http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCM-jgoGB_sYCFQpWkgodlBUEUA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.discogs.com%2Fartist%2F447336-John-Glascock&ei=2I23Vc_XDYqsyQSUq5CABQ&bvm=bv.98717601,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNFdQElvxUmg82VzxQfsLMMKND3RhQ&ust=1438179143888747" rel="nofollow -

 

The only time they were a bit flat was around 75 and 76 imo. I used to think the same for 74 before Nightcap came out in the early 90s, then it got better again with the remaster and even better with the remix. I'll hold off on 1976 until the next remix is out. We may get an ep or even an album of new gems . Can't wait. But at this stage they top 3 bands of the 1970-74 period and 1977-1980 period imo.

Took a boatload of pics at the '78 & '79 shows.  At their best live, Tull was like a 5 ring circus with everyone seemingly always doing something interesting musically or visually.  Here's some of my fave shots from '78:

In few months it rapidly became my fav ever.

My first album was Stand Up. I remember it was very appreciated by all my friends. A monster album everyone listened to at the time (the 90s).

Then I got A Passion Play (the second Tull record I purchased) and in a blink of an eye I remained the one and only fan of Tull in the company...

Poor fellows... but things changed soon 'cause I left them for good and found new guys to share musical taste with.

 

The first ten studio albums were quite an accomplishment (eleven if you throw in the splendid Living in the Past, which I consider a separate album, and not merely a compilation). Some albums were, of course, better than others, but taken in total the era between 1968 -1979 was a pretty remarkable achievement.

 

Their best five albums, in my curmudgeonly (and decidedly correct) opinion, were as follows:

 

Aqualung

Thick as a Brick

Songs from the Wood

Stand Up

Living in the Past 

 

Throw in Minstrel in the Gallery, A Passion Play and Heavy Horses as excellent albums also. Again, remarkable if you consider this was all done in a little over a decade.

 

However - i didnt ever think of them as prog until i found this site in my 40's - after listening to Tull for 30 years!

I just thought hey, it's Tull - never remotely considered them in the same context as Crimson, or Yes, or others

I don't even own a copy anymore....nor do I have Catfish or Rock Island.

I still play the early ones the most.....Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, Living..., Minstrel, TAAB, and Songs From The Wood.

Same here. Like most bands I enjoyed (except bands like The Beatles, who knew when to quit, or The Doors and Hendrix who died before they got crappy), my interest only goes up to a certain point. And then stops. Just like that.

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"None other than the Fu Manchu of the Marimba!"...I've always loved Martin and his versatility and was very disappointed when he and Ian parted ways.  He always reminded me of Gary Green a bit...able to play the craziest prog time signatures and orchestrations but could seriously rock out when it was solo time.  For me, he was just as integral a part of what made Tull so special as Ian by really providing that hard edge that contrasted with Ian's acoustic...I never really understood why Ian moved on without him.  If it was for Ian to show the world that he really did write most Tull music, I wish it would have been a temporary thing.  When I read about TaaB2 and that Martin wasn't part of the band I had no intention of even checking it out.  Curiosity eventually got the better of me and I'm glad it did, though it's funny that his replacement sounds a lot like Martin to my ears.  

From a guitarist standpoint, a thing that really impressed me about Martin in the mid 80's (and Alex Lifeson as well) was the transition they made from fixed bridge Gibson Les Paul style string-bending rockers to the whammy bar style that was so huge at the time.  Some guys tried and would just grab the vibrato bar and wiggled to sound hip and cool but Martin and Alex both really did their homework and made a whammy style of their own.  I find Martin's playing to be the real star of Crest of a Knave and about the only reason I spin that one now and then.

I think it's great that Martin has taken the Tull legacy repertoire and is running with it 

thank you!

haha might have something to do with the rating  

The thing I never understood is why people are so lukewarm about War Child, but I think it's because, if you were immersed in the TAAB/APP era, War Child could easily have been a disappointment.   I have yet to really properly listen to those earlier classics, so didn't have a bias against War Child.  But, after liking War Child, Minstrel just seemed really raw and unadorned to me, and I need my Ian Anderson wrapped in strings and buried in the mix.  Now, whatever you might say about Bungle in the Jungle, it is a song perfectly suited to Ian's voice

I rarely re-review stuff, because there are so many other things I want to review for the first time.  And I cannot be bought!  Well, unless you have beachfront property in Brazil  

I can't compromise myself that way.....   OK deal 

 

I used to collect vinyl back in the day.....but I have always been picky about what I buy and at my peak I had about 1,000 pieces of  vinyl. When cd's came out I sold about half the vinyl...the ones I seldom  played.

I kept the prog ,rock , and jazz I liked. But at 500 pieces I'd still like to get rid of about half of it because I seldom play vinyl these days.

 

i completely agree with you - 

in re: Mr. Anderson's ditching or Mr. Barre, its just completely ridiculous.  Mr. Anderson has certainly created some of my favorite things in the entire universe, and can do as he pleases, but...Mr. Barre was a huge component of Tull, and Ian is lesser without him.  Ian's ego is apparently so huge that even a completely self-effacing guitarist, who serves the music and is not a prima donna or seeking to upstage anyone, is a threat to his image.  That is sad.  And, frankly, these days Ian needs all the help he can get not to put out bland crap.

circling it all back round - i'd rather listen to Under Wraps than TAAB2 or Away With Words any day of the week and twice on sunday - the whole is greater by far than the sum of the parts.

in other news..

i have just recently acquired a few bootlegs of Tull from 71-78, and I am listening to those non-stop. miracles

which 5?

edited - well, that didnt work the way i thought - quote and question to dr. prog

ahahah 

I love it.

