WAR CHILD

War Child, hmmmm. This is a difficult one. The best thing about this album is the story telling vocals of Ian Anderson. The whole album was intended to be a soundtrack for a movie that just did not get off the ground. An interesting idea but must have looked better on paper than as a real project. Within this framework is a mixture of serene acoustic passages, juxtaposed with monster rock riffs and scintillating flute as only Anderson can play. So what else is new? As always with Jethro Tull, the album should be listened to in its entirety to appreciate the intricate structure and heavy multi-layered instrumentation. But it is not classic.

The album begins with a nice cup of tea in the true English way - almost a parody of what it means to be English. Then it kicks in with the entertaining 'War Child' track.

It is all a bit of a blur then with one track sounding similar to another until we have the quintessential Tull tracks 'Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day' and 'Bungle In The Jungle'. I had heard Bungle when it was first on the radio charts. I was rather taken aback, as a young child, with the lions roaring and the overall ambience and lyrical content. I am still astounded at how great this track is and how it has stood the test of time. Simply brilliant music and melodies, radio friendly and yet quirky enough to be Jethro Tull. Really Tull have done nothing like it before or since. I memorised the lyrics when I was a child - it introduced me to Tull all those years ago. My favourite verses are:

Just say a word and the boys will be right there: with claws at your back to send a chill through the night air. Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder? Thunder and lightning couldn't be bolder. I'll write on your tombstone, ``I thank you for dinner.'' This game that we animals play is a winner. and

The rivers are full of crocodile nasties and He who made kittens put snakes in the grass. He's a lover of life but a player of pawns --- yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn to light up His Jungle as play is resumed. The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune.

Lots of fun, so why is the rest of the album so dire and tiresome?

'Skating' is always a fan favourite and has some really nice melodies that linger in the mind well after the song has ceased. The rest of the tracks are... well, forgettable unfortunately.

The bonus tracks are not that great and I found myself wanting to put on other Tull CDs such as 'Thick as a Brick' or 'Stand Up' as quick as possible. So while this album has moments of brilliance there are too many moments of mediocrity. However still a good addition to a Tull collection for certain for the standout tracks.