THICK AS A BRICK

My relisten to this excellent and vital record has been a long time coming: long-awaited, really. I mean, I can't even tell you, but I know it's been years... For context, I'd like to note that I've never been a fan of Tull truly, but fans of classic Prog (in the very least) must recognize that when they're great, they are [or can be] excellent. Next to Thick as a Brick, in my mind, are Minstrel in the Gallery and Songs from the Wood. Prog must-hears they certainly are. Thick as a Brick in the greater context of Progressive Rock as "popular music", as it truly was popular at the front-end of the decade, is quite interesting. For Tull, it follows one of their most beloved and widely celebrated albums, Aqualung, but is also striving to be not only "the mother of all concept albums" (according to Anderson) but a timely parody of Prog Rock itself. Ironically then, history says it all: it's now considered one of the great albums of the genre (with one of the greatest and most iconic album covers of all time). Here we go!

It may have been years, but this intro to "Pt. I" is just so iconic and memorable. It's in me [I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that this is the theme of the whole piece and is repeated throughout to great effect... /s]. At the start, acoustic bits with trills of electric instrumentation; Ian sounds great and the melody is just... timeless. When minute 1 hits, more instrumentation builds in with piano and flute. It really is interesting to be able to compare this to the biggest Prog Rock albums of the very early '70s. Love it. What I take for a bridge around minute 2 is just sooo tasty. A lot to love. Again, iconic. The folksy bits hereafter are a bit reminiscent of early-Hackett-era Genesis. Excellent. And then... The Bombast! So excited to be here today. Super hot organ solo starting before minute 4.... followed by a perfectly of-the-time guitar solo. Super hot. In the next section, all falls way. It's still that theme of absolute triumph. And you said, a kid wrote these poems? hahaha. Even if they did write individual parts with the intention of individual songs, certainly the so-called singular track listing (of "Pts. I" and "II") and the well-tied compositional flow of the album would tell you otherwise. Awesome, blazing section of soloing in the eighth minute. Everyone is on. The organ is once again heading us off as we arrive in and through our 12th minute. Fantastic theme. Like... if... Genesis had a baby with ELP? I'm missing some other something... GG? It's great. Who cares? In addition to all else, this section continues with instrumentation such as fiddle, which we haven't really heard before from the band. What a great element. That certainly ties their potential connection to Gentle Giant ever closer (I mean, I genuinely didn't realize how well-rounded Ian was as a musician). Impressive stuff. Another very neat shift occurs within this section around minute 15. So triumphant still, and yet again, I get calls to Genesis. Epic! Certain classical trills remind then of early Yes. Lovely lovely stuff. Required listening here and throughout.

Onto "Pt. II", it picks back up with an ambient sound of a harsh blowing wind from the end of the first side. Continuing in the general theme of the album, yet here we are in a raucous, darker place. The drums roll rapidly and the instrumentation calls a battle to mind. Much like the mini-epic "The Battle of Epping Forest" by Genesis, released a year after this. This is some intense stuff. The drums, the bass and, most notably, the force to be reckoned with, the keys are just on fire. I think here, too, this is perhaps a successful call to the intense classical efforts of early ELP. I really love when it falls away entirely to silence around 3:40. What fell away briefly picks back up and then... like I said, it was brief, it too ends as well. And we're back into the main chordal theme of the whole, but with a slightly different melody than before. The acoustic guitar is just so lovely here. As with the start of "Pt. II", this all has a noticeably darker effect. The main melodic theme comes back in here in that moody tone around minute 8. Such a great sound. I love how they're showing you can do a lot compositionally with a single theme. Just adds to the tying together of the whole epic. We are back into the thick of the apparent battle around minute 11, after that thematic section ends. This all crescendos, getting increasingly louder and more electric. The guitar and the keyboards are just perfectly matched here. In its greatest crescendo, it once again reminds of Genesis. I suppose it could have been inspired by The Musical Box and then the previously referenced but unmentioned Selling England by the Pound was perhaps then inspired by this. Just a thought. I don't really know what the consensus or general knowledge of this is. As a fan of Genesis, I have to wonder. Huge shift then around minute 18 as we return to the theme. Awesome rhythm here to end 'er all out.

I love this album so much. It's so epic, through and through. I'll definitely hope to listen to it more frequently. But it's also reminding me of my past loves. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of Genesis and they're a big big deal to me, especially for when I was initially getting deep into Prog. But like their albums, Thick as a Brick is simply vital. Grateful to make my final Jethro Tull pitstop here. So grateful. Nothing is perfect, but this is damn close!

Once I was finished, I also made sure to listen to the 16-minute interview that was available in their digital release, first available through its 25th Anniversary edition. I highly recommend it, if anyone hasn't heard it.