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Biography
If there was one band
whose entire discography could be the only music I'd be able
to listen to for the rest of my life, Jethro Tull would be that
band. Readers of these pages should most certainly be
familiar with the group, as they are undoubtedly among the most
commercially successful progressive rock groups, having garnered
11 gold and platinum albums, as well as consistenly touring
across the world to the present day. In many ways, Tull
was the most consistent group of the progressive era, releasing
an album every year between 1968 and 1980, with six to seven
of them remaining progressive rock classics. The record
of commercial and artistic success over such an extended period
would be matched by few, if any, of their contemporaries.
Albums like Stand Up, Aqualung, A Passion Play, Living in
the Past, Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, Minstrel in the
Gallery and Thick as a Brick are cornerstones of
any collection, with the latter being a good candidate for best
progressive rock album of all time.
The group's
remarkable consistency could be seen as a function of Ian Anderson's
position within the group. As lyricist and main composer,
Anderson was nearly always the focal point of the band.
Although other members, like guitarist Martin Barre, and superstar
drummer Barriemore Barlow, were often deemphasized in the eyes
of fans and the media, the band environment was such that Tull
was able to retain a definite stability. In their heyday,
Tull were able to easily weather line-up changes, critical snubbing
and touring catastrophes with nary a stumble, thanks in large
part to Anderson's indomitable vision. Even after the
band's streak of ingenuity ended (with 1980's disappointing
A), and the musical quality itself began to suffer, Tull
can at least be generally credited with remaining true to their
original sound and vision, avoiding the same 80s pop/gunk pitfalls
of bands like Genesis and Yes. They've even been able
to occasionally emerge from the murky depths of seeming inconsequence
with solid progressive rock albums throughout the last two decades.
The name Jethro
Tull was first used by an aspiring blues rock band who were
playing gigs outside of London using a different name every
week. Jethro Tull happened to prove popular and ended
up sticking. The band was dominated by the personalities
of Anderson and Mick Abrahams, guitarist and blues purist, who
wanted to keep the band firmly in the mold of traditionally
based blues. In many ways, Anderson's flute and onstage
antics were too unconventional, and often unwelcome, for the
British blues audience at the time. A rift formed, and
Abrahams eventually departed the group after their first album
1968's This Was to form Blodwyn Pig. After trying
out several replacement guitarists (including Black Sabbath's
Tony Iommi), the band finally settled on Martin Barre, who would
go on to become a permanent fixture in the bands lineup.
With Anderson
firmly in control, the band went on to produce the first of
many classic albums, 1969's Stand Up. The band's
combination of blues, folk and classical proved to be a unique
amalgamation that would set the band on course for a future
of commercial and critical accolades. The next album,
Benefit, which was preceded by numerous one-stop singles
to keep the band's name in the charts, would become their breakthrough
album in the U.S., reaching #11 on the Billboard Charts, and
spawning a series of American gigs. After shuffling lineups
throughout this period, the band didn't miss a step, giving
the world Aqualung in 1971. Taking on more serious
lyrical tone, the band's incorporation of hard rock and prototypical
progressive rock tendencies coalesced in one of the more notorious
"concept" albums of the day. Aqualung would go
on to become their most successful release, a huge commercial
hit featuring tunes like the title track, "Cross Eyed Mary"
and "Locomotive Breath", which remain a classic rock radio staples.
The album reached #7 on the U.S. charts.
After touring
for Aqualung, Bunker would depart, leaving an opening
for drummer Barriemore Barlow, who would become another longtime
fixture for the remainder of the decade. The band set
to work on their most ambitious album yet. Thick as a Brick
would be one extended piece divided over the two LP sides.
The album is, in short, among the finest progressive rock recordings
ever produced. Perfect in every sense, the band successfully
combines folk, classical and sheer prog-rock pomp into bright,
engaging and completely flawless blend. TAAB would
go on to hit #1 on the U.S. charts, completely defying commercial
conventions. Unfortunately, the band's critical accolades
would end there, as the next album, 1972's A Passion Play,
which was even denser and more obscure than the previous album,
received a harsh response from reviewers, especially in the
U.S. Still, commercial success was forthcoming, and the
band completed a hugely successful world tour.
