AQUALUNG

This was my very first jethro tull albums and it is still one of my favorites. It doesn't quite match up to their masterpiece Thick as a Brick, but it is nearly as good as the odd A Passion Play. It's only problem is that it doesn't exhibit the proggresive epicness that can be found on either one of those albums.

The album follows what i can best call a partial concept. Alot of side one seems to be about the poverty in England as seen through the eyes of a homeless man Aqualung. That concept is very inconsistent at best. Side 2 goes with something totally different and talks about Ian Anderson's beliefs about god. This idea is summarized by the closing idea "he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays"

This album includes alot of beautiful playing and almost every single track is a highlight. there isn't a single song that i would skip on the entire album. The only thing that prevents me from giving this album five stars is that i can't really call it a masterpiece. The music is good enough, but the dual concepts aren't cohesive or consistent enought to work. Ian Anderson is right when he calls this album a little inconsistent as a whole, but the music is great.