Jethro Tull: Classic or Dud?

iz crop rotation iz bifta alzo

yuzzah ahhl dddddddmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmd

Sweet Dream video from "Slipstream": CLASSIC!

I'd say more like every TEN years...just like the Doors!

Between that and Jackie Enx of Rhino Bucket, it shows that Jayne County was merely the start of something good.

you know, my dad and my philly relatives pronounce "ann" and "ian" almost identically.

I love "A New Day Yesterday" and "To Cry You a Song".

(though "Living In The Past" is a nice tune)

I love pretty much everything up to "War Child", plus "Songs from the Wood" and "Heavy Horses"*. I don't think "Stormwatch" is bad. The lyrics on most of "Minstrel in the Gallery" (except for the title song) start to make me cringe. "Broadsword and the Beast" has an unpleasant, bloated-puffy synthesizer sound as well as pretty uninteresting songs. "Crest of a Knave" is hard to imagine as the same band - I can't stand Martin Barre's guitar sound at that time, and the lyrics are brutal. "Rock Island" and "Catfish Rising", as probably everyone will tell you, are just embarassing. I haven't heard anything since, though a friend has told me that "J-Tull.com" (sp?) is not too bad.

*I do think that "Thick as a Brick" is a bit structurally clunky, but when I consider that it was kind of a big piss-take of a concept album, it makes sense that it's that way - it's a pretty funny idea for an album. "A Passion Play" is my favourite: the saxophone and synthesizer parts sound great and the melodies are really deft. I don't know why people got mad about "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles". "War Child" continues with similar arrangements and impressive playing (Barriemore Barlow is a superb drummer), though I'd have preferred "Bungle in the Jungle" as a non-LP single.

But it's not offensive like ELP (whose best moments were Greg Lake's Paul McCartney/Neil Young knockoff songs w/ cheap synth solos just to remind you who's IN CHARGE HERE). And the later dumb pop hits he had, around the mid-'70s, are quite enjoyable. Normally I don't bring up Lester Bangs but his piece "Jethro Tull in Vietnam" does sum it all up nicely.

1) Stand Up. One of the great, great psychedelic albums, stuffed with killer riffs and enough otherworldly moods to simulate or enhance being baked. If this album were a one-off by an obscure British folk band (a la Mellow Candle) it would fetch hundreds of $$$$ in collector's circles.
2) Aqualung. There isn't a bad song on it. The flute solo in "My God" is some scary shit. In my experience people who badmouth this are trying to prove another point, like they're cool, or even good music can get overplayed, or something.
3) Thick as a Brick. Some parts drag, but there's no other album like it (I guess besides Passion Play), and most of it's engaging, not an easy thing to pull off over the course of 40+ minutes.

Songs from the Wood, War Child, Benefit, and Minstrel in the Gallery aren't bad, either, and there are timeless singles like "Living in the Past" to get off on.

There's also a ton of shitty albums--Too Old to Rock & Roll. . ., A, Stormwatch, etc. but who cares, really.

and no, Bangs is not infallible. But his central insight into Tull--no rebop--is a good 'un. And I want rebop myself.

xpost

"Wond'ring Aloud"
"Slipstream" (I think)
"Thick as A Brick" (the intro, but many other parts, too)
"Skating Away On the Thin Ice of a New Day"
"One White Duck/Nothing At All"
"Baker St. Muse"
"Salamander" (again, I think -- it's been awhile)
"Dun Ringill"

My personal tastes tell me they also have a few very good hard rock moments, including "Minstrel In the Gallery", "Pibroch" and much of Aqualung. That and Songs From the Wood has a very cool electro-folk production

Thick as a Brick really is ridiculously good. Sweet tunes, fierce playing, beautifully arranged. The strings near the end are next level.

"Locomotive Breath" still rocks greatly.

1) ...If this album were a one-off by an obscure British folk band (a la Mellow Candle) it would fetch hundreds of $$$$ in collector's circles.

Yes yes yes. In the run up to becoming full-on prog, they created some moody and unfussy stuff. Stand Up layers all sorts of acoustic instruments with blues riffing in a way that is intuitive and natural, rather than the hyper-organized feel they soon took on. Really solid songs that would hold up outside of the textures and arrangements.

Their true masterpiece was "A Passion Play". Jethro Tull at their most progressive was also Jethro Tull at their best.

But they did some interesting folk influenced stuff later too.

To me, Minstrel In The Gallery through Stormwatch = classic. The expansive prog notions recompressed into concise songs without losing the progginess.

The stuff from the first heyday's great, but I don't get the urge to put it on very often.

The string of high-concept records (Thick, Passion, Too Old) I have no time for.

i own 'aqualung'. i like it and think it's pretty creative and inspired, but i don't listen to it often

I went to see them live a few days ago. I only really went along to the gig after a mate said he wanted to go.

I hadn't much listened to them for 30 years, and though I wasn't a big fan I had mates who were very keen indeed and back in the day I did have a soft spot for the quirkier, pop-eyed silliness.

Before the gig I was kinda worried about all that zany 70s catweazle'n'codpiece stuff, since I figured it wouldn't have aged well...

I needn't have worried as there wasn't much of it, indeed there wasn't nearly enough of it. Stripped of the theatrics, left pretty much the music unadorned, though that did reveal some elements which I hadn't noticed before (or didn't know anything about to notice) such as the Mingus influences (though I guess the Roland Kirk stuff was always obvious).

Mainly though they sounded polite 80s rock. Barre's guitar sounded especially cleaned up, Dire Straits and (80s) Supertramp.

So not great then, mostly not even good, but now and then there were flashes about what made them interesting and did confirm there were interesting bits in the War child and earlier albums.

Their guitarist kicks ass and besides that they are fucking Jethro Tull. So many songs to love by them.

Oh god, I had an urge to hear "Skating Away" so I downloaded the Anniversary collection and I'm kind of enjoying it.

Kill me.

They are classic beyond classic.

people who HATE this band hate fun

From another thread:

for all the shit jethro tull got for beating metallica in the grammys, they are probably the *weirdest* band to ever win a grammy. i mean jethro tull! think about it! how could you even invent jethro tull?

― dave coolier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, February 10, 2012 9:33 AM (6 minutes ago)

i was listening to Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull the other day and the album is dedicated to the "hardworking shire horses of England"

― dave coolier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, February 10, 2012 9:33 AM

Jethro Tull OTM

heavy horses and songs from the wood are both well worth checking out btw, late period successes...they decided to completely ignore punk/new wave/everything that was going on at the time

Songs From The Wood a little more so, but M@tt OTM.

Perhaps the receding of the prog wave did influence them to keep it concise on these two records. There are no long songs.

SFTW was my first-ever "favorite album" and it still captivates.

yeah i guess they are pretty tight, there's one funkier tune on heavy horses that almost reminds me of like a jazz rock version of itchy post punk funk type stuff but it's probably by coincidence

ned, do you like jethro tull?

I do, more casually than anything else but I had a small phase in the late eighties (oddly enough -- pre-Grammys, for what it's worth, but that album that won had a couple of creepily interesting songs on it like "Farm on the Freeway," which got some regular classic-rock-radio airplay at the time).

Songs from the Wood I heard courtesy of friends at the time too -- good album! Probably in more freak/psych/underground folk performer/listeners backgrounds than people admit to.

I'll rep for Stormwatch, which does have long songs, but I love the theme so much.

my best friend growing up was a big Tull fan but i never really gave them much thought until Thick As A Brick blew me away on the radio one day, love that album now, should really check more out.

And hey, just got this in email that the UK's Burning Shed label is where to go for, well, everything Tull-related:

http://www.burningshed.com/store/jethrotull/

woah Tull Xmas album!

Benefit is a killer album. I loved this band when I was a kid, then somewhere in early high school all the charm ran right out of 'em for me. "Locomotive Breath" is all-time though, really oughta be a more commonly-cited everybody-knows-that-riff tune

That riff in "Teacher" totally rules

xpost that wonderfully sludgy ga-chunka ga-chunka rhythm

lol I had no idea that this song was called "Locomotive Breath"

yes, it is fucking fantastic

The only (sort-of) art-rock band where I can easily list a top 5: 1. "Witches Promise," 2. "Nothing Is Easy," 3. "Living in the Past," 4. "Skating Away..." 5. "Teacher." Unless ELO count.

btw A Passion Play is completely batshit and over the top and awesome in a way that makes their other albums sound like the Ramones by comparison, recommended on vinyl where it's sequenced as 2 complete sides of vinyl no "songs"

Next time i'm in mpls/stpl, BOC/Tull night at my mom's. Wordisbond.

Haven't heard Passion Play in yonks, and I can't really remember the music, except for one part:

THIS... is the story of the HARE...who lost his SPECKATICKES!

hahahaha

Next time i'm in mpls/stpl, BOC/Tull night at my mom's. Wordisbond.

― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Friday, February 10, 2012 3:34 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

cool! we can plan our launch of Classic Rock Artists' Late Period Albums No One Gives A Fuck About Magazine

THIS... is the story of the HARE...who lost his SPECKATICKES!

― Ham House showdown (Dan Peterson), Friday, February 10, 2012 3:45 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha yeah it's so goofy

Classic Rock Artists' Late Period Albums No One Gives A Fuck About Magazine

also featuring Grace Under Pressure/Presto/Hold Your Fire

Ha, I think the singles from Presto are pretty great.

They are! That's why those albums have to be in the first issue of CRALPANOGAFA Magazine!

Sounds like a planet designed by Slartibartfast.

grace under pressure is a top 5 rush album, act like u know

THIS MONTH: SLY AND ROBBIE SPEAK OUT ON THE MAKING OF BOB DYLAN'S INFIDELS

lol

they were certainly well-realized/fully-formed. really looked exactly like they should have looked with their sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqZmtq5LhFo&feature=artist

still pissed i lent Thick as a Brick to a girl in high school and never got it back

and spotify is reminding me that Thick is awesome fuiud

never had anything against them, have to admit. although I never really felt inclined to accept the punk rules (throw out a world of music because a couple 50s-revivalist punk bands said to? um, no thnx)

fuck there was a foo fighters ad between pts 1 and 2

Tull Rulez. I find it weird that some ILXors don't know this and/or have only listened to one album's worth of material

I dunno about Tull but I have a soft spot for Ian Anderson's "Walk Into Light" solo record. It has to be one of the best arranged/programmed synth-based albums of the period.

could not wring an ounce of pleasure from 'thick as a brick'. recently discovered that the whole thing is a giant pisstake, went back to it and loved it immediately. I've played the whole thing easily 10 times this week.

Ha that makes me happy. I'm a pretty big Tull-head but I haven't tried to listen to long-form Brick in a long time (usually reach for Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses or Aqualung).

Does the same contextualizing trick work for A Passion Play?

don't know tbh, i've not yet gone back to any other tull stuff

I've been revisiting and enjoying War Child recently, unfairly maligned I think and supposedly a bunch of Passion Play offcuts and leftovers.

Skating Away is sheer magic but I really can't abide the rest of that record. Last time I listened, anyway.

Ha, the other night, the modern/alternative rock station did a whole 'feature' on Aqualung, citing it as a key influence on Mumford and Sons and the whole Brit neo-folk thing.

Real shit that those two cheapo box sets don't have all the bonus tracks because they collect 8 albums in total and that would have been very convenient. They have so many bonus tracks and it'd be missing too much to just stick with the box sets.

Have been on a tear with JT for the last few months, enjoying the remixed/boxed editions that have been coming out, so much great music.

