John Evan was one of the first to be given a Minimoog around the end of the Thick as a Brick tour… A Passion Play saw him using two of them in his stage set.
You nailed it on Part 1 when you said Ian had a narrator's voice. He does. On some of his radio interviews he talks about history in detail. One time, he was talking about human migration across Europe like a professional historian.
An olde English medieval tale of God and the Devil during a man’s journey into the afterlife. Ian’s voice sounds like it’s right out of the Dark Ages. -------- England 1345
Yes, Ian is a gem and very British. Although he doesn't stop there. Stand Up and Root to Branches had a Middle Eastern vibe, Broadsword and the Beast invoked Viking imagery.
You're right to really understand this album. You need to listen to a lot more jethro Tull. Almost every album they do is different from the one they did before. Even up to this very day. It's really amazing that with 23 studio albums. Each one is different in its own way. If you want to hear blues, listen to "This was", If you want to hear great riffs, listen to "Benefit", or "Stand Up". If you really wanna hear Medieval, listen to "Minstrel in the "Gallery". You can go on and on, you've got. "Songs from the Wood", or "Heavy Horses", or "Storm Watch". They're all fantastic albums. It seems like they just keep getting better, one after the other. You have no idea how great this band really is. Until you've heard maybe 10 of their albums. And then it will dawn on you that they are probably the greatest band of our generation. And Ian Anderson is the greatest songwriter and poet of our generation. He's really the Beethoven of rock and roll.
So many awesome sounds, i had Thick As A Brick on 8 track tape, another tape i used to listened to on the way to highschool. Awesome reaction Rory and thank you Zennofobic, such an awesome album!! Jethro Tull very unique band all the amazing sounds and instruments. I love his vocals!! 😊🩷🤘✌️
The futuristic elements--I think,that you refer to are mad by the mini mog synthesizer. Popularized mainly by Keith Emerson of ELP back then. Great react to a fab album. Thanks, Rory..love the accent ( I'm in the US). Cheers! T
Inevitably, Jethro Tull lost some of their audience with their follow-up to Thick as a Brick, the more challenging A Passion Play. It was a shame, then, and remains regrettable, now that some folks don’t have the ears or hearts for this material, as it represents much of Ian Anderson’s finest work. His voice would never sound better, and he was possibly at the height of his instrumental prowess: the obligatory flute, the always-impressive acoustic guitar chops, and, for this album, the cheeky employment of a soprano saxophone. If you find his writing oblique or impenetrable, it’s not him, it’s you. The brilliance of his wordplay and the fun he has with the English language is something to savor. It’s a gamble (and/or a conceit, depending upon one’s perspective) that pays off splendidly: a difficult, occasionally confrontational, utterly fulfilling piece of work. Not for nothing is this considered the masterpiece of the Tull oeuvre amongst die-hard fans (an encomium that only adds fuel to the fire for the legion of Tull haters, snot running down their noses). It obliges time and attention to let it work its charms, but the return on investment is worthwhile and ever-lasting. - excerpts from PopMatters
I had forgotten the mad Panto of "The Hare". They presented that live at the show with costumed characters and (nearly) repfised it at the end.of the concert when the voiceover started the "This s the story otf the hare" only to be corrected- Thios is not the story of the Hare who lost his spectacles. This is the story of the hare who lost his underwater breathing apparatus..." to introduce Aqualung. To reflect how weary he was of the tune, Ian concluded it "You poor old song, you see it's only me"
A concept too far imo. Just like the band themselves, i feel that they lost the plot with this album. Unlike the excellent and wonderfully concise 'Warchild', the saxophone grates rather than adds to the mood of the album. Surprisingly, to me at least, some people consider this to be a masterpiece, while i believe it to be a directionless hiccup. Only one album, but one that the band would rather not talk about!
Yep, your opinion...I can't change that. It was the hardest of all Tull albums to appreciate. I actually hated it on my first few listens. It took me about dozens listens to actually become familiar with it, a few more listens to like it, then love it and now adore it. IMO it is a masterpiece. My only quibble was that they overdid the one track concept, which they started on the previous album Thick As A Brick and should have had individual tracks running into each other, which they rectified on the MFSL Gold CD release some 25 years ago. In 1973, as a 14 year old, I had time to listen to it, these days I probably would have given up as there is so much other stuff going on e.g. streaming, social media, etc. As a 14 year old in 2023, let's face it, one wouldn't set aside enough time to listen to it....or am I wrong?
