What song are you listening to right now? (Page 391 of 391)

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

So, A Passion Play, not universally acknowledged as a master-work in Jethro Tull's canon; it's didn't chart well in the UK (though was a #1 in the US) has always been a bit divisive among fans. Reading the book notes though, it's easy to see why. Following an aborted working session at the acclaimed Chateau d'Herouville (France), Jethro Tull promptly returned to the UK (despite the heavy income tax situation of the day) to commence recording. However, Anderson decided to ditch all the work that had been done in France and to start over, on completely new songs. A bold step, especially with deadlines looming, but the band managed; this was the first time the band had recorded successive albums with the line-up unchanged, so maybe the chemistry was working.

However; this "rush" shows through; while the musicianship across the board is outstanding, there's signs that maybe they were overcooking things; arrangements were very complex with intricate changes throughout. While A Passion Play wasn't strictly a "concept album" as it's released predecessor Thick As A Brick, it came over a very involved "prog" album. The theme it seems, is somebody's journey through purgatories after finding themselves after a road traffic accident; though the songs are very much separate tracks. To my ear though, none have an immediate hook. It didn't help the band, or album that it was debuted here in a complete, live run-through, which also confounded previously loyal critics.

That said, the 2nd disc of this set, the Chateau d'Herouville sessions has Steven Wilson breathe his magic over the tapes that Anderson brought back from France of the aborted original [untitled] album, though from Wilson's own account, he did very little aside from take out some later trimmings and drop a couple of takes of Anderson's flirtings with soprano sax. From these shelved recordings, Skating Away On The Thin Ice of A New Day and Only Solitaire appearing on the Warchild sessions, and the former was a live favourite though very little else was heard until an 11 minute section entitled Chateau D'Isaster appeared on a 20th anniversary Jethro Tull compilation and the later Nightcap compilation.

For me, despite it's unfinished status, this is Jethro Tull in full-flight. Anderson's writing/singing as ever is to the fore, but while everyone else is in fine fettle (a miracle if you read the booklet), it's John Evans who really shines through on keyboards; this is his golden moment. From the pictures of the tape boxes, the 60 minutes of music is labelled up to "Side 3", so presumably this could have been a double album from Jethro Tull, pending the record label having them trim it down, an unlikely scenario given the crest of the wave they were riding at that time.

So, if there's any criticism, A Passion Play needed more time to be trimmed of it's excesses and Jethro Tull wasn't punching over it's weight so much as punching over it's audience's head. It's still a "hard" album to listen to, but casually; you really need to sit and absorb it. As for the French sessions, well Anderson did leap-frog this work but fortunately a lot did resurface in the soon to appear Warchild.

Thanks for all the info Banshee.
I had heard of some of this before. A Passion  Play was an album for me I passed  on getting back in the day. I had a friend who had it and upon a listen just never grabbed me. I  would like to hear the other sessions though and even revisit the album again after many years .

A Passion Play; Warchild; Stand Up & Heavy Horses sets were each re-released [UK] on Friday. Heavy Horses I managed to get first time around, so of this set Warchild was the one I particularly wanted and it seems from availability, so do others. For the content of the box, Stand Up seems to be a little overpriced, so I'm hoping things will cool a little as I'd like to get it as a completist.

The Live album, Bursting Out did have a 2024 40th Anniversary remix/release a few weeks ago, but again, for what it includes in the box, a touch on the pricy side.

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (Elevated edition) 1969 - 2016 remix; 2024 reissue)

I was going to hang back from getting this re-reissue as it's the priciest of the batch and comes with the least audio extras, but the 111 page booklet, and recreated "pop-up" cover makes up for the lack of discs. That, and a handy £10 voucher sealed the deal.

What we have here then is Jethro Tull's sophomore album, and the stories behind it. Coming up to the recording, the band, still a 4-piece at this time were without a guitarist as [diplomatically phrased] Mick Abrahams had left due to "musical differences" as Ian Anderson wanted to shift the band away from Blues as he felt uncomfortable under the banner. At the time, the band could easily have played the burgeoning Folk scene, or the waning Jazz scene: somehow, they seem to find a gap between the 3; the term "Prog" not yet raising it's head. That gave them a quintessential "British" feel, and a good advantage for the US market which they were soon to take head-on.

The search to replace Abrahams took in names such as Tony Iommi (then in the band Earth) and Davy O'List from the recently split The Nice, who Tull had supported previously. With no clash of egos or animosity, neither found a good fit with Anderson, Cornick & Bunker, so left. That Martin Barre was chosen is the stuff of legend as he recounts he had at least 2 crap auditions but Anderson saw a malleable quality and similar work ethic, so Barre was sort of invited to "hang around". Side note, Barre never thought himself a "lead" guitarist, and ironically his preferred instrument was the flute: Anderson & Barre do duet on Reasons For Waiting.

Musically, A New Day Yesterday and Nothing Is Easy are the most Blues songs, probably being the earliest written, but after that, the album steps out into new territory in terms of genre. As the woodcut cover stands out in it's uniqueness, so does the music. All the tracks are Anderson credited though each band member added their own flourishes. It must have worked to give the band a #1 UK album. Once again, Steven Wilson excels at the rejigging; even though the album was recorded on 8-track (heady days of technology), there's been a lot of cleaning and subtle nudging.

As for extras, there's not that much; there's cleaned up takes of the single Living In The Past & b-side Driving Song and an alternate studio take of Bouree. There are also 4 mono track from a BBC session from June 1969. The "main" bonus is a mono recording by Sveriges Radio of the band's 2nd show at the Stockholm Konserthuest in January 1969 and one track from the fist show; To Be Sad Is A Mad Way To Be [with alternate lyrics]. The main set runs well over an hour, despite only 8 songs, but shows the band stretching out on improvised parts, something Barre wasn't really comfortable with at first but the tour schedule they had that year, especially in the US, he soon found his feet. (Interestingly though, the band turned down the opportunity to play Woodstock, with their labelmates Ten Years After.) There is footage of two songs on the DVD disc.

This then, is a springboard album; if the band hadn't taken the leap to do things their way, would they have lasted as long? While 3 of the tracks were regularly featured in the live shows for many, many years, the others are worth a deep-dive.

The Karma Effect - Promised Land (2024)

From one of earache Records newer signings, and joining favourites like Jack J Hutchinson and Kris Barras, comes this London quintet and their own blend of 80s nostalgia fuelled offering of raw energy, infectious melodies. Opener Livin' It Up and track 3, Wild Honey are infectious, intense and catch earworms that have you smiling like a loon, but it's the title track, Promised Land that showcases what this band is about. There's no mistaking the influences of Aerosmith, Poison and liberal doses of Black Crowes.

Livin' It Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWUVCQ1-vAs
Promised Land - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMjtAaFc6Q
Wild Honey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdLcsPzr9aA&t=1s