The Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson Discography

[Silent Man]

I was all ears from the beginning with JT. Clive Bunker was the best drummer they had IMO. Barlowe was good (of course), but he didn't have the snappy, dynamic approach as CB.

'This Was' was good, but not that interesting for me. I still like it though, it had that charming miss of discipline from all members - something you don't see today, except for jazz recordings f.ex.

Mick Abrahams had too much blues influence, he would have hindered the prog development of the band, if he didn't leave IMO. Later he formed Blodwyn Pig, which was much better for his particular playing style. I happened to see them live sometime back in the early 70s, it was magnificient, a concert I really remember as outstanding.

[Orbert]

I've never listened to Blodwyn Pig.  I wondered if they were any good.  No reason not to think so, but Abrahams was just one guy.  I agree that Jethro Tull would probably have turned out differently if he'd stay with them.  But my guess is that he would have left sooner or later anyway.  Ian Anderson just doesn't seem the type to share control of a band.

[TAC]

I was all ears from the beginning with JT. Clive Bunker was the best drummer they had IMO.

I'm not into Jethro Tull, so I'm not really familiar with any of these albums, but the drumming has been the thing that had stood out the most to me so far.

[Orbert]

Following the huge success of Aqualung, Jethro Tull continued to grow, and continued to tour extensively. Clive Bunker chose this time to leave the group in order to spend more time with his family.  Ian Anderson once again took the opportunity to bring in an old school chum, this time drummer Barrie Barlow, to fill the void.  As John Evans was now "John Evan" and Jeffrey Hammond was now "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond", Barlow's name needed an embellishment, so Anderson renamed him "Barriemore Barlow".

Except for guitarist Martin Barre, Jethro Tull was now all former members of The John Evan Band from Blackpool.  Also, Jethro Tull now had five albums, by five different lineups.

Thick as a Brick (1972)



Ian Anderson - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Flute, Violin, Trumpet, Saxophone
Barriemore Barlow - Drums, Percussion, Tympani
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar, Lute
John Evan - Piano, Organ, Harpsichord
Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond - Bass, Spoken Word

Dee Palmer - Orchestral Arrangments

----------

Ian Anderson was annoyed by the media somehow deciding that Aqualung was a concept album and continuously asking him about it, so he decided that the next album would be "the mother of all concept albums".  Anderson and the rest of the group were big fans of the British Comedy troupe Monty Python, and decided that the entire album would flow as a continuous piece of music, much as the TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus had a stream-of-consciousness style to it, with individual pieces linked together (often with the aid of Terry Gilliam's animations) to form each half-hour program.

They started with Anderson's basic song which opens and closes the album, and some other bits that Anderson had, and the group came up with a number of additional pieces in the studio.  There was some improvisation, but nearly everything was worked out prior to recording, and it was later edited all together into a single piece of music.  All band members contributed to the music.  Because of the physical limitations of an LP record, the final 43-minute piece was split across the two sides near the midpoint, where they had placed a bit which fades down and then back up again.  The original CD version splices these two pieces back together nicely but not quite perfectly.  Later versions correct this.

There had been other concept albums, but never a rock album which is one continuous composition.  This was a first.  The mother of all concept albums indeed.

And then there was the packaging.  The original LP package had additional folds at the bottom, so that the jacket unfolded into a 12" x 18" newspaper named "The St. Cleve Chronicle".  It is meant to evoke a small-town newspaper and the types of things one might find in a small-town newspaper.  In this case, the big story was the scandal involving eight-year-old Gerald Bostock, who had recently won a local poetry competition with his epic "Thick as a Brick".  Bostock was given the nickname "Little Milton".  Apparently there was some last-minute controversy, and Gerald was stripped of his title, when it was determined that the epic poem was really a number of shorter pieces linked together in order to appear impressive.  (Sound familiar?)  The lyrics to Thick as a Brick are Bostock's epic poem set to music.  Of course, Gerald "Little Milton" Bostock and everything else in the newspaper are fictitious.  Everything in the newspaper was written by Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond, and John Evan.  They say that it took longer to write the newspaper than it took to write the album.



Here's a close-up of the Children's Corner.  Print it out and connect the dots!