They seem prolific even for a band of that time.

Bloody hell! Passion Play, War Child and Minstrel In The Gallery all have tall book remix expanded editions.

they're horribly out of fashion, but BENEFIT is a great early 70s British rock album!

Oh yes, Benefit is so great!

http://thisiheard.blogspot.com/2015/11/jethro-tull-outside.html

they totally sound like CAN and NEU! it's sad how few people get how great stand up is too

i think 17 is my favourite song from the Stand Up era, it's cyclical and droney, and I love the push when the flute melodies kick in towards the end, it really gets under my skin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dso9s98k_AE

yeah that song is a jam, like one long chorus. feel like a lot of the choogly template for T. REX is here

have been slowly coming around to the opinion - with help from idle Spotify long-looks -- that this band is pretty underrated, and that Anderson is an almost unique figure -- the things that are off-putting about this band are almost entirely on him. there's also no band without him, period. the nearest analogue I can think of is Zappa, where you have to learn to take the bad with the good. but here...tunes like "requiem" from minstrel in the gallery, just so gorgeous, so many great tunes like that, and then just enough lines/leers to make you go "eww this guy, I am not into this guy" per album to put you off a while

but honestly some of these tunes are just incredible, really incredible

I've got a few albums, don't remember much gross stuff apart from "Aqualung" lyrics but I didn't have a problem with them.

man Minstrel in the Gallery kinda knocking me out today. interesting & good popmatters review here

http://www.popmatters.com/column/195410-reappraising-ian-andersons-minstrel-in-the-gallery/

it's not specific lyrics so much as a condescending hippie all-knowing vibe I get. this could partially be a function of where & when I grew up (California in the 70s). Anderson's always seemed pretentious in a way that both serves the material well sometimes and distracts me from the music's strength sometimes.

I'm curious what other songs besides Requiem you put in that category

I keep meaning to re-investigate these guys. Listened to Aqualung and Thick as a Brick in junior high or high school, I forget now, but never went any further.

I suspect the recent Steven Wilson remasters would do wonders for any sort of relisten. A friend of mine in particular swears by the original band lineup's work -- he compares it (not sonically but in terms of simply overall band dynamic) to Alice Cooper. IE, whatever else happened later on as the lead figure became the sole or primary focus, there was a distinct, unique feeling the original lineup had that gelled and has been lost a bit with time. That said the Cooper comparison isn't entirely exact since Martin Barre was there for decades in the end.

Beyond that my small mutterings upthread stand. They are a band that are good for random/unusual finds throughout their catalog -- deep cuts or just unreleased songs that surfaced later. A favorite of mine would be "Overhang," recorded for The Broadsword and the Beast but only formally released a few years after that. Has a big stirring ending that works very well. And I still think "Farm on the Freeway" is a weird, strange lead-off single for the album that won them their metal Grammy.

Wilson's not infallible - I like his King Crimson remasters a lot, but I hate his version of Tales from Topographic Oceans. I suspect I'll start with the albums as they were.

Songs from the Wood remains one of my all time favorite records and I also swear by Living in the Past, Heavy Horses, Minstrel in the Gallery and Aqualung. War Child has some of his best ever songs but doesn't really come together even in the S Wilson remix. The 80s stuff is definitely good for deep cut hunting. The really late stuff like homo erraticus where he has become more of a speak singer was a lot better than I was expecting.

it's tough because he's been the flute/codpiece guy for, um, 50 years but yeah there's definitely a lot of great stuff

I was listening to the Wilson remasters on Spotify last night, they're good - I didn't do any A/B'ing but they felt more like careful staging rather than broad strokes

I'm curious what other songs besides Requiem you put in that category

well, like the title "track" from Thick as a Brick - such a fucking awesome tune, great line about the sperm there bro, haha the straights won't know what to do w/that they'll piss themselves, who cares if it shits all over the tune? 't's not their tune innit like

you know what I mean? and honestly much of Aqualung -- his narrative stance is what I've always thought of as Omniscient Condescending Hippie. as I say, this could be a fx of the time & place I grew up in, I am pretty allergic to O.C.H. A Passion Play is kind of a relief in that it's so self-serious / overtly theatrical that in listening last night its excesses seemed...kind of less pretentious than the persona telling old Aqualung what it's all about, man

"my words but a whisper, your deafness a SHOUT!" ok man

Stand Up definitely deserves another look, such a great album, especially if peak Anderson irritates you

that has always been a core trait of anderson and Aqualung is probably where it is most on display. IMO Songs from the Wood has almost no OCH content BUT it does have 'Hunting Girl' which is icky shake-the-squares weird sex stuff. But at least it is genuinely fringe, I mean pony play has yet to go mainstream even today.

JCLC otm re passion play, it's so pretentious it's unpretentious.

I think Songs From The Woods is a good album but I don't think anything really lived up to the opening title track.

"The Whistler" is great. First JT song I ever heard (outside of the radio stuff), I ripped a bunch of my buddy's CDs but forgot about them. It came up on shuffle and I was like, "who the hell was that?" (iPod was across the room), pretty stunned to find out who it was

Are any of their other albums as folky is that?

Benefit is kind of folky, no? And good!

Heavy Horses is folky in a somewhat similar vein to SftW but not as medieval in its pallette. It's the next album after SotW and forms kind of a trilogy with the not as good Stormwatch as conclusion. The songwriting on HH is really good. 'One Brown Mouse' is one of the cutest things he ever wrote.

There's stuff on Living in the Past with that antique feel also.

Crest of a Knave was a mid-80s self conscious revival of fantasy Tull; it's good but not near SotW's level.

^^^ sorry meant SftW

I think Songs From The Woods is a good album but I don't think anything really lived up to the opening title track.

This would be a great Wilson 5.1 remix if he gets around to it.

i tried listening to "heavy horses" this week when i was on a heavy "prog records from 1978" jag and it's just not the same for me (i preferred the granada and nu records from that year). it's simultaneously "the second record in their folk trilogy" and "the record where they stopped faffing around with all that folk stuff", and unfortunately i mainly heard it as the latter. the only time i've really liked tull is when they're trying to out-gentle giant gentle giant; anderson's solo "jack-in-the-green", the clonky tuned percussion on velvet green; hell, i'll rep for the whole of side two.

I'll never understand what people hear in A Passion Play... it's always felt like a bit of a snoozer to me. Thick as a Brick does the same thing with more energy and better playing - the overall result, of course, being that it doesn't put me to sleep.

man when I listened to it last month it seemed so...like, assured in a way that much of JT isn't. like it almost sounds like they're only making the music because they like it and want to hear what it sounds like once recorded and pressed. Jethro Tull often seems like a band who's writing/playing for an imagined audience -- not "imaginary," but, you know, they sound like they're thinking about how they'll be received a lot of the time. A Passion Play is kinda self-absorbed in all the right ways to me

I can only listen to them late at night when I'm mad tired. They sound great at that point

Well here we go, just got a promo mail:

SONGS FROM THE WOOD: THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION will be available as a limited edition 3-CD/2-DVD set on May 19 for a suggested list price of $49.98.

Highlights from the set include:
Original album remixed in stereo by Steven Wilson on CD.
Unleased tracks and alternate versions on CD.
96/24 LPCM and 5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital surround mixes of the original album by Steven Wilson on DVD.
Unseen footage from the live concert at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland on November 21, 1977.
96/24 LPCM flat transfers of the original stereo masters on DVD.
DTS/DD 4.0 Surround flat transfers of the quadrophonic master on DVD.
An 80-page booklet featuring an extensive history of the project, a film script synopsis, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs.

Extra tracks on the first disc:

10. Old Aces Die Hard [previously unreleased]
11. Working John, Working Joe [previously unreleased]
12. Magic Bells (Ring Out, Solstice Bells)
13. Songs From The Wood (Unedited Master)
14. Fire At Midnight (Unedited Master)
[previously unreleased]
15. One Brown Mouse (Early Version)
16. Strip Cartoon
17. The Whistler (US Stereo Single Mix)

And here's the concert audio tracks:

Live in Concert 1977- Disc 1
1. Wond'ring Aloud
2. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day
3. Jack-In-The-Green
4. Thick As A Brick
5. Songs From The Wood
6. Instrumental
7. Drum Solo Improvisation
8. To Cry You A Song
9. A New Day Yesterday
10. Flute Solo Improvisation interpolating -
God Rest Ye Gentlemen/Bourée
11. Living In The Past/ A New Day
Yesterday (reprise)

Live in Concert 1977- Disc 2
1. Velvet Green
2. Hunting Girl
3. Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die
4. Minstrel In The Gallery
5. Cross-Eyed Mary
6. Aqualung
7. Instrumental Improvisation
8. Wind-Up
9. Back Door Angels / Guitar Improvisation /
Wind Up (reprise)
10. Locomotive Breath
11. Land Of Hope And Glory / Improvisation /
Back Door Angels (reprise)

DVD live tracks:

Live at The Capital Centre, Landover,
Maryland, 21st November 1977:
1. Wond'ring Aloud
2. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day
3. Jack-In-The-Green
4. Thick As A Brick
5. Songs From The Wood
6. Instrumental/ Drum Solo Improvisation
7. To Cry You A Song
8. A New Day Yesterday
9. Flute Solo Improvisation interpolating - God Rest Ye Gentlemen/Bouree/A New Day Yesterday
10. Living In The Past /A New Day Yesterday (reprise)
11. Second half of concert - Introduction
12. Velvet Green
13. Hunting Girl
14. Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die
15.Minstrel In The Gallery
16. Cross-Eyed Mary
17. Aqualung
18. Instrumental Improvisation
19. Wind-Up
20. Back Door Angels / Guitar Improvisation /Wind Up (reprise)
21. Locomotive Breath
22. Land Of Hope And Glory/ Improvisation / Back Door Angels (reprise)
Beethoven's Ninth (with original audio)
The Whistler (promo footage)(mono)

Source of the video:

The final disc in the package is the video footage taken live at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland on November 21 1977 mixed to 16/48 stereo LPCM and 5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital surround by Jakko Jakszyk. This footage has never been publicly seen before. The concert venue was the home for Washington Wizards basketball team, then known as Washington Bullets - so the video footage comes directly from the film that was played to the big screens in the venue during the show and has since been seen nowhere else.

Holy shit! Not my favourite Tull album by a long way but there's sure to be a couple of people on here that'll lap this up... it seems to be their most popular post-Thick As A Brick LP for some reason.

Literally one month back!

This would be a great Wilson 5.1 remix if he gets around to it.

― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, March 5, 2017

And...there you go.

My favorite Tull album by a long way and the first 'favorite album' I ever had. Might ask for this for my bday.

Looks like the bonus track from the last remaster is MIA here?

nice this is exciting!

My favourite JT record also, have been eagerly waiting for this and Heavy Horses to come around, stoked for this!

Anyone been buying all these big deluxe books? Seems a bit too much, would prefer a compilation box set with all these b-sides + unreleased stuff and separate live albums.

I like 'em, I like size of the boxes and the way they are leavened out to two/three a year which gives you time to enjoy the extras.

What would be nice is, when they're done, a big book of all the liner notes and interviews in reasonable sized type.

Literally one month back!

I didn't.

"But all this time, Owl had been sitting on the fence scowling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm enjoying Passion Play. Anderson's singing on it is really lovely.

"For the gory satisfaction of telling you how telling you how absolutely awful you really are"

Buggered that a bit but you know the part if you've heard it.