I also like European Legacy and General Crossing.

 

Dave Pegg is on record saying the album would have been better using all Broadsword and the Beast outtakes.

OUCH!

 

As I've stated elsewhere, the outtakes from BatB were better than the actual album, particularly Jack-a-Lynn and Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow. I have listened to and enjoyed those on the fine 20 Years of Jethro Tull compilation and never replaced my BatB vinyl with a CD back in the day.

When LitP was released in 1972, most of the U.S. album version was new material to us in the States. The 1971 EP Life Is A Long Song was only released in the UK (with songs Life is a Long Song, Up the Pool, Doctor Bogenbroom, For Later and Nursie). In addition, Love Story, Christmas Song, Driving Song, Sweet Dream and Witch's Promise were all UK single releases -- also Singing all Day, Wond'ring Again and Just Trying to Be were unreleased.

 

So, include the side with the live performance from Carnegie, and to me and everyone else here it was an actual Tull album, not a compilation.  And it is a 5 star album in my book. I still see and hear it that way, even though they're plopping the songs on different remixes.

http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2039" rel="nofollow -   http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2037" rel="nofollow"> http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2039" rel="nofollow"> http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2039" rel="nofollow -

btw - nice review Steve

I remember not thinking much of Crest of a Knave, other than Mountain Men

I'll keep you guessing until the end 

 

Also, any of your reviews are appreciated.

 

In 45 years of listening to Tull I have never heard anyone come to that conclusion. There's an intriguing site called The Ministry of Information that tries to break down just what the hell is going on in A Passion Play:

 

http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/app/index.htm" rel="nofollow - http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/app/index.htm

 

It is very scholarly and a worthwhile read even I don't agree with everything there. In fact, I have offered some counterproposals and research of my own. Here is a snippet of what I uncovered regarding the mention of the obscure name Magus Perdé :

 

How odd it is to find something in context with Jethro Tull, and A Passion Play in particular, while doing research for my second book, the events of which take place in the 14th century. And the reference material I was using came from the 14th century as well!
 

I was researching a poem by William Langland (b. 1332 - d. 1400) titled "The Vision Concerning Piers Plowman" (a famous 14th century work of allegorical satire), and the text I was using referenced an old and anonymous English morality play "Hickscorner" printed by Wynken de Worde (who died in 1534, and was partner of John Caxton, the first printer in England).

A word in the reference material immediately struck me. Here is the section of the "Hickscorner" play in question:

What, sirs, I tell you my name is Freewill,
I may choose whether I do good or ill;
But for all that I will do as me list.
My condition ye know not, perdé,
I can fight, chide, and be merry;
Full soon of my company ye would be weary
An ye knew all.
What, fill the cup and make good cheer,
I trow I have a noble here!

Why is this so goddamned important, you ask? Or are you saying I've gone mad?

Well, there has been a long debate regarding the meaning of "Magus Perdé " in the final part of A Passion Play. After researching the word further based on the usage in the play, I can say unequivocally that "perdé " in this instance means "by God".

When the character says "My condition ye know not, Perdé ", he is, in effect, using a mild expletive as emphasis. He is saying "My condition ye know not, by God!"

Perdé is cognate with Middle English spellings of the same word, such as "perdie" or "pardie": 1200- 50; late Middle English pardie, Middle English parde < Old French par De < Latin per Deum by God.

Now, many folks say the word "magus" means magician or wizard; however, the original meaning comes from Persia to define the Zoroastrian priest caste (hence in the bible the "Magi" are wise men, not wizards).

So, Magus Perdé most likely means "priest by/of God". Telling a priest of God to "take your hand from off the chain" may infer back to the anti-religious, anti-clerical rhetoric of Aqualung. Priests of the Anglican or Catholic persuasion do not accept reincarnation, which of course is what Ian is referring to in that section of A Passion Play.

Therefore, I wonder if Ian did not trip across this "morality play" (which grew out of the English tradition of 14th and 15th century "mystery plays" and "miracle plays") when doing a bit of research on his "Passion Play".

I know the idea of perdé was bantered about to mean "by God" on the Ministry of Information site, but they never seemed to come up with any definitive theory (as one will notice). But the preponderance of evidence, based on an old English "morality play" no less, with the word perdé used in the actual context that someone from that era would use, seems to indicate a much stronger basis for "by God" than previously assumed.

And the fact that reincarnation is not an acceptable tenet of the Church of England, gives credence that the line

Magus Perdé, take your hand from off the chain

is a demand from Ian that the Church loose the chains that bind religion to other concepts, particularly when one looks at the lyrics that follow:

The passengers upon the ferry crossing, waiting to be born,
renew the pledge of life's long song rise to the reveille horn.

-and-

Here am I! Roll the stone away
from the dark into ever-day.

It would seem that Ian is equating the resurrection of Jesus to the reincarnation of Ronnie Pilgrim.