THICK AS A BRICK

I got my first exposure to Jethro Tull as a recommendation from Last.fm, where someone said I should start with Jethro Tull's first album and work my way chronologically. This was when I was still getting into progressive rock. In addition, I saw on ProgArchives that Jethro Tull were one of the best prog rock bands out there. So I went out and bought their albums, starting from "This Was" all the way to "Passion Play".

When I got to "Thick as a Brick", I was blown away. But a single fact struck me immediately. This song is very lengthy, even by progressive rock standards. Despite that, it never ceases to be entertaining. I've listened to this album/song more than a couple of times now and I am still blown away by the variety, time signature changes, melody changes. It never feels repetitive.

From start to finish, this song is just beautifully composed, with soft melody of the flute here and there, acoustic guitar, piano at the beginning which goes on to more heavy stuff but then ends slowly and beautifully with Ian's great vocals. I especially like it near the 4 minute mark where the song picks up in energy and the drums are nothing short of excellent. The guitar riff at around 7:00 mark is excellent too. I really like the shift from Part 1 to Part 2 with that dramatic ending and then Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off.

I feel I must make a point about the lyrics. I've spent a fair amount of time deciphering them but I admit, I still have no idea on what scene they are painting or what they actually mean. I can decipher parts of it but that's about it. Despite that, every word is really beautiful. I just melt when Ian sings "I see you shuffle in the courtroom with your rings upon your fingers and your downy little sidies and your silver-buckle shoes."

I thought I found the best album ever, after listening to Selling England by Genesis but "Thick as a Brick" equals it easily. A masterpiece of progressive rock. 5/5