Jethro Tull - Aqualung
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Free Music Notes for Aqualung
Free Music Review: A Classic in Every Way
Hit: 5 Stars
Up until "Aqualung", Jethro Tull was known for their English-folk, blues and jazz-flavored rock music. While some of that music occasionally bordered on harder rock, typically Jethro Tull's music was relatively light and mellow. "Aqualung" caused Jethro Tull to be reclassified as hard rock in 1971.The album opens with the title track. The opening guitar riffs are immediately recognizable. As the song progresses, Ian Anderson uses reverberation on his vocals. The combination of guitars and drums with Ian's vocals placed this song solidly into some of the hardest rock being created at the time. The lyrics are about an old, homeless man with lecherous thoughts. The lyrics are very descriptive and poetic, intelligently written and executed. While the topic could have delved into a moral tale, the lyrics are descriptive rather than lamenting or accusatory or a social policy.
"Cross-Eyed Mary" follows, a story about a lady of the night (or day, apparently). As in "Aqualung", to which this song refers, the guitar riffs are driving to a rock beat, along with Ian Anderson's enthusiastic vocals. Again, the lyrics are descriptive, not judgmental. In an era when many songs exhorted compassion and care, these lyrics observed and described.
After the first two harder sounding songs comes "Cheap Day Return", a return to the acoustic English folk sound typical of Tull's earlier albums. This short song is almost an interlude between the previous song and "Mother Goose". "Mother Goose" is surrealistic and poetic, mixing references to fictional characters and plays on names. The song is largely acoustic and heavily folk influenced, Ian's flute lending a medieval sound to the music. At one point the vocals also harmonize in a folk-like fashion. Near the end of the song an electric guitar provides occasional accompaniment to provide a slightly harder edge to this folk-sounding piece.
Continuing the mellower music is "Wond'ring Aloud", with strings and acoustic instruments. The music is folk; the lyrics are mellow and an enjoyment of life. Before we think the album is going to stay in the folk vein for the rest of the album, "Up to Me" returns to the guitar-laden music of the opening songs. The guitar riffs are recognizable as late 60s/early 70s style, but the Ian Anderson lyrics continue to be obscure and poetic.
The next five songs together make up "My God", a concept within itself that questions religion and the hypocrisy of people that style themselves believers in God. Including are questions regarding buying of salvation and the role of religion in war and life, and whether people in the church are as pure and holy as religion would have you believe. Given current events, these lyrics are as relevant today as they were in 1971.
"My God" begins with guitar riffs that may remind you of Black Sabbath. The song is complex, however, and later the vocals are chants that may be intended to provide an image of monastic chants to the listener. While the lyrics of "Aqualung" were observatory and descriptive, these lyrics are accusatory, demanding to know why religion isn't living up to its own ideals. The remaining songs, "Hymn 43", "Slipstream", "Locomotive Breath" and "Wind-Up", all have a common theme based on religion. Given the light lyrics of the late 60s, these songs all question the role and morality of organized religion.
This album has two faces, "Aqualung" and "My God". "Aqualung" is relatively objective observation. "My God" questions religion. Much of the music is rock, and often hard rock. The lyrics are inspired, occasionally obscure, often poetic, and always intelligently done. If there was a category in rock called intellectual rock, this album would be in it. While this album is unlikely to appeal to mainstream rock fans, the music and lyrics at the time were avante garde, keeping in the tradition of Jethro Tull, and thus having substantial progressive rock elements. A must have for fans of cutting edge classic rock music.
Free Music Review: Weel you can excommunicate me on my way to Sunday school
Hit: 5 Stars
I've just been introduced to Jethro Tull. I love many late 60's and early-late 70s bands, but I never realized that Jethro Tull was this good. At this point, I've heard Aqualung and Passion Play. Both are wonderful, but for different reasons. Aqualung plays almost like a storybook for older people. It takes place in mideval England under the rule of the Church. This story is one about a man named Aqualung and his problems and observations. It is truly great.
The lyrics alone are magnificent because they are intelligent, witty, and serious all at the same time. The lyrics, when I first listened to the album, helped me see how great the music is.
I'll rate the songs for you:
PART I: AQUALUNG
Aqualung: 10/10. This is the first song I ever heard by Tull. Oh, and if you're one of those people like me who likes the electric guitar, one of the best solos I have ever heard is on this song. It could be the best song on the album.
Cross-Eyed Mary: 8/10. Another very good song, but there are better on the album. This one is more dark.
Cheap Day Return: 9/10. A bit of a break from more rock-oriented songs. Cheap Day Return is acoustic and it's quite good.
Mother Goose 10/10. I bet you weren't expecting a song of this nature on such a serious album. Don't worry. You will love this one. It's uppity and a bit witty. Ian Anderson is a genius.
Wond'ring Aloud 9/10. Another very good song [imagine that]that starts of a bit sad, but becomes a good acoustic peice.
Up to Me 9/10. If you liked the title track and Cross-Eyed Mary, this will be one of your favorites, too. It's a very good rock song that quickly gets your attention. I'm sure everyone will like this one. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is because its the only song on the album I haven't listened to from start to finish.
