AQUALUNG

With the release of Aqualung the band had finally completed their transition from the blues based rock band to a mix between (hard) rock and folk rock. This album is also famous for being labeled as a concept album, ever since its release, to a discontent of Ian Anderson who claims that he never intended it to be as such. Whether this is really the case or not might be debatable, at least we can all agree that Aqualung was an important title in Jethro Tull's discography.

Personally I tend to divide the album into three sections where the first and last 10 minutes of the album consists of much edgier, almost hard rock, material while the middle section is mainly Prog Folk. Considering that there are already more than 120 written reviews of this album before mine, I'll skip the track-by-track description in favor of summarizing that the material here is top-notch making for a great album experience that, to me, is only overshadowed by the even greater achievement that the band showed with their next release. This doesn't really play in favor of this album since whenever I decide to listen to a Jethro Tull album my first choice always falls on Thick As A Brick meaning that Aqualung hasn't been played as much in my household. This is a phenomenon that most bands with only a handful of excellent recordings suffer from with me.

In conclusion I can only summarize that Aqualung is a great album by Jethro Tull and it's a real pity that there aren't many more where that came from. If you've only heard the title track and are unsure if you want to give this album a shot then I can assure that you are hesitating in vain. This is an essential album for fans of Prog Folk and an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

***** star songs: Aqualung (6:31) Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09) Locomotive Breath (4:25) Wind-Up (5:42)

**** star songs: Cheap Day Return (1:23) Mother Goose (3:52) Wond'ring Aloud (1:56) Up To Me (3:18) My God (7:10) Hymn 43 (3:18) Slipstream (1:13)