Jethro Tull - "A Passion Play" Deluxe Edition Due June 2014

I noticed that on my player, the counter read it all as one track, rather than breaking up the various sub-segments (as you can see listed on the video menu). I think voiced a concern about that before, but if you have no monitor, you have no worries.

 

Same here, and this one was tricky. Had to put it in my portable DVD & remember what buttons to push tonget it tomplay.

 

and the other guys, too--they're excellent players, as Tim Smolko points out, but without much if any formal training. One way of looking at that is to say that even the most "progressive" rock music is not really so hard to play.

but it is amazing how some great bands formed organically just from guys who went to school together or lived around the block--the Who, for another example.

 

Yeah, the theme appears in the track designated "Edit #9" on Repeat.

 

Maybe with a little help from some of his friends of the day? I have no insider tips, but some sources suggest this specific line-up contributed more than their share of writing or "arranging" if you will.. Guys like John Evan or the very well schooled arranger D. Palmer, or later Eddie Jobson or Peter John Vetese...

In the beginning also, from IA's own admission IIRC, Mick Abrahams encouraged him a lot to keep at huffing and puffing on the flute until he grasps it.

 

Beat me to it by a second!

Some bits from aPP are not easy to play IMHO. I am still struggling with the time signatures in the introductory dance... Many of Jeffrey's parts are tough! Also check him out on the "War Child" album!

 

well Anderson seems to have been quite gifted as well-- the basic point about Thick as a Brick's composition is that he was writing each new piece of the whole in the mornings before going to rehearsal with the band. They would get it down, then do the same thing again the next day. They thought he had it all mapped out, but he was actually doing it all basically by the seat of his pants! Amazing how it worked out.

not sure how closely APP followed the same method--since they had the Chateau stuff already as a background.

 

For someone who reportedly knew very little about music it is remarkable how Jeffrey could play those parts without mistakes night after night (at least on the recordings I've heard) and do it while running all around the stage.

 

Thanks. This is confusing the heck out of me.

I did look into that after what tootull said above but I don't get it.

The Chateau DVD works fine selecting things as is (why would the album DVD be different and not work but the other one does?). Did your Chateau DVD work and the album one not work?

Second, the display of both DVDs on my TV is the same - the viewable image displayed is in 16x9 aspect ratio, and all the menu options are shown etc.

Hmmm....thinking more....I do not actually have a widescreen TV though; the output display from the DVD player is letterboxed (black bars on top and bottom) so that nothing is cut off and is displayed properly. Do I need to change the player's video output mode from "letterbox" to "widescreen" - which would stretch everything out of proportion vertically and possibly cut things off - I don't understand how that would work but......

...I tried before to get into the player "display" submenu but my player will not let me make any changes to the video mode, the button is greyed out/inactive. I will have to find the manual to try to see if there is anyway to get to this. Wait, maybe I can only change that if there is no disc in it/not playing the menu?? I don't remember. Am playing a CD now but will try to look into it later.....I apologize for this thread detour but perhaps someone else out there might run into this too.

 

I think it odd that the menu on your Disc 2 DVD will work but not the Disc 1!? Do you have access to another player? Friends, family? I would try the Disc 1 DVD on another player. If you get the same result then it is likely to be a faulty disc. If not then it is more likely to be your player at fault or the player settings.

 

Mine worked out of the box.
Just selected DTS and it played fine out of my regular
DVD player attached to my tv.
5.1 PP sounded remarkable to me.

 

I have a Pioneer 563A (SACD & DVD-A) - I get the exact same results as you when 4:3 (Letter Box) is chosen. I cannot change the initial settings when a disc is loaded. Disc must be removed from the player to change initial setting to 16:9. All good in 16:9. I get the same results with a Panasonic F87 (5 disc changer) (DVD-A).

 

I hadn't listened to "Passion Play" for over forty years until yesterday. It was then I remembered why. What an overblown slab of tedious, turgid, pompous horse.... Well, you get the idea.

 

There was a hush ... along the Fulham Road...

Tim

 

Not to argue better or best; (cough) best ? Stand Up ? Aqualung ?