Masterpiece question aside, I actually think the sound here was made especially interesting by the predominance of Ian's saxophone over flute (which choice seems less ironic than on Warchild, though I enjoy it there too). The album would probably be more widely appreciated now and less divisive a release at the time had Ian simply included "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" (pointedly directionless) as a bonus single packaged with the LP instead of an album track, all due respect to the admirable Jeffrey Hammond.
This was my first Tull concert in 1973 at Louisville gardens- I was 13. The album hadn't come out yet and it was really hard to understand what was going on in the plot, and the music- but in the concert, and you can check out some bootlegs of the show, some of the jams are extended and it starts to make more sense with the extended jams with sax- they had to cut them short on the album due to time restraints.
Rory got the brain massage. Welcome to the club. Premise of the album is the story of the afterlife experience of Ronald “Ronnie” Pilgrim. The Album is a great use of metaphor,complex level of special music to give a descriptive feel of the stages of his journey. You’d love a conversation with Ian. Well spoken and a great storyteller.
This album is an entire universe, and has a special place in Jethro Tull's discography!!!!
Thank you for this reaction!!
That's Jeffrey Hammond. Speaking on the hare who lost the spectacles, not ian
This album is an indisputable masterpiece, even among Jethro Tull´s set of masterpieces.
John Evan was one of the first to be given a Minimoog around the end of the Thick as a Brick tour… A Passion Play saw him using two of them in his stage set.
"Well meaning fool, pick up thy bed and rise.... " A musical miracle!
The narration on the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is by the bass player, Jeffrey Hammond. I believe he's from Lancashire.
Ian Anderson is a genius, he created his own genre, making classification or definition impossible.
Ian had been listening to a LOT of the composer Villa Lobos before starting work on this album. It show heavily in his acoustic guitar playing.
Jethro Tull make me happy.❤
Legendary satire . Master musicians .
The hare that lost his spectacles is the intermission entertainment for the Passion Play.
And a pee break/water break.
Its almost like listening to a Broadway play, incredible 😊🩷🤘✌️🌹
24:16 --- they started using synthesizers
You nailed it on Part 1 when you said Ian had a narrator's voice. He does. On some of his radio interviews he talks about history in detail. One time, he was talking about human migration across Europe like a professional historian.
Born in Scotland, lived in Blackpool for awhile.
The story of the hare.... was the voice of Jeffrey Hammond who was from the North of England
Fantastic. Jethro Tull is one of my father's favourite bands. He always said that they made true masterpieces and unique instrumentations👏👍🎤🎻
An olde English medieval tale of God and the Devil during a man’s journey into the afterlife.
Ian’s voice sounds like it’s right out of the Dark Ages.
--------
England 1345
Yes, Ian is a gem and very British. Although he doesn't stop there. Stand Up and Root to Branches had a Middle Eastern vibe, Broadsword and the Beast invoked Viking imagery.
You're right to really understand this album. You need to listen to a lot more jethro Tull. Almost every album they do is different from the one they did before.
Even up to this very day. It's really amazing that with 23 studio albums. Each one is different in its own way. If you want to hear blues, listen to "This was",
If you want to hear great riffs, listen to "Benefit", or "Stand Up".
If you really wanna hear Medieval, listen to "Minstrel in the "Gallery". You can go on and on, you've got. "Songs from the Wood", or "Heavy Horses", or "Storm Watch". They're all fantastic albums. It seems like they just keep getting better, one after the other. You have no idea how great this band really is. Until you've heard maybe 10 of their albums. And then it will dawn on you that they are probably the greatest band of our generation. And Ian Anderson is the greatest songwriter and poet of our generation. He's really the Beethoven of rock and roll.
A most profound assessment, and always good advice to listen to many songs/albums of Tull.
I Concur.......
For an even deeper dive into this you should listen to The Chateau D'isaster tapes. They are on a CD called Nightcap.
It's a story about a guy dying and entering the afterlife. He visits Heaven and Hell and is judged for his earthly deeds. Mad!
So many awesome sounds, i had Thick As A Brick on 8 track tape, another tape i used to listened to on the way to highschool. Awesome reaction Rory and thank you Zennofobic, such an awesome album!! Jethro Tull very unique band all the amazing sounds and instruments. I love his vocals!! 😊🩷🤘✌️
😊
The futuristic elements--I think,that you refer to are mad by the mini mog synthesizer. Popularized mainly by Keith Emerson of ELP back then. Great react to a fab album. Thanks, Rory..love the accent ( I'm in the US). Cheers! T
I like you imagining a great festival with that fanstsy line up. We went to those shows!
Awesome! You put many smiles on my face! I saw this concert in 73.
