As a fan since 1972...I was actually floored by Crest Of A Knave. Ian had extreme vocal problems in 1984 during the Under Wraps tour, so much so Tull went into a hiatus. Rumours abounded that Tull had dissolved and I was afraid that we had heard the last Tull album. Three years later, Crest Of A Knave is released and I was in heaven. Such a fantastic album...yes, Dire Straits-like vocals (Ian had to compromise with his vocal range), yes some ZZ Top guitars....but uniquely Tull. Brilliant; yes Ian is a genius but so is Martin Barre.....it wouldn't have won the Grammy if it wasn't for Martin's electric guitar.
I've seen Tull many times. The 1987 tour was remarkable with Fairport Convention as the back up band. Dave Pegg played bass for both bands....he never left the stage.
As best I can remember there was a lot of flack because Tull won the Grammy so Ian being the smart ass that he can be took out a full page ad in Billboard Magazine. It said something like to all of you naysayers who say Tull didn't deserve to win the Grammy I'd like to point out two things. One the Grammy category was for best Rock/Heavy Metal album. And two the flute IS a heavy,metal instrument!😂
I bought this album on vinyl back in the day, ripped it to cassette for listening to in the car. Quite an eclectic album in terms of the variety of songs.
Hi Lee! Been loving your reactions! I'm a a 74 yr. old Tull fan! Had the pleasure of seeing them often through the decades, even met them in person a few times! The album to album growth and development has always drawn me to them! I like to refer to their music as 'thinking man's music'. Never boring! If I may, I'd love to hear your reaction to their 'Roots to Branches' album! The new drummer, an American, Doane, pronounced like loan! Perry! Peace and Good health! Fred
This album is as close to flawless as any ever. I mean, Ian and co. achieve that quite often. Thick as a Brick and Benefit flow into that category as well, in my opinion. I would also recommend "Life's a Long Song" and "Wondering Again", the one that runs together with "Wondering Aloud". All of Benefit. It's mandatory!
It was this tour in fall of 87 at the New Haven Coliseum when I got a backstage pass and met my music heroes-Ian,Martin, Dave, and Doane(rhymes with zone). Got their autographs on my tour booklet. The keyboards were played by Martin Alcock and member of Fairport Convention who opened up for Tull. I went to Worcester Mass to see them and used the same backstage pass to see them after the show and the bonus was a nice lady took a picture of me and Ian and mailed it to me!
You have to do Rock Island next. This, after COAN, was released in 1989 and I was 13. Pretty important in my life and is a unique bonding trifecta (with Catfish Rising) with my Dad. God, this is so amazing. I can’t wait until you hear Budapest on Side 2. When you get to Rock Island, you are going to LOVE Big Riff and Mando.
I disagree. He will admire Strange Avenues (Where you loose - all sense of direction?) ... And he'll be on his kness with Rock, Rock, Rock - Rock Island. Doesn't everyone has their own Rock Island, their own little patch of sand ? Where the slow waves crawl and your angels fall and you find you can hardly stand ? 😉 P.S. Catfish Rising is waiting already ... 😎
It holds a strange place in history because of the Grammy mockery, meanwhile, it was a VERY good album. Sadly overlooked by many people, even by quite a few Tull fans.
I like this reaction from you and you noticed the difference in their previous albums. I got Crest when it came out and I absolutely loved it because it was Tull ! The next two albums were ok and good but the Roots to Branches (1995) was so different and excellent and the live show was a great show as always with Tull ! Check it out-either the studio version or the live video. Just another great Tull album
His voice was dammaged in 1985 from singing Dark Ages (Stormwatch) that is very straining to sing live. So his voice went down a third or a fifth lower.
If I'm not mistaken, this album won the first ever "Heavy metal album of the year award ". The Grammys have been out of touch for a while. Jump Start is my favorite tune on this album.
The album shockingly beat out Metallica (...And Justice For All) for that first HM Grammy. You can watch a video of Alice Cooper and Lita Ford giving out the award. They were kind of shocked as well.
