A PASSION PLAY

Surely inspired by the success of 'Thick As A Brick' and armed with a desire to take the complexity and opulence of the concept album genre a step further, Jethro Tull released in 1973 their second continuous piece of music split over the two sides of a vinyl LP, the expansive and theatrical 'A Passion Play', an album infamous for the disastrous (and later abandoned) recording sessions in France and for being slammed by critics as pretentious, overly complex and indulgent. What this album is in reality is a delightful piece of rich, symphonic and well-constructed work with several majestic musical passages and a load of symbolism hidden within the often-cryptic lyrics written by Ian Anderson. Essentially a concept album dealing with hereafter, 'A Passion Play' almost re-iterates some of the themes from 'Aqualung', this time with an upheaving dramaticism.

You may criticize the album for lacking that memorable central theme, that motif that the listener evokes in his memory every time this album is mentioned, unlike its predecessor, of course. But 'A Passion Play' nevertheless contains some of the most adventurous and sophisticated instrumental passages on any Tull album, and while you might discover the occasional snippets of VdGG or ELP mimicry, the influence of progressive rock's rising fame is undisputed here. The entire piece feels cohesive, just like any finely arranged long piece of music, with very few moments of tedious prolonging of the individual tracks. Separated into four "acts", this album offers a very eclectic and dense sound, with the band exploring orchestral music with different variations of "progged up" rock tropes, all topped by the shrewd humor that you find in all of Anderson's oeuvre. And with the introduction of Barriemore Barlow behind the drums as well as the frequent use of the soprano saxophone instead of the monumental flute, 'A Passion Play' is a rather unique but incredibly tasteful and crafty album that might not be as compelling as 'Thick As A Brick', but is just as impressive, ambitious and pulsating with vibrancy.

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