About Jethro Tull

 ^ I finally do like Broadsword even if it's a bit digital-sounding, 'Clasp' and 'Watching Me Watching You' especially good..also very pleased with Rock Island and Stormy

Atavachron wrote: well my impression was that it started as a real concept record and kinda got cut up into pieces, so that remaster was a revelation.  I agree that many of the bonus cuts are excellent and shouold heave been on the original releases, i.e. Stormwatch

Atavachron wrote: yeah the Warchild extras are great, 'Paradise Steakhouse' one of my favorites

Tull is more about great songs rather than great albums. Plenty of great outtakes and singles, which quite often are better than songs on albums. Some albums are soundtracks, some albums are more commercial with concepts, some albums are great. If I want to hear true quality Tull songs from 1974, I'll listen to the 7 bonus tracks and also queen and country, skating away, solitaire. If you wanted to rate Tull of 1974 from the original Warchild soundtrack, then you'd be missing out on most of the best songs(bonus tracks) imo. I'm rating the band on the great songs they can write and record in their natural style each year. Whether they are bonus tracks or not, doesn't matter. If they choose to write some some cheesy  commercial songs for a soundtrack or for a concept album then that doesn't bother me if they have plenty of quality bonus tracks. If I want to listen to Tull from 1971 I'll usually listen to Side 1 of Aqualung and then the last 7 songs on Living in the past. I'm not fazed by concepts, I just want to hear great tunes and I know Tull are a better band than Side 2 of Aqualung and some songs on Warchild and they prove it with close to 20 songs in 1974 and over 20 songs in 1971. I just choose the best tunes and consider the other commercial tunes to be songs which Ian would think are basic but designed to please the simpler listeners . So we have 1971 and 1974 covered. 2 very good years in the studio, although the 2 albums don't quite say that. I also love the remasters SFTW, Heavy horses, Stormwatch, A, Broadsword, Benefit, Stand up. Not to mention TAAB.  I'm also found of several songs on Dotcom, Catfish, Roots, Crest, This was.

Edited by PROGMONSTER2008 - February 05 2009 at 00:15

Atavachron wrote: yeah but he's been dead for over 15 years

So? I mean, he may not have "survived", but still he released much more albums than Tull, and I think that makes it quite in the same league of consistency as Tull, and BTW, Tull hasn't released anything particulary new since 1999(not counting the Christmas album), so there's a 5 year difference?


Edited by cacho - February 04 2009 at 22:12

yeah but he's been dead for over 15 years

I agree 100% with you Ata.....[ if I may be presumptuous enough to abbreviate you ]. It's hard to pinpoint any other band that has been so prolific. Ian Anderson is assuming the status of a living legend imo. Generally, as you say, the quality and consistency of their output has been high. We also tend to overlook Martin Barre a bit imo. How many guitarists have stayed with a band for this long when it's not recognised as 'his' band. His style also adds to the bands distinctive sound.

I admire the fact that after all this time they are still touring and playing a vast array of both their earlier and later material, despite the effect that the ravages of time are having on IAs vocal cords.

TULL actually excited my interest in progressive music . I used to stay up late listening to ' underground ' radio stations [ there weren't many here in Aus. ] in the hope of catching ' Witch's Promise', which I found quite fascinating and mystical at the time [ It still remains a favourite tune of mine ].

My favourite albums are those through to ' Minstrel...', with a smattering of those up until the present . I'm also one of the the rarer variety of fan who thinks that ' APP ' is one of their best works.

I guess there's no accounting for peoples' tastes.

JT, good little band there for a few years.  Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, TAAB -- what's not to like?

the bonus cuts are absolutely worth it, some are so good they should been on the original releases IMO, plus it gives you a bigger picture of the material they were working on at a certain period

Leftoverture wrote: so are the remasters w/ bonus tracks worth it for the really good albums? I guess vibrations would know...

Not all the remasters have bonus tracks but what you get with the remasters are thoughtful liner notes from Mr. Anderson himself. He dedicates each album to someone as well. There are also additional photos. I went out and bought them all .