Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood
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Free Music Notes for Songs From the Wood
Free Music Review: One of the BEST recordings of any genre, of all-time!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a JT fan for over thirty years and hands down this is my favorite recording by the band. Actually, it may be one of my favorite recordings, period! Without a doubt, Songs from the Wood is a masterpiece that stands right up there with any masterpiece from any genre of music.
My wife and I saw JT two years ago and even after nearly thirty years the pieces from SFTW drew the most excitement from the crowd; and from Ian! He got into Velvet Green as if it was the first time he'd played it. GREAT CONCERT!
In Ian's own words found on the booklet that accompanies SFTW: "....one of the best ever Tull albums in my opinion."
The orchestration on this record is so thick and precise that it boggles the mind. I listen to a lot of classical and jazz of all sorts and this recording spanks most others when it comes to the sheer density of the orchestration. There is very little unused space on this album. This recording is not for those seeking minimalism or laid back sounds. Instead it's for when you are in the mood to have your mind blow away by incredibly precise musicianship and compositional inventiveness. Someone mentioned in an earlier review that the instruments sound like they are clashing. They are not clashing, but contrasting in such a complex way that to anyone accustomed to sparse instrumentation(often found in pop) the meaning of these compositions will be lost.
This is very unique music and will probably be most attractive to jazz-fusion and prog-rock fans as well as to the more open-minded classical fans. Even though it has the "celtic folk" flavor I don't think that anyone with a "soft" ear will like it; ie folks that are into soft, new-age celtic. This is NOT anywhere in that style. This is heavy music and those who don't like progressive rock will probably find this album very instrusive.
BTW, Hunting Girl is my favorite piece on the album and one of JT's all-time greats.
Free Music Review: One of the best albums in the history of rock
Hit: 5 Stars
This was the first Jethro Tull cd that I ever heard played all the way through, and I'll tell you that I was just completely mesmerized at the incredible sound quality and instrumentation that this classic album had. I like the whole folk vibe that this album has all the way through it. I'm not sure this new remastered issue could improve upon the superb sound quality that the vinyl and first cd issue had. Sometimes I think they deliberately make the sound quality not so good just so they can keep reissuing and remastering it over and over and over again. Why does a cd need to be remastered if it always had perfect sound quality anyway. I find that when I purchase a new remaster for a cd that sounded perfect to begin with, it always sounds worse than the earlier one. Only go for the remaster if the issue of the cd that you have has a murky or muffled sound quality. That's the only time you should go with a new remaster. I've heard that the bonus track "Beltane" is really good, but I'm not sure that I would want to pay about $10.00 just to get one song, and possibly inferior sound quality to my original issue. This album is really up my alley as far as the feel of the album goes. I just love the songs "Velvet Green", "Songs from the Wood", "Cup of Wonder", "Pibroch (cap in hand)", "Ring Out, Soltice Bells", "The Whistler", and "Hunting Girl". I've always really dug the cover of the album too! This was sort of a comeback album because of the several substandard albums that preceded it. They've never made a recording that has this quality of songs or sound. I've had a few friends that were kind of in to their more commercial stuff, but don't think Songs is a that great a recording, but I guess they're not really paying attention to this masterpiece. If you're a Tull fan and you don't like this one, you're really not a Tull fan!!!Free Music Review: Tull In The Woods
Hit: 5 Stars