Yes, they do sound different from other works and like I stated in a post to a earlier reaction , they were one of the few groups in rock history that weren't afraid to re-direct their sound with each succeeding album release. You can however identify the sound as theirs and theirs alone. I always wondered if Ian ever heard the flute humming/playing technique of who I think was the originator of that process: American jazz musician Roland Kirk
Glad we finally got here. Not one of my favorite Tull albums but I do enjoy all of the songs on side one, so that''s a major plus. Of their later albums I think Broadsword & the Beast is my true go-to. "Flying Colours" (It means putting up your war flags or "colours" when going into battle, in this case a fight with a spouse or girlfriend) always gets me head-bumping!
Yeah it finally got unblocked a whole ass month after I posted it. That's so frustrating lol especially when it's an entire album side. Oh well. 😁 glad it's up today when I needed something to fill the void.
@@L33Reacts 23 studio albums ... several compilations and anniversay albums ... a dozen or so Ian Anderson solo albums ... you've done 5 (?) ... @ 3 songs per month .... ummmm ... I might have to be an Alpha once in a while. lol
Jumpstart- my favorite on the album. Listen to Martin jamming on 🎸 with Ian on flute. Oh, and the great lyrics. Gives me chills. Have you seen the video?
Ian did a lot of damage to his voice over the years. I've read before that singing and playing the flute stretches your vocal cords in opposite directions, and Ian did both basically every day for almost two decades by the time we get to Crest of a Knave. Heavy Horses is the first album you can hear a change in his voice that isn't purely stylistic, there's a rasp in his voice that he used to his advantage. And on Crest of the Knave I have to believe that Ian had been listening to some Dire Straits at some point, because he sings in a very Mark Knopfler sort of way on a few of the songs on this album. "Strange Avenues" from Rock Island and "Another Harry's Bar" from Roots to Branches also feature Ian practically doing a Mark Knopfler impression due to the lack of range in his voice by that time. It works though, and Ian pre 2000's was always finding different ways to use his voice as it changed.
As a Frazetta fan, I approve of the background posters. "The Moon’s Rapture" happens to be one of my favorites by him. I've been a Tull fan since 1971. I can tell you there is some interesting trivia behind "Crest of a Knave". Ian sadly blew out his vocal chords during the 1984 Under Wraps tour. His voice was never the same. For "Crest of a Knave", in effort to conserve what was left of his voice, Ian dropped his singing down a half octave. Martin Barre dropped his guitar down by a half octave as well to match Ian's voice. Also, because the album was down to a 3 or 4 piece band (depending on the track), more of the instrumentation was brought forth / made prominent by Barre's guitar when compared to earlier Tull albums. *The Dire Straits Controversy* That half octave drop from Ian & Martin happens to be the same singing / guitar playing key of Mark Knopfler. That plus the more prominent guitar work from Martin Barre made some Dire Straits fans feel that Jethro Tull copied Dire Straits. *The Irony:* Some naive Knopfler fans felt Martin Barre was copying Mark Knopfler's guitar style. The irony is Mark Knopfler grew up as a huge Martin Barre fan. While learning to play guitar, He emulated his guitar playing style after Barre, not the other way around.
@@L33Reacts it wasn't on the UK version of this album. I have been a Tull fan since 1968 have all their albums and seen them over 40 times.... and it's the first time I've heard this track !!!!
Dont know exactly, if catfish rising came Direct after... But the "american" vibe comes better. They reduced the Electronic Sound. Is the album i found my Peace again.
In the 80's Ian decided to take Tull in a different direction. I was a die hard Tull fan in those days, I had everything they made. Gotta say, I didn't like it. Still don't.
Never liked that one, which sounds like Jethro Tull had a baby with Dire Straits and 80s ZZ Top😱. Anything that turns me off, Yuck!🤢🤮 I still prefer the very controversial Under Wraps from 1984 which at least has inspiration on its side, if we ignore the horribly mid-80s arrangements and production (a popular album by Martin Lancelot Barre😉, it must be noted !).
I’ve been listening to “Bursting Out” since I was in high school. Definitely the best band line up at their peak! Actually saw them in 1979… perfection on stage.
@@Rock_Snob Personally, my favourite JT line-up is the one from late 1971-1975, but the one from late 1975-1979 is just as good! How lucky you were to see them at that time, because Heavy Horses and Stormwatch are among my favourite JT albums! (Along with A Passion Play, War Child and "A" too) I had to wait until the Under Wraps tour in September 84 to see the band live. It was really good and I have fond memories of it (the last time Ian Anderson's voice was intact). Much later I saw them twice more, in 1999 and 2001, but it wasn't the same (although not bad, but Ian didn't have his immaculate voice of yesteryear).