----------

Ian says:

"After Aqualung, I felt we had to take a big step forward. Many writers wrote about Aqualung as a concept album, and I kept saying, 'Maybe two or three songs in the same area, but not a concept.' In the wake of all of that, I thought, 'Right, let’s show them what a concept album is,' and it seemed like an amusing idea to go down that route in this Pythonesque way and to try to use surreal humour. It clicked in America, which was a surprise, and it was our first real foray in that sort of theatrical presentation."

From Every Jethro Tull album in Ian Anderson's own words

[KevShmev]

I love the first 10 minutes or so of Thick as a Brick, but it loses the plot quickly after that and just kind of meanders along till it ends.  It definitely sounds like Anderson went out of his way to write a super long song rather than it coming out and flowing organically and naturally.

[jammindude]

I adore every single second of this album. More in the morning. I’m tired.

[ChuckSteak]

I adore every single second of this album.

2

[Evermind]

Top 10 album ever for me. I was fortunate enough to see Ian performing it live six years ago (or so), and it was a blast.

[Indiscipline]

Leave it to Ian Anderson's unique brand of wit to commence a 40 plus minutes song with the stanza: "Really don't mind if you sit this one out" 

For at least a decade I discarded side B except for the drum solo, then it finally clicked, and I never looked back.

The children corner page has been my greatest temptation as a kid; defacing dad's album would have meant - best case - being sold to slave child traffickers.

[DragonAttack]

^
 
(so you never found out why Fluffy the Duck was slobbering? )

It really helped me when I came across a website eons ago that had the album broken down into:
SIDE ONE
Thick As A Brick  3:01 / A Son Is Born To Fight  3:06 / The Poet And The Painter  4:20 / What Do You Do?  2:02 / Down From The Upper Class  3:51 /
You Curl Your Toes In Fun  1:03 / Come On Ye Childhood Heroes  3:41 / Fadeout  1:21
SIDE TWO
A Son Is Born For Peace  4:02 / Clear White Circles Of Morning  2:28 / Do You Believe In The Day?  4:27 / Post Day Instrumental  1:52 /
Let Me Tell You The Tales Of Your Life  2:01 / Building Castles  3:10 / Childhood Heroes- Thick As A Brick finale  3:05 
(times are very, very close approximations)

I know the remaster has the 'song' broken down differently.  Being able to jump about, hearing the first three 'tracks', then on to 'Do You Believe In The Day' (beautifully done song) might be the way for those who don't want some of the repetitive music of the differing themes of the younger 'son'.

For a shorter, six minute radio friendly version, there is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9bk2MrMGaA

There are many shorter live versions available, including the 'Bursting Out' version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqlbayGMn2w 

#1 in the US and many other countries, #5 in the UK. 

[Orbert]

Leave it to Ian Anderson's unique brand of wit to commence a 40 plus minutes song with the stanza: "Really don't mind if you sit this one out" 

I've always loved that.  Chuckled the first time I heard it, because I knew what was coming.


Back in high school, I managed to find a used copy of the original LP package, complete with the newspaper, and no one had done the Children's Corner connect-the-dots yet.  Because I had no concept that the package might become a collector's item someday, and probably was really high at the time, I did the connect-the-dots.  Wrote with a pencil right on the newspaper, seriously lowering its collector's value.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'd never sell it anyway.  If things ever get so bad that I end up selling my vinyl collection or any part of it in order to eat, maybe, but I don't see that day ever coming.  In the meantime, I did the puzzle and it was fun, so I'm glad I did it.  I don't like having somewhat rare things just because I can look at them and think "This is worth $xxx".  I like having them because I like them and think they're cool.  The newspaper jacket is cool, that's all.  The fact that someone somewhere might think it's worth $xxx doesn't really figure into it.  Same with the rest of my vinyl and other collectable stuff.  Doesn't matter what it's supposedly worth, because I'm not going to sell it anyway.

[LudwigVan]

Between the pop up on Stand Up, the striking paintings on Aqualung and the weirdness of the newspaper on TAAB, this thread has made me nostalgic for the lost art of the album cover. Half the joy was unwrapping the shrink and opening up those glorious gatefolds for the first time.