I can't believe some of the negative reviews I'm seeing here for Jethro Tull's classic, "Songs From The Wood." And you Tull purists call yourselves true fans? Not in my book. Now, a *sensible* Jethro Tull fan knows darn well that this 1977 release is one of the band's very best albums. Even Ian Anderson himself names it as one of his personal favorites, and why the heck not. For this album, and, inspired by his move to the English countryside in the mid-70's, Anderson came up with some wonderful Tull songs that have an earthier, folkier feel to them than previous albums, adding rustic musical elements to the band's prog-rock leanings like mandolin, whistles, glockenspiel, and bells. Not *entirely* folk, fer chrissake, just a winning, whimsical blend of upbeat, jig-inducing folk-rock. And, contrary to belief, the band still *rock* on this album. Not only does Anderson show his tremendous talents once more on songwriting, vocals, guitar & flute, but Martin Barre delivers some excellent guitar licks, John Glascock's bass is commanding, John Evan & David Palmer's keyboard playing sparkles, and Barriemore Barlow keeps the beat big & strong. From the classic title song, to other cheerful tunes like "Cup Of Wonder," "Hunting Girl," "Ring Out Solstice Bells," "Velvet Green," and my personal fave, the exquisite "The Whistler," this Tull album is a true beauty. Listening to "Songs From The Wood," you can just picture Ian & the boys sawing logs, hunting game, telling stories 'round the campfire, and singing merry songs while passing the ale around. That's how *imaginative* the songs are on this album. So please ignore those annoying naysayers and enjoy Jethro Tull's "Songs From The Wood," one of the band's finest works.Free Music Review: Much better than you could know
Hit: 5 Stars
_Songs From The Wood_ and _Heavy Horses_ are not only two of my favorite Tull albums but two of my favorite albums by anyone, ever. I've had SftW in one form or another since it was released in 1977 and I know every note on it forward, backward, upside down, and inside out. I was _expecting_ to be blown away by the remastered version.And for all that, even _I_ wasn't prepared for the full effect of this thing. My heavens, there's a wealth of sonic detail here that I haven't heard in twenty-five years, and it's every bit as fresh as when it first came out. It brought tears to my eyes.
This will not be a big deal to you if this isn't one of your Preferred Tulls. But if it is . . . well, then, you can safely ignore the silly comments from the peanut gallery and rest assured that this remastered release is worth investing in.
As with most of these Tull re-releases, I don't care one way or another about the extra tracks. It's nice to have "Beltane" (which was released on the big 20-year box set but got winnowed out of the one-CD version). It's also nice to have a live "Velvet Green". But I'd have bought this CD without them. (Not that I'm complaining. And anyway, if you don't want to hear the extra tracks, you can just stop the CD, can't you? Like most CDs, this one has a nice generous break before the "bonus" tracks kick in so that you can do just that.)
And I don't have anything to say about the album itself that I didn't say in my review of the earlier CD version. It's just that in view of some of the reviews this remastered version has been getting, I thought some potential buyers might like to hear from someone who _liked_ the blinkin' thing in the first place and can therefore comment sensibly on whether this new release is satisfactory.
It is.
Free Music Review: Great remaster - timeless album
Hit: 5 Stars
The remaster is great....almost as good as the original vinyl. I am one of those rare Tull fans that has been amazed by every single thing that the band has released. "Songs from...." is one of the 2 or 3 greatest albums by Jethro Tull. Of course, they are all the greatest for me, but this particular release has "Hunting Girl", "Jack in the Green", title cut and the absolutely beautiful "Velvet Green". Ian's acoustic guitar work, Martin's occasional burst of electric notes, Barrie's percussion, and last but best is John Glascock's very rich and deep harmony vocal. Ian finally found someone to sing with him!! John's voice is a perfect compliment to Ian's and it was tragic that he died so young. I think John would have been in the band for years. He was the wonderful continuation of great bass players for Tull - Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond and John Glascock. Such a wealth of talent for one band. If you appreciate John's work on this album then you should check out some of the tunes on "Too Old to.....", he is awesome on that album as well. Overall, "Songs" is one of my personal favorites and one of Ian Anderson's favorites. You should have this in your collection, but then again, "Stand Up", "Benefit", "Aqualung", "Thick...", "Passion Play" and many, many more should also be there. Heck, just start with the 1st album and continue from there. There are very few band catalogs that offer as much as Jethro Tull. A wealth of wonderful tunes.....enjoy