CREST OF A KNAVE

Hate to be hard on Ian given all he's done for the genre and seeing that the best concert I ever saw was the 'Broadsword And The Beast' tour, I have to say that this particular album bores me to tears. Oh, it starts out decently with the semi-hit 'Steel Monkey', a catchy number with jiggery keyboards and "Farm on the Freeway' which has a nice jam in the middle, but from then on it's a chore. I've always enjoyed Ian's lyrics, some of the best in Rock, hands down. This album has some good ones lyrically, especially, 'Said She was a Dancer' which puts me right the middle of his story, "How Moscow, what's your story?..." and one of Mr. Anderson's favorite compositions, 'Budapest'. But musically, everything seems rather flat in the drumming and keyboard areas, especially the last three tracks. Plus, I don't know if I'm the only one that's noticed, but Ian's voice at times sounds like Mark Knoepler of Dire Straits, especially during the slower tracks. Anyway, I do believe that this album starts the downward trend of my beloved Tull and should only be bought if you must need all the albums. So with a sad heart I give it a measly 2.5 rounded to 3. Okay, I'm going for a tissue....