Like most people, it took some time for me to warm up to TAAB, but I love it now. There is a lot of quirky music here that takes some effort from the listener to connect to. I remember reading about the band members complaining about how TAAB was a bitch to play live in its entirety.

[jammindude]

I have the original release on vinyl and I’m almost positive the newspaper is fully intact and unscathed. But I don’t think the record itself is in very good shape.  I picked it up mostly because it was the only one I had ever seen with the fully intact original newspaper. 

[TAC]

Huh, I never realized the album was only two songs, or ONE song. I've heard the radio version of Thick As A Brick. OK, well onto the album...

It really helped me when I came across a website eons ago that had the album broken down into:
SIDE ONE
Thick As A Brick  3:01 / A Son Is Born To Fight  3:06 / The Poet And The Painter  4:20 / What Do You Do?  2:02 / Down From The Upper Class  3:51 /
You Curl Your Toes In Fun  1:03 / Come On Ye Childhood Heroes  3:41 / Fadeout  1:21
SIDE TWO
A Son Is Born For Peace  4:02 / Clear White Circles Of Morning  2:28 / Do You Believe In The Day?  4:27 / Post Day Instrumental  1:52 /
Let Me Tell You The Tales Of Your Life  2:01 / Building Castles  3:10 / Childhood Heroes- Thick As A Brick finale  3:05 
(times are very, very close approximations)

Thank you for this breakdown.

[TAC]

OK. Well that was a fucking earful.

I didn't recognize anything from the radio, other than the opening part.
I didn't find the first half having a ton of flow, and I found the damn flute a bit distracting in parts.
The last 8 minutes or so of Side 2 rocked pretty good.

After just one listen, my first impression is that it would be a stretch to call this one song. I didn't feel any cohesion at all. It's like calling 6 D's one song, when it's clearly 8 defined different ones.


But there were definitely a shitload of really cool parts. I definitely didn't not like it. I'm not sure I can promise myself more listens, but I'm pretty sure it would improve with each one.

[jammindude]

OK. Well that was a fucking earful.

I didn't recognize anything from the radio, other than the opening part.
I didn't find the first half having a ton of flow, and I found the damn flute a bit distracting in parts.
The last 8 minutes or so of Side 2 rocked pretty good.

After just one listen, my first impression is that it would be a stretch to call this one song. I didn't feel any cohesion at all. It's like calling 6 D's one song, when it's clearly 8 defined different ones.


But there were definitely a shitload of really cool parts. I definitely didn't not like it. I'm not sure I can promise myself more listens, but I'm pretty sure it would improve with each one.

Look, let’s put aside the fact that you’re wrong and just please not start this **** again. 

[DragonAttack]

Lyric page

http://www.collecting-tull.com/Albums/Lyrics/ThickAsABrick.html

[Stadler]

Probably because it was never a big part of the live shows I've seen, nor the box sets I have, I haven't ever gotten into this much.  I'm not sure I've ever heard it all the way through, to be honest.  Just the "edits" from the best ofs.  I might give this a listen if I have an hour block to share.

[Orbert]

I never have trouble listening to Thick as a Brick all the way through.  To me, it's similar to Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans, or Transatlantic's The Whirlwind.  I don't put it on unless I'm planning to listen to the whole thing, which means I've already decided that I'm in the mood for it and have set aside the time to listen.  I'm not suggesting that anyone "force" themselves to listen to it and try to appreciate it, but obviously going into it with an open mind will certainly help.

The music changes throughout, and I find the piece overall to be more cohesive than many give it credit for.  The 6/8 pattern returns often, and it leads to different variations.  No large-scale piece of music is literally a single concept from start to finish, except maybe "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which is literally just a regular song with a ridiculously long solo.  I suppose you could write a song with 100 verses and call that an epic, too.  But if the music changes as you go through the different movements of the song, then people are quick to say "See, this is where they spliced into a different section."  Well, good for you!  So it's not "really" a single piece of music because you can tell where the sections fit together?

Anderson freely admits that the whole thing is meant to be a bunch of stuff put together in order to appear impressive.  That's the whole point of "Little Milton" Bostock being disqualified from the poetry competition.  The judges decided that the epic poem is really just a number of shorter pieces put together.  The entire thing is a satire of prog rock epics, before we even called them prog rock epics.

