THICK AS A BRICK

This album deserves five stars because it opens your muscial perception and your mind into a progressive dimension, even if you're not used to uneasy listenings, uneven rhythms and complex songwriting: Thick As A Brick, both suites, combines all these features with magnificent melodies, especially as for the acoustic arpeggio part, repeatedly proposed throughout the album. No weak parts are featured in this album. Ian Anderson proves to be a real genius, also for the styrical and poetical lyrics he has written and for the fake story of the disqualified wonder child Gerald Bostock, defined as 'Little Milton' on the cover of the album (the famous newspaper cover on the LP version). All musicians are in great shape, with Martin Barre providing heavy guitar-laden riffs, John Evan(s) providing magnificent Hammond organ parts and the solid rhythmical section by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond on bass and Barriemore Barlow, who plays an incredible drum solo part on the initial part of suite n°2. Ian Anderson does the rest, with his enchanted flute and his magical acoustic guitar, as well as his beatiful voice. The magniloquent orchestration by Dave (today Dee) Palmer is yet another strong element, creating dream atmospheres throughout the whole album. Perfection is close to be reached on Thick as a Brick. This is the most popular progressive album ever: no wonder! It's love at first... listening!