Killer stuff...
I think they used a Moog Synthesizer to make those futuristic sounds.
Yes John Evan used a Mini-Moog on this album and the next and that was about it for the instrument.
Thank's.
I still have my old DJ version of this album.
Inevitably, Jethro Tull lost some of their audience with their follow-up to Thick as a Brick, the more challenging A Passion Play. It was a shame, then, and remains regrettable, now that some folks don’t have the ears or hearts for this material, as it represents much of Ian Anderson’s finest work. His voice would never sound better, and he was possibly at the height of his instrumental prowess: the obligatory flute, the always-impressive acoustic guitar chops, and, for this album, the cheeky employment of a soprano saxophone. If you find his writing oblique or impenetrable, it’s not him, it’s you. The brilliance of his wordplay and the fun he has with the English language is something to savor. It’s a gamble (and/or a conceit, depending upon one’s perspective) that pays off splendidly: a difficult, occasionally confrontational, utterly fulfilling piece of work.
Not for nothing is this considered the masterpiece of the Tull oeuvre amongst die-hard fans (an encomium that only adds fuel to the fire for the legion of Tull haters, snot running down their noses). It obliges time and attention to let it work its charms, but the return on investment is worthwhile and ever-lasting. - excerpts from PopMatters
Alas,..time and attention seems severely lacking as we evolve[?]
In the groups and artists that you mentioned you can add, Van der Graaf Generator!!!!!
it's Monty Python with a band of merry musicians
you can Guru you can!!! Hope you enjoyed Jethro Tull's "Caress Of Steel" :)
"Another band I wouldn't want to be in."
I had forgotten the mad Panto of "The Hare". They presented that live at the show with costumed characters and (nearly) repfised it at the end.of the concert when the voiceover started the "This s the story otf the hare" only to be corrected- Thios is not the story of the Hare who lost his spectacles. This is the story of the hare who lost his underwater breathing apparatus..." to introduce Aqualung. To reflect how weary he was of the tune, Ian concluded it "You poor old song, you see it's only me"
what an album.In some ways much more sophisticated than THick as a Brick.Lots of wonderful little hook.❤❤❤
I think that's a moog synthesizer.
If Ian Scott Anderson lived 300 years ago, he would be at one level with Bach, Beethoven etcetera ... 🙏🏻 (check out 'Divinities')
Now that you mention it,Barrie Barlow is great!
It's a bit bloody different, that's for sure.
Jeffrey Hammond is the base player.
*bass
A concept too far imo. Just like the band themselves, i feel that they lost the plot with this album. Unlike the excellent and wonderfully concise 'Warchild', the saxophone grates rather than adds to the mood of the album. Surprisingly, to me at least, some people consider this to be a masterpiece, while i believe it to be a directionless hiccup. Only one album, but one that the band would rather not talk about!
Yep, your opinion...I can't change that. It was the hardest of all Tull albums to appreciate. I actually hated it on my first few listens. It took me about dozens listens to actually become familiar with it, a few more listens to like it, then love it and now adore it. IMO it is a masterpiece.
My only quibble was that they overdid the one track concept, which they started on the previous album Thick As A Brick and should have had individual tracks running into each other, which they rectified on the MFSL Gold CD release some 25 years ago.
In 1973, as a 14 year old, I had time to listen to it, these days I probably would have given up as there is so much other stuff going on e.g. streaming, social media, etc. As a 14 year old in 2023, let's face it, one wouldn't set aside enough time to listen to it....or am I wrong?
@@BG-id2cv I think you're spot on.
Masterpiece question aside, I actually think the sound here was made especially interesting by the predominance of Ian's saxophone over flute (which choice seems less ironic than on Warchild, though I enjoy it there too). The album would probably be more widely appreciated now and less divisive a release at the time had Ian simply included "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" (pointedly directionless) as a bonus single packaged with the LP instead of an album track, all due respect to the admirable Jeffrey Hammond.
Warchild is an amazing album.
This was my first Tull concert in 1973 at Louisville gardens- I was 13. The album hadn't come out yet and it was really hard to understand what was going on in the plot, and the music- but in the concert, and you can check out some bootlegs of the show, some of the jams are extended and it starts to make more sense with the extended jams with sax- they had to cut them short on the album due to time restraints.
Rory got the brain massage. Welcome to the club. Premise of the album is the story of the afterlife experience of Ronald “Ronnie” Pilgrim. The Album is a great use of metaphor,complex level of special music to give a descriptive feel of the stages of his journey. You’d love a conversation with Ian. Well spoken and a great storyteller.