PART II: MY GOD
My God 10/10. Fantastic song. Makes you feel for Aqualung. Electric guitar doesn't start for a while, but it's in there.
Hymn 43 8/10. I am not familiar with this hymn because I don't go to church, but this version is pretty good.
Slipstream 7/10. Not much to say about this one except that it's not bad -- there are much better songs within the album.
Wind Up 10/10. I LOVE THIS SONG. Wind Up is pretty much the conclusion to the album and it is FANTASTIC. Aqualung talks again a bit about his childhood and how he wants to stick it to everyone in his Sunday school who was mean to him or just tried to make religion his life. This song is VERY good. The beginning is slow, but it becomes a little roller coaster after that.
TOTAL : 90/110. yeah.
This is a really cool story that's a bit sad, but you side with the underdog. You need to listen to the entire thing in onw day. Hopefully, all the way through.
The extra tracks are good, but they really just threw them onto Aqualung to make more money -- they aren't required to listen to Aqualung.
The only bad thing about this album is the "remaster." Thay tried WAY too hard to make it sound perfect. As I've said before, records are much better than cds. I first heard this on record and was a bit disappointed with the cd version -- the music isn't quite as clear. Also, I think thay sped the tracks up by a tiny bit. It's certainly good enough, though. They did that on Layla which royally pissed me off.
Anyway, this is a classic which any music fan, period, should own. Trust me -- I listen to everything from Frank Zappa to Pink Floyd to Richie Havens to Jorma Kaukonen to the Beatles to the Who.
Free Music Review: Landmark, milestone, high-water mark . . .
Hit: 5 Stars
. . . or choose your own favorite cliche. Whatever you call it, this album was and is of historical importance, for Tull and for 1970s rock.
In part, that's because it was misdescribed. No sooner was it released than the rock press started hailing it as a "concept album" (prompting Ian Anderson to go to work on the surreal and Pythonesque _Thick as a Brick_ so as to give everybody, tongue firmly in cheek, a _real_ "concept album").
"Concept albums" are frowned on these days (although I like them just fine); nevertheless this isn't one of them. Sure, there's a lot of thematic unity; the first half ("album side") involves homelessness and lechery, and the second Anderson's reflections on the religious upbringing of his adolescence. But a "concept album"? Not really.
But it does reflect a critical stage in the development of Jethro Tull. Bassist Glenn Cornick had just departed and been replaced by Anderson's boyhood friend Jeffrey Hammond; as of the next album (TaaB) Barrie Barlow would replace Clive Bunker on drums and percussion. And crucially, two things were happening on this album that would affect Tull's direction for the remainder of its still-ongoing career: Anderson was developing both his songwriting and his acoustic guitar chops, and Martin Barre was successfully finding his "voice" as a guitarist.
It's something of a cliche among Tull fans that Anderson's songwriting had taken a darker, more cynical turn as of _Benefit_ (the album preceding this one). Well, on _Aqualung_ that bitter fruit is really starting to ripen. There's the title track, of course, for which Anderson credits the lyrics to his first wife Jennie (he lifted many of them from her notes on the back sides of her photographs of homeless people). There's "Cross-Eyed Mary". And there's all the stuff about Anglican-and-perhaps-other Christianity. This sort of thing was to continue through _Minstrel in the Gallery_ (especially "Baker Street Muse"), roughly until Anderson moved to the country.
Anderson was also developing what we now know as "his" acoustic guitar style. There was a bit of it on _Benefit_ but it's really here that we started hearing his acoustic tunes ("Wond'ring Aloud," etc.); we heard some more early acoustic tunes on _Living in the Past_, but that album hadn't been released yet when _Aqualung_ came out.
And Martin Barre had turned himself into the Tull lead guitarist we all know and love. The opening blast of "Aqualung" is quintessential Tull; the guitar solo on that song ranks among rock's greatest; and I don't know about you, but when I listen to "Locomotive Breath," I have to remember to breathe myself.
Now, for all that, this is not my favorite Tull album (or even my favorite _early_ Tull album). But I don't think a month goes by that I don't listen to _something_ from it.
The remastered version is clean and crisp, and to my ear somewhat anechoic. The extra tracks are notable mainly for the inclusion of "Lick Your Fingers Clean" (an earlier version of "Two Fingers," released on _WarChild_ but originally intended for this one). There are also extended excerpts from an interview and remastered versions of "Song for Jeffrey," "Fat Man" and "Bouree", all of which are now available on the remastered _Stand Up_ anyway (where I think the remastering is done better), and a "quad" version of "Wind Up".
Free Music Review: God in a Manless Universe
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't know people. Seems my brain cells got a little scrambled with this one. Let's see....can I sort it out? Man created God. Man formed Aqualung and like creatures were tortured and misused. However, the spirit of creation still lived within Aqualung because, although a man, he was a lesser man. And mankind did not realize the spirit lived in all men. So people, who is Charlie and why did he steal the handle?
It is a chaotic universe to say the least. Ian Anderson- with this one- is searching and trying to make sense of an absurd world. It seems to me that what he is saying is this - that your God will be as good as the sum of your total. Which, by today's standards, is not very good at all.
