THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST

Ian Anderson decided to continue with the trends begun on A for Tull's next album, 1982's The Broadsword and the Beast. Now sans violin, Jethro Tull began to sound more and more like a stereotypical '80s hard rock band, especially on tracks like the opening "Beastie". Vettese was probably the flashiest of Jethro Tull's keyboard players, and his frequent synth flourishes add to the character of this album. "Flying Colours" is another song where Tull fell into '80s hard rock mediocrity, albeit with some Wakemanesque synths.

Some folk influences still made their way onto this release, however. "Clasp", for example, has flashes of flute and mandolin amid Vangelis-like synthesizers and some uninteresting hard rock. "Fallen on Hard Times" is a more thoroughly folky song, sounding almost like it could have been an outtake from Heavy Horses.

It's not that The Broadsword and the Beast is without enjoyable music. "Broadsword" is an engaging, slow-building piece where Vettese's synths add effective atmosphere. Martin Barre's soloing is also quite good here. "Seal Driver" is another of the better songs, featuring an especially strong performance from bassist Dave Pegg.

Overall, though, this album feels like foreshadowing for Jethro Tull's later-80s output of Crest of a Knave and Rock Island. Before they went there, however, Ian Anderson really wanted to embrace the electronic side of 1980s rock music.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/07/25/deep-dive-jethro-tull/