[Silent Man]

I never have trouble listening to Thick as a Brick all the way through.  To me, it's similar to Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans, or Transatlantic's The Whirlwind.  I don't put it on unless I'm planning to listen to the whole thing, which means I've already decided that I'm in the mood for it and have set aside the time to listen.  I'm not suggesting that anyone "force" themselves to listen to it and try to appreciate it, but obviously going into it with an open mind will certainly help.

The music changes throughout, and I find the piece overall to be more cohesive than many give it credit for.  The 6/8 pattern returns often, and it leads to different variations.  No large-scale piece of music is literally a single concept from start to finish, except maybe "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which is literally just a regular song with a ridiculously long solo.  I suppose you could write a song with 100 verses and can that an epic, too.  But if the music changes as you go through the different movements of the song, then people are quick to say "See, this is where they spliced into a different section."  Well, good for you!  So it's not "really" a single piece of music because you can tell where the sections fit together?

Anderson freely admits that the whole thing is meant to be a bunch of stuff put together in order to appear impressive.  That's the whole point of "Little Milton" Bostock being disqualified from the poetry competition.  The judges decided that the epic poem is really just a number of shorter pieces put together.  The entire thing is a satire of prog rock epics, before we even called them prog rock epics.

Due to this thread, I gave TAAB a spin today. And it was good, really good. I especially enjoyed the parts with acoustic guitar, very tasteful playing by IA, I believe.

On a side note, I went frequently to a local youth club in the 70s. They played music there (of course), and 3 albums were played again and again. And again. They were 'Truth' with Jeff Beck, 'Ahead Rings Out' with Blodwyn Pig and then...'In-A-Gadda-Davi-Da' with Iron Butterfly. I can't express how much I hated that album, and still do today. It's simple playing, simple awful singing, simple everything. But what can you say, ppl have different tastes. The two first mentioned, however, I loved to death and still do today.

[Orbert]

Exactly.  Different people have different tastes.  I personally have different tastes every day, because it's a different day and I'm a different person.

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean.  I just think it's cool that you listened to Thick as a Brick and liked it.  And different people have different tastes.

[Orbert]

Also, I find it kinda funny that I mentioned "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" here, and then I went over to the Movie thread and Stadler had mentioned the same song there, also as an example of taking something "normal sized" and bloating it up and out for no reason other than that they could.

[TAC]

The music changes throughout, and I find the piece overall to be more cohesive than many give it credit for.  The 6/8 pattern returns often, and it leads to different variations.  No large-scale piece of music is literally a single concept from start to finish, except maybe "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which is literally just a regular song with a ridiculously long solo.  I suppose you could write a song with 100 verses and can that an epic, too.  But if the music changes as you go through the different movements of the song, then people are quick to say "See, this is where they spliced into a different section."  Well, good for you!  So it's not "really" a single piece of music because you can tell where the sections fit together?

Anderson freely admits that the whole thing is meant to be a bunch of stuff put together in order to appear impressive.  That's the whole point of "Little Milton" Bostock being disqualified from the poetry competition.  The judges decided that the epic poem is really just a number of shorter pieces put together.  The entire thing is a satire of prog rock epics, before we even called them prog rock epics.

Not sure if this was directed at me O, but that was just my first impression as I have never heard it before. I guess the bolded part of what Anderson said kind of conforms that impression.

And I don't mean it to rag on it by any means, just an observation. I'm sure with additional listens, it all clicks and flows much better.

[Orbert]

That wasn't directed at you specifically, TAC, but only because lots of other people have said pretty much the same thing, so I was kinda refuting the point in a general way.  It was going to come up sooner or later.  I'm glad you're still following and listening with an open mind.

I'm just saying that it's not a bad thing when there are abrupt changes, and too many people have pointed out the changes to me as some kind of "proof" that a larger piece is made up of obvious smaller pieces.  You didn't say that, so my comment was pre-emptive, but again, it was going to come up sooner or later.  For this album, I chose to limit my own comments about the work itself.  I wanted to see how the comments about its length and structure came up naturally, and respond accordingly.

