release date: Oct. 25, 1968
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Terry Ellis, Jethro Tull
label: Island Records / Chrysalis (reissue) - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "My Sunday Feeling" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Beggars' Farm" - 9. "A Song for Jeffrey"
Studio album debut by the English quartet Jethro Tull. In retrospect, the band is almost synonymous with Ian Anderson but on this the band was not entirely in the hands of Anderson, as there was no clear leadership yet. The two songwriters of the band were guitarist and vocalist Mick Abrahams and Ian Anderson on flute, piano and vocals. The latter is credited on seven of the album's original 10 compositions, and Abrahams on four. Aside from these two the band consists of Glenn Cornick on bass, and with Clive Bunker on drums. The style is clearly blues rock founded but with influences from jazz, r&b, and folk, which makes it somewhat lacking a direction. Some compositions has a bold Hendrix-inspired blues rock and psychedelic rock style, whereas others are a mix of influences, even with Bob Dylan, The Band, and / or Buffalo Springfield folk styled music, which makes it difficult to consume as one whole album. The jazz element doesn't really help much, and it's rather peculiar as how a track like "Serenade to a Cuckoo", a jazz standard has found it's way to the album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
