In the song "Taxman" by The Beatles (George Harrison's jab at the U.K. tax system) there's the line "There's one for you, nineteen for me, 'cause I'm the Taxman" which for a long time I thought was hyperbole. It's not. If you lived in the U.K. in the 70's and made a certain amount of money, your tax rate could be as high as 95%. One for you, nineteen for The Crown. So in the 70's, it wasn't uncommon for bands and other celebrities to spend a year abroad in order to avoid the insane taxes. If you didn't work in the U.K., The Crown can't touch your money.
So in 1973, Jethro Tull went into "tax exile". They went to France, to the famous
Château d'Hérouville, to record their next album. This is the same place that Elton John used for
Honky Château (also
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player and
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road). Everyone from Uriah Heep to David Bowie to Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, and The Rolling Stones recorded albums at Château d'Hérouville in the 70's.
The sessions were disatrous. The recording conditions weren't actually that great, not up to Jethro Tull standards anyway, and the band nicknamed the studio "Château d'Isaster". They abandoned the project, and returned to England. Ian Anderson tossed aside most of the material they'd worked on, and instead came up with the idea of doing another concept album, another single work spread across both sides of the LP, only this time he really meant it. He immediately began working on new material, they'd recorded it by March, and it was released on July 13 in the U.K. and July 23 in the U.S. It was the first time that Jethro Tull had recorded two consecutive studio albums with the same lineup.
A Passion Play (1973)
Ian Anderson - Lead Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Soprano and Sopranino Saxophone
Barriemore Barlow - Drums, Percussion, Timpani, Glockenspiel, Marimba
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar
John Evan - Backing Vocals, Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
Jeffrey Hammond - Bass Guitar, Spoken Word (on "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles")
Dee Palmer - Orchestral Arrangements
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My introduction to this album was on cassette tape, with only Side One and Side Two and no other credits, titles, or anything else. That is how I consider the work, just as
Thick as a Brick has different parts but it's all one piece. But I learned while researching this album that it does have a track listing. The timings are different between the various LP and CD releases and remasters, and sometimes the tracks themselves are divided up differently. But this is the original LP track listing according to Wiki, edited for clarity.
SIDE ONE: A Passion Play, Part I
23:09Act 1: Ronnie Pilgrim's funeral — a winter's morning in the cemetery
9:08- I. Lifebeats (instrumental) 1:14
- II. Prelude (instrumental) 2:14
- III. The Silver Cord 4:29
- IV. Re-Assuring Tune (instrumental) 1:11
Act 2: The Memory Bank — a small but comfortable theatre with a cinema-screen (the next morning)
14:01- I. Memory Bank 4:20
- II. Best Friends 1:58
- III. Critique Oblique 4:38
- IV. Forest Dance #1 (instrumental) 1:35
Interlude: The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles
1:30- I. The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles 1:30
SIDE TWO: A Passion Play, Part II
21:58Interlude: The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles
2:48- I. The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles 2:48
Act 3: The business office of G. Oddie & Son (two days later)
9:30- I. Forest Dance #2 (instrumental) 1:12
- II. The Foot of Our Stairs 4:18
- III. Overseer Overture 4:00
Act 4: Magus Perdé's drawing room at midnight
9:40- I. Flight from Lucifer 3:58
- II. 10:08 to Paddington (instrumental) 1:04
- III. Magus Perdé 3:55
- IV. Epilogue 0:43
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Historically, a Passion play depicts the final week in the life of Jesus Christ ("The Passion"), from his arrival in Jerusalem to his capture, crucifixion, and eventual resurrection. It is sometimes referred to as an Easter Pageant. With roots in the Catholic tradition and other Christian denominations, originally they were dramatic presentations, but gradually came to sometimes incorporate music and song to varying degrees.
Jesus Christ Superstar by Webber and Rice is a Passion play. So is Mel Gibson's 2004 film
The Passion of the Christ.
This album therefore isn't actually a Passion play, based on any known definition. But it's somewhat related, due to its religious themes. It is the spiritual journey of one man in the afterlife. Like some actual Passion plays, which can be quite intense and exhausting, there is an intermission, bookended by two parts of a "lighter" non-sequitor spoken-word piece. In this case, "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" serves that purpose. This "play within a play" was cooked up by Ian Anderson, John Evan, and Jeffrey Hammond. Hammond is the narrator.
Question: What is the practical difference between an album which is a single piece made up of smaller parts edited together in an effort to ridicule the whole concept of concept albums, and an album which is a single piece made up of smaller parts edited together but this time
embracing the whole concept of concept albums?
Answer: None, really. All we knew is that Jethro Tull had released another album, and it was another amazing concept album, all one song. This one's darker, with more of the themes in minor keys, and it feels more "serious" whereas
Thick as a Brick had something of a more whimsical feel to it. But there's that crazy break, "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles". And this one has sections with Roman numerals and subtitles (although I didn't know that until just now). But it was generally seen as another album in the same vein, for good or bad. It's what Jethro Tull were doing these days.
As with
Thick as a Brick, response from fans and critics alike was divided, and
A Passion Play generally came up short in comparison to its predecessor. But there are champions on both sides, as one might expect. The album only reached #13 in the U.K., but went to #1 in both the United States and Canada, the second Jethro Tull album to do so.
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Ian says:"The 'step too far' album. We decamped to the Château d'Hérouville in France where Elton had recorded, and had a rotten time: technical issues, gastric bugs… we just wanted to go home. So we did, and had a frantic few weeks of writing a new album. Two pieces made it on to the War Child album and one or two morphed into something more sophisticated, but they never came to light on that album. Steve Harris [Iron Maiden] loves A Passion Play. I'm glad someone liked it!"
From
Every Jethro Tull album in Ian Anderson's own words
Topic: The Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson Discography (Read 37756 times)
