MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY

When Warchild appeared after the controversial APP with practically nothing new to offer, I (and surely most of the rest) didn't expected wonders in the next release. But just listen to it! I've heard a huge lot of people calling Minstrel in the Gallery as the most metal-oriented Tull album... but the gospel truth is, when I listened to this album for the first time, the first impression was about the most acoustic release their ever made. And now that I have knowledge about both statements, I'd say, more than agree with them, I can say that MITG is a very accomplished album, rockin' very hard for some moments (Black Satin Dancer, the title track) and, when it comes to acoustic ballads, IMO some of the best ones in Tull's catalog can be founded on this album (One White Duck, Requiem).

While the pièce-de-resistance, Baker Street Muse, is an awesome combination between Anderson's acoustic peak and the powerful electric guitar work by Barre, the closing track Grace, despite its extremely short lenght, is an acoustic and lovely piece of unbelievable beauty. Do not get wrong this marvelous album because of its location between two "dull" albums (Warchild & Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll); this CD is amazing and surely you won't apreciate it due to the high tecnique of the stuff; otherwise, because of the feeling contained on it; Ian's voice, his lyrics, the melancholic guitar chords here and there...

Dark, rocker, folky and as prog as you can get, Minstrel in the Gallery is without a doubt a quintessential Jethro Tull album, and together with Songs from the Wood, the highlight album after Thick as a Brick. Then and finally, a masterpiece of progressive music. Five stars!

NOTE: This album also has one of the best bunch of bonus tracks re-issued. Excluding the pair of live cuts, the instrumental Pan Dance and the acoustics Summerday Sands and March the Mad Scientist are superb songs, as good as the average song of the original album.

Cosick.