I think it's musically quite an accomplishment when you can juxtapose different ideas and make it "work".  Sometimes it's quite jarring, and meant to be that way.  Sometimes it's more subtle, and meant to be that way.  So I listen to longer pieces of music and note where the changes are, not really to literally "take it apart" but out of a genuine interest in how it's all put together.  In my amateur career as an arranger (such as it is), I'm challenged sometimes to do similar things, so any opportunity to study and learn is welcome.  It almost always leads me to a greater appreciation for what the real masters have done.

So in a way, my rebuke is ultimately directed at those judges who disqualified poor Gerald Bostock from the poetry competition because "Thick As A Brick" is made up of smaller pieces.  Milton didn't write "Paradise Lost" all in one sitting, either.  It was published in ten books, with over 10,000 lines, so it too is quite obviously composed of smaller pieces.

[Stadler]

One can read into Tull almost infinitely, and at some point we have to say that "enough is enough; he is and was a '70's rock star, so some of this is just dumb luck", but I thought - and this fits with Anderson's general sardonicism towards the musical establishment - that the critics calling him "Little Milton" then rejecting him on grounds that weren't totally in keeping with the facts on the ground was Anderson taking a jab at the critics themselves.

If that was said already I apologize, but...

[Orbert]

I don't usually include compilation albums in discographies, but this one is an exception.

Living in the Past (1972)



A Song for Jeffrey (remix of album track from This Was) 3:18
Love Story (stereo remix of 1968 UK single) 3:00
Christmas Song (stereo remix of 1968 UK single) 2:56
Living in the Past (stereo remix of 1969 UK single) 3:18
Driving Song (stereo remix of 1969 UK single) 2:37
Bourée (Bourrée in E minor by Bach arr. Jethro Tull) (from the album Stand Up) 3:40
Sweet Dream (stereo remix of 1969 UK single) 4:00
Singing All Day (previously unreleased, recorded in 1969) 3:03
The Witch's Promise (stereo remix of 1970 UK single) 3:48
Teacher (remix of track from the US version of Benefit) 4:06
Inside (from the album Benefit) 3:42
Just Trying to Be (previously unreleased, recorded in 1970) 1:34
By Kind Permission Of (instrumental – John Evan, previously unreleased) 10:07
Dharma for One (Anderson/Clive Bunker, previously unreleased) 9:55
Wond'ring Again (previously unreleased) 4:11
Locomotive Breath (from the album Aqualung) 4:24
Life Is a Long Song (from 1971 UK EP) 3:17
Up the 'Pool (from 1971 UK EP) 3:09
Dr. Bogenbroom (from 1971 UK EP) 2:58
From Later (instrumental, from 1971 UK EP) 2:06
Nursie (from 1971 UK EP) 1:35

----------

As noted earlier, Jethro Tull released numerous non-album singles in the early years, as was quite common at the time.  The various CD remasters include most of these as bonus tracks if they're from the same sessions, or were recorded around the same time.  This album also collects most of them, but not all of them, in one package.  It also includes some album tracks, some alternate or new mixes, and some previously unreleased material.  Among the previously unreleased tracks are two somewhat longer pieces ("By Kind Permission Of" and "Dharma for One") which were recorded live and formed Side Three of the original double LP.  Jethro Tull did not have an official live album out yet, so one might think that this would be something to fill that gap, but these two tracks are definitely meant to show another side of Tull.

Because it doesn't include all of the singles, and not enough live material to really present live Jethro Tull in that setting, I'm not really sure what the "point" of this album was, other than to get some more Tull music out there.  Thick as a Brick was definitely not a normal album, and as we'll see shortly, neither was the album which followed.  Radio edits were made of "Thick as a Brick" (the song), but I can't find any information about how well it charted.  So perhaps this was as good a time as any for a bizarre, quasi-compilation album.  From Ian Anderson, I suppose this should not be surprising.

The title comes from the song "Living in the Past" which was a non-album single.  It reached #3 in the U.K. back in 1969, but did not chart in the U.S. until its release on this album, three years later.  It reached #11 on the Billboard Top 20 in the U.S.  It's notable for being one of the few pop songs in 5/4 time to chart in the U.S.  (Trivia: Name another!)

