Jethro Tull is well represented in my library. I went on a buying tear in college, starting with the classic era (Benefit through Thick as a Brick) then working back to the early stuff. With some trepidation, I then moved on to the mid-1970's, a more musically challenging time for the band. Like a few other bands explored here, Jethro Tull was initially part of the British blues boom, but rapidly moved out of that scene in the 1970's. It's not to say there isn't anything bluesy here, but it's pretty far removed from the purists. On top of that, since Thick as a Brick, almost every album, this one included, has some level of extra-length song.
This is about the point where I ran out of gas, though. By the time I got to the following album, I stopped. I still haven't moved past 1976. I'm not sure if it's just me, but the band sounded increasingly exhausted with each album. I've read enough about the history of the band to know that it underwent a lineup cataclysm around 1980 which ushered in yet another musical era, but those sounds are even more alien to me than their late-1970's output.
Nevertheless, as I listen to this album again with fuller concentration, I feel a renewed interest in at long last moving forward. I'm not sure where to go, though. There's still a lot of Jethro Tull to choose from!
No comments:
Post a Comment