SONGS FROM THE WOOD

In my opinion this is among Jethro Tull's best. It's a perfect mixture of folk and prog rock, incomparible to any other album I've ever heard. It all kicks off with the title track and the mood is rather cheery, while the band are sounding as tight as ever. There's plenty of great flute and ornamental arrangements throughout and the music and lyrics take you back to times of old and also put you in touch with nature.

Ian Anderson again proves to be a musical genius with "Songs from the Wood". He also plays all the instuments himself on "Jack In The Green", a great folky acoustic tune . "Hunting Girl" has a rockier feel to it than the other tracks. My favourites are "Cup Of Wonder" (The arrangements are very interesting, including some handclaps). "Velvet Green", "The Whstler" (which was also quite a well known song at the time) and the last track "Fire at Midnght", which provides a very warm and soothing ending.

Overall, this is an amazing album. It's unique, cheerful and definitely essential for your prog collection. 5 stars.