Yes! I really enjoy Passion Play too, what a great run they had.

I'm stuck on Benefit right now which I think has become my go-to, having really enjoyed the excellent re-release of Songs From The Wood, I imagine Heavy Horses must be coming up pretty soon.

I like the concept of A Passion Play, but find the album a bit of a slog... I really wish I enjoyed it as much I do Thick as a Brick or Aqualung

I was initially very disappointed but I'm loving Passion Play right now.

I learned last week that I have underestimated Stormwatch

I don't think they made a bad record until 'A' really.

'Teacher' is still a fucking tune ...

one of the all-time hooks

It's as much of a classic for me as 'Living in the Past' or 'Aqualung' is... just a perfect single. Should have been a huge hit.

Teacher was always played on the classic rock radio quite a bit. I seem to recall that it was in some 80s teen movie in the soundtrack as that is where I seem to got to know the tune. Haven't googled it yet...was there a movie with Nick Nolte as a burnt out high school teacher and Ralph Macchio as a student? Maybe I'm just mixing up 48 Hours and Karate Kid in my head. Anyway that's the movie I either invented or remembered having Teacher in the sound track.

Yes but pretty sure that was the 38 Special song...

http://thequietus.com/articles/23198-tom-g-warrior-of-celtic-frost-s-baker-s-dozen?page=4
Guess I'll be getting Heavy Horses next.

Keep thinking about the guy in the Vinyl tv series smashing a Tull album, I so wanted to throw him out the window and take the show in a different direction.

Aww

Feeling a lot of love for tom g warrior right now

What he says about HH is p much me with SftW

I don't say this lightly but I think Passion Play is better than Thick As A Brick. Had a fantastic time with it and I'll be surprised if another Tull album tops it. I always liked Tull but now they're in my upper circle of favorite prog bands.
Going to listen to the Chateau bonus album soon.

Having read some of the booklet, the new Wilson mix deletes two saxophone parts and adds a few song verses that were originally deleted for some unknown reason and puts the voice closer up front. It might be quite a different experience but I haven't heard the original.

The band has very mixed feelings about the album, some of them love it and some think it's one of their weaker albums. Ian Anderson is very proud of his vocal performance (rightly so!) but feels the album could have been so much more and might consider doing a new version of it. He thinks the album's biggest fans are nuts.

I'd been reluctant before but some of the book/box versions have quite a lot of extras. I just ordered Too Old (has a ton of extras) and Minstrel. Aqualung has an EP and more. Songs From The Woods deluxe has become scarce quite quickly but it didn't have as interesting extras as most of the others.
Heavy Horses deluxe book/box is coming in March.

oh no SFTW deluxe is getting expensive? goddamn it

adds a few song verses that were originally deleted for some unknown reason

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, February 9, 2018 9:41 PM (one hour ago)

Maybe I should have said it restores deleted verses, it isn't new music, it's from the original recording but had never actually been used.

Listened to the new HH box a few days ago, enjoying the SW mix and it feels a little less knotted with a new shine on it.

It is still pretty chewy in places however, I had forgotten this, SftW seems much more upbeat and light by comparison.

Then there's just Stormwatch to go then we're out of the imperial phase, I'm looking forward to hearing that with a better mix, especially Orion, the Stormwatch tour was pretty strong too and a proper live recording would be ace.

A and Under Wraps are gonna be a tough sell.

Don't know how far they'll take this box/book series, I'm surprised how far it's already went. How many bands ever got this kind of treatment for so many albums? I think it's a bit much, a lot of this stuff probably should have been in compilations but I have to admit the booklets are good enough you almost could have sold them by themselves.

I can ask, my wife used to work on them and I know who does now, I imagine they'll go all the way, some of those later records could do with being mixed in a more sympathetic way, taking out the brash 80s/90s reverbs and production tricks.

I actually suggested they make a nice coffee table book of all the liner notes when they're done. :)

But they didn't give This Was a book edition, only a cd shaped double disc edition. Not sure about Benefit.

I love "Broadford Bazaar" from the single-disc remaster of Heavy Horses, although I have no idea if it's from the same recording sessions or just tacked on as a good bonus track.

Yeah, I was wondering if they'd go back and rerelease This Was and Benefit in the book format, Benefit has a CD sized, thick fold-y in on itself case.

Stormwatch seems like the logical place to end the deluxe versions, but I'd also like to see a rerelease of that Ian Anderson solo album that had all the computers and stuff on it.

Another favorite Passion Play lyric

"Here's the everlasting rub: neither am I good or bad.
I'd give up my halo for a horn and the horn for the hat I once had."

I'm gonna have to hear the Wilson mix and see if it changes my mind!

Really fallen in love with this band. I liked them a decade ago but now I really love them. Scooped up 4 reissues this week (This Was has the best artwork ever) and listened to the Chateau sessions a lot, a lot of which got reused as Passion Play and War Child, but since I haven't heard War Child, I'm hoping that the best unfamiliar tracks are on it in some form.
The way Anderson just talks about the theatre being bombed then sings out the same sentences afterwards is hilarious.

"Look at the animals in the zoo, how would you like to be one?
[...]
Look at the animals look at you, how would you like to free one?"

Their first album since 2003 is coming out next year!

"thick as a brick" (all 40+ odd minutes) is top shelf symphonic rock and a killer concept besides

Xpost with Martin barre on board?

Cant see anything about Barre but I'm not sure. I know next to nothing about Tull after the 70s (apart from actress Lucia Micarelli being in the band, wow) but there must be a reason this isn't just another solo album.

Barre and Anderson are on pretty bad terms right now it seems, also IA's voice is really quite shot so it'll be interesting to see what comes up with this new record.

That sucks about this voice, he was always one of rock's great enunciators.

On one of those solo albums I thought he made good use of his ravaged voice. Not really trying to sing

I would love for there to be a Steven Wilson remix of "Walk Into Light".

Re: Chateau sessions. I cant believe they never used "Left Right", such an awesome song, I think it did appear on other compilations but I'd urge anyone to grab the Passion Play: Extended Performance before it's gone, because the sessions are remastered too.

it was only $21 on Amazon the other week, so I picked it up. Heavy Horses too!

Cool, I think I'll jump into town to get Heavy Horses this week.

On a Tull kick myself (see other thread).

Also, Ian Anderson's vaguely synth pop / occasionally baeleric album Walk Into Light is...not bad?

I have found my way into some of the early 80s stuff but haven’t tried that one yet

I'm not an expert on his solo career by any means, but this one seems like an anomaly

Title track is my jam right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs6V91LgdKs

Had a look over my Heavy Horses book. Never knew they had so much work with Maddy Prior, she's interviewed.

that walk into light title track deserves resuscitation on some resident advisor mix imo, it's really good

definitely own like 6 or 7 albums by these guys and never quite decided if I am a fan or not

Other favorite Chateau moments

"The editor lies screaming, baking in his waking dream,
QUESTIONING "WHO IS GOD'S FAVOURITE ROCK BAND THIS WEEK?"
And will the front page take him?
The deadline for the headline is the breadline"

"Who the hell can he be when he's never had V.D. and he doesn't even sit on toilet seats?"

I love "Broadford Bazaar" from the single-disc remaster of Heavy Horses, although I have no idea if it's from the same recording sessions or just tacked on as a good bonus track.

Also, “Inside” from Benefit is an absolute jam. Glen Cornick’s bass on this is just incredible.

hmm... the Nightcap liner notes say Broadford Bazaar was "recorded 1978 at Maison Rouge Mobile Studio, Fulham London" so maybe it's from the Stormwatch recording sessions?

the song is like a Heavy Horses sound with a definite Stormwatch vibe

hmm... the Nightcap liner notes say Broadford Bazaar was "recorded 1978 at Maison Rouge Mobile Studio, Fulham London" so maybe it's from the Stormwatch recording sessions?

—>singing

The Horses in those Heavy Horses photos are fucking massive.

The horses were much smaller than intended, so they got a midget to pose for the photoshoot. That's why "Ian's" head is tilted down.

He said he regrets the cover because it's too close and you don't really get a proper look at their size. The book has lots of better photos from that shoot.

Loving "Acres Wild", a beauty. Loving the Heavy Horses tracks which Anderson noted as going in a Scottish direction. I wouldn't know where to begin with traditional Scottish dance music, the stuff I used to hear my gran listening on the radio was a bit too leisurely so anyone could keep up with it. But of course I want it fast and complex and only professionals could dance to properly.
Writer Jack Vance once recommended Jimmy Shand but I doubt he ever goes nuts with it.

In the notes Anderson is quite ashamed of some of the bonus tracks, like "Botanic Man" (an unused tv theme tune), and the start of a track which he said he wouldn't subject the biggest Tull nerds to (it's not listed on the back tracklist for some reason).

I had "Beltane" on an earlier Songs From The Woods CD as a bonus track and I wasn't too fond of it, but I'm quite impressed by it now. Oddly Anderson said the references were maybe too obscure (what kind of reasoning is that? Especially for this sort of music?) and he was a bit embarrassed by the accent he put on (sounds much the way he does on most of Heavy Horses to me) and that it's a bit too "let's get in touch with our pagan roots", I see where he's coming from but I find it quite evocative nonetheless.

"There's a snap in the grass behind your feet
and a tap upon your shoulder.
And the thin wind crawls along your neck ---
it's just the old gods getting older"

I don’t see how that’s any less atavistic than jack-in-the-green.

Maybe he thought both those on one album would be too much

Sorry any MORE atavistic

It's a Heavy Horses reject though. I guess it ended up as a bonus on some versions of Songs From The Woods because it fit more thematically.

"No Lullaby" lyrics he wrote for his children when they were small but they didn't hear until decades later.

"So come out fighting with your rattle in hand, thrust and parry. Light
A match to catch the devil's eye, bring a cross of fire to the fight.
And let no sleep bring false relief from the tension of the fray.
Come wake the dead with the scream of life, do battle with ghosts at play.
And gather your toys at the call-to-arms and swing your big bear down
Upon our necks when we come to set you sleeping safe and sound.
It's as well we tell no lie to chase the face that cries.
And little birds can't fly so keep an open eye.
It's as well we tell no lie, so I'll sing you no lullaby."

Any of you got a good feel for Tull's whole lifetime? Their ups and downs, solo albums etc?

Kinda do. Couple of years ago I dug in and listened to everything I hadn’t ever heard. I’d have to look over the discography to refresh my memory now. It didn’t change my top tier favorites but I discovered some really nice 2nd tier stuff (Broadsword, Crest, one of the recent growly ones but I can’t remember which). Tried hard for the umpteenth time with War Child, incl the Wilson edition and the outtakes/alternates, bc skating away is possibly my favorite song he ever wrote, but it’s overall a dud.

For me, it's hard to push past 'A', I like Broadsword well enough but apart from the odd track everything after that has felt like a bit of a snooze, if somebody was to compile a later period album list of worthwhile tunes I'd be interested though.

But the run from the beginning up to Stormwatch is fabulous, agree with Jon about most of War Child and I'm not as fussed about To Old... but hell, that leaves a pretty big chunk of greatness.

Thanks.

I'm kind of worried that the backlash against A Passion Play distorted their opinions of the material. It's now one of my favorite albums by any band and I've been daydreaming about wishing I was an expert dancer so I could invent dances to go with the album. It's just so much fun.

