Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood
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Free Music Notes for Songs From the Wood
Free Music Review: Country Life
Hit: 5 Stars
Although English progressive rock was always more at home in country meadows and village lawns than the â?~big bad cityâ??, Jethro Tull is about as Ye Olde Worlde as you can get. And nowhere else is this fondness green and pleasant lands stated more eloquentl y and passionately than on Songs from the Wood. This 1977 release is a veritable celebration â?" a manifesto, even - of country life past and present (but mainly past). And judging from this magnificent set of songs, delivered with a feisty spirit and reassuring musical dexterity, it doesnâ??t seem like a bad place to be. One look at the lyrics should be enough to banish any misgivings about quality and depth. All the songs are good, but I would specially recommend the title track, Hunting Girl, Velvet Green and Ring Out, Solstice Bells for a trial listen (Iâ??ve always thought they sound a bit like early Kansas). Ian Anderson â?" who is the creative force, vocalist and flautist behind Jethro Tull, â?" is a bit of a genius when it comes to depicting scenarios of ru stic folklore. For novices, Jethro Tull was a major player on the British 70s rock scene alongside Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis. They were also one of the first bands in the world to broadcast gigs live via satellite. Songs From The Wood is, I think, their best album by a long chalk. A progressive folk rock masterpiece. Also check out Minstrel in the Gallery (1974) but approach the overrated Aqualung (1971) with caution.}Free Music Review: One of Tull's Best
Hit: 5 Stars
Looking back on this album thirty years later, I can say that it is one of the great British prog rock albums. Ian Anderson continued the journey taken up with 1975s Minstel in the Gallery. He integrates Olde English folk music; the drinking song quality of the title track, Celtic folk music: the guitar imitating the bag pipe in Pibroch (Cap in Hand), with the classic Tull blues rock sound. This is the first of the last three albums of the 1970s period Tull, which marked the demise of the classic Tull era with Barriemore Barlowe, John Glascock, John Evans and David Palmer, now a full time member of the band. Besides "The Whistler", these albums got little or no air play in the States, which should define them as worthy of a listen just from that persepctive alone. Songs like "Hunting Girl" and "Songs from the Wood" are extraordinary examples of fine ensemble playing; the players are in rare form belting out time changes and playing against each other with clarity and precision. The lyrics writing is is wonderful. The songs portray a series of stories about nature and pagan themes that innocently evoke a bygone day with romantic sentimentality. In this sense, it is an answer to the overt anti-religious sentiment of Aqualung. It contains none of the cynicism of the earlier Tull albums. Re-thinking this album with thrity years of hindsight I can say that it has and will withstand the test of time.Free Music Review: Walking on Velvet Green
Hit: 5 Stars
According to the liner notes, Ian Anderson had just moved out to the English countryside, and was given a book by their manager Jo Lustig on British folklore and legends. These two events combined to influence Anderson to write a more folksy, rustic, and earthy album "Songs From The Wood". To say that this album is good is an understatement, it's phenomenal. From the opening "Songs From The Wood" we are prompted to enter this rustic English countryside and partake of the wonders thereby. "Jack-in-the-Green" is an ode to the English figure, 9 feet tall and covered with green leaves and flowers, to whom an annual celebration is held in England. "Cup of Wonder", while a weaker track still manages to maintain the momentum till we come to "Hunting Girl", a naughty tale. "Ring Out Solstice Bells" became an unusual Christmas song. "Velvet Green", in my opinion is the strongest track on the album. The middle part of this song, with Anderson's darker vocals raises goosebumps, it sounds so good. "The Whistler" is a lighter, happier tune and the fife playing by Anderson is awesome. "Pibroch (Cap in Hand)" seems to least fit into this album, but it's a good track nonetheless. The closer "Fire At Midnight" ends the original album perfectly. The two bonus tracks "Beltane" and the live version of "Velvet Green" are great additions.Free Music Review: a masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
Ian Anderson's voice seemed to get MUCH deeper and even *creepier* for this album. Maybe it has something to do with the updated recording equipment they were beginning to use in the mid 70's. Whatever the case, I love the way the music sounds. It's louder and cleaner compared to previous Jethro Tull albums. It almost sparkles it's THAT good!
Anyway, what matters most when listening to any Jethro Tull album is whether the songwriting is up to par. Fortunately that's completely true with this release. The popular belief back in the 70's that the band stopped being good after the Minstrel in the Gallery album is mind-boggling to me. It's simply not true.
The tasty flute playing/jamming has remained, the crazy all-over-the-place singing style of Ian is still there, and the style of songwriting from all the older albums is also very much noticeable as well.
Again, it doesn't make sense how this album used to be considered a downfall of quality of some sorts. I really don't think so. Luckily in recent years people have approached the album with a more open mind, and now people are seeing just how GOOD it really is.
So basically, if you like all the 60's and 70's Jethro Tull albums, you will like Songs from the Wood as well, guaranteed.
Free Music Review: Brithonic Rock at its best
Hit: 5 Stars
During the mid-seventies, rock-and-roll "dabbled" with Brithonic folklore, ancient Pagan traditions, and the like. Jethro Tull would not be outdone. With Fleetwood Mac cranking out English folks songs based on Welsh witchcraft (e.g., "Rhiannon"), Traffic doing old folk dirges (e.g., "John Barleycorn"), Jethro Tull responded in kind with an entire album covering various themes such as the May Day festival of Beltane (i.e., "Cup of Wonder"), the celebration of the winter solstice (i.e., "Solstice Bells"), the interplay between the pagan sexual revelries and the wilderness, (i.e., "Velvet Green" and "Hunting Girl"), as well songs about mythical folk figures, such as Britian's answer to Pan, Jack-in-the-Green. The album delineates a period of musical growth for Anderson et co., moving away from the "greaser" sound to focus on a more earthy folk sound previously explored in classics like "Mother Goose." To some degree, the folklore tilt of this album was reflected in subsequent albums such as "Heavy Horses" and "Stormwatch" with emphasis on songs like "Weathercock" and "Dun Ringell," either of which would have felt very much at home on "Songs From the Wood." In my opinion, this is one of their more musically rich offerings, and a must-have for any serious Tull collection.