Rating "Jethro Tull " albums?

This Was 9/10
Stand Up 10/10
Benefit 9/10
Aqualung 9/10
Thick As A Brick 8/10
Living In The Past 8/10
A Passion Play 7/10
WarChild 8/10
Minstrel In The Gallery 10/10
Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die 7/10
Songs From The Wood 10/10
Heavy Horses 7/10

 

This Was 6.5
Stand up 8.5
Benefit 8
Aqualung 9.5
Thick as a brick 10
Living in the past 8.5
Passion play 8.5
Warchild 8.5
Minstrel 10
Too old to R&R 7.5
Songs from the wood 10
Bursting out 8
Heavy Horses 9
Stormwatch 8.5
A 8
Broadsword 7.5
Walk into light 7
Underwraps 6.5
Classic case 4
Crest of a knave 8
20 Years 9
Rock Island 7
Catfish rising 7.5
Live at hammersmith 7
Little light music 7
25 years box 7.5
Nightcap 8.5
Roots 7.5
Divinities 7
In concert 6
Dotcom 7
Secret language of birds 7
Living with the past 7.5
Christmas album 7.5
Rupi's dance 8
Nothing is easy Isle of wight 7
Ian Andreson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull 7.5
Aqualung live 6.5
Live at Montreux 6
Live at MSG '78 8.5
TAAB 2 8
TAAB Live in Iceland 7.5
Live at Carnegie Hall 7
Homo erraticus 8
String quartet 6

(It is hard to distinguish Jethro Tull from Ian Anderson solo, so all combined)

 

Ok, I'm going to attempt to answer the question and provide some explanation for my answers while I'm at it. I'll be including Ian Anderson's solo material as it seems relevant for consideration. Hold your breath, we're going in!

This Was 5/10
In fairness, not a bad album, but no real signs of what was to come. If they had only released this and broken up, I doubt they'd be much remembered.

Stand Up 8/10
Now, we're talking! Nice, diverse song listing, very summery album - just an all around pleasant listen. "Back to the Family" and "Look Into the Sun" are highlights among highlights for me.

Benefit 9/10
Even better! Just a bizarre little album. I have a lot of time for these. "With You There to Help Me" serves as a great opener and sets the stage appropriately. "To Cry You a Song" is also essential and I'm very happy that Martin Barre plays it regularly with his current solo band.

Aqualung 6/10
I know. Heresy, right? This is Tull's Dark Side of the Moon. Not a bad album and I could sing every song on it from memory, but I'm sick to death of hearing it (and knowing any Tull-related show I see will involve at least one of the tracks from this album as encore).

Thick as a Brick 6/10
Love me some prog, but this one is seldom reached for. Good for what it is, but doesn't tickle my fancy.

A Passion Play 5/10
Again, good for what it is and the SW remix allowed it to gain some ground, but the album doesn't grab me.

Warchild 7/10
Getting back to what I like about the band. Weird pop songs! Admittedly, the flow is a little weird and it feels like a singles comp rather than a proper album, but it's still good fun - better to hear Palmer's orchestrations all over the place too!

Minstrel 10/10
Perfect. Classic. Admittedly, these are probably rose-tinted nostalgia goggles at work. My first car was my Dad's old one and had a cassette with Minstrel on one side and Songs from the Wood on the other. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time with both albums. The vibe oozes from this album and I love it for that. The mix of orchestration, heavy rock, and acoustic ballads is very much on point.

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die 6/10
Love the single and "From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser," but the rest of the album is kind of a miss to me. I don't hate it, but seldom find myself reaching for it.

Songs from the Wood 10/10
Again, a classic album. I know some complain about the electronic flourishes, but somehow those make sense in the context of the album to me. It's an idealized pastoral England, so we can throw some Moog and phaser in there. I'm sure they're steam-powered or something.

Heavy Horses 9/10
I'd still consider this a classic, but it just barely falls at the last hurdle. Where Songs never felt overlong, this one feels a little more monolithic to me. Still a great slab of music, but not quite the same pinnacle.

Stormwatch 8/10
Again, still a great record, but we're getting into diminishing returns. Sad this one doesn't get more love. I can live in hope that the (hopefully) eventual Steven Wilson remix will cause some to give it more love.

A