Jethro Tull
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses
Where to begin? The beginning I guess. My beginning. Or at least as far back as I can remember. You might be surprised to find out that I didn’t get into music until my early teens. Throughout my childhood, my parents, particularly my dad, were always playing albums, but none of them permeated into my …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Crest of a Knave
Like many acts from the 60s and &0s, when the 80s rolled around Jethro Tull struggled with something of an identity crisis, desperately trying to blend the traditional core values of their sound with new and exciting possibilities that the latest technology offered. The result was a genuine mixed bag of albums, from the synthetic …
Classic Album: Jethro Tull – Songs From the Wood
The rise of punk triggered a wide variety of reactions among more established acts. Led Zeppelin nodded in approval, and continued to be Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd channelled their own disenfranchised feelings into the bleak Animals. A few other acts underwent underwent various identity crises, with some attempting to go ‘pop’ with mixed success (Emerson, …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Stand Up
For many fans 1969’s Stand Up is where the Jethro Tull’s story really starts. That’s not to say that their debut, This Was, wasn’t any good, but Stand Up is where Jethro Tull started to sound like no one other act than Jethro Tull. In the few months that split the release of This Was …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Live: Bursting Out
When the broom of Punk arrived to sweep away the dust bunnies of the old guard, Jethro Tull took the frankly baffling route of going folk-rock. Having been born out of the 60s British Blues Boom, they’d already undergone an evolutionary career which saw them dabble with hard rock, satirical concept albums, art-rock and even …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick
There are some albums that don’t just define an act’s career, or a moment in time, but a whole musical movement. It’s those albums where the act haven’t just pushed themselves creatively, but have comprehensively outsmarted each and every one of their contemporaries and produce a musical statement which the listener doesn’t just go ‘Wow, …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll : Too Young to Die
Frequently disregarded by their fans as an attempt by bandleader and benign dictator Ian Anderson to simplify the Jethro Tull sound, Too Old to Rock ’n’ Roll: Too Young to Die is in some senses one of their most interesting works. Wedged between the band’s grandiose work of the early 70s, and their late 70s …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Benefit
For some reason Jethro Tull are never spoken of in the same hushed tones of awe as Led Zeppelin or King Crimson. Or Deep Purple and Yes. Or Wishbone Ash… Quite why that is may be down to the fact that their style was very difficult to pigeon hole and emulate, therefore no one has …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – War Child
Released in 1974, War Child found Jethro Tull at a crossroads in their career. Having had their previous album, the dense and generally grumpy A Passion Play, critically mauled and a subsequent mis-step by management that saw the band apparently announcing their retirement without their knowledge, War Child was the opportunity for the band to …
Feature: Cheerio Jethro Tull – thoughts on the ending
Following a particularly demanding day at work, I wandered into Sheffield branch of HMV on Tuesday. As I walked through the doors, my eyes inevitably flicked to my right and across to the new release display. Ninety percent of the time I don’t even recognise the name of at least half of the acts on …