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

I do too. One of the only tracks on that album that does not sound tired.

 

I like it too. I did my usual thing and made my own album track list lol
Here it is

spiral
dotcom
awol
nothing at all
wicked windows
hunt by numbers
it all trickles down
hot mango flush
far alaska
the dog ear years

I reckon this would have been tulls best release since 1980 if if was released with this track list

 

Really? Better than Roots to Branches? There’s some really strong material on that record, IMO. I love the whole thing and play it often, whereas Dot Com only gets broken out occaisonally and several tracks get skipped.

 

I was using my selected track list though. I trimmed off 5 or 6 tracks which are ok. I think the best songs from Dotcom are more enjoyable than the best from Roots. They just remind me of 70s and early 80s Tull. But Roots is cool still. I just like the compositions and sound more from Dotcom though. Roots is more consistent and Dotcom has the strongest and the weakest of the tracks of both album sessions combined.

 

I maintain that the strength of Roots to Branches is the abundance of "vibe" about the record. Dot Com by comparison, has a very "dry" feeling to it. When you look at the best Tull records, I tend to think of them as "vibey" records that have a sort of sonic environment to them. The lesser albums tend to lack this magic ingredient.

I'm not sure if Roots to Branches has an excess of vibe coming off of the Divinities project, or if certain band members were exercising some additional sway (Giddings?) on arrangements or what, but it just works and belongs in a category with the folk trilogy, Broadsword, Stand Up, and Benefit as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, this does put Dot Com on the back foot in a big way as the arrangements and recordings seem to sniff around an interesting vibe, but never quite go all in. "Wicked Windows" offers some interesting possibilities, but is kind of the sore thumb of the album. Oh, but honorable mention needs to be given for "A Gift of Roses." I love that tune.

Just for frame of reference, the "non-vibe" records in my estimation would be things like Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll, A, and Under Wraps. Again, it doesn't sink those albums, but they are definitely lesser for lacking that cohesion. Think of it as the place in which the songs live.

EDIT: Also, much as I enjoy the album, I think Warchild lacks a unifying vibe as well.

 

Interesting take, probably explaining partly why I like RtB. But though I agree with you about WC, I disagree re. the other two (TOTR&R and UW). They have a very cohesive sonic signature and groove to me.

 

I suppose I can see that. I'd still say that their sonic signatures are still weaker than the "vibe" I'm talking about, which goes a little beyond just a sonic fingerprint.

Then again, it's all subjective, so I'm trying to pin down clouds here.

 

I really like "Left Right," except for the first 30 seconds which sounds like someone trying to drown a robot before it can finish transforming into a baby.

 

I faded that song in from the 25 second mark. Wilson did a great job with the chateau songs

 

I quite like Stuck I’m the August rain, title track and Out of the noise. None of the other Roots tracks have strong verses or chorus to me though. Most of them have strong instrumental passages though. I think the Middle Eastern theme is over done a bit too. I like Ian’s voice more on Dotcom. Sounds younger. I like awol, dotcom, windows, trickles better than anything on Roots

 

^^ I enjoy even the whole crazy baby tape intro to Left-Right! Prime Tull surrealism... I like it because it manages to sound both electronic and organic. I'd probably wouldn't like it if it were baby cries (no baby should be mistreated for art sake), but it's just babbles and gurgles, so it's something lively and positive... Just a thought.

 

You know, I'd never thought of it, but there is a divide between Roots to Branches and Dot Com much like there's a line between Catfish Rising and Roots to Branches. Catfish is really the last time Ian even attempted to sing full-throated. Though the tone is more nasal, he does a pretty serviceable job and actually sounds pretty good for all of it. No idea what happened afterwards, but Roots is a much more subdued affair, vocally. Whether that's due to damage to his voice on the CR tour or just an attempt to avoid doing damage, I'm not sure. The result, in any event, is a much weaker and "older" sounding voice.

Once you get to DC, the vocals sound a bit more energetic while still being in that subdued, nasal area he's lived in ever since. Shame the album as a whole isn't better, but he sounds like he's having fun as a singer, which is certainly something that belongs in the "plus" column when talking about DC as a whole. That voice was far better used on The Secret Language of Birds, which I'll never waste an opportunity to call a late career masterpiece.

 

The standalone Heavy Horses Wilson release is out, including streaming sites. As with other titles in the series, the studio outtakes are included but the Berne concert is exclusive to the box set.

 

Just received my LP copy - yoiks, now for a listen!

 

They should have included the outtakes on all single versions of each album

 

I reckon catfish could have been pretty good too. Almost as strong as Dotcom could have been and both stronger than Roots. I gave it a good trim and brought in some goodies as usual lol. Here’s the track list

Roll yer own
Night in the wilderness
Rocks on the road
Silver river turning
Like a tall thin girl
Still loving you tonight
Sparrow on the school yard wall
Thinking round corners
Truck stop runner

 

IMO that configuration of Catfish still doesn't come close to Roots to Branches. The only song on Catfish I'd rank as really good is Rocks on Road (which is brilliant) while Roots has six or seven songs I'd rate as really good (Dangerous Veils, Another Harry Bar, The Valley, Beside Myself, Roots to Branches). And even the songs I'm not crazy about have enough interesting band interplay that I find them listenable.

All in my opinion, of course. I really love Rocks on the Road though.

 

Dunno. Valley is cool. Beside myself is good at first listen but kind of drops off. I like Ians voice on catfish and the recording.

 

Now that the Heavy Horses thread has evolved into a discussion of late-period Tull, I'll say that I could probably scrape together one really good album from the best pieces of their three 1990s CDs. Some people knock Dot Com, but while I find it uneven, the high points make the album quite worthwhile; possibly my favorite album from their post-classic period.

 

I can make 3 pretty good albums for 90s standards

 

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.

My LP was beautifully pressed (a minor miracle nowadays) and sounded, to my aging ears at least, absolutely fantastic.

Why can't all reissues be handled like this?

 

Absolutely delighted with it -from the thick firm sleeve to the excellent quiet pressing not to mention the wonderful full-size booklet. I certainly paid a lot more attention to the music than I did when listening to the earlier CD release.

I’ve found all of the LPs exemplary in this series with the exception of "Songs From The Wood" -the surface noise was dismaying and I tried a couple of copies with no improvement.

Even better was Saturday's release of Moths on 25cm vinyl -now THAT'S how to do a quality release.

 

Been a ripper 40th anniversary series of albums

 

I know a lot of people are looking forward to Stormwatch and Broadsword (as am I), but I'm also really psyched for an A set release. It's got a lot of excellent tunes and it's the last album in the style of the 70's albums even though the lineup is different. I love Dave Pegg's bass tones on it. Great fretless work. Mark Craney tears it up (the end of Uniform is ridiculous). Jobson does an amazing job, and great work from Martin and Ian as usual.
Batteries not Included is a really interesting and unique tune in their catalog. Black Sunday, Crossfire, Flyingdale Flyer, And Further On, etc., all great tunes. I can't be the only one.Plus I love that A is Ian's vocoder album. Uses it to great effect and adds a lot to the unique flavor of A.

The live material would be great too. This band was as tight as any Tull lineup as the Slipstream video illustrates. I love how they went into Locomotive Breath on that tour; a burning , percolating shuffle.

 

^ Yes, A is an altogether marvelous album, one of their best!