The packaging of the original LP release is quite impressive.  The outer jacket is thick, and slightly larger than the standard 12" LP cover.  It housed not only two LPs, but also several pages of high-quality photographs.  Overall, the presentation is meant to evoke a photo album collection, a very nice one.




This was my first Jethro Tull album.  Yeah, be jealous.  I have the original LP release in pristine condition, and best of all, I got it free.  My mom organized one of those multi-family rummage sales at the community center across the street from our house, and my sisters and I all "volunteered" to work it with her.  There was a bin of used records which someone had donated, and my mom told me I could pick five of them before the sale began, as my compensation.  This was my introduction to Jethro Tull.

I have to be honest, I didn't dig it at first.  Not my usual thing, lots of weird stuff.  Even the live side, which I thought I'd like more because they were longer tracks, hopefully more proggy, didn't grab me.  Looking back, I just wasn't ready for this level of esoterica.  Again, I'm not quite sure who the target audience is here.  It does serve as a nice primer to the band, with its variety of early singles.  Even Tull fans of the time might not have all of them, as there were so many.  The live tracks (which I appreciate more now) would likely appeal mostly to completists and hardcore fans.

[jammindude]

I have two copies of this. And I’m pretty sure one is the first pressing. It’s the one that looks a little bit more like a hardbound book. But it’s on chrysalis records, and I thought he was still on Reprise for the first pressing? I’m not sure when the transition of record labels took place.

If the first pressing was done on chrysalis records, then I’m 99.9% sure that I have one in near mint condition

[Orbert]

From the Jethro Tull website:

----------

In the United States, Living in the Past was the first Jethro Tull album to appear on the Chrysalis Records label; while each of the band’s previous albums were marked as “a Chrysalis Production”, the albums were released by Warner Bros. Records’ Reprise Records subsidiary. Early U.S. editions of Living in the Past bore both a Chrysalis catalogue number (2CH 1035) and a Reprise catalogue number (2TS 2106), suggesting that the album was scheduled to appear on Reprise Records but that Chrysalis gained control of the band’s USA releases in late 1972.

----------

I just checked mine.  It has both logos, so it's a first edition as well.  Cool. 

[jammindude]

Oh awesome! Thank you! You just confirmed mine is as well.

And I also got mine for free! It was one of the records that I inherited from a dear friend of mine who ran a record store out of his garage. When he passed away about six or seven years ago his son enlisted my help in cataloging over 100,000 pieces in his collection and told me that I could pretty much take anything I want with a street value of less than 20 bucks or so (give or take a few bucks. He had things that were worth far far more) I think I grabbed this one with permission just seeing it was Jethro Tull and not really knowing exactly what it was.

[Orbert]

That's awesome!  We pretty much did the same thing, obtaining it gratis in exchange for services rendered.

[jammindude]

Just out of curiosity, is that picture of yours personally, or is that a stock photo from somewhere? I ask because my copy shows very little signs of outer wear and tear. Maybe just some minor scuffs around the edges. But the goldleaf imprinting is very faded to the point of being nearly illegible. I’m just wondering if that age or maybe the fact it was never kept in a plastic sleeve.

[Orbert]

Those are pictures I found online, but mine looks similar.  The gold leaf is a little faded, but still quite legible.

[TAC]

This was my first Jethro Tull album.  Yeah, be jealous.  I have the original LP release in pristine condition, and best of all, I got it free.  My mom organized one of those multi-family rummage sales at the community center across the street from our house, and my sisters and I all "volunteered" to work it with her.  There was a bin of used records which someone had donated, and my mom told me I could pick five of them before the sale began, as my compensation.  This was my introduction to Jethro Tull.

I love that!

[Stadler]

I don't have cool stories or artifacts like Orbert or Jammin, but this is MY first Tull record too, albeit on CD (and thus missing "Bouree" and "Teacher"). 

I LOVE these songs.  LOVE them.  This is one of my favorite Tull records, even such that it is.

[Indiscipline]

  It's notable for being one of the few pop songs in 5/4 time to chart in the U.S.  (Trivia: Name another!)

Mission Impossible Theme