THIS WAS

I saw this version of the band (as far as I'm concerned, the only real version of the band) on stage several times, and they were great. Sure, the music wasn't as well developed and convoluted as later Anderson albums would soon be, but there was a warmth and full blooded excellence about it, and most of all, a chemistry that would soon be lost when Mick was elbowed out.

Sadly, because "This Was" the first (and only?) Tull album, it doesn't truly reflect the band as they were on stage. At this point, the musicians weren't as adept at studio techniques, and much was lost in translation. So the truth is, we will never get to hear what it really was like, and that's a real shame.

This album has some of the flavour of "Ahead Rings Out", not unreasonably, since Mick was involved in this early tug of war with Ian.

Ian won, and went on to a successful solo career with a band of assorted support musicians. But with the exit door soon being shown to Glen and Clive, music also lost something in the process.