with enchanting results, while Out of the Noise runs rampant in pursuit of playful disregard to any musical boundaries. This Free Will has a weight to it you can virtually feel, and the song Valley is a deeply moving track set to a parable about the haves and have nots laid bare against a background of moral inconsistencies. It’s one of my favorites in a record filled with favorites. Dangerous Veils dances wildly about in strip tease fashion, Beside Myself sounds refreshingly familiar and new all at once, and Wounded, Old and Treacherous is mischievous and devilishly good. At Last, Forever, Stuck out in the August Rain, and Another Harry’s Bar seem to me to be incredibly beautiful odes to love and mortality told with a sense of wistfulness and melancholy.

Line-up:
* Ian Anderson – Vocals, concert flute, bamboo flute, acoustic guitar
* Martin Barre – Electric guitars
* Doane Perry – Drums
* Andrew Giddings – Keyboards
* Dave Pegg – Bass guitar (tracks 3, 5, 11)
* Steve Bailey – Bass guitar (tracks 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

Track List:
01. Roots To Branches – 5:11
02. Rare And Precious Chain – 3:35
03. Out Of The Noise – 3:25
04. This Free Will – 4:05
05. Valley – 6:07
06. Dangerous Veils – 5:35
07. Beside Myself – 5:50
08. Wounded, Old And Treacherous – 7:50
09. At Last, Forever – 7:55
10. Stuck In The August Rain – 4:06
11. Another Harry’s Bar – 6:21

Link in comments.

Dave Pegg, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, Sakalli's Pick

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