Heavy Horses is pretty good, the bonus tracks I could have mostly lived without but there's maybe three really good ones (("Jack A Lynn" (early version), "Quatrain" (studio version) and "Beltane"))

title track of HH just made me cry (i'm having a bad week)

It's a good one. Anderson says it's a favorite to perform.

https://www.last.fm/music/Jethro+Tull/+images/6e079bed45eb40fdc0d9c733acece474

There's a great Minstrel In The Gallery era photo of them that's completely in the "photos of people who've figured out to live" vein.

http://www.tullpress.com/images/tull803.jpg

"And then I turned around, exited Vault 82, and decided to try my luck alone in the post-apocalyptic wasteland"

Always good to be reminded that the "long hair with receding hairline" look used to be a thing.

"They were the best NASCAR pit crew I ever had, and that's why I took them to Mars with me, to win the Red Planet 350"

Hahaha!

"It took all year for us find one another, so there was only one glorious weekend, before they busted up the union and we went our separate ways, that we were the Brotherhood of Lunar Miners Local 580 Zero-G Perpendicular-Track Roller Derby Team"

I've got mixed feelings about Minstrel In The Gallery, but it's mostly good.

The title track is mostly great but I'm not so fond of the rockier second half. Aside from a few moments "Cold Wind to Valhalla" and "Black Satin Dancer" don't really do much for me sadly.

But "Requiem" and "Baker St. Muse" are wonderful ("I can't get out!" is one of my favorite bits of non-musical jokery in an album). The rest is good.

Bonus highlights: the early version of "Requiem" is well worth hearing and the BBC version of "Minstrel in the Gallery" has a great vocal echo effect at the start and the BBC "Aqualung" really thrilled me with the opening and closing sections.

Until the Stormwatch deluxe comes out I think I'll start in chronological order from the first album.

those three BBC versions at the end totally slay, i actually only have those on my player currently in lieu of the actual album.

I heard "Bungle in the Jungle" today and jeez, that song, which I liked a lot at 13, is terrible.

Just put on "Living in the Past," and whew, this one is still good.

The other "Bungle in the Jungle" tracks from the Chateau Sessions are brilliant.

War Child is weird, having my favorite Tull song and what may be my least favorite

"Bungle in the Jungle" was of seven audio questions at a trivia contest I was part of last week. Same thing: loved it when it was on the radio, "Living in the Past" a thousand times better today.

Ha, I didn't know until now that "Bungle" was their biggest hit in North America. Top 5 in Canada! I don't mind it tbh but yeah, it's no "Living in the Past". I really like the 5/4 groove (with a 6/8+2/4 feel) in that one.

"Skating Away" is killing me right now. I liked this as a kid but now I LIKE it like it.

It’s wonderful

The early version in the Chateau bonus material on A Passion Play is worth hearing as well, though not better than the war child version

Skating Away is one of their best songs!

Sorry, the good tracks I was referring to were called "Law of the Bungle (Part I)", "Tiger Toon" and "Law of the Bungle (Part II)". The last one is a brilliant instrumental with no animal stuff apart from Barre introducing himself as an owl with smooth feathers.

weird that we didn't do a POX Jethro Tull pack in the days of POX fever. Few bands better served by one imo - the stumbling point being both "thick as a brick" and "passion play" would throw off purists. I'm not a purist.

Thick As A Brick i.e. the song that starts "really don't mind if you sit this one out"
Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day
To Cry You A Song
Teacher
Locomotive Breath
Nothing to Say
Heavy Horses
Taxi Grab
Orion*
Fylingdale Flyer*

*I loved this band when I was a kid, as I've said, and got into these songs during that phase so I have affection for these songs they may or may not deserve

honestly though no, sub out something for "Requiem" off Minstrel in the Gallery

Though a Tull fan since age 9, the thing of this year for me has been: the album A is a great album. It’s closer to oingo boingo than 70s tull and unlike anything else in the discography but turns out it rules

Not a POX, but I did try a singles poll a few years ago:

Jethro Tull...They Were a Singles Band!

I like to put on Stand Up every once in a while.

One of my early mixes was just all their slow or super light-hearted tracks. Summerday Sands, Requiem, Wond’ring Aloud, One White Duck, For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me...

I feel like that would be a good way back in if I were to revisit the band anytime soon.

I remember clipping the tiny instrumental segments right before and after ‘The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles’ and putting at least one of them in my mix. Such a beautiful little passage.

My highlight of last year: A Passion Play. Any moment in life could be improved by shifting into one of the main transitions from that album.

I need to spend more time with it, and Aqualung, they are my most neglected, I tend to just go straight to Benefit, Stand Up and Songs From The Wood these days.

I've tried so many times to get into A Passion Play and every time I do I always come away from it thinking "wow, that was a bit of a slog" ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjZ2LxmRJ8E

I used to listen to this group a bit when I was a baby teen but have largely blanked on it since. I'd probably still remember every bit of Aqualung and TAAB though.

Anyway, HMV have two of the Steven Wilson remix CDs for a tenner - which should I get first, the aforementioned two or A Passion Play and Stand Up, neither of which I'm familiar with AFAIR?

Stand up is a better album but passion play probably benefits more from wilsonization

I'll be quite thrilled if Stand Up is better, because if I haven't made it clear here, Passion Play is probably my favorite album I've heard in the last 3 or 4 years.

Started Too Old To Rock'n Roll. It's the least impressive Tull album I've heard so far (of the 7 I've heard) but "From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser" is an obvious standout, lovely.

I've enjoyed the deluxe book a lot. I had no idea Dave Gibbons drew the sleeve comic before he had done anything big, he's interviewed. An interview with two members of John Glascock's earlier band Carmen (one of them was Glascock's girlfriend), a Visconti produced flamenco band who were on the rise before disastrous mismanagement killed them. A story about Anderson and Rockette Morton going motorbiking together. And more photos that are making me believe that Tull has more fun photos than any other band.
Anderson's notes on the songs continue to be interesting. He talks about Britain's sleazy and exploitative tv gameshows. He had felt that spending money like crazy is disrespecting the fans who gave him that money. He feels very uncomfortable about the lyrics of "Pied Piper" now and seems to regret it. Discussing another song about dirty old men, he says that singing in character is a risk but sometimes it's the best way to do a song, just hoping people wont assume you're like that character.

Carmen in 1973, more rocky than expected
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ1-hyRJSHY

In "Bad Eyed And Loveless" he describes a woman as being like a warm fart at Christmas.

Really impressed with Carmen's debut, Fandangos In Space, wasn't expecting anything that great when I was curious about this band.

Too Old is not a great album. So many songs have their great moments but ultimately don't hit the mark, apart from "From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser" which is amazing. Barrie Barlow hated the title track and I sort of understand why.

Bonus track "Small Cigar" is such a brilliant little character sketch ("if you ask me they're all on their way to upper middle class oblivion"), love it for similar reasons to why I love Ween's "Your Party".

If you are wondering what the deal is with the Too Old deluxe version, you're not alone, I wasn't sure until I read the sleeve notes because the product description doesn't explain it well.
Master tapes for half the album were missing but there was an alternate version of the album recorded for a tv special (somewhere between Top Of The Pops performances and an album length music video) which was considered better than the original album (I agree) so they remastered that and included bonus remasters of half the original album that they could locate and included a flat transfer of the original album.
A dvd includes the tv special, which is okay at best (I think the band don't like it), only one track really makes a halfway decent music video.

Agree that it's overall a failure and the worst of their prime stretch

I think Anderson doesn't care that much for it either, he said the whole thing was just a bit too forced.

I think maybe they recorded maybe a tad too many albums in the 70s.

I thought War Child was your least favorite?

Oh no. War Child is the problem piece, with stunning highlights and outtakes that are better than half of what’s on the album, where I’ve neurotically fashioned my own tracklist etc etc. War Child is unsuccessful as an album but TOTRnR is just kinda bad.

I actually think the title track is great until they get to that abominable boogie section

I actually like "Prelude" better because it has most of my favorite elements of the title track. It's understandable why it became an anthem for fans, with lyrics like "unfashionable til the end".

"Jack A Lynn" (early version)

I've been on a massive Tull kick lately, listening to the 5.1 mixes I've pulled down online and this version of the song (which ended up as a Broadsword outtake) is just hypnotically beautiful. "Quatrain" is another great Heavy Horses bonus -- this incredible jig. I think I like this stuff more than the record proper.

https://www.goldminemag.com/news/rhino-to-release-a-special-anniversary-edition-of-jethro-tulls-stormwatch

...40th Anniversary edition of Stormwatch released October 18th 2019

Steven Wilson remix, 6 previously unreleased tracks, a 2-disc live show from 1980. I am v. excited, it's my favorite Tull album and despite that could probably benefit from a remix, the CD has always sounded kind of flat to me.

I went to one of the shows on that tour. Crossing my fingers it's included! (I remember yelling super loud during the "Locomotive Breath" intro.)

Looking forward to it.

I may pop for this as I’m regretting that I let so many of these go OOP – the Martin Webb liners are fantastic on the three I have.

They really need to reissue these.

'A' in about 6 months from now I guess, that's where I will be stepping off the bus with these reissues I reckon.

Has A been announced?

Not sure, I could find out, I can't imagine they're gonna stop now, would be weird if they skipped to Broadsword...

Supposedly Wilson likes broadsword but is not interested in A. (I like both but A is the more unique and imo better album even though it is almost like Oingo Tull. Also the live shows for A were insanely good so I sure hope it does get the luxe treatment.

Appreciate if you could get the scoop Mares.

Someone else could do a 5.1 of 'A', perhaps Jakko Jakszyk, I have asked about it and await a response.

So, it's not definite, but the word is that the most likely outcome will be a Benefit 50th Anniversary release next year, which hasn't yet gotten the box treatment and it's much more likely to sell than A and there's already a 5.1 mix, neatly sidestepping the issue for now.

Awesome, I would love a book version of Benefit, the earlier deluxe edition got really scarce in the last year.

Here's to 2025 when we'll be fervently dissecting the J-Tull Dot Com box set.

if they even have box sets in 2025, instead of just hugs

At this point I’ll take hugs.

So I got the Stormwatch book edition, and the weather is right, so it's time to dim the lights, have a Guinness, and listen to this Steven Wilson remix of my favorite Jethro Tull album (Living in the Past is a comp so it doesn't count)...

Ooh do report back
What’s the bonus material? Live show?

November 15th release, will be getting this.

A live show and quite a lot of bonus tracks.

Live show is Den Haag 1980 AKA Watchers on the Storm... almost a two-hour set.

My favorite of the new-to-me bonus tracks is a 9-minute version of Orion, a song called Man of God, and an instrumental called Lyricon Blues. Tullheads seem to know about all this stuff already though? They clearly picked the strongest stuff for the first reissue's bonus tracks (Kelpie, Broadford Bazaar, King Henry's Madrigal) which are all here too. Broadford Bazaar remains a top ten Tull song for me.

Wilson remix of the album sounds great, some of the instrumental cues being a different levels in the new mix throw me just from hearing the original so many times over the years, but it definitely sparkles.

Still waiting on mine but I've always loved Orion and am jazzed about the long version.

Here's all the info -

https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/jethro-tull-stormwatch-40th-anniversary-force-10-deluxe-edition/

The limited runs of these stress me out. I’m not a massive Stormwatch fan but few like I blew the boxes up to Songs from the Wood. I really wished they’d reissue a few of these.