I am thoroughly entertained by these Jethro Tull albums more than any others>Aqualung quad +

• Thick as a Brick (1972)
• A Passion Play (1973)
• War Child (1974)
• Minstrel in the Gallery (1975)

 

"That's like going to the Shoney's buffet 10 times and then goin' boy that sucked!" -Larry the Cable Guy

 

You could have tried any cheap old CD version instead. You probably won't have any problem selling the set back though.

 

My theory on this is simple. At the end of the story, Ronnie is brought back to life. I see this simply as the first things a person might say after such an experience -- a call out to the friends or family who are there by his side. Like "Steve, Caroline, how wonderful to see you again!"

Any reference to a critic or critics who were unduly harsh just doesn't make sense to put here.

 

I finally like this album. Hated it for 20 years while loving the 3 track Chateau medley on the 20 Year box set. Now I love both. I guess like King Crimson's Lizard was to some people, the 5.1 mix brought out the greatness.

 

You would like a turgid horse what?

 

Google translate:
www.stern.de/kultur/musik/phoenix-aus-der-asche-jethro-tulls-passion-play-2126105.html

Phoenix from the ashes: Jethro Tull's "Passion Play"
July 23, 2014,
dpa-starline

Berlin - The loyalty of the Jethro Tull fans to their English prog rock heroes of the first hour usually knows no boundaries. Only when it comes to the album "A Passion Play" (1973) - the seventh work of the band, while the sixth studio album - loyalty is put to a severe test.

This disc is so mysterious and complex as their vertrakte genesis after a fiasco in the studio Château d'Hérouville in southern France. Almost all the critics of that time fell upon the work and in response to the bad reviews said the offended front-man Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull that would withdraw for an indefinite period from the music business.

What was going on? Well, despite the scolding reached "A Passion Play" topped the American charts. Anderson and the band did a few months later on and now it's about time to take on this work again under the microscope. "A Passion Play" is namely back into the local record store shelves and indeed in opulent revamp. The so-called Extended Performance Edition is a beautiful 2CD/2DVD-Paket, bound like a book. It contains the original album and the material of the recordings from France that were reshuffled by the renowned sound engineer and prog rock lovers Steven Wilson.

Thanks to the excellent sound quality, the difficult double album actually rises like a phoenix from the ashes. The thick booklet provides great photos and plenty of background information on the chaotic sessions in Château d'Hérouville where once Elton John his album "Honky Chateau" recorded and Pink Floyd grossed the film music for "Obscured By Clouds". The establishment got Jethro Tull in no way good: The technology on strike and to make matters worse, the band members were suffering under a bad food poisoning, which was probably a consequence of catering.

The Tull material of approximately one hour length from France was finally discarded, and the band has created "A Passion Play" from scratch. The album became a 45-minute prog-rock monument with intricate rhythms and equally complicated texts. At that time gave fellow Yes and King Crimson similar indigestible food, which has long enjoyed cult status. On the Tull album is the way to the old story of good versus evil, God against the devil.

Bright and friendly, however, are the songs from the so-called "Chateau Disaster Tapes" - especially "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day". The pretty catchy song later appeared on the follow-up album "Warchild".

 

Except maybe that the music is dissonant and the voice sounds kind of angry (possibly a reason for the debunked "stay, coward" theory). But I guess this makes as much sense as the "critics" idea.

 

The dissonant music combined with the kind of angry voice tone might explain the "critics" idea (or the debunked "stay, coward!" theory) but it's possible.

 

Tootull, nice article from Stern. I have question regarding this quote "Almost all the critics of that time fell upon the work and in response to the bad reviews said the offended front-man Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull that would withdraw for an indefinite period from the music business". Did Anderson really want to quit at the time or was that a Terry Ellis stunt as marketing fodder for the press?

 

The group was upset with the negative press, so Terry Ellis issued a record company statement that backfired at the time. Ian Anderson quickly disassociated from the announcement - blaming an overzealous press agent. It has been reported Anderson was still upset with the criticism in 1988 when preparing the 20 year set. Martin Barre considers APP to be an important, good album, he considers this time period to be memorable. Adding that problems at the time do tend to taint the memory.

thanks to David Rees (Minstrels In the Gallery - a history of Jethro Tull)