THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST

The infamous (with some exceptions of course) 80's decade brought up lots of changes in the musical scenario. Suddenly, long, complex compositions and virtuosity were no longer the hip of the day. Punk and New Wave had emerged and several prog bands had to make adjustments to their sound so as not to be forgotten or left behind.

Many bands succeeded in doing this. Take the case of Eloy for example. The use (or abuse) of synthesizers became a trademark in their 80's releases. Yet, those albums sounded great (at least up until Time To Turn). The thing is, that Eloy had always been a Psychedelic/Space Rock band with a futuristic kind of mood. So adding these new technologies into albums like Planets, with a sci-fi thematic worked just perfectly.

Now, let's move on to the subject of my review. The Broadsword And The Beast. An album that it's not far away from Planets in terms of sound and stuff. So, you might be wondering by now: why the low rating to Broadsword if Planets for you is great and you say they are not quite different in how they sound?. As I've said before, bands had to make adjustments in their sound in order to survive in those new times. The problem is that Jethro Tull completely lost its identity on the way on this one. Where is that stunning band with the folky, pastoral feel that made timeless albums such as Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, Minstrel In The Gallery or Songs From The Wood?. Not on this release, that's for sure. Trying to turn Jethro Tull into a synth-prog band for me is just creepy. It's one of those things that just doesn't work. It's even worse that when Genesis turned their back on prog. Plus, Genesis flirted with pop even since its first albums (I Know What I Like, anyone?).

I guess it's just a matter of taste as always, but there's nothing I can find on Broadsword to convince me to add another star to this rating. Maybe the wonderful album cover art. Of course that is not enough. There's no real highlight. This is no JT. It's a monotonous album from a once awesome band. Sorry Mr. Anderson and company. 2 stars and I'm being generous.