A list of Ian's favorite folk albums and how much he actually contributed to producing Steeleye Span. Second link has the bare list if you cant be bothered clicking through pages.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/ian-andersons-10-essential-folk-rock-albums-622920
https://www.loudersound.com/news/ian-anderson-reveals-folk-rock-heroes

I need to get around to Stormwatch, haven't yet listened as I'm still unpacking and the house is in flux but I listened to 'Isle Of Wight '70' while unpacking yesterday and it rules so hard, then I did Space Ritual, live records are good for menial labour.

Still digesting Stormwatch and half of it is very good. But I hadn't seen this album collection before
https://www.discogs.com/Jethro-Tull-Original-Album-Series-Volume-Two/release/8691477
Might be a good option when I've caught up with all the preceding albums and see how far the reissues go.

it would be, I can't see the reissues program extending that far for a number of years, I only have a couple of those records and I never listen to them, maybe I should revisit.

I'd be interested to see how Tull themselves think of the albums, because in the reissues so far they aren't always enthusiastic about the albums.

Still cant get over how negatively Passion Play was received, critic Chris Welch hated it and others thought of it as a massive fuckup, I think I said upthread that Martin Barre wasn't that into it. I have been a bit wary of Welch because he seemed entirely negative about punk music (while making an angry face) but I've only seen him talking/writing on several things.

Roots to Branches is great, there are a few good moments on Crest of a Knave, Under Wraps I’ve still never heard and I don’t like Catfish Rising and Rock Island at all

Stormwatch deluxe.

"Home" and "Dun Ringill" are fantastic. "Dark Ages" could have been the absolute standout but I'm not a big fan of the middle section, the first few minutes are amazing though (even spookier in the live version). "Orion" is good but the extended version is much better, with all these lovely dark instrumental passages not in the final version. "Elegy" is nice too.

I really wish they had made a whole album with the atmosphere of "Dun Ringill" and the spooky elements of some of the other tracks I mentioned. Too many so-so rock tracks.

I understand Anderson's reservations about "A Stitch In Time" (he thought using stock phrases was naff) and "Urban Apocalypse" (he felt self-conscious about the grandeur of the lyrics) but they're both spectacular to me, especially the latter, which I'm stunned was just sitting on a shelf for four decades. It's a Dee Palmer tune, only appeared on a solo album from 2018 (I'll need to get it someday).

The live intros (also written by Dee Palmer) "Sweet Dream" and "Prelude To A Storm" are brilliant. Also a bit spooky.

I assumed that Dee was a nickname for David but I'm only just discovering on Discogs that Palmer is transgender. I didn't read all the notes in these books, so if that has been mentioned, I missed it.

Did Anderson always ham up his Englishness on stage?

hahaha, yes, he does.

Meantime, Ian made an unexpected appearance on an album recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTVrBN7JvPQ

Marc's always said he was a heavy prog fan right before glam kicked in, so not too surprising, especially since this happened a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nN4d9E0AuY

And earlier this month, Marc put on a solo show for the new album, and this happened!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxP15kQEQFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNbQY-MfwhE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlPlNpPFKes

I saw an interview several years ago in which Almond listed several things about himself, then concluded by saying "one of these is true". On the list was being a huge Jethro Tull fan.

hahaha, I would not have guessed that! but it makes sense, since I like Marc Almond and Jethro Tull

I picked up Stormwatch Deluxe recently but haven’t dug into it yet. I don’t know it as well as the other two in the folk/ecology trilogy but “Dun Ringall” has always been my favorite track.

Flying Dutchman rolls up all my favorite things about a good Jethro Tull track, and is the middle of great album close: Dun Ringill/Flying Dutchman/Elegy.

Agreed – there’s a real emotional hitch to when Ian sings “You better be there when the Dutchman comes.”

FWIW, some of Wilson’s best surround mixes of this series have been the small acoustic tracks. “Dun Ringill” sounds absolutely incredible in 5.1.

Is Living in the Past one of the top 50 best rock comps of all time? I’d argue yes.

What’s not in doubt is that “Inside” is an absolute jam.

So I finally got around to picking up the A remaster with the bonus Slipstream DVD, and my word, this video is amazing. Amazing! It's like a classic Doctor Who episode.

Ian Anderson could absolutely have been the Doctor from, say, 1979-1980 for a couple seasons and crushed it. Crushed it!

A is a fantastic album. Tull goes Boingo. But are you telling me they have gotten to A in the new remaster program or is this a previous remaster?

hahaha, sorry that IS misleading... no, this is the remaster from 2003, not one of the newer book-format ones... the live version of Black Sunday on Slipstream is definitely amazing. haven't spent a ton of time with A yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E_ZftZkGJs

the Slipstream intro and Black Sunday, so you can see how fractally bonkers this video is and how great the rendition of Black Sunday is

Funny how the sound of the A era predicted the second wave prog bands like Twelfth Night, IQ, Pendragon all that lot.

for awhile I was hoovering up any live boots I could download from the A tour, that lineup was really REALLY good live

XXXXP - The next remaster is supposedly Benefit because it hasn't gotten the book format yet, plus the 5.1 mix is already done.

I legit feel like petitioning Parlophone to reissue these fucking things.

I just shelled out for a used copy of the Benefit 2CD/1DVD edition, so that should speed things along.

I’m still so sad that I missed the boat on the SftW remaster book, the first favorite album I ever had

I know the guy who works the back catalogue nowadays, I will ask him if they're ever going to be reprinted.

Thank u

Here's the reply.

"At the moment no plans to re-issue, the problem being the cost. Obviously numbers would be a lot less than the original run and therefore unit cost would escalate considerably pushing the sales price up too high. That said it is something we could look at down the line maybe as a D2C option in a quiet JT period."

D2C = direct to consumer?

Yeah, I think so.

Check out the first comment on this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1yLI4kQobE

A really nice recording from 1982 has just gone up on D1m3ad0z3n, cool set list too.

Disc One:
01. Something's On The Move
02. Hunting Girl
03. Fallen On Hard Times
04. Broadsword >
05. Heavy Horses
06. A Song For Jeffrey >
07. Keyboard & Drum Interlude
08. Fat Man
09. One Brown Mouse
10. Clasp
11. Watching Me Watching You
12. Instrumental (unknown title)
13. Beastie
14. Band Introductions
[51:25]

Disc Two:
01. The Swirling Pit
02. A New Day Yesterday
03. Thick As A Brick >
04. Sweet Dream
05. Too Old To Rock'n'Roll, Too Young To Die
06. Aqualung
07. Locomotive Breath >
08. Black Sunday
09. Cheerio
[33:08]

Oh boy!
I try to save this question for special situations but
ysi?

Rewatched the second season of Fargo recently; loved this, which opened the seventh episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p46qx7KVks

yeah that's a cool set... Fallen on Hard Times, One Brown Mouse, Black Sunday (a new favorite of mine)

XXP - Jon (and anyone else), no worries, here 'tis - https://we.tl/t-pSxK0nePZF

thanks for the link! wow, this recording sounds great for an audience recording.

Yeah! There's mention of binaural mics in the notes, presumably attached to a hat or maybe shirt lapels, as the notes say the taper moves around quite a bit so the perspective changes around, so it's probably best not listened to on headphones.

Headphones are my only option so I’ll prepare myself for some wanderkopf!

Cheers again for the link, that's a great show... a little sad it wasn't the full Black Sunday, but it's got a nice selection of Broadsword tracks and is a nice change from the songs that dominated a lot of the mid-late 70s sets on the deluxe reissues. Ian a little less talkative than usual, maybe that was edited out?

I've been listening to the 80s albums for the last few days... Crest of a Knave, Catfish Rising, Rock Island. Catfish definitely the strongest of the three, but wow do they ever sound like Dire Straits!

I found a cassette on the curb the other day, a bootleg of a Jethro Tull show from the Philadelphia Spectrum, March 8, 1975. Sound quality is, well, take a guess! But I got through it all. Setlist as follows:

Side A
1. Wind-Up
2. Passion Play
3. Thick as a Brick
4. Wond'ring Aloud
5. My God
6. Bouree
7. Living in the Past
8. Sea Lion 1
9. Skating Away...

Side B
10. Ladies
11. War Child
12. Reasons for Waiting
13. Cross-Eyed Mary
14. Bungle in the Jungle
15. Aqualung
16. Backdoor Angels

I can listen to Crest of a Knave but Rock Island and Catfish Rising are beyond my capabilities. Roots to Branches a real return to form imo

I don't think any of Tull's albums is really bad. The Stand Up - Stormwatch (arguably Broadsword) run is pretty amazing all-through and some later ones are less memorable overall (and may include more average songs) but there's quality stuff to be found on every record if you ask me.

I've often heard complaints on Ian's later voice, I don't know, I find that he loses his sneer which may have added some well-working venom to classic Tull but instead sings with more beauty on later works, such as his solo stuff like Secret Language of Birds.

I'd say Under Wraps is the weakest album. Martin Barre apparently rates that one very highly, so what do I know.

And yes: there's several 80s songs where they could easily be mistaken for Dire Straits but still I find JT at their weakest waaaay more exciting than DS at their strongest.

Has this been posted before?

There's a podcast called 'Talk Tull To Me' that goes through every song in chronological/album order, I listened to a bit of one last night and the two guys (natch) sound like fairly normal human beings chatting about JT, instead of two bored narcissists blabbing on about a load of in-jokes and irrelevant shit.

The episode I heard a bit of, 'Look Into The Sun', sounded decent, I will give it a proper listen although I remain a little sceptical, what can you say for 30+ mins about 'Cheap Day Return' for instance?

good point, bad example... that song is pivotal

Nothing against CDR, it's one of my favourites and the story behind it is affecting iirc, but idk, half an hour of discourse?

https://www.loudersound.com/news/ian-anderson-im-suffering-from-an-incurable-lung-disease

Ian Anderson has COPD apparently, which might explain some of the vocal issues of recent years. Hope he manages it for some time to come, it's not the best condition to suffer from.

poor guy, I hope he stays healthy for as long as possible... I know people who have had COPD for quite a while that still, for example, work full-time. that said, my guess would be less fog machines than 35-40 years of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Hey all, thought some of you might like this, I saw it go up recently, quality is pretty good, the taper was one of the more well thought of guys doing the rounds back then, I believe he would hide his recording gear in a wheelchair -

Jethro Tull
The Forum
Inglewood, CA
February 9, 1975
Mike Millard Original Master Tapes via JEMS

01 Minstrel In The Gallery Guitar Solo Intro
02 Wind Up
03 Critique Oblique
04 Thick As A Brick
05 Wond’ring Aloud
06 My God > Flute Solo
07 Sealion
08 Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day
09 Ladies
10 Drum Solo
11 War Child
12 War Child Suite
13 Cross-Eyed Mary
14 Bungle In The Jungle
15 The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles
16 Aqualung
17 Guitar Solo
18 Back-Door Angels
19 Locomotive Breath
20 Hard Headed English General
21 Back-Door Angels Reprise

https://we.tl/t-Sc5Dzam4FG

Psyched! Was just listening to the prior gift!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th80xJbWAIg

This one just appeared on D1me and is pretty nice quality and worth sharing, I feel - https://we.tl/t-RQrm1fG5PH

Jethro Tull
"A-OK"
Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
5th February 1981

Disc 1 - 56:41
01. Black Sunday
02. Crossfire
03. Songs From The Wood
04. Hunting Girl
05. The Pine Marten's Jig
06. Dun Ringill
07. Fylingdale Flyer
08. Heavy Horses
09. Band Intros
10. Skating Away
11. Flute Solo
12. Trio

Disc 2 - 52:38
01. Keyboard Solo
02. Batteries Not Included
03. Uniform
04. Drum Solo
05. Protect & Survive
06. Protect & Survive (instrumental)
07. Something's On The Move
08. Bungle In The Jungle
09. Guitar Solo
10. Aqualung
11. Locomotive Breath
12. Balloons Out
13. Black Sunday (reprise)

This is an excellent audience recording taken from the European leg of the "A" tour in 1981.

