SONGS FROM THE WOOD

I must recognize that I had to listen to this album A LOOOOOOOT of times before I really started to appreciate it.

After three frankly not very amazing albums, Jethro Tull published "Songs from the wood" in 1977 and it was like the awakening of a sleeping giant. The sound of the album is fresh and original, very eclectic and with a lot of great songs with the most diverse catalogue of rhythms that go from the acoustic soft sections to very hard rock ones passing through even some really good jazzy moments and the classic folky style that always characterized the band.

The six musicians (David Palmer finally became an official member of the band but this time accompanying John Evan in piano and synthesizers instead of directing chord arrangements as he did in "Minstrel in the gallery") played in this album as if they just had come back from a really revitalizing vacation and with all the batteries charged. All the instruments (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass, piano, flute and mandolin) had the chance to shine beautifully at least one time along the record.

1.- Songs from the wood (04:53): The first time that I heard this song was in the radio: a local station in Oaxaca City that occasionally plays very interesting music from around the globe started to play this song and I totally recognized Ian Anderson's vocals and flute, two or three days later I listened to the entire album for the very first time. It starts with Anderson singing a cappella followed by the chorus of Glascock, then the acoustic guitar, flute and soft percussions start giving the structure to the song; finally the guitar, organ and drums enter. The song evolves from a merely vocal piece to a great rock piece.

2.- Jack-in-the-green (02:28): This is a more relaxed melody that doesn't feature drums, but only really light percussions; acoustic guitar, bass, piano and, of course, flute jam beautifully through this piece.

3.- Cup of wonder (04:32): Rockier than the previous song but yet really soft and enjoyable; the cow bell marking the tempo is delightful.

4.- Hunting girl (05:11): The powerful riff in this song and the snare drums made from this maybe the less folky and more intense rock piece of the album; the undeniable touch of the organ and the strong bass lines by Glascock make this song sound almost as a Proto-Metal: I wouldn't be surprised to hear that bands in the style of Iron Maiden took some inspiration from this piece.

5.- Ring out, solstice bells (03:44): This song is filled with joyful vocals and clapping hands; the organ and the acoustic guitar are so harmonic and the really short but yet really precise jazzy piano section in the middle are amazing. The bells at the end were an obvious addition to this song.

6.- Velvet green (06:02): The renaissance arrangement at the first part of this song is beautiful.

7.- The whistler (03:31): The main instrument in this song is the acoustic guitar played by Anderson, the rhythm is moved and enjoyable.

8.- Pibroch (cap in hand) (08:33): Martin Barre made an excellent job with the electric guitar introduction to this piece; the song reminds a lot to the band's early albums (especially "Benefit").

9.- Fire at midnight (02:27): The last piece of the album has a predominant organ in the beginning, until the snare drums and the chord instruments (guitar and bass) enter. The song switches to a more rocky rhythm with flute and electric guitar.

Every song in this album is great: very fresh and original tunes that had become classics in Jethro Tull's repertoire.

SONG RATING: Songs from the wood, 5 Jack in the green, 5 Cup of wonder, 4 Haunting girl, 5 Ring out, solstice bells, 5 Velvet green, 5 The whistler, 4 Pibroch (cap in hand), 5 Fire at midnight, 4

AVERAGE: 4.66

PERCENTAGE: 93.33

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

I ranked this album #92 on my TOP 100 favorite Progressive Rock albums of all time.

Share this JETHRO TULL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Uruk_hai
• Report this review (#2485790)
• Buy JETHRO TULL music online with PA partners
• Show all JETHRO TULL MP3/Stream
• Go to JETHRO TULL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Songs from the Wood page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for JETHRO TULL related discussions