THICK AS A BRICK

I see that it's the ProgArchives no. 1 album of all time, and I'd like to tear it to shreds, just for the fun of it and out of principle, but I just can't; This album is the best thing ever, it makes me glad to be alive. Well, not only that, but still.

I don't see the point of trying to describe the music, this has been done competently in a large number of reviews here. Anyway, I couldn't, even if I tried.

One angle I'd like to go into here though, is the lyrics. Now, I make a point of never listening to any lyrics, for some reason it spoils it for me. I like to listen to the vocals for the sound, and often enough I succeed, expect when something particularly obnoxious comes along, then it can spoil the most fantastic music for me, and jolts me out of my enjoyment. Yes is a borderline case.

Well, I do like to know what an album is about, I try to get hold of a synopsis from somewhere, if possible, but that's about it.

But this album (and a number of others by Jethro Tull) is one of the rare exceptions, where I actively go out of my way to find out what the lyrics, which I mostly avoid like the plague, are all about.

Firstly, I think it's got something to do with Ian Anderson's voice. It seems to convey such an extraordinary amount of humour and cheerfulness, that it becomes irresistible to me. The tongue-in- cheek play on words is quite amazing, I feel he's taking the p. most of the time.

Secondly, the lyrics to Thick As A Brick manage to tread such a careful balance between story-telling and incomprehensibility, that I'm intrigued and amazed at how good really well crafted lyrics, delivered fittingly, can actually be. Shame I don't get to hear that a lot.

So, in effect I mean that this album represents not only music of the very highest standard without de- railing anywhere at all, the lyrics fit in so well that they seem to develop a life both inside and outside the music.

ProgArchives number one spot well deserved. I wonder if it will ever get topped.

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