Band line up:
Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg, Mark Craney, Eddie Jobson

Oh, this one's quite nice... lots of banter from Ian, excellent sound. I love how Black Sunday live sounds like an episode of 80s Doctor Who. Nice brash version of Skating Away, too. Whole show is pretty fast'n'brassy... guitar solo in Aqualung comes out really well that way! Thanks for posting these!

Great show, I have it but I wonder if this version is better quality...

gnarled and turbid sinuses (Jon not Jon)

lol

I did thank u for that one!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/06/15/fired-after-joining-gay-softball-league-gerald-bostock-wins-landmark-supreme-court-case/

This threw me for a minute today.

Ha

Hey all, another recent D1me appearance that I thought worth sharing, this time it's from the very talented and well-known taper Mike Millard and it's really good.

https://we.tl/t-UlkSiN7hwN

Jethro Tull
Civic Auditorium
Pasadena, CA
January 14, 1977

01 Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of A New Day)
02 Jack-In-The-Green
03 Crazed Institution
04 Fire At Midnight
05 Instrumental
06 Thick As A Brick
07 Songs From The Wood
08 To Cry You A Song
09 A New Day Yesterday > Flute Solo incl. Bouree & Quartet > Living In The Past
10 Velvet Green
11 Too Old To Rock'n' Roll
12 Bungle In The Jungle
13 Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
14 Minstrel In The Gallery
15 Hunting Girl
16 Cross-Eyed Mary
17 Aqualung
18 Guitar Solo
19 Wind-Up
20 Back-Door Angels
21 Wind-Up (reprise)
22 Locomotive Breath
23 Land Of Hope And Glory

I don’t think I know “crazed institution”!

It's on Too Old to R&R...

Lol that explains it

Thanks! A nice adjunct to the live set on the Songs from the Wood deluxe edition, which was from November/December of 1977.

In other news, the impending release of deluxe book editions of Benefit, "A", and the Broadsword and the Beast over the next year or two have been "confirmed" if you are willing to dig through some of the Tull threads on the Hoffman forums. I think only Benefit is on the cards for a 2020 release though (but nothing is really official yet).

Wilson remix or the other guy?

Wilson, supposedly (the Benefit is definitely him since it's been released in non-book format before)

Super amped for the shows that will presumably come with A and Broadsword. That band was spectacular.

(I realize there were changes between those two tours)

It seems the Broadsword era has a wealth of bonus tracks, but I've been spending a lot of time with 'A' this year so I'm kinda jazzed to see what that one will turn up (and as you note, the early 80s lineup was a fantastic one!)

One more, not as sweet as the '77 one but pretty solid nonetheless -

https://we.tl/t-z65mc72nmA

Jethro Tull 1980 10 6 Civic Center Hartford CT USA
101 Min. Aud. A-

Lineage: Sony D-6 Nak 300 / master tape > Sony TC-KE600S > Audigy2 > soundforge 8 > CD Architect 5.2 > Traders Little Helper

Black Sunday,
Crossfire,
Songs From The Wood,
Hunting Girl,
Jams O'Donnell's Jigs,
Working John Working Joe,
Fylingdale Flyer,
The Pine Marten's Jig,
Heavy Horses,
Skating Away... /solos .
Batteries Not Included,
Uniform,
Protect And Survive,
Aqualung,
Locomotive Breath/ Black Sunday (reprise)

Interesting to compare this set to Watchers on the Storm from March 1980... only seven months later they've erased every song from Stormwatch from their set!

After six months of no haircut nor shaving, I think this might be the year to be 1970s Ian Anderson for Halloween.

As I feared -

https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/jethro-tull-a-la-mode-40th-anniversary-deluxe-edition

great! keep 'em coming!

I was hoping they'd loop back around for Benefit, Broadsword excepted, I think I'm off the bus after this one.

I think the Benefit reissue in book format is going to happen later this year

A is great and that show they are including slays

Gone up today on D1me, I know we have some nice ones from '77 but it's ace, so I thought I'd share.

PRRP 054
Jethro Tull
Apollo Theatre
Manchester, England
February 5th 1977

Sound Board Recording

Lineage: SB/TDK Cro/NAD6050C/SB Audigy 2/Audacity>WAV/CDRCue/MediaCoder>FLAC Level 8

Disc 1
01 Wondr'ing Aloud 2:29
02 Skating Away 4:53
03 Jack-In-The-Green 3:43
04 Thick As A Brick 14:28
05 Songs From The Wood 5:07
06 Instrumental-Drum Solo 2:59
07 To Cry You A Song 2:33
08 A New Day Yesterday 2:49
09 Flute Solo 7:18
10 Living In The Past 1:37
11 A New Day Yesterday (reprise) 2:49
12 Velvet Green 6:57
Total Time 57:42

Disc 2
01 Hunting Girl 6:33
02 Too Old To Rock'N'Roll 4:01
03 Beethoven's Ninth Symphony 3:13
04 Minstrel In The Gallery 5:22
05 Aqualung 9:16
06 Guitar Solo 3:05
07 Wind-Up 4:41
08 Back Door Angels 4:56
09 Wind-Up (repise) 2:28
10 Locomotive Breath 5:46
11 Land Of Hope and Glory 2:24
12 Back Door Angels (reprise) 1:34
Total Time: 53:19

Personnel:
Ian Anderson - vocals, flute, guitar
Martin Barre - guitar
John Glascock - bass guitar
Barriemore Barlow - drums
John Evan - keyboards
David Palmer - keyboards, saxophone

Notes:
Acquired this from one of the Tull road crew several years ago & then promptly forgot I had it. Does not seem to have
surfaced anywhere, so this should help fill in the missing gaps at The Ministry of Information. The very first
track on the tape is the instrumental Quartet, played over the PA in the theatre, and which can be found on the
Nightcap album (highly recommended). The first instrumental is also incomplete - otherwise the this is the concert
in its entirety.

https://www.fromsmash.com/Ps6VeW.AHT-bt

nice, thanks

here's an oldie that we've utterly loathed for 16 long years, but now it's resurrected, in a slightly more trickier form that's a little more fun to play -- this one is CALLED . . . living . . . in the PAST

Thanks for the link, I really appreciate these shows you’ve been hooking us up with

Was talking upthread about Tull-related band Carmen, the debut album Fandangos In Space is seriously fucking amazing. Don't let it slip past you. The way they incorporated dancing into the music is so cool.

I'm placing them alongside Comus and Jacula as a great 70s band that never got very big at all. They were very well liked by some of the biggest bands of the time and toured with or were slotted to tour with them and everything could have went great if not for a series of shit events that destroyed them.

Still, there's 4 albums and I think Visconti produced them all?

Just got the second Carmen double pack, you can get all 4 albums in 2 double packs, first one is slightly scarcer. Trying to think why prog fans haven't embraced them more because there is enough of that in them.

I'm interested

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/m2ub0m/i_am_ian_anderson_founder_musician_singer_and/

Q&A with Ian Anderson from a couple days ago, not a lot there but some good (and funny) answers to various questions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpH_WkjC_Yk

50th Anniversary special about Aqualung... Ian breaks down each song and then it plays in full, very nice.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/484A9Ju4F8g/maxresdefault.jpg

Forgot about that

I don't know Carmen at all, but the wiki features some nutty stuff:

David Clark Allen continued to pursue a music career after Carmen disbanded. He played guitar on Michelle Phillip's solo album produced by Jack Nitzsche and was managed by Herb Cohen during the late 70s. He wrote two songs (Shame and Stay) for Agnetha's solo album, Wrap Your Arms Around Me - produced by Mike Chapman and a single release by Swedish band Katz - Heart Beats Stronger. David was diagnosed with thyroid/throat cancer in the early 80s. After a successful operation and radioactive therapy, he changed his name to Housk Randall - and became a sexual anthropologist/photographer. As Housk he had 5 books published in 4 languages: Revelations, Rituals of Love, The Customised Body, Piercing, Radical Desire and Bizarre Rubber - a photographic fantasy catalogue for fetish designers DeMask. In 1996 he married, changed his name to David Randall-Goddard and established a successful family photographic studio Family Portraits.

As probably mentioned upthread, I've never spent much time with Tull beyond whatever's come on the radio, but yesterday I heard "Hymn 43" for the first time in decades and it kicked ass.

David Clark Allen was a really stylish looking guy. He often posts about new flamenco fusion bands on his blog.

I feel averse to posting whole albums but their so obscure at this point I don't think it could hurt too much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nIP_WlCdtM

Quite pleased to find this

"It's amazing," Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt told Metal Hammer in 2012. "It's a crazy flamenco prog-rock folk record! They had tap dancing on the record and castanets too! Everyone I've played it to has been blown away by it."

For some reason the most popular version of the album on youtube cuts off half of the first song, so I chosen another one for the link above.

Benefit getting the book treatment now - https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/jethro-tull-benefit-50th-anniversary-reissue

I will buy this mainly for shelf consistency, since the previous deluxe edition isn't book-sized.

Me too, although good quality live recordings for that era are always interesting.

actually wow, they are including two live sets from 1970, including one on video! that's going above and beyond. especially since these cost around $40-50 and not $100+.

This and Stand Up are my two favourite Tull records, or at least the ones I return to all the time, then having Singing All Day, 17 and Teacher at the back end, so great!

I’ll be getting this tho would love to find a good indie retailer in the States instead of paying £17 shipping 😳.

Still hoping they may do a run of earlier ones at some point. War Child, Minstrel, and Passion in particular.

I found (to my shock) that I have a spare copy of the A Passion Play box, so I had a look at the Discogs price jfc!

Lmk if you turn up a spare copy of SftW

Bull Moose out of Maine is pretty good with these, if you pre-order you're reasonably sure to get one.

I found (to my shock) that I have a spare copy of the A Passion Play box, so I had a look at the Discogs price jfc!

I think I have two copies because my wife was tangentially involved in the reissue process so every time one came out, I would ask her to bring home a copy for me and one for my mate and I think I must not have given him this one for some reason? So, I'm going to message him first.

That seems eminently fair and sensible!

As would you selling it for the price of a kidney on Discogs, should you so choose.

My mate can have it for £350 :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPTeqsBd1Ik

Not bad, but that riff is pretty monotonous. I get the feeling these older progressive musicians have made their recent music simpler not in the hope of getting played on the radio, but because even their casual fans won't listen twice if there isn't an obvious hook in a new song.
I'm wondering now who has done worse harm to the vocal cords, Ian Anderson or Roger Waters.

Snagged the Benefit box from Amazon for about $50. Still would prefer the mid-70s records but I can’t let these things slip away. The books and mixes are just too well done.

Hey all, this appeared on D1m3 the other day, it's a good one - 1979-10-15 Providence Civic Center Providence RI

https://www.fromsmash.com/tPy.t_yl1y-bt

Grabbing it, thanks! Been feeling a tull fest coming on.

Beastie next, I guess? The Benefit box was great to have though.

