LIVING IN THE PAST

A compelation of music Tull has produced in the period from This Was untill Aqualung, containing some alternative versions of album songs, singles, b-sides and some live songs. When listening to this compilation you can hear the different styles of music they played over the years, and how they developed from the blues rock of This Was, through to the more heavy rock of Benefit and Aqualung, all in a very consistent typical J-Tull style, where Ian's flute and Barre's guitar make up for the Tull sound, but with the drum and bass providing some jazzy/folkish underground.

I don't think Living in the past is really an essential album, but to complete their earlie 70's output it's more than rewarding. The quality of the songs is very good. Sweet Dream and Love Story are the stand-out tracks, along with Teacher, which has a great bassline, and some very heavy moments.

despite it being a compilation of mostly their b-sides and non-album material, there is little to no filler. And i think those songs could have easily been incorporated in the albums. Overall I can't rate it as five stars, but it's close enough. Recommended to all Tull fans, who have the main albums from the covered time period. and probably a good introduction to people who don't know Tull, for it really captivates their early sound.