M.U. - THE BEST OF JETHRO TULL

'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull' is a compilation of Jethro Tull and was released in 1976. It was, in reality, the first proper greatest hits album of Jethro Tull. It spans songs from 1969 to 1975, which means that it cover songs from their second studio album till their ninth studio album. Their previous compilation from the band 'Living In The Past', mainly dealt with non-album material. This compilation only features one previously unreleased studio song 'Rainbow Blues'.

'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull' is a compilation that deals with the several musicians from the several different lines up of the band, being virtually together only on this kind of compilation albums. So, the musicians on this compilation are Ian Anderson (vocals, flute and soprano saxophone), Martin Barre (electric guitar), John Evan (Hammond organ, piano, organ, synthesizer and keyboards), Glenn Cornick (bass), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (bass), Clive Bunker (drums and percussion) and Barriemore Barlow (drums, percussion and glockenspiel).

'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull' has eleven tracks. The first track 'Teacher' is from 'Benefit'. However, this is only true in relation to the US version. On the UK version, despite it has also the same eleven tracks, the order of the tracks is different and on the UK version 'Teacher' was replaced by 'Alive And Well And Living In'. 'Teacher' is a good pop rock song of a single with good melody and composition, as usual with all their songs. The second track 'Aqualung' is from 'Aqualung'. The version on this compilation is an alternative mix version, including the song's open guitar riff played twice. 'Aqualung' is one of the best Jethro Tull's songs. It's a very well known song, very heavy and dark with acoustic elements. The third track 'Thick As A Brick' is from 'Thick As A Brick'. The version on the compilation is a very short edited version of the theme, including only the first three minutes of 'Thick As A Brick, Part One'. 'Thick As A Brick' is simply their greatest opus with more than 40 minutes. So, is absolutely ridiculous to reduce it to 3 minutes. The fourth track 'Bugle In The Jungle' is from 'War Child'. This is a melodious song well orchestrated composed in a pop commercial style. It's very simple, very humorous and nothing pretentious, a typical hit song made to sell an album. The fifth track 'Locomotive Breath' is from 'Aqualung'. The version on the compilation is an alternative mix version. 'Aqualung' is a Jethro Tull's legendary track with great piano, guitar and excellent flute work, one of their best. The sixth track 'Fat Man' is from 'Stand Up'. It's a happy and fast song where the use of the balalaika gives to it a very special atmosphere. This is typically a classic Jethro Tull's folk rock song with a very unique sound. The seventh track 'Living In The Past' is from 'Living In The Past'. It's one of the highlights of Jethro Tull's career and it was a bit revolutionary at the time, especially for a single, one of the best prog rock singles ever. The eighth track 'A Passion Play' is from 'A Passion Play'. The version on this compilation is a very short edited version of the theme 'Overseer Overture', which occurs about eleven minutes into 'A Passion Play, Part Two'. As happened with 'Thick As A Brick', 'A Passion Play' which has also more than 40 minutes, was also cut to a bit more than 3 minutes. Once more this option remains incomprehensible and inexcusable. The ninth track 'Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of The New Day)' is from 'War Child'. It's a great acoustic song with nice orchestral arrangements, which gives to it a very interesting and pleasant touch. It's one of the favourite songs of the band, usually performed live on their live venues. The tenth track 'Rainbow Blues' was never released on any of their studio albums. It's a leftover track from 'War Child' recording sessions. It was issued for the first time on this compilation. It was also issued as a bonus track on the remastered edition of 'War Child', in 2002. 'Rainbow Blues' is a good rocker with great orchestration, with some good guitar, flute and organ parts. The eleventh track 'Nothing Is Easy' is from 'Stand Up'. It's another classic Jethro Tull's song. This is a fantastic rock track with several musical sections and with incredible musical performance. It has fine drumming and the interaction between the flute and the guitar is perfect. The balance between the power and elegance is great.

Conclusion: Supposedly, 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull' would have everything to be a greatest hits compilation with short songs taken from their second studio album 'Stand Up' released in 1969, till their ninth studio album 'Too Old To Rock'N'Roll: Too Young To Die!' released in 1976. However, that didn't happen. It's true that we can't deny that 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull' has some very good tracks. 'Locomotive Breath', 'Fat Man', 'Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of The New Day)', 'Nothing Is Easy' and especially 'Aqualung' are all great tracks, some of their best. Even the rest of the album is made also by good tracks. But there is a huge problem. The problem is that 'Thick As A Brick' and 'A Passion Play' are cut to very short extracts. This is completely incomprehensible and unjustifiable. It's unthinkable that the record label could have cut two of their lengthiest and best masterpieces to so few short minutes. So, despite some excellent tracks on it, I'm going to give it only 2 stars. There are other better compilations from the band than this one.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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