Beast tour is great, I’ll be excited to hear what they put together for the live bit of that box. Assuming it is coming.

found a good copy of Stand Up recently, what a cool record that is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqJpTQv9yH0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH1L0ix6_bg

Thought the revive would be about the new album.

yeah I'm oddly curious about it, though I'm kind of dreading what Anderson sounds like now, and can't get past the cover reminding me of Breaking Bad

Barre-aking Bad

I got the Tull dvd in the Classic Artists documentary series after enjoying the Yes and Moody Blues ones so much years ago. It's from 2008 and disappointingly it seems a great deal shorter than the others, it's a bit under two hours long. I was surprised by just how many lineup changes there was and the main controversy in their history seems to be Ian letting go of some members without a face to face meeting. Quite a few of the members who were let go seemed ready to go anyway but it's left mostly unknown why they were getting tired of the band. A lot of the albums are left unmentioned (the Yes doc spends a fair amount of time on each album).

Ian regrets letting the label persuade him to put the Jethro Tull name on the A album, I think he wanted it to be a solo album. I've seen this with American Music Club and as small a band as Lycia. I'm not sure whose idea it was with Yes/Cinema but I imagine there was a commercial incentive.

There's about an hour of bonus interviews and Ian says aside from an odd Elvis song and The Animals, he didn't have much interest in the big rock bands that preceded him.

Quite a few of the members who were let go seemed ready to go anyway but it's left mostly unknown why they were getting tired of the band.

I saw an interview with Dave Pegg describing how, at the start of his tenure with the band, Anderson told him the reasons each of the other members of the band had for hating him (Anderson). By all accounts, he's an autocrat in band affairs; and, in a way, despite its eclecticism, Tull's music (particularly by the late 70s) had a certain narrowness about it that the others may have found stifling.

One of things that was made clear in the doc was that Anderson was in control by the second album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKjNilF7WFE

I heard "Fylingdale Flyer" recently and it got me listening to the deluxe edition of A and I was a bit dismayed by how different the song sounded. Steven Wilson said the pitch shifting effect is really hard to preserve and he couldn't quite get it right; he also said that Bowie's Low and Heroes used this effect, but did the remasters of those albums sound so different?

Beastie!

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/jethro-tull-the-broadsword-and-the-beast

I learned this week that they actually had a brand new album, RökFlöte, come out in April.
It seems that Tull and Yes are in a race to see which of the big-name prog acts can keep putting out records the longest.

wow they finally announced a release date for the Broadsword book!

I’m not sure I’d buy the box of it but there was a special place in my heart for Broadsword as a teenager. The dramatic Peter John Vettese synth orchestrations on songs like “Clasp” and “Seal Driver” are sort of unprecedented in Tull history but 16 year-old me kind of loved them. The hilariously awesome sleeve. And, while the songs weren’t top shelf Tull, it’s probably the last time they aren’t completely boring and/or terrible.

Worth noting: they reissued the Thick as a Brick book box last year and it’s terrific. Wilson’s mix is just outstanding.

Dear budding fiction writers, now's your chance to express your Tull love in print!

https://www.alphamercs.com/open-calls/stories-in-the-key-of-tull

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCLHLNmGAE

Man, I have been a massive Tull bender of late having picked up a bunch of the box reissues (Aqualung, Minstrel, SftW). Not sure I’ve listened to these guys as much or as deeply since I was 16.

#tullbender

Yeah, I get those once a year.

All the way from from This Was to Broadsword, with only a few missteps, it's ridiculous really.

Interesting timing for a post of this topic — I’ve played Thick As A Brick probably four times this month and have been getting back into it — the last time I intentionally listened to any Tull prior (also Thick As A Brick most likely) was easily twenty years ago when I was also 16. I should probably branch out — I’ve never even heard anything by them outside of Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, and A Passion Play.

Try Benefit and Songs From The Wood next, perhaps.

Thanks! I will indeed start there as Tull has been off my radar for so long that really don’t have any reference points.

Oh cool, good to know that the #ILMTullSupportCircle is going strong.

I, too, have been digging into the Thick as a Brick box – a birthday gift from sometime ILM-er Save the Robot, who has super generously bought me more than a few of these boxes (and who I am also possibly driving nuts with my #EndlessTullObservations).

For the first time I’m actually pouring through the lyrics – I never had the newspaper LP of TAAB as a kid, only the garbage Chrysalis CD issue from the 80s. And they’re really interesting. Likewise with Aqualung the lyrics of which were always a little more ostentatious given the church commentary.

But I’m going down a bunch of rabbit hole websites expounding on the meaning of those records’ lyrics and I’m finding Anderson’s writing to be not only evocative and witty but more sensitive and thoughtful than I’d remembered. Wond’ring Aloud, Again (the complete version) and Slipstream are just gorgeous meditations on commitment, wealth and class that I just didn’t expect out of Anderson.

The TAAB lyrics are maybe a little more inscrutable as a proper “story.” But as a kind of parody, or wayward treatise, on social mores and male responsibilities in late-60s/early-70s England it’s a gas. And the newspaper (which Anderson says took longer to write than the album itself and which themselves were sort of the official record of said mores and responsibilities) is a hilarious complement to it all. The whole thing—lyrically and musically—is sort of simultaneously meaningful and insightful but also a bunch of bollocks and probdvly just what the doctor ordered ca. 1972.

Even though it's much more prosaic, it's interesting that he was writing such thoughtful and unlikely things as 'Back To The Family' as early as 1969.

I think Anderson is a great lyricist. In latter days his structural/linguistic approach has ossified (compare random lines off of RokFlote and Catfish Rising, and they'll feel like they could be from the same album) but I think his choices regarding theme and content are still fascinating. I love love love TAAB2 and Homo Erraticus, and The Zealot Gene most of all. The Secret Language of Birds and Rupi's Dance have several killer songs, lyrically. Roots to Branches, same thing. All of which to say, yes the Stand Up --> Broadsword run is awesome (I've never heard my way into This Was, and I like Under Wraps too actually), but for me the work from Catfish Rising to RokFlote is similarly interesting and rewarding, albeit recorded with lesser backing units than the glorious Bunker/Barlow Tull.

But yes, for sure, he was a lyrical powerhouse in the '70s. TAAB and A Passion Play don't make sense to me as whole stories either, but isolated lines and couplets here and there are clever and thought-provoking and well-phrased enough to repay the attention. Cheap Day Return is one of my favorite songs of all time. Wond'ring Aloud/Again, like NTI said, yes indeed. And so many gems in the decade's end trilogy: Jack-in-the-Woods, Cup of Wonder, Pibroch (!!!), Fires at Midnight (!!!), Moths, Weathercock, Dark Ages, and also Black Sunday, And Further On too... love A...

NTI (or anyone else), would you care to expound a bit on Slipstream? I've never been able to make much sense of it, always just enjoyed the imagery. It's the only Aqualung song Anderson hasn't talked about in interviews. I've wondered whether perhaps it's about his father's illness at a particularly bad moment.

For me, it's hard to push past 'A', I like Broadsword well enough but apart from the odd track everything after that has felt like a bit of a snooze, if somebody was to compile a later period album list of worthwhile tunes I'd be interested though.

It doesn't look like anyone has taken MaresNest up on this in the six years since he wrote the above. Sounds like a nice challenge. I'll get back to you all in a spell.

That's very kind, I've still never really dipped into anything post B&TB

I’ve never even heard anything by them outside of Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, and A Passion Play.

― Slim is an Alien, Friday, February 23, 2024 10:31 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Try Benefit and Songs From The Wood next, perhaps.

― Maresn3st, Friday, February 23, 2024 10:38 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

stand up is top shelf must-hear music, too, an all-time underrated classic imho

NTI (or anyone else), would you care to expound a bit on Slipstream? I've never been able to make much sense of it, always just enjoyed the imagery. It's the only Aqualung song Anderson hasn't talked about in interviews. I've wondered whether perhaps it's about his father's illness at a particularly bad moment.

In just one minute on “Slipstream” Anderson captures the opportunistic shamelessness of the materially rich but spiritually fallow weekend warriors who compensate (figuratively) for their nagging consciences in the confessional or the collection basket (“And you press on God’s waiter your last dime/As he hands you the bill”). On the literal levels these are the people we all know: our peers, parents and especially our politicians, whom Anderson contemptuously nails to their crosses of gold. In an era of too-big-too-fail and the wealthiest .001%, it’s difficult to conclude that Anderson was not predicting the future of a world totally off the tracks in “Locomotive Breath” (“no way to slow down”).

#tullbender

― mookieproof

never been one of those myself, though i greatly respect dee palmer's work with the group

Just seen the price of the new Broadsword & Beast deluxe edition (eek!) but it does have lots of discs, these things seem to get bigger as the series goes on.

Nice that the Chateau sessions got their own release (as a vinyl), I loved that as a bonus disc on Passion Play. Had a glorious time with it.

I think the Broadsword and the Beast was unusually large because they happened to have a ton of unreleased material from that era... I don't think it's a trend (as beyond Bursting Out, any further deluxe book sets being released at all seems to be doubtful)

I guess that's reassuring, I do love these deluxe books but I don't want to spend that much regularly. The Anthony Phillips and Renaissance deluxe editions are also annoyingly expensive.

I do wish they'd continue the booksets through at least Crest of a Knave which delights me in all its Dire Straits-ey goodness (and in the heyday of CDs they managed to keep it down to a tight 48 minutes)

digging living in the past heftily

Has this been posted before?

There's a podcast called 'Talk Tull To Me' that goes through every song in chronological/album order, I listened to a bit of one last night and the two guys (natch) sound like fairly normal human beings chatting about JT, instead of two bored narcissists blabbing on about a load of in-jokes and irrelevant shit.

The episode I heard a bit of, 'Look Into The Sun', sounded decent, I will give it a proper listen although I remain a little sceptical, what can you say for 30+ mins about 'Cheap Day Return' for instance?

― Maresn3st, Monday, May 4, 2020 11:02 AM (three years ago

As I continue my now month-long #TullBender, I have dug into this podcast whilst I walk my dog and schlep my kids around and, well, it's delightful. Two (or maybe just one?) theater/RenFair dudes farfing around about every song doesn't sound like an intriguing proposition at first. But they are self-aware, have great chemistry and have an infectious passion for and insight into this music. The "Baker Street Muse" episode was particularly good, I thought. All told, very fun and highly recommended for those who wonder what it might be like to scale Tull Mountain. Belated thanks, Maresn3st!

All the way from from This Was to Broadsword, with only a few missteps, it's ridiculous really.

I got all the way to Stormwatch, which sounded nice and rich but really suggested that that iteration of the band was running out of energy. The only subsequent songs I've heard (off of several compilations) that really captured me were "Fylingdale Flyer" and "Jack-a-Lynn". I like Eddie Jobson enough that I may listen to A sooner or later. I am curious what songs poster TheNuNuNu will recommend though.

NTI (or anyone else), would you care to expound a bit on Slipstream?

I think it's not just about hypocrisy but about the futility of any material goods to provide meaning or mercy at the point of death. Then you paddle out of the mess of life into...what?
Which connects to what I was thinking about the climax of A Passion Play on the way to work yesterday - the main character reborn not into an ethereal existence but back onto the streets of the city, just everyday life with the freedom to live, not "reflect about living". Something touched me about the warmth of Anderson's concept, that the joy of life is represented as being reborn on a busy street without ceremony or fuss.

Thanks for the help with Slipstream!

Gonna do this "The Great Wastes Beyond Broadsword" compilation thing in (I think) three chapters.

