WAR CHILD

You know, I really don't understand why this album is rated so low. Sure, it followed on the heels of the spotless Thick as a Brick and Passion Play, but it is, in my opinion, a fantastic product. A little different, perhaps. But fantastic nonetheless. I look at it as a sort of "Aqualung, pt. 2"

On this album, Tull mixes their ambitious prog-folk sound with an admittedly large dose of accessable material. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as some of these individual songs are among the strongest in all of Jethro Tull's history.

Some highlights:

The opening song, War Child, is a nice song with some of my personal favorite Ian Anderson lyrics (and that's saying something!). It's heavy, but not to the point of Aqualung. It floats on by, as does the rest of the album, with a stately grace that only Tull can create. The next song is more of the same: Queen and Country. A heavy-ish tune with a stirring chorus.

Ladies is a nice, mellow acoustic songs that blossoms into much more with the addition of a string section.

Sealion, one of Tull's heavier songs, contains arguably my favorite Martin Barre riffs and fantastic, catchy melodies. This one should be more well-known than it is, really.

Then, following Sealiion, we have a real gem: Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day. This is the prog folk that is Tull's trademark, and perhaps even their best song this side of Thick as a Brick. A bold statement? Perhaps. But well-deserved, in my opinion.

The Third Hoorah is a stirring march-like song that proves that Tull's instrumental mastery did not vanish on this album. An upbeat, fantastic song. The album closer is more of the same, although in my opinion a weaker song: Two Fingers. It's a bit of a rocker, and a nice way to close off this album.

A couple of nitpicks for me:

Back-Door Angels suffers from a long, song-defining guitar solo/jam and really has little else to offer. In addition, perhaps the most well-known song on this album, Bungle in the Jungle, is not a particularly strong tune to begin with and it suffers from overexposure and overplay. I cannot understand why this is "the" song on the album for many people.

Perhaps one of the things that makes this album so unique to me is the heavy inclusion of strings and accordion. These instruments grace the album with a certain....how shall I say it....a certain elegance that defines the mood and sound of the album. In my opinion, these touches of grandeur elevate the album from a collection of short tunes to a solid album of more restrained Jethro Tull music. In addition, look for Anderson's best lyrics on this album, and an overall sense of lighthearted satire (as can be expected).

In conclusion, I'd really love to give this album 5 stars, as it's probably my favorite from Jethro Tull. But I do recognize that it is probably not their BEST, so I will give it 4 well- deserved stars. If you're in search of a smaller pill to swallow than Thick as a Brick or APP, look no further than here. It's also a good album to introduce potential fans to.

The last essential Tull record for me.