@@a.k.1740 they did some of the songs from what would be “Storm watch” then went into all of the songs from “Bursting Out”. The band UK opened the show and they were also excellent. Best concert I’ve ever seen to this day!
Side 2 link: ruclips.net/video/XBU91r_ElPk/видео.html
I've always thought Farm on the Freeway was a hugely underappreciated song. One of my favorite Tull songs ever.
As a fan since 1972...I was actually floored by Crest Of A Knave. Ian had extreme vocal problems in 1984 during the Under Wraps tour, so much so Tull went into a hiatus. Rumours abounded that Tull had dissolved and I was afraid that we had heard the last Tull album. Three years later, Crest Of A Knave is released and I was in heaven. Such a fantastic album...yes, Dire Straits-like vocals (Ian had to compromise with his vocal range), yes some ZZ Top guitars....but uniquely Tull. Brilliant; yes Ian is a genius but so is Martin Barre.....it wouldn't have won the Grammy if it wasn't for Martin's electric guitar.
I've always felt Crest of a Knave has some of Martin's best guitar work. That alone was worth the Grammy to me.
Saw Jethro Tull live twice. Absolutely amazing! Ian Anderson is Brilliant!! ❤
The Grammy Award category was Best Hard rock/ Heavy Metal album
They deserved it! What an album 👏
To be fair, if Lars hadn't removed the bass they would have won
Modern Tull wasn’t sure about this in 87 but after a few of them funny cigarettes it grew on me
I've seen Tull many times. The 1987 tour was remarkable with Fairport Convention as the back up band. Dave Pegg played bass for both bands....he never left the stage.
Damn thats a helluva set! He slept good that night lol
As best I can remember there was a lot of flack because Tull won the Grammy so Ian being the smart ass that he can be took out a full page ad in Billboard Magazine. It said something like to all of you naysayers who say Tull didn't deserve to win the Grammy I'd like to point out two things. One the Grammy category was for best Rock/Heavy Metal album. And two the flute IS a heavy,metal instrument!😂
I often forget how good an album this is - the earlier albums get most of the limelight (not unjustly) but this is still a great album.
Yeah this is one of my favorites of theirs. Out of many lol. This is great stuff 👏
They can play rock, folk, prog, blues, jazz, metal, medieval... They can play anything and everything is simply perfect
Yes! They are their own genre
@@jima6545 right!
I bought this album on vinyl back in the day, ripped it to cassette for listening to in the car. Quite an eclectic album in terms of the variety of songs.
My second favorite Tull album. Aqualung will always be my favorite
Hi Lee! Been loving your reactions! I'm a a 74 yr. old Tull fan! Had the pleasure of seeing them often through the decades, even met them in person a few times! The album to album growth and development has always drawn me to them! I like to refer to their music as 'thinking man's music'. Never boring! If I may, I'd love to hear your reaction to their 'Roots to Branches' album! The new drummer, an American, Doane, pronounced like loan! Perry! Peace and Good health! Fred
Great tull album with catfish rising too
This album is as close to flawless as any ever. I mean, Ian and co. achieve that quite often. Thick as a Brick and Benefit flow into that category as well, in my opinion.
I would also recommend "Life's a Long Song" and "Wondering Again", the one that runs together with "Wondering Aloud".
All of Benefit. It's mandatory!
It was this tour in fall of 87 at the New Haven Coliseum when I got a backstage pass and met my music heroes-Ian,Martin, Dave, and Doane(rhymes with zone). Got their autographs on my tour booklet. The keyboards were played by Martin Alcock and member of Fairport Convention who opened up for Tull. I went to Worcester Mass to see them and used the same backstage pass to see them after the show and the bonus was a nice lady took a picture of me and Ian and mailed it to me!
You have to do Rock Island next. This, after COAN, was released in 1989 and I was 13. Pretty important in my life and is a unique bonding trifecta (with Catfish Rising) with my Dad. God, this is so amazing. I can’t wait until you hear Budapest on Side 2. When you get to Rock Island, you are going to LOVE Big Riff and Mando.
Budapest is in my top 5 Tull songs
I disagree.
He will admire Strange Avenues (Where you loose - all sense of direction?) ...
