HEAVY HORSES

JETHRO TULL continued on the same path as "Songs From The Wood" with yet another solid release titled Heavy Horses in 1978. On this remastered version with two bonus tracks ("Living In These Hard Times" and "Broadford Bazaar") the songs get a new life and spark that was not present before. As Ian ANDERSON mentions in his liner notes, "In 2003 we hear at last on CD the sparkling detail of the original master tapes." It makes you wish all recorded music was like this right from the start and the technology was available to keep the original sound intact regardless of the transfer process. Oh well, we can dream.

Ian ANDERSON continued with strong and affecting vocals telling tales of living in the countryside. He sings with dry wit and honesty like an old-fashioned back woods Englishman would, yet in a way that only he could spin an account.

Although the Celtic/Medieval/Folk ambiance remained strong, I found this album had more straight-ahead rock influences than its predecessor. A lot of the acoustic guitar layers and strings that were used before are removed and replaced by the unparalleled guitar licks of Martin Barre and ANDERSON's excellent mandolin, flute and acoustic guitar playing. The outstanding production qualities have become richer and clearer from beginning to end on this album, thus there were neither disappointments nor flaws apparent anywhere. This is another classic JETHRO TULL album very worthy of the remaster treatment. I wait impatiently for the next set of remasters!