Perhaps in response
to the criticism he had received as a result of A Passion
Play, Ian returned to shorter lengths for the next album,
War Child. The album doesn't entirely live up to the
heights of the previous five, though commercially speaking Tull
could do no wrong, and the album shot to #2 on the U.S. charts
on the back of the catchy but flaccid "Bungle in the Jungle"
single. The album would remain one of the few artistic
missteps committed by Jethro Tull in the decade, as they would
return 10 months later with Minstrel in the Gallery,
another classic that emphasized the acoustic side of Tull's
repertoire. The album was highlighted by the 17 minute
"Baker St. Muse", which remains one of the finest pieces they've
ever done.
The second misstep
would occur with the next album, the lackluster Too Old to
Rock n Roll, Too Young to Die, which is almost universally
derided as one of the worst Tull albums of the time period.
Originally beginning life as a concept/play put together by
David Palmer and Anderson, they eventually decided the better
of it and decided to make it an album. Still, it remains
an anomaly in an otherwise brilliant decade. The band
came back in 1977 with the classic Songs from The Wood.
Although "progressive rock" was pretty much over, thanks
to the onslaught of punk, disco and new wave, Jethro Tull were
never better on a musical level. Songs from the Wood was
heavily influenced by the folk rock of Steeleye Span, whose
album Ian had produced, and began a new era in Tull's development.
Though always intricate and complex, Tull piled on the sophisticated
arrangements and folksy atmosphere, adding second keyboardist
David Palmer as an official member to translate the compositions
on stage. This was followed by another Tull essential,
the excellent Heavy Horses, which retained the thematic
continuity of Songs from the Wood, yet with a darker
vibe. The albums stand as complementary to one another,
and are among the most significant works of the band's career.
These were followed by their first live album, Bursting Out,
which effectively closes out an era of nearly unparalleled mastery.
A third album in an intended "trilogy" that included Songs...
and Heavy Horses was 1979's Stormwatch, the
darkest of the three, yet a disappointment in light of the prior
two stuio albums. Commercial success became harder to
come by, and Stormwatch was the first album since This
Was to not achieve Gold status.
In late 1979,
the death of bassist John Glascock would shake the band to its
core, and ultimately alter the course of its career. The
band would enter into a new era of general inconsistency, though
not motivated by commercial demands, the quality of the compositions,
along with Ian's recurring voice and throat problems, would
cause the band's output to suffer somewhat. In 1980, Ian
sought to record a solo album with a completely different lineup,
with the exception of Martin Barre, whose services he would
retain. The solo lineup included former Fairport Convention
bassist Dave Pegg, and former UK/Curved Air violinist Eddie
Jobson. Unfortunately, someone decided that the album
would be better released under the Tull name, despite having
very little connection to the classic Tull sound. So,
in effect, the entire classic lineup, including John Evans,
Barriemore Barlow and David Palmer, were out in the cold.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not), its here that Jethro Tull really
begins to deviate from their consistently strong output.
So its also at this point in the bands chronology that my interest
in the band begins to falter, as the albums I've sampled from
the subsequent time period have ranged from mediocre to just
above average. Its not that they "sold out" or went pop
either, just that they've simply failed to retain the same level
of ingenuity.
After a number
of so-so albums (including the horrendous Under Wraps in
1984), Tull won a controversial Grammy award in 1989 for Crest
of a Knave. Famously, the Grammy was in the hard rock/metal
category, and beat out Metallica's ...And Justice for All.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, Jethro Tull has soldiered on,
touring consistently and churning out an album every few years.
