Jethro Tull: Classic or Dud?

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.