But.... let's get to the music. When your brain starts to hurt from trying to understand it all, that's when the ears have to do their job. Anderson begins this epic with some downright disgusting, awful creatures i.e; Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary, Mother Goose (screaming). The innocence of our youth is shot with these guys hanging around. Then an important observation in Cheap Day Return - Ian wonders if the nurse treats his old man correctly - she just cares about an autograph. Thus, what, if anything, is the "real" in any relationship. The answer is as diverse as there are people on earth. Ahhhhh..... but wait! Should we ask God to help us? Ian gives himself away and us answers by stating "We are our own saviours" in the song 'Wond'ring Aloud' and by the title of the next song, 'Up to Me'. Good, people, now we are getting somewhere.
Ian finally comes to terms with this faith-based journey with the epic 'My God.' Man has manipulated God. Has made God an excuse for reprehensible actions. However- your own personal God can be as fine or as terrible as you want him to be. After all, "He's inside you and me." God- to Ian - is ever constant. And it is not man who is misused or ignored by God, but just the opposite. 'Hymn 43' reflects this theme. Yes. Life can be a chaotic jumble but, eventually, we will all just "Paddle right out of the mess" as in 'Slipstream".
Life is a train. It's out of control. In 'Locomotive Breath', Old Charlie (Christ?) stole the handle and the train won't stop going, no way to slow down. (I know, I know- that was the lyric). The saga finally winds up with another big message. In 'Wind-Up', nobody can teach you what God is. Or tell you how God wants you to be, or what is or is not acceptable to God. And then....... ahh..... can you feel your eyes opening...just a little? Mankind manipulates God, in order to manipulate YOU! Pretty clever wrap-up that!
As in anything, this is just my interpretation, and, hopefully, an insightful and interesting one at that. On a more personal note, I got a chance to see them perform this on stage at The Fillmore East in New York in the early 70's. Just phenomenal! Anderson at his creative best and probably the best line-up he ever had over the years. I haven't said enough about the music. Very accomplished rock and very worth owning. As an afterthought - my opinions are never concrete and open to change. Thus, if you get this c.d. and don't agree with me- it is all fine. The c.d. begs that you "think" and in that regard Ian leaves it up to you. I thank all of you for reading my review. Gotta go now. See if I can jump off this locomotive!
Free Music Review: The album that immortalized Jethro Tull still holds up 36 years later
Hit: 5 Stars
Progressive rockers Jethro Tull released their fourth album Aqualung in April of 1971.
By 1971, Jethro Tull were a modestly successful blues rock band spearheaded by lead singer/songwriter Ian Anderson, a wild-eyed Englishman decked out in tights and sashes and using a FLUTE as his rock and roll weapon of choice. Anderson was joined by guitarist Martin Barre (still Tull's guitarist today), keyboard player John Evan and bass player Jeffrey Hammond and drummer Clive Bunker (whom left the band after this album was finished).
Contrary to popular belief, Aqualung is not a concept album. However, the songs all have different topics from religion to homeless people to life in general. People always say Jethro Tull suck with comments like "they are minstrel rock", "boring" among others. Tull combined rock with folk so well that they made many a great albums. Here is the synopsis of Aqualung.
The album's opening title cut introduces to a man named Aqualung who happens to be a homeless man. The music and the lyrics to this epic are just excellent on this rock radio staple which is probably playing on the radio as I write this. Next is Cross Eyed Mary which is a rocker about a dirty girl who did things that the good girls didn't dare try. The flute is superb here and Barre's guitar just rocked here. We have a nice short breather, the autobiographical Cheap Day Return which is acoustic in nature. We follow with the folkish-rocker Mother Goose which is another great song. Next is the relatively short but sweet Wond'ring Aloud is next and also autobiographical. Up to Me rounds out the first half and is a great song.
The album's second half starts with the epic My God which is a great song. Next was the album's third rock radio staple Hymn 43 which is a great rocker. Slipstream follows and is a short acoustic breather from the second half which is "pro-God and anti-Religion" in tone. Next is the last rock radio staple from the album the chugging rocker Locomotive Breath and God is referred to as "Old Charlie" and just an awesome song with a superb Anderson flute solo. The album closes with another epic fittingly called Wind Up which winds up this albums in a grand way.
Aqualung was the album that made Jethro Tull stars in the US as it reached #7 on the Billboard album chart and sold millions rightfully.
In 1996, Chrysalis/EMI re-issued the album as a digitally remastered version for its 25th anniversary with many bonus tracks (this remaster was eventually released in the US in 1999). First is the outtake Lick Your Fingers Clean which is a great song. Next is a different mix of Wind Up from the Quadraphonic Version of Aqualung but catchy. Then its excerpts from an Ian Anderson Interview in 1996 which was done for a British magazine but a similar interview was done for the show In the Studio with Redbeard and was slightly more informative but still a great interview. Next is a BBC recording of Song for Jeffrey which is great. Another BBC session with Fat Man is next and is a great version of this old Tull track. A BBC version of Bouree which is Anderson's trademark flute solo closes this re-issue.
Aqualung still sounds fresh and reverant today and this re-issue is recommended!