It's clear that neither Ian or Martin Barre have let their passion
for the music diminish at all over the years. Tull concerts
are an annual event for me since I got into the band, and even
with a few duds here and there, I can't think of another band
with as many great albums as Jethro Tull. -
Greg Northrup [September 2001]
 Stand
Up (1969)
I haven't
heard This Was, so this is my earliest Tull reference.
A great album though. Alot of blues and folk stuff, the progressive
material is not nearly as prevalent as it would be on later
releases. The flute is (as always) very prominent, and it's
melodies and textures add a beautiful, lilting quality throughout
the album. There's a good balance between hard rock and
gentle folk, within each song the balance shifts effortlessly.
Not one of my absolute favorite Tull albums, but an excellent
buy. -
Greg Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Benefit
(1970)
Very much in the vein of Stand
Up, and in my opinion just as good. The songs on these albums,
as compared to their later work, are much more subdued with
less aggressive folkiness. The band sounds very bluesy
on this release as well. Both Stand Up and Benefit
are blues based, which is a nice contrast to their later (and
to me, preferable) classically constructed stuff like Thick
As A Brick or A Passion Play. The melodies are nice
and laid back. This is a cool album to relax to, but the
real complexity and "progressive" mentality is yet to come.
Still, an excellent album and a good buy.
- Greg Northrup
[2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Aqualung
(1971)
About
half this album is gentle acoustic stuff, which is great,
and the other half are really great hard rock songs, also
excellent. A change in direction from Benefit in
that this is a "concept album" so to speak, and the band
have taken on a more progressive musical and lyrical outlook.
A great album, but still not up to par with their later
work. Even though this is more progressive than Benefit,
I don't find it any better. Again, I have to go with excellent
album and good buy, but they've released some better stuff
to, so get it later on. - Greg Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Living
In The Past (1972)
This is an excellent compilation
of singles or otherwise unreleased tracks that were recorded
over the years prior to this album. This was compiled
after the release of Thick as a Brick but harkens
back to their earlier days. The songs here are phenomenal,
and this compilation actually makes for one of Jethro Tull's
finest ever releases. There are a number of classic
tracks here. Perhaps most impressive is an extended
remake of the short track "Wond'ring Aloud" from the Aqualung
album. Here it's entitled "Wond'ring Again" and
it is totally phenomenal and beautiful. Highly emotive
lamenting lyrics and sweeping melodies that recall but drastically
improve on the first song. One of the all-time great
Tull tracks. Other highlights include the rocking
"Dr. Bogenbroom" an electrified and mind-blowing live version
of "Dharma For One" and the classic "Witch's Promise".
This is fundamental Tull.
- Greg Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Thick
as a Brick (1972)
The
monster! This album is probably the album that got me
into progressive rock. After hearing Genesis, I got my
hands on this, and I knew there was no turning back. This
is a total masterpiece, in my opinion the single greatest
song I have ever heard. The album is written as one 40
some minute song divided into two parts (remember LPs?
Well, I don't, but I think they had two sides). Yes it's
overblown, yes it's pretentious, but goddamn it is so
brilliant! The melodies are wonderful, bright and aggressively
catchy, and there is so much going on in the song that
it is impossible to get bored. Even though Tull
may be considered a hard rock band or blues rock band
by some, this is true blue progressive rock at itss finest.
The
lyrics are basically impossible to make heads or tails
of, but they sound so poetic and the imagery is so great
that it makes up for it. The only part of the album
I don't like is the first five or so minutes of the second
part. It's basically nonsense random sounds - filler,
I guess. But the rest of the second track goes on
to rock even better than the first, so that is made up
for. All in all, this is probably my favorite Tull album,
although it's a toss up between this and Heavy Horses
or Minstrel in the Gallery. Buy at once.
This is one of the greatest albums in rock history.
