Jethro Tull - A
#372
by Jeff "Tull's Only Remaining Fan Except Hank Azaria"
Christian
August 29 1980
Jethro Tull
A
Genre: Prog Rock Desperately Seeking Susan
Allen’s Rating: 3 out of 5
Jeff’s Rating: 2 out of 5
Highlights:
The Pine Marten's Jig
Black Sunday
And Further On
Full Disclosure: Allen asked me to review this album months ago. In addition to being a world class procrastinator, I just find the record incredibly sad. I was introduced to Jethro Tull at about 12-years old in the bedroom of my cool elder cousin Al Carolonza circa 1977. "Songs from the Wood" was like nothing I had ever heard before -- Rock majesty intertwined with Celtic minstrel melodies and madrigals. I became an insufferable Tull dork, informing anyone who would listen that the band's name was derived from the inventor of the seed drill and that Ian Anderson played all the instruments on "Jack in the Green"!!
In short, I blame Al for the fact that I graduated high school as a virgin [although my presidency of the Comic Book Club of Maplewood and my "Cerebus the Aardvark" collection were probably contributing factors, along with the fact that I quit guitar lessons to pursue juggling]. But I digress…
From its amateurish, vaguely SciFi cover, apparently meant to signal the arrival of something other-worldly and awesome [but it's really just the letter "A" for Anderson], to the abjectly awful tune "4 W.D. (Low Ratio) -- I assume about a f***ing truck -- this album is spectacularly meh.
"Fylingdale Flyer" apparently refers to a Royal Air Force radar base, which I suppose was topical during the Cold War when this album was released in 1980. A lot of the record seems to be reaching in vain for New Wave relevance. Nope. Having seen Tull an embarrassing number of times, including twice on their 50th Anniversary Tour in 2018, "Black Sunday" made for a great live jam, as did "The Pine Marten's Jig." The latter is an instrumental that truly showcases the incredible musicianship of a band that was led astray in an effort to appeal to the MTV generation.
It's worth noting that this album was originally intended to be an Ian Anderson solo project, until Chrysalis Records forced the issue. They should have let it go. The final track, "And Further On," harkens back to the softer, acoustic Tull that I loved -- the stuff that folks who only associate "Aqualung" with them will never understand. It gives hope for what may be to come. And, in fact, 1982's "The Broadsword and The Beast" will see them returning to their suede-booted, leather-codpiece wearing roots... But that's a review for another day, Laddies!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4BIBQxnY57RfcKvSwAJ1ua?si=kRpYCKgdR96dLKsXjB0nNQ
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