Original Album Series: Jethro Tull (2014) [5CD Box Set] Re-up

This budget-priced box set from the prog rock/folk greats rounds up five complete albums. First up is 1977's Songs from the Wood, which is the first in a trio of fan-favorite folk-centric releases that included Heavy Horses (1978) and Stormwatch (1979), both of which are also included in the package. 1980's A embraced a more synth-based style, an approach that the band also utilized on their 1982 follow-up and 14th studio long-player, the largely critically panned Broadsword and the Beast.

by James Christopher Monger, AMG

Far and away the prettiest record Jethro Tull released at least since Thick as a Brick and a special treat for anyone with a fondness for the group's more folk-oriented material. Ian Anderson had moved to the countryside sometime earlier, and it showed in his choice of source material. The band's aggressive rock interplay and Anderson's fascination with early British folk melodies produce a particularly appealing collection of songs – the seriousness with which the group took this effort can be discerned by the album's unofficial "full" title on the original LP: "Jethro Tull With Kitchen Prose, Gutter Rhymes, and Divers Songs from the Wood." The group's sound was never more carefully balanced between acoustic folk and hard rock – the result is an album that sounds a great deal like the work of Tull's Chrysalis Records labelmates Steeleye Span (though Nigel Pegrum never attacked his cymbals – or his entire drum kit – with Barriemore Barlow's ferocity). The harmonizing on "Songs From the Wood" fulfills the promise shown in some of the singing on Thick as a Brick, and the delicacy of much of the rest, including "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" (where the group plays full out, but with wonderful elegance), "Hunting Girl," and "Velvet Green," set a new standard for the group's sound. "Pibroch (Cap in Hand)," which is dominated by Martin Barre's electric guitar – in a stunning array of overlapping flourishes at full volume – is the only concession to the group's usual hard rock rave-ups, and even it has some lovely singing to counterbalance the bulk of the song.

by Bruce Eder, AMG

Jethro Tull's 11th studio album, Heavy Horses, is one of their prettier records, a veritable celebration of English folk music chock-full of gorgeous melodies, briskly played acoustic guitars and mandolins, and Ian Anderson's flute lilting in the background, backed by the group in top form. This record is a fairly close cousin to 1977's Songs From the Wood, except that its songs are decidedly more passionate, sung with a rough, robust energy that much of Tull's work since Thick as a Brick had been missing, and surpassing even Aqualung in its lustiness. "No Lullaby" is the signature heavy riff song, a concert version of which opened Bursting Out: Jethro Tull Live. Anderson sings it – and everything else here – as though they might be the last lines he ever gets to voice, with tremendous intensity. The band plays hard behind him throughout, with lead guitarist Martin Barre (most notably on "Weathercock") and bassist John Glascock showing up very well throughout. Anderson's production and Robin Black's engineering catch their every nuance without sacrificing the delicacy of his acoustic guitar and mandolin playing. "Acres Wild," "Rover," "One Brown Mouse," "Weathercock," and "Moths," the latter featuring some of David Palmer's most tasteful orchestral arrangements, are among the loveliest songs in the group's entire repertory. Curved Air's Darryl Way plays violin solo on the title track – a tribute to England's vanishing shire horses, which doesn't really take off until Way's instrument comes in on the break, with a marked tempo change – and on "Acres Wild."

by Bruce Eder, AMG

Stormwatch marked the end of an era in Jethro Tull's history, as the last album on which longtime members Barriemore Barlow, John Evan, and David Palmer participated, and the final appearance of bassist John Glascock, who played on three of the cuts (Anderson supplied the bass elsewhere) and died following open-heart surgery a few weeks after its release. Anderson's inspiration seemed to be running out here, his writing covering environmental concerns ("North Sea Oil") and very scattershot social topical criticism ("Dark Ages"). The fire is still there in some of the hard rock passages, especially on "Dark Ages," but most of the songs generally lack the craftsmanship and inspiration of such albums as Minstrel in the Gallery or Heavy Horses, much less Aqualung. Just when "Something's on the Move" seems like it could be the most tuneless track in Tull's history, "Old Ghosts" and "Dun Ringill" follow it with even less memorable melodic material. The latter, in particular, proved that Anderson's well of folk-inspired tunes was also running dry, apart from the instrumental "Warm Sporran."

by Bruce Eder, AMG

Gone are the longtime Anderson images of the vagabond/sage (the group is clad in white jumpsuits on the cover) – also gone are the historical immersion of their music and anything resembling Dickensian, much less Elizabethan sensibilities. And nearly gone was Jethro Tull itself, for A started life as an Ian Anderson solo project but ended up as a Jethro Tull release, probably for commercial reasons. The difference is probably too subtle for most people to comprehend anyway. It is more reflective than Tull's usual work, but lacks the sudden, loud hard rock explosions that punctuate most of the group's albums. The death of bassist John Glascock in late 1979, and the departure of Anderson's longtime friend John Evans after the release of Stormwatch, as well as the exit of arranger/keyboard player David Palmer, led to some major lineup shifts; Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg's taking over Glascock's spot and the addition of Eddie Jobson, ex-Roxy Music/King Crimson violinist/keyboardman all seem to have removed some of Anderson's impetus, at least for a time, for keeping the group going in the studio. What finally emerged is the first Tull record not to feature Anderson's acoustic guitar, yet it also has a more balanced sound than any of their prior records. Jobson's arrangements are leaner and more muscular than Palmer's, giving the music a stripped-down sound, a sort of hard folk-rock (reminiscent of Steeleye Span's All Around My Hat), augmented by synthesizer and electric violin; this somewhat updated Anderson's music and moved him into the art rock category. Released in the midst of the punk/new wave boom in the United States, it didn't do too much for anyone's career, although it probably maintained Anderson's credibility better than any traditional Tull album would have.

by Bruce Eder, AMG

The cover of this first actual Jethro Tull album since 1979's Stormwatch depicts Ian Anderson as an elf-warrior, with wings and a sword, and a ship with a stylized Norse dragon's head. Anyone expecting a fantasy or heavy metal album was due for a disappointment, however, for most of the songs that have any identifiable references are about topical politics more than anything else. Martin Barre's electric guitars share the spotlight for the first time with Peter-John Vettesse's synthesizers, and Anderson is still playing lilting tunes on his flute and acoustic guitar. Tull's electric sound, this time in the hands of ex-Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith, is smoother, less heavy, and more thinly textured than their past work, and there are times – most especially on "Flying Colours" – where they could almost pass for the latter-day Moody Blues, something the band never would have permitted in earlier days (though if the Moodies could rock this hard and fast, it would be an achievement – for them!). "Broadsword" and "Pussy Willow" are easily the two best songs here, and not coincidentally the two that owe the most to traditional folk music in their structure. Most of the rest is little better than tuneless drivel.

by Bruce Eder, AMG