And he'll be on his kness with Rock, Rock, Rock - Rock Island. Doesn't everyone has their own Rock Island, their own little patch of sand ? Where the slow waves crawl and your angels fall and you find you can hardly stand ? 😉
P.S. Catfish Rising is waiting already ... 😎
I haven’t listened to this album in ages. Thanks! I actually saw them on this tour. Great show! You’re a wise person with your observations.
Thanks Lee, for reminding me how much I enjoyed this album years ago!
Glad to help my friend. Side 2 was even better! Well, Budapest and the part of the machine were amazing. Other then those Two I like side 1 more
Great reaction. I love this album
It holds a strange place in history because of the Grammy mockery, meanwhile, it was a VERY good album. Sadly overlooked by many people, even by quite a few Tull fans.
I haven't heard this album since the 90s. Great album! Roots to Branches even goes beyond this one. The two best Tull albums of the later bunch.
I like this reaction from you and you noticed the difference in their previous albums. I got Crest when it came out and I absolutely loved it because it was Tull ! The next two albums were ok and good but the Roots to Branches (1995) was so different and excellent and the live show was a great show as always with Tull ! Check it out-either the studio version or the live video. Just another great Tull album
Looking forward to side 2. Can't wait to see what happens when Mountain Men hits you.
Oooh boy you're gonna be happy lol I already did it. Here's the link ruclips.net/video/XBU91r_ElPk/видео.html
My first audition too. So heavy, so good. ❤
This is a very very very good album, I love the first three songs, by far my 16th favorite Tull album!!!
His voice was dammaged in 1985 from singing Dark Ages (Stormwatch) that is very straining to sing live. So his voice went down a third or a fifth lower.
If I'm not mistaken, this album won the first ever "Heavy metal album of the year award ". The Grammys have been out of touch for a while. Jump Start is my favorite tune on this album.
The album shockingly beat out Metallica (...And Justice For All) for that first HM Grammy. You can watch a video of Alice Cooper and Lita Ford giving out the award. They were kind of shocked as well.
Steel monkey could easily have been on ZZTOP's Eliminator..... sounds so similar.
She said she was a dancer has a Dire Straits vibe.
Yes, they do sound different from other works and like I stated in a post to a earlier reaction , they were one of the few groups in rock history that weren't afraid to re-direct their sound with each succeeding album release. You can however identify the sound as theirs and theirs alone. I always wondered if Ian ever heard the flute humming/playing technique of who I think was the originator of that process: American jazz musician Roland Kirk
Tull covers Kirk's "Serenade To A Cuckoo" on their first album, so yes, Kirk was a major influence for Ian.
80s keys are a tech boom that really hit tull on this album.
Them 80s keys hit different. Damn Casio lol
Glad we finally got here. Not one of my favorite Tull albums but I do enjoy all of the songs on side one, so that''s a major plus. Of their later albums I think Broadsword & the Beast is my true go-to. "Flying Colours" (It means putting up your war flags or "colours" when going into battle, in this case a fight with a spouse or girlfriend) always gets me head-bumping!
Broadsword is a favorite .. many good songs
Yeah it finally got unblocked a whole ass month after I posted it. That's so frustrating lol especially when it's an entire album side. Oh well. 😁 glad it's up today when I needed something to fill the void.
Can't wait till I've heard every damn album of theirs Cora lol
Said Ashe was a Dancer. They’ve been saying that this sounds like a Mark Knopfler tune.
@@L33Reacts 23 studio albums ... several compilations and anniversay albums ... a dozen or so Ian Anderson solo albums ... you've done 5 (?) ... @ 3 songs per month .... ummmm ... I might have to be an Alpha once in a while. lol
Jumpstart- my favorite on the album. Listen to Martin jamming on 🎸 with Ian on flute. Oh, and the great lyrics. Gives me chills. Have you seen the video?
Ian did a lot of damage to his voice over the years. I've read before that singing and playing the flute stretches your vocal cords in opposite directions, and Ian did both basically every day for almost two decades by the time we get to Crest of a Knave. Heavy Horses is the first album you can hear a change in his voice that isn't purely stylistic, there's a rasp in his voice that he used to his advantage. And on Crest of the Knave I have to believe that Ian had been listening to some Dire Straits at some point, because he sings in a very Mark Knopfler sort of way on a few of the songs on this album. "Strange Avenues" from Rock Island and "Another Harry's Bar" from Roots to Branches also feature Ian practically doing a Mark Knopfler impression due to the lack of range in his voice by that time. It works though, and Ian pre 2000's was always finding different ways to use his voice as it changed.
