Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses: New Shoes Edition, 5-disc set (9 February 2018)

They were at least still fine in 1993 for the Box set remix.

Count me to the people who really love A

 

A doesn't sound fine at all... Broadsword on the other hand does.

 

I agree that Broadsword sounds better than A. But both can benefit from magic touch of Mr. Wilson.

 

My interest in Tull drops significantly with the loss of Evans, but I’ve always preferred what Jobson did on A to Vettese’s work and tones on the next few albums.

 

I have no issue with Jobson as a player, but I never felt he was well-utilized in Tull. Vettese at least uses synths to, mostly, sound like things that are "not of this world." Jobson stayed closer to the kinds of things you could do on an organ or piano with a lot of his playing and there was less of that "weird factor." Not really bad, but kind of defeats the purpose of adding all those gadgets in the first place. Play a bloody piano if that's the sound you're after!

 

Tull is in my top five bands of all-time, and I have all the special edition boxes, but the only ones I want them to release in the future like this are This Was, Stormwatch, and Broadsword. I wouldn’t buy A, Under Wraps, or any of the other albums in this format. Wouldn’t be worth the money for me. Oh yeah, I would also like Benefit in the book format.

 

Broadsword was Tulls first crappy recording imo. This can be the most rewarding Wilson remix

 

I will say that Eddie was amazing on the 'A' tour. That was an interesting show because it was the first to kind of break with the typical folkie fare. They did some really weird stuff like the mad, strobed out 'Uniform' dance and Eddie was front and center throughout. He did a long violin solo about halfway through the show that was quite breathtaking and his keyboard playing was consistently great. 'A' was not my favorite Tull album so my expectations for the show weren't super high, but it turned out to be very memorable and a lot of what I remember is Eddie.

 

All this talk of A prompted me to fire up the 2004 remaster.
Many classic songs on there, just as good as previous Tull (and certainly better than some of the bonus tracks that some of you prefer to the album tracks ). Martin is on fire, great riffs, many catchy melodies... Even the couple of duds (Batteries Not Included, Uniform...) have their moments.
I guess that apart from the change in line-up, the bad reputation of this album comes from the horrible production and mixing, plus the change towards a more electronic sound and the less than optimal track order... I don't think And Further On is a strong closing track.

Anyway I think it would greatly benefit from a remix.

 

Love uniform

 

A 2018 Heavy Horses vinyl has half-appeared on Amazon UK for just 14.42. Clicking on it brings you to a page where the price is listed but no seller -therefore you can’t order it just yet.

 

Totally agree on all these things. Except closing track. And Further On is not bad closing track in my opinion. Lyrically it fits, and for me also musically, quite tranquil closing piece. But thats just cosmetic thing. A is in desperate need of good remix. Maybe than can more people appreciate it.

 

Hey Plan, are you expecting anything extra for Stormwatch other than the 6 known extras we’ll be getting? Apocalypse?

 

I wouldn't know just yet.

 

I think the last time I played it was the year it came out. I’m not even sure I own it anymore. It’s been so long that all I really remember is Pine Martin Jig was great and 4WD was especially awful.

 

I am not a fan of Bursting Out yet love this concert. Go figure.

 

I love 4WD, I listen to it loud. I have no shame.
Many tracks on this album do have a definite groove, this is one of them.

 

“A” has probably been my single most anticipated release in the series. It was one of the first Tull albums I heard so it has a special place in my heart, but the sound leaves a lot to be desired. Interestingly, Steven Wilson’s drummer Marco Minnemann listed A among his favorite drum albums. Nice to know there are other fans.

 

There are at least four tracks on the album which are top drawer stuff! It might be the sleeper in these box sets with some additional material hopefully?

 

I’m not sure what outtakes from the “A” sessions have already been released to date. Anyone?

 

4wd is strong apart from the lyrics lol. You gotta get into Uniform. Kicks ass

 

None. But the period between A and Broadsword have many outtakes that were released on Nightcap.

Btw i LOVE A. And i really like it’s sound too.

I know many would like a remix of Broadsword to completely “de-80s” the mix. But beware that sometimes an album with a distingtive sound also works because of that sound. Perhaps there is i certain glue in the big drum sound that makes the simple grooves of Broadsword glue together. Without the big sound they may sound too simplistic.

 

I'm happy enough with the drums of 2/3 of the Broadsword songs. It's just the other 2 or 3 are a fair bit louder or just have a much worse sound. If they are toned down to match the rest of the songs I'll enjoy those song so so so much more. Beastie is potentially a cool song but I just can't listen to it with the drum sound it has. Major turn off imo

 

"4 WD" is a fun groove but the lyrics are really awful, although I think they may be deliberately awful. I am a big fan of Jobson's work with UK so a melange between Jobson and Tull works especially well for me. "And Furhter On" is my favorite but I also like "Fylingdale Flyer", "Working John Working Joe" (I prefer this version to the one who recently surfaced from the "Songs from the Wood" sessions), "Black Sunday", "Uniform" and "The Pine Marten's Jig" (where Jobson's excellent distorted violin solo is often mistaken for an electric guitar).

I understand the sadness for the fact that the late 70s line-up of Tull disbanded and I think part of the problem accepting the 1980 band could be their uniforms: they really are BAD LOOKING. But I think this line-up deserves a better treatment in Tull's history: they were great and they kicked ass in concert. Mark Craney, may he rest in peace, was a fantastic drummer.

 

That's how I see it. There's a bit of off-beat humour and double-entendre, like I'm In Love With My Car by Queen.