UNDER WRAPS

I have only listened to Under Wraps half a dozen times and have taken the unusual decision to quit listening because this album is simply awful. Mr. Anderson should look back on this one as a source of eternal embarrassment because there is almost nothing here that is worth listening to and there are little no real hints that this is a Tull album. If you are a Tull megafan then you are going to want this album to complete your collection but I cannot see any other reason for owning it without buying it by mistake or being really unlucky using a lucky dip approach to your next purchase. For everyone else I have one word of advice: Don't.

So what is the problem(s)? Actually there are 2 main issues that I identified during my limited exposure and they are significant enough to stop me looking for more. In order to understand my issues, it is worth explaining my relationship with Tull first. Some of Tull's work is simply awesome (see Thick as a Brick, Aqualung etc...) and the thing I like most are Anderson's contributions both as flautist and as lyricist. Weirdly enough the thing I most dislike is Anderson's vocal style! Lyrically, Tull have always employed a style that is culturally significant, somewhat direct and loaded with humour (some subtle and some not so). That style makes it easy for me to live with the vocal style which is annoyingly flat and includes over-complication in an attempt to cover up the lack of range. On Under Wraps the vocal is just as annoying as always but there is considerably more of it than usual and there is none of that intelligent, humorous take on life; so Under Wraps is loaded with all the negatives but without any of the positives.

So I did what I always do when I am not enjoying vocals; I tune them out and focus on the music. The trouble is that the music is framed by simple synthetic rhythms from a drum machine to match the underdeveloped melodies and complete lack of texture or depth from everything else. In short the music is hollow and soulless, dominated by keyboards so that the only bright spots are the occasional flourishes from Anderson's flute. These are awesome because the man can't play and sing at the same time and because they actually sound like something a teenager could not reproduce in their bedroom. Finally I resorted to following the narrative so that at least I might get some value for my money - tell me a story Ian.

Oh goodness, the narrative is almost as bad as the music. Its as if someone wrote a short story in essay format and Anderson is simply reading it out over the top of the music. I switch from cringing embarrassment for the man to alert searching of my local environment to ensure that nobody else can hear this tripe. All I can think of is how people will judge me for listening to this stuff. Will they consider me a weirdo? This is absolutely awful stuff and to top it off, the narrative is all about cold war spying and intrigue but from a first person perspective. Not sure what that says about Anderson but the man has a reputation right?

Finally let's say that even if you don't mind crass narratives, Anderson's vocals and music made of plastic, you are still going to switch this off if you have any need for progressive music at all because there is almost nothing here for you. On a positive note, the production quality is good even if the balance could do with shifting away from the vocals and drum machine. I refer you to my previous comment: Don't.

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