Jethro Tull "Stormwatch" (1979)

Stormwatch
release date: Sep. 14, 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,60]
producer: Ian Anderson, Robin Black
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights:1. "North Sea Oil" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Orion" (3 / 5) - 3. "Home" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Dark Ages" (3 / 5) - 7. "Old Ghosts" (3 / 5)

12th studio album by Jethro Tull is also known as the final album in a trilogy starting with Songs From the Woods (1977) with focus on folk rock in a celtic folklore frame. The album may very likely have strong bonds to the '77 and '78 albums, but I never found it any near the same level, and / or of much interest. I think, time simply caught up with a band that didn't fit in anymore, and just enjoyed playing big live concerts repeating itself, and here, band leader and composer Anderson hasn't been able to come up with his usual strong compositions. The album is the last with the band's most celebrated members list including Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, David Palmer, John Glascock, and Barriemore Barlow. After this album only Anderson and Barre would continue Jethro Tull with new band members. The band's bassist John Glascock wasn't able to contribute on all studio recordings due to heart problems, and was replaced on a successive US tour, and eventually died in Nov. '79. The untimely death of the band's bassist led to drummer Barriemore Barlow's departure from the band in early 1980, and as a consequence of Anderson's announced plans to record a solo album, both David Palmer and John Evan decided to leave. After this, Anderson worked on and recorded his first solo album but due to contractual obligations the album was released as a Jethro Tull album titled A (1980) for "Anderson", with a very different kind of music in a synth pop style, which is of even less interest.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "Live: Bursting Out" (1978) (live)

Live: Bursting Out (live)
release date: Sep. 22, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

1st live album release by Jethro Tull was originally released as a double vinyl album. The recordings are not taken from one single concert but are excerpts from various live performances recorded during the band's European tour in May / Jun. '78 while promoting the band's most recent album Heavy Horses and put together by Anderson. The credited personnel include Ian Anderson on lead vocals, flute and acoustic guitar, Martin Barre on electric guitar, mandolin, marimba and backing vocals, John Evan on piano, organ, accordion, synthesizer and backing vocals, David Palmer on portative organ, synthesizers and backing vocals, John Glascock on bass, electric guitar and backing vocals, and Barriemore Barlow on drums, glockenspiel, backing vocals and flute. Although, it only contains two songs from Heavy Horses, which was the tour's main objective to promote, it's a rather fine and wide-ranged live album. There are no attempts in trying to mute the reactions from the crowd, and it reflects a fine level of energy, and also shows how much diversity the band's repertoire contains. The selection of songs are from all the band's albums, thus making it more of a compilation statement rather than a promotion. One could fear that playing older material alongside brand new compositions would make it a bit of a mixed bag it really isn't, as the band's playing style, arrangements and engagement make it a fine experience.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "Heavy Horses" (1978)

Heavy Horses
release date: Apr. 21, 1978
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,77]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "...And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" - 2. "Acres Wild" (4 / 5) - 3. "No Lullaby" (4 / 5) - 4. "Moths" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Rover" - 2. "One Brown Mouse" (4 / 5) - 3. "Heavy Horses" (4 / 5)

11th studio album by Jethro Tull. The members list remain the same as on Songs From the Woods (1977), and the music is like its predecessor progressive rock but with strong focus on a folk element, which has roots in British pagan folklore. Compared to the '77 album it appears as a tighter album. I have always had a soft spot for this album and even liked it a lot at the age of 13 when it was released and my older brother played it. As I recall it, my brother didn't particularly enjoy it that much, as he handed me the album in a plastic bag with 20 other fine albums 2-3 years later. I think, he found the band's move towards folk a difficult move having associated the band with psychedelic hard rock and progressive rock only. The band found it increasingly difficult to attract the crowds, and the album didn't sell quite as good as their earlier albums still managing to reach number #20 in the UK, and to number #19 in the US and in Germany. I guess, much of the reason to people's general declining interest for the band had much to do with new popular styles in the world of popular music as new wave and punk rock, which in essence was a reaction to music created by bands like Jethro Tull - music that was recorded and produced by established artists and required a considerable amount of money spent on equipment and studio recording time. Despite being released in the second year of the British punk rock wave, this is still a remarkably fine album in its own rights.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars]

Jethro Tull "Songs From the Wood" (1977)

Songs From the Wood
release date: Feb. 11, 1977
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Songs From the Wood" - 2. "Jack-in-the-Green" (4 / 5) - 3. "Cup of Wonder" (4 / 5) - 4. "Hunting Girl" - 5. "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" - 6. "Velvet Green" (4 / 5) - 7. "The Whistler"

10th studio album by Jethro Tull released after the '76 studio album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!, a less successful Tull album, which saw a change of bassist as Jeffrey Hammond was replaced by John Glascock. Prior to this, additional keyboardist David Palmer was officially included in the band, which by then counted six members.
The album signals a change of style with more focus on British pagan folklore in a blend of progressive rock, folk and hard rock. The result is a simpler musical universe and the tracks are accordingly of shorter playing time.
This was one of two vinyl albums by Jethro Tull that I was given by my older brother when he moved out of our family house back in the early 80s. I really liked the album before that, and often had it on my turntable while playing with my Lego...
[ allmusic.com, Sputnik Music 4 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "Minstrel in the Gallery" (1975)

2002 Remaster

Minstrel in the Gallery
release date: Sep. 5, 1975
format: digital (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Minstrel in the Gallery" 3 / 5) - 2. "Cold Wind to Valhalla" (3 / 5) - 4. "Requiem" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Grace" (3,5 /5 )

8th studio album by Jethro Tull. After Thick as a Brick (1972) Jethro Tull released another conceptual album A Passion Play (1973) consisting of only one track, which received mixed to negative reviews, except from in the US where the band sold better than in the UK - both the '72 and the '73 album ended up on top of the charts in the US album but 'only' reaching number #5 and #13 respectively in the UK. After that, the band released War Child (1974), which apparently is more ordinarily composed with 10 tracks.