Part 1 - 1983-1991
Part 2 - 1995-2003
Part 3 - since 2012

MaresNest asked about a "later period album list of worthwhile tunes." There's plenty of those, provided you're in the right mood for the sound/feel of their parent albums, so I narrowed the criteria for inclusion down to "songs that should make someone who's on board with the This Was --> Broadsword Tull say 'oh yeah, this is neat.'"

Here's Part 1.

1. Trains (from Walk Into Light, 1983)
From the first Ian Anderson "solo album" (really a close collaboration with Peter-John Vettese, who had a big hand in Broadsword too). The synth arrangements are nothing special, but structurally this one is a lot of fun. Good melodies and lyrics too.

2. End Game (from Walk Into Light, 1983)
The chorus is merely alright, but I love the eerie verses, the keyboard lines, the off-time percussion.

3. Toad in the Hole (from Walk Into Light, 1983)
This one is just terrific. If you like Songs from the Wood/Heavy Horses/Stormwatch, you'll like this.

4. European Legacy (from Under Wraps, 1984)
The brutal '80s mix obscures how weird and ambitious the writing on Under Wraps is: the proggiest thing between A Passion Play and Homo Erraticus. For years now, Ian's been talking about redoing the album's drum tracks with live drums. If they do a big overhaul in the mix while they're at it, rehabilitation will be in order.

5. Part of the Machine (1988)
I'm skipping Crest of a Knave because, even though I like it, I wouldn't impose its imitation-Dire Straitsyness on any fan of '70s Tull. Crest is for deep sea divers only. Rock Island fares better, if you can stomach the sound, but both albums take a serious beating from their decade. This song was written between the two and surfaced on some compilation or other. It's good as is, but just think -- if this had a Heavy Horses arrangement?

6. Strange Avenues (from Rock Island, 1989)
Starts with a great ominous instrumental intro. And then it turns into that rare thing, a GOOD sequel song.

7. Truck Stop Runner (1991)
Catfish Rising outtake, light and bright and fun, like Strip Cartoon or The Third Hurrah or something -- it's got that '70s air about it.

8. Like a Tall Thin Girl (from Catfish Rising, 1991)
I have to kind of shamefacedly explain why I like Under Wraps, Crest of a Knave, or Rock Island, but I make no apologies for Catfish Rising. The band is revitalized. Ian Anderson is acting pervy as hell. He's not working around his voice damage by speak-singing like Knopfler anymore, he embraces the growl. And -- what matters most -- the songwriting is terrific. But go for the ten-track LP tracklist. The extra stuff on the CD isn't bad, but dilutes the LP's kick, and anyway all the best stuff is on the LP.

9. Thinking Round Corners (from Catfish Rising, 1991)
See? Isn't this just excellent?

10. This Is Not Love (from Catfish Rising, 1991)
I read these lyrics before I heard the song. They're what got me exploring post-Broadsword Tull at all: "Wait, Ian was still writing this well in '91?!" I didn't expect a hard rock arrangement -- I thought it'd sound like Back Door Angels -- but taken on its own terms, the arrangement works. Kicks ass, even.

awesome

I'd add Silver River Turning in to that solid list

(think it's Catfish Rising-era)

I have a boring long(ish) drive ahead of me on Monday so I shall make a Spotify playlist, thanks so much!

I'm not too bad into Tull but they have some songs I really love - "Mother Goose", "The Whistler", "Inside"...what else have they got like that? I don't really know the albums beyond Thick as a Brick that well.

I'm a big fan of the Crest/Rock/Catfish era, probably because those were the "new" Tull albums coming out when I got into them back in the day, but the Thirsty Dire Straits years are indeed difficult to recommend to others. Anderson was so damn horny for some reason and most of the time it's just sort of gross. Like Budapest or Undressed to Kill, ugh. Come on, man. Said She Was a Dancer is pretty funny though. And Heavy Water is a good jam where he mostly keeps it in check. And Rocks on the Road from Catfish Rising.

XP - Hey frogbs, this isn't a direct answer to your question, but maybe just go straight for A Passion Play and bang the whole thing with your prog listener wizard's hat on and see how that goes.

Anderson was so damn horny for some reason

I dunno, it's pretty unambiguous that "Kissing Willie" is about a man dismayed at his lover's dalliance with his best friend.

Frogbs - another vote for A Passion Play, it's stunning, get the latest mix if you can and the bonus disc. I have to wonder if the poor reception of this album particularly changed anything

This is probably sacrilegious when it comes to an art-rock band (if that's what they were...), but I'd start with M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull, one of the few albums I loved in high school that I'd still happily listen to today.

Frog: you could try Up to Me and Cheap Day Return in the Mother Goose direction, Jack-in-the-Green and One Brown Mouse over The Whistler's way. (And A Passion Play is my favorite Tull, definitely worth a listen.)

M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull

That is an impeccable tracklist, in an interesting order. Whose idea was it to include Rainbow Blues?!

I don’t think I’ve ever known what M.U. stands for. It’s not something obvious, I hope?

and the rain wasn't made of water!

M.U. = "musician's union"

they have some songs I really love - "Mother Goose", "The Whistler", "Inside"...what else have they got like that?

Singing All Day
Wond'ring Aloud/Again
Life's a Long Song
Alive and Well and Living In
Fat Man
Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square
Dr. Bogenbroom
Teacher
Up to Me
Cheap Day Return
Up the 'Pool
Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day
Salamander
Moths
Fire at Midnight
Broadford Bazaar
Home

...as you go later, their albums will usually have 2-3 more acoustic and poppier numbers, but they kinda get increasingly baroque

"Acres Wild" and "Left, Right" are two of my favorites

I consider 'Velvet Green' to be the epitome Jethro Tull song. But I'm very much impressed by their entire discography. I'd agree that especially anything from their first 16-album(!!!) run up until and including Crest of a Knave can especially be highly recommended - perhaps rather the first 14-album run as album 15 (Under Wraps) seems weaker in comparison (although apparently that's a favourite of Martin Barre). But there's plenty to love afterwards, it's just that the albums may overall get a bit less memorable or outstanding in their entirety but I don't think any one of them is bad. Perhaps the most recent two (Zealot Gene / RökFlöte) do the least to me but they're fine enough - I guess they did suffer from Barre's omission.

There's a lot of beauty on Ian Anderson's solo albums too, I especially like the instrumental Divinities and also The Secret Language of Birds and Rupi's Dance, both of which sound like natural follow-ups to the preceding Tull albums Roots To Branches/Dot Com.

I sampled Walk Into Light and the synthesizer background is a lot more tasteful than what I've heard of Under Wraps, it actually seems like a valid turn for Anderson to take in 1983 both commercially and creatively. That matters to me because, though I like a lot of his/their music, I also find the Tull range to be somewhat limited - the downside, perhaps, of its distinctiveness.

The words to "This is Not Love" are quite imaginative and imagistic but the riffs and melody never really catch for me, so it's atmospheric without the music putting feelings into the story. I do find these lists interesting and look forward to the next two instalments.

As I continue my now month-long #TullBender, I have dug into this podcast whilst I walk my dog and schlep my kids around and, well, it's delightful. Two (or maybe just one?) theater/RenFair dudes farfing around about every song doesn't sound like an intriguing proposition at first. But they are self-aware, have great chemistry and have an infectious passion for and insight into this music. The "Baker Street Muse" episode was particularly good, I thought. All told, very fun and highly recommended for those who wonder what it might be like to scale Tull Mountain. Belated thanks, Maresn3st!

― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, March 4, 2024 3:32 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

As my #TullBender stretches into yet another week, I'm just about finishing up the 8th and final Talk Tull To Me episode on TAAB -- which has been great. It's def. a time commitment, but they do an excellent job digging into the "story," which has always been kind of a puzzle to me. The podcast goes pretty deep into the characters and archetypes Anderson populates it with, and ultimately they kind of conclude what I said above about it, but it's been a fun journey nonetheless.

I started digging through TheNuNuNu's list above -- I didn't know a lot of it and am more partial to Rock Island than Catfish Rising which I used to own. I'm still not 100% sure of the songwriting on the latter--he sure was pervy around that time--but there's a lot of sprightly mandolin on that record for sure.

To get back to the original post about Tull being a great singles band, I nominate the Stormwatch bonus track 'Kelpie' as their 'way ahead of its time' potential smash hit, had it been released/remade in the late-'90s by a hopeful popstar. The propulsion of the bass and drums, the instrumental counter-melody in the verses, the subtle use of guitar squeals at the ends of verse sections, the moments of silence, the wild bridge, plus the rhythmic cadence of the vocal melody - it's not quite Max Martin or Bloodshy/Avant & Britney's 'Toxic', but it's not not that! There's some serious 'music as math' going on here. I could totally have seen the late Denniz Pop (or Jellybean Benitez) loving this track, and remaking/reinterpolating it into some huge dancefloor banger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyR7pdLDz_g

Problem is, it's in triple time! So the only dancing it will inspire are jigs.

It's not one of their greatest songs but "A Small Cigar" is such a funny idea with really funny lyrics, it was only released as bonus material
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBIA06c4L3s

I mean it does sound good but much of the amusement comes from the lyrics

they have some songs I really love - "Mother Goose", "The Whistler", "Inside"...what else have they got like that?

Singing All Day
Wond'ring Aloud/Again
Life's a Long Song
Alive and Well and Living In
Fat Man
Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square
Dr. Bogenbroom
Teacher
Up to Me
Cheap Day Return
Up the 'Pool
Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day
Salamander
Moths
Fire at Midnight
Broadford Bazaar
Home

...as you go later, their albums will usually have 2-3 more acoustic and poppier numbers, but they kinda get increasingly baroque

― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Saturday, March 9, 2024 7:49 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

thanks, as I go through these I have come to the conclusion that I actually do like Jethro Tull

I'd say that the odds are better that a given Tull song will be worthy if it's a ballad or "pop" song than a riff-rocker, maybe partly because the rockers last longer and have to make space for various often-monotonous instrumental solos.

Still, some eternal riffs in the Tull catalogue: Locomotive Breath, No Lullaby, Sweet Dream. Cross-eyed Mary, Hunting Girl, Something's On The Move, etc.

Frogbs - have you done Passion Play yet?

In the documentary I watched last year Dee Palmer said that Eddie Jobson was the dictionary definition of a wizard (she even said which dictionary, oxford maybe?) and I looked it up and didn't really catch her meaning, I suspected it was an insult but maybe not.

was about to, I thought I had it but it turns out it was Minstrel in the Galary lol

Valentijn otm velvet green is the ne plus ultra
For frogbs, this would be my Tull PO5 right now:
Velvet green
No lullaby
Witches promise
TaaB (the usual excerpt from part 1)
Mother goose

And top 5 albums:
Songs from the wood
Living in the past (the first LP of the 2LP set or the first CD of the 2CD set)
Aqualung
Heavy horses (ideally the box so you get the live show)
A (ideally the box so you get the especially killer live show)

Ohhhh, I didn't think this would get a reissue, I'm not sure that I've listened to it more than once.

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/jethro-tull-bursting-out-the-inflated-edition/

I love how Thick as a Brick is claimed to be a parody of prog concept albums, which they thought would be apparent once people listened to the lyrics. as though people were gonna listen to it and go "yes I understand everything this guy is saying"

amazing album though surely one of the best prog LPs ever made parody or no

Also, “Inside” from Benefit is an absolute jam. Glen Cornick’s bass on this is just incredible.

― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, April 23, 2018 9:48 PM (five years ago)

This song sounds so much like Can.