THICK AS A BRICK

This is it - the archetypical prog album by Tull. This is the league Genesis (with P.G.) and Yes play in (when it comes to prog. Otherwise I think Ian Anderson outdoes them both on non-prog terms).

In my earlier days I was more impressed by Aqualung (a very good album of course) but re-listening to the CD version of The Brick yesterday (bought it only yesterday; didn't give the vinyl a spin for years!) I came to understand why people are so much impressed. The themes are so strong they bridge the 36 years since its release with ease. Although some ideas return in the second part and one might get the impression there weren't enough of them to do without repetitions it's a delight they are coming up once more. Having crafted this monster it's understandable IA was frustated with Passion Play.

I can do without the bonus live version from Madison Square Garden. It's the same version as on Bursting Out only less produced. Finally there is the 16 minute interview giving us some trivia on the making of The Brick and the touring.

If I were after shocking you I'd rate it 1 star - but it's 5 of course.