Minstrel in the Gallery is yet again an album of Jethro Tull blend of progressive rock and hard rock with influences from folk and classical. I don't find it as great as their '71 or '72 album nor as fine as the '77 and '78 albums. I think, it's like a more closed and narrow album for the enlightened few.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Sputnik Music 4,5 / 5 stars ]

org. vinyl cover

Jethro Tull "Thick As A Brick" (1972)

Thick as a Brick
release date: Mar. 10, 1972
format: cd (1987 reissue) / vinyl (2022 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Thick as a Brick (Part 1)" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Thick as a Brick (Part 2)" (3,5 / 5)

5th studio album by Jethro Tull. Before going to the studio to record new material the band's drummer, Clive Bunker had left the band and was replaced by Barriemore Barlow. This is the bands [Ian Anderson's] response to music critics referring to Acqualung (1971) as a concept album. Anderson wanted to make a gimmick out of this release, so he really went all the way in making something that could only be labelled conceptual. However ironic the idea behind the album was founded, and created with inspiration from Monty Python's Flying Circus, it really is a musical masterpiece. The album consists of one composition, only divided into two halves (Part 1 and Part 2) due to the vinyl album format. The style is progressive rock blended with classical and folk. It's really a great composition that hasn't ceased to fascinate me. I think, I first heard the album back in the early '80s where I had found a vinyl copy at the local library. At this time, I knew of Heavy Horses and Songs From the Wood on vinyl and wanted to know more of the band. I recall, how great it was to unfold the newspaper version of the sleeve with its fictitious stories about a local community and the primary story about 8yo wonderkid Gerald Bostock. Initially, I thought it was true, but having learned about the gimmick, I still found it pretty ingenious. The album reached number #5 in the UK but it topped the albums chart list in the US.
EDIT 2025:
The 2022 50th anniversary remaster is a repress of the 2012 remastered Steven Wilson remix, and it comes with reprint of the original newspaper cover.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, SputnikMusic 5 / 5 stars ]

1972 Favourite releases: 1. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars - 2. Lou Reed Transformer - 3. Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick

Jethro Tull "Aqualung" (1971)

Aqualung
release date: Mar. 19, 1971
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson, Terry Ellis
label: Chrysalis - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Aqualung" (4 / 5) - 2. "Cross-Eyed Mary" - 3. "Cheap Day Return" - 4. "Mother Goose" (4 / 5) - 6. "Up to Me" - 8. "Hymn 43"

4th studio album by Jethro Tull. The album feature John Evan has official member on keyboard and a change of bassist as Glenn Cornick has been replaced by Jeffrey Hammond. Stylistically, the album continues from Benefit (1970) with a combo of progressive rock, hard rock, and folk, but it feels like an even more elaborated album with several strong compositions. It's regarded to be the band's first conceptual album, although, band members reject it as such; however, music critics point to a central theme of the distinction between religion and god.
The album peaked at number #4 on the UK albums chart list and it's enlisted on several best of albums of all time including the band's only entry in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and it's the band's best-selling album to date. My brother played the album a great deal back in the early and mid 70s, so I was familiar with it as a young teenager, and already found it interesting, although, not quite as intriguing as Deep Purple, back then.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "Benefit" (1970)

Benefit
release date: Apr. 1970
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "With You There to Help Me" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "To Cry You a Song" (3,5 / 5)

3rd studio album by Jethro Tull shows how the band quickly was lead by Ian Anderson who has written all compositions and also produced the album. The credit list reflects that the members list remain unchanged but keyboardist John Evan, who is credited as additional personnel, would soon become a fifth official member of the band. The music has taken a distinct turn to their trademark of progressive rock blended with hard rock and folk, and no longer shares bonds to blues rock, r&b, or psychedelic rock for that matter. Although, my older brother had the album back in the '70s, I didn't really know the album until around the 1990s, and although, I find it an anachronism, I also understand the popularity the band gained with this their first major album. It went as high as to number #3 on the UK albums chart list.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "Stand Up" (1969)

Stand Up
release date: Aug. 1, 1969
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson, Terry Ellis
label: Island Records / Chrysalis (reissue) - nationality: England

Track highlights: 1. "A New Day Yesterday" - 3. "Bourée" (4 / 5) (live) - 6. "Nothing Is Easy" (3 / 5) - 9. "Reasons for Waiting" (3 / 5) - 10. "For a Thousand Mothers" (3 / 5)

2nd studio album by Jethro Tull originally released on Island Records, and reissued on Chrysalis in '73. Before this album founding guitarist and songwriter Mick Abrahams left the band due to conflicting ideas about musical direction with Ian Anderson. Abrahams was then replaced by one of the best known members, Martin Barre on guitar and flute, who is the only other member beside Anderson to be in the band from the early 1970s and throughout to modern times. The debut album This Was (1968) is blues rock and r&b-inspired, whereas this has a more progressive rock-styled blues and folk rock, which is more like the band's later albums' although, this is still much more blues rock based than any of their later albums. I have only come to know of this album within the last 10-15 years and didn't know that the album actually went as high as to number #1 on the UK albums chart list. One of the band's most famous instrumental arrangements, "Bourée" (by J.S. Bach) is found on an album that points in (too) many directions. The album starts out with "A New Day Yesterday", which clearly is inspired by blues rock by Jimi Hendrix, and continues in folk rock and psychedelic rock compositions blended with classical, celtic folk, and elements of progressive rock. All tracks are credited Ian Anderson.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Jethro Tull "This Was" (1968)

This Was [debut]
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 ]