As a Frazetta fan, I approve of the background posters. "The Moon’s Rapture" happens to be one of my favorites by him.
I've been a Tull fan since 1971. I can tell you there is some interesting trivia behind "Crest of a Knave".
Ian sadly blew out his vocal chords during the 1984 Under Wraps tour. His voice was never the same. For "Crest of a Knave", in effort to conserve what was left of his voice, Ian dropped his singing down a half octave. Martin Barre dropped his guitar down by a half octave as well to match Ian's voice. Also, because the album was down to a 3 or 4 piece band (depending on the track), more of the instrumentation was brought forth / made prominent by Barre's guitar when compared to earlier Tull albums.
*The Dire Straits Controversy*
That half octave drop from Ian & Martin happens to be the same singing / guitar playing key of Mark Knopfler. That plus the more prominent guitar work from Martin Barre made some Dire Straits fans feel that Jethro Tull copied Dire Straits.
*The Irony:* Some naive Knopfler fans felt Martin Barre was copying Mark Knopfler's guitar style. The irony is Mark Knopfler grew up as a huge Martin Barre fan. While learning to play guitar, He emulated his guitar playing style after Barre, not the other way around.
Next one up: “A” 🪈🎹🎸🎻🧨🚀
Dogs in Midwinter sounds like something from Warchild to me.😊
Actually now that you mention it, you're totally right lol
@@L33Reacts it wasn't on the UK version of this album. I have been a Tull fan since 1968 have all their albums and seen them over 40 times.... and it's the first time I've heard this track !!!!
The 4 or 5 times I saw them whenever Mr.Anderson would leave the stage the band would switch to a much harder sound. All great 🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧
Great album! Couldn't believe it beat out Metallica's Black Album gor Hard Rock/ Metal at The Grammy's though.
Now try the real gem of his latter albums- 'Roots to Branches'.
The category was "Hard Rock / Heavy Metal". Obviously, Tull won for best Hard Rock.
Grammy worthy
This album does rock. Bought it day of release and still enjoy it to this day.
I've been jamming this album a bunch since I first heard it. The first side and Budapest is fantastic. And then the unreleased track too is amazing
@@L33Reacts Have you heard the bonus tracks on WC? Paradise Steakhouse is either loaded with metaphore, or Ian's some kind of kinky dude. Lol
Yeah Tull won because of Farm on the Freeway
Dont know exactly, if catfish rising came Direct after... But the "american" vibe comes better. They reduced the Electronic Sound. Is the album i found my Peace again.
I bet Ford Prefect contributed 42 dollars....
In the 80's Ian decided to take Tull in a different direction. I was a die hard Tull fan in those days, I had everything they made. Gotta say, I didn't like it. Still don't.
Can't get past the fact that he sounds like Mark Knopfler, and I don't like Mark's singing.
Never liked that one, which sounds like Jethro Tull had a baby with Dire Straits and 80s ZZ Top😱. Anything that turns me off, Yuck!🤢🤮
I still prefer the very controversial Under Wraps from 1984 which at least has inspiration on its side, if we ignore the horribly mid-80s arrangements and production (a popular album by Martin Lancelot Barre😉, it must be noted !).
I’ve been listening to “Bursting Out” since I was in high school. Definitely the best band line up at their peak! Actually saw them in 1979… perfection on stage.
@@Rock_Snob Personally, my favourite JT line-up is the one from late 1971-1975, but the one from late 1975-1979 is just as good! How lucky you were to see them at that time, because Heavy Horses and Stormwatch are among my favourite JT albums! (Along with A Passion Play, War Child and "A" too) I had to wait until the Under Wraps tour in September 84 to see the band live. It was really good and I have fond memories of it (the last time Ian Anderson's voice was intact). Much later I saw them twice more, in 1999 and 2001, but it wasn't the same (although not bad, but Ian didn't have his immaculate voice of yesteryear).
@@a.k.1740 they did some of the songs from what would be “Storm watch” then went into all of the songs from “Bursting Out”. The band UK opened the show and they were also excellent. Best concert I’ve ever seen to this day!