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

Sorry SB, I misread that you were talking about Steven and not Ian. Of course, like I posted above, he did have Gavin Harrison overdub drums on his own second album. Up The Downstair - Steven Wilson

 

I agree. Lots of potential extras. And as for potential sound quality, just listen to the original US LP. It's un-friggin-believably great!

 

IMO, a it's a mediocre album that could at least have risen to the level of "good" had the best 10 songs from the sessions been used.

 

I only really listen to old prog related stuff. 68-83 era

 

Some of us bought this album on releases, played it multiple times, and did not find much enjoyment from the songs as recorded and presented to us. Not a casual dismissal but a dismissal born from the experience of giving this album a chance and being disappointed. I wont debate the merits and complexity of the songs, I'll take your word that they have some remarkable characteristics, but I just come back to the fact that there are only two songs from this album that I include in any of my Tull playlists (European Legacy and Under Wraps Part 2).

 

I agree with that. I find Broadsword dull and depressing, though I enjoy the rejected tracks very much. UW is certainly not without faults, but it brings something new and dynamic. There must be a correlation here with regard to my own musical sensitivity.

 

Right. I was aware Steven had done it to his own older work on occasion but I just can’t see him getting into that here, even if Ian asked him to. He seems very principled and I’d assume that this kind of alteration of another’s work would go beyond what he feels it is his place to do. I may be wrong, although I hope I’m not. Obviously Ian has said he wants drum overdubs done. Surely if it happened it would be Ian’s current drummer who’d get the job.

 

Ok, point taken. I prefer Ian Anderson’s WALK INTO LIGHT to UNDER WRAPS for that briefly employed style.

 

Fair enough. I'll have to give Walk some more listens. I haven't visited it in awhile.

 

There is something of a precedent. When Wilson remixed A Passion Play, he basically ignored Ian's request to scale back the saxophones.

 

Hmm, I don't think anyone ignores Ian while working on a Tull project. I think he said he convinced Ian to let most of the sax stay.

 

The sax is great on APP.

 

Change "ignored" to "didn't go along with."

It's fundamental to the feel of the album. Mix out the sax and the resulting music-minus-one would sound spare and unbalanced. It would be like mixing the acoustic guitar out of Aqualung.

 

That’s rather different from new drums being added - that’s just a mixing choice, albeit a dramatic one.

 

I highly recommend giving Walk Into Light some more time. It's always felt more fully realized than Under Wraps, though UW has grown on me over time. I'm not sure what to attribute the difference to, if I'm being honest. Both have strong songs and performances.

It may just be that WIL is a proper synthpop album of the early vintage. It's icy, detached and clearly a studio project by two gifted musicians working in concert. It fits into a category with early Orchestral Maneovers in the Dark or Eurythmics. UW, probably due to the presence of other players, tries to straddle the line between this vibe and the rock side of things and doesn't succeed nearly as well - which isn't to say it couldn't have. There are probably producers who could have created a very effective hybrid. It's just not reflected in the final product.

 

And fundamental to why I hate that album so much. If they mixed out the sax I might actually like it. But I understand what yer saying. However I wish Ian had never touched the damn thing. The flute woulda been 100 times better. Just my opinion as a huge sax hater.

 

Great comments.

 

It's a soprano sax though. That's closer to a flute than a regular sax!

 

I am glad i don’t hate any instruments. But tastes are different, and i totally understand people who does.

 

Always loved both of these. Saw the tour for Under Wraps in London too.

Now we're decades down the road, I think you're correct. Walk Into Light has given itself completely over to the concept at the time. As such, it has aged better than under Wraps.

Under Wraps on the other hand tried to meld Tull with these new possibilities, and some mistakes were made. Of all the instruments that could be replaced, drums should have been at the bottom of the list. It was a mistake. That said, Under Wraps is still a great album because of the strength of the songs. There's some marvelous stuff on it, with great arrangements.

Hence, both are very much worthy. Walk Into Light has a couple tracks that are weak, imo. Overall though, it also has some fine material. It goes without saying, Under Wraps offers the greatest scope for "improvement" should a Mr. Wilson ever get his hands on it.

Come to think of it - if Mr. Wilson isn't around to work magic on Stormwatch, I wonder if Mr. Hoffman could be game-fully employed for the task?

 

My opinion as a fan of the instrument is that it should have been mixed out. Best to leave it to people who can actually play it well.

 

I've just been reading about Bill Nelson during the Red Noise years, and he wanted a sax so got his brother to learn the instrument in six weeks, to good effect. Bowie was also famous for having musicians swap instruments in order to foster spontaneity and adventure. I think there's lots of room for different levels of musicianship.

 

I just picked up Walk Into Light promo copy a couple of months ago and it is a good listen

 

Steve Hoffman doesn't do remixes.

 

Dustin Hoffman?