- Greg
Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 A
Passion Play (1973)
As
the follow-up to the seminal Thick as a Brick,
this album obviously had big shoes to fill. Thick as
a Brick was one of the few albums that managed to
make uncompromising progressive rock totally accessible,
and ended up being one of Tull's biggest hits. A Passion
Play, on the other hand, is much more difficult to
get into. This album took the progressive tendencies to
a whole new level, and as a result garnered heaps of criticism
from both fans and the media for being pretentious and
overblown. However, keep in mind that most of the great
progressive rock albums have attracted similar criticism,
and really, A Passion Play fits right in there
with other albums that have been similarly vilified, such
as Yes' Close to the Edge or Genesis' The Lamb...
Don't expect
another Thick as a Brick. While seemingly similar
in that both albums are lengthy conceptual pieces, A
Passion Play is much less catchy and more oblique
and esoteric than its predecessor. Still, this is another
totally flawless album from Jethro Tull, it just takes
a little more effort to get into. The emphasis on the
"artsy" elements, such as the varied instrumentation,
the impossibly obscure story line as well as increased
complexity on every musical front probably makes this
Tull's most overtly "progressive" album. Another classic
from the Tull discography. -
Greg Northrup
[2000]
 War
Child (1974)
One
of only two less than spectacular albums released in the
decade by Jethro Tull (the other being To Old to Rock
n Roll...), Warchild is still a pretty good album
with some nice moments. This was released after
A Passion Play got roundly bashed by music critics,
and as a resulting record is a big step down in comparison
to that album. It features a return to shorter catchier
songs, while sacrificing much of the vision and complexity
of their previous two albums.
I've read
that most of this stuff was written during the original
sessions for A Passion Play, but Ian was unsatisfied
with it, so little of that music made it onto the album.
A lot of these songs sound like A Passion Play rejects,
or bits of songs that were extended into full songs with
typical verse-chorus-verse structuring. Perhaps
as a statement to his critics, Anderson included the inane
pop single "Bungle in the Jungle", which is pretty boring
and stupid. There are some highlights here, including
the great "Skating Away of the Thin Ice of a New Day",
another really catchy song, but one that features a beautiful
development around its main theme.
The album
also features some extensive use of orchestration, which
would eventually be used to great success on later albums
like Minstrel in the Gallery and Heavy Horses.
This effect is used nicely on the opening title track,
and another one of the nicer tracks, "Queen and Country".
There are definitely some moments of beautiful complexity
here, but as a whole this album lacks the substance and
power of other Tull works, don't make it a priority.
- Greg
Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Minstrel
in the Gallery (1975)
Another
simply amazing album. This one is characteristic in that
it features a sort of simplification as far as instrumentation
goes. There is a heavy emphasis on acoustic guitar, which
dominates most of the album. Usually the music will shift
from beautiful acoustic sections into occasional hard
rock type areas. The whole album is colored by David Palmer's
tasteful orchestration, and the sound of the violins backing
the gentle acoustic guitars and Ian Anderson's highly
personal lyrics is a wonderful experience.
Every song
on here is solid. There seems to be some sort of a concept,
judging from the title as well as the approach of the
music. Ian Anderson takes on the role of a medieval minstrel,
appropriately accompanied solely by a singular guitar.
The lyrics supposedly chronicle Ian's breakup with his
wife at the time, and thus take on a rather melancholy
air. As I said, the sweeping orchestra in the background
tremendously effective, and adds a morose, romantic air
to the album. These sections, counterbalanced by the more
complex and heavy passages, during which the whole band
joins in, combine to great an extremely moving musical
experience. The
album is basically flawless from front to back, though
the centerpiece, 17 minute suite "Baker St. Muse" is one
of the single strongest tracks Tull has ever recorded.
One of my favorite albums ever. -
Greg Northrup [2000]
 Songs
From the Wood (1977)
This
is another great Tull album, and one of the most accessible
ones at that. This album is highly enjoyable right upon
first listen, and creates such a tremendous atmosphere,
that I find this almost totally impossible to dislike.
Really, not a weak track on the whole disc. The album
is also the first of a musical trilogy chronicling the
increasing urbanization of man, and lamenting the loss
of our closeness to nature. This album, and its companion
pieces, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch show
a gradual shift in mood, from bright to dark.
Songs
from the Wood shows what Ian Anderson seems to feel
is man in his ideal state. The whole album has a breezy,
upbeat and "happy" feel, full of lilting flute and active
keyboards, accompanied by hard hitting, powerful and complex
rhythms from the guitar, bass and drums. Very heavy folk
influence throughout, with moving melodies that still
manage to rock.
The beautiful
thing about this album is that Tull has created a record
that is highly accessible, catchy and celebratory, while
still being extremely progressive and complex. In this
sense, I think it's the only Tull album next to Thick
as a Brick to achieve this paradox. Songs like
"Cup of Wonder", "Hunting Girl" and "The Whistler" just
beg to be cranked up. Meanwhile the intricate "Velvet
Green" and the melancholy "Pibroch (Cap In Hand)" show
off a more subdued and magical side. This is definitely
in the upper echelon of Tull albums, and a wonderful place
to start.
- Greg Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Heavy
Horses (1975)
Though
not as immediate as Songs From The Wood, I slightly
favor Heavy Horses over it's predecessor.
The overall tone is dark, and it definitely takes awhile
to get into, but ultimately this is a powerful, intricate
and deeply moving piece of work, from front to back.
At times I feel this to be my absolute favorite Jethro
Tull album. There is rarely a time on the entire
album where two band members are playing the same riff
or melody. There is constant variation and depth to every
second of the album, not to mention the instrumental virtuosity
and Ian's emotional vocals
This is
a semi-concept album, much in the same way that Songs
From The Wood was, in that it deals almost exclusively
with the joys and sorrows of rural life. The lyrics
and music has a whimsical, country air to them. Together
with the lyrics and album artwork, the entire event has
the atmosphere of a cold autumn evening in the English
countryside, with the music and vocals emitting a glowing
warmth.
The tracks
are all for the most part flawless. "Moths" is a
landmark among Tull songs, definitely one of the all time
best, totally beautiful orchestration and some of the
greatest lyrics Ian has ever penned. The band plays off
the same simple melody throughout the piece, yet by the
end it becomes a shimmering example of impossibly beautiful
prog. "Acres Wild" is one of the most simply romantic
songs ever written, with an honesty far deeper than your
typical rock or pop "love song". "Rover" is yet
another track that digs deeper with each passing listen,
too complex to comprehend on first listen, you'll find
the various melodies swimming in your head long afterwards.
Finally, the epic title track, an epitome of everything
the album represents. Another one of Tull's all-time
best. Hardcore
Tull fans, for the most part, all recognize the greatness
of the album. Unfortunately, as far as radio representation,
or in the minds of casual fans, this album is widely overlooked.
Could be the finest Tull album ever made. -
Greg Northrup [2000]
 Stormwatch
(1979)
A
good album from Jethro Tull, but unfortunately one that
would mark the end of an era. After this album Ian
would revamp the face of the band, and classic Tull mainstays
like Barriemore Barlow, John Evan and David Palmer would
exit, not to mention the tragic death of bassist John
Glascock, who died after complications with open heart
surgery.
This is
a very dark album that winds up the folk trilogy that
also included the classics Songs From The Wood and
Heavy Horses. That said, its also the least
interesting of the three. Overall, it chronicles
sort of an apocalyptic demise for mankind, after out modernization
and technology has gotten the best of us. This is
definitely a far cry from the celebratory hymns of Songs
From The Wood. There are some great songs on
here, "Orion" features more tasteful orchestration and
"Dark Ages" is one of the heaviest Tull songs ever.
The rest of the songs are all good, but certainly don't
improve on anything from the previous two albums, though
they are written in the same style. Not necessarily
uninspired, just a little limp at points. Still,
this is a worthwhile album that has a nice, dark atmosphere,
but is definitely overshadowed by the brilliance of the
previous two albums.
- Greg Northrup [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
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