MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY

For their eighth studio album Jethro Tull incorporated a sound more similar to earlier albums like 'This Was' and 'Benefit', and you might as well see 'Minstrel in the Gallery' as the antidote to the commercially-oriented and patchy 'War Child', since this 1975 release oversees a strong return to the acoustic and folky style so definitive of the band's romantic early era. The string arrangements of Dee Palmer also punctuate large portions of this unusual and occasionally improvisational album, mostly recorded live by the whole band playing together, resulting in a more organic, sprawling sound. 'Minstrel in the Gallery' gives the initial impression of a flaring guitar-driven rock album within a folky framework, an impression that plunges once the listener embraces the overlong and confined acoustic sections dominating the majority of the songs on here, with the peripheral sweeps of Anderson's flute having a lesser influence on the music overall, compared to previous albums.

The title track comes first on this album and is a really fine offering from the band, flowing finely between the light and folky opening section and the heavy and driven second part of the song, the wide instrumental section is also quite impressive. 'Cold Wind to Valhalla' is a good song but not necessarily the most proverbial acoustic song from Tull, followed by the confused and indulgent 'Black Strain Dancer', a strange composition that feels forced and directionless. 'Requiem' and 'One White Duck' are acoustic numbers indicative of the stylistic retour of this album, with Tull focusing on more strictly folk-rock compositions once again. The other major highlight of the album is the 16-minute epic 'Bakes St. Muse', this is a really great piece that captures the band at its peak creativity and imagination, followed by a really brief outro titled 'Grace'. The entire 'Minstrel in the Gallery' album is unusual, and while parts of it can feel cold, uninspired and downright boring, the opening track and the long epic turn things around and compensate for the rest of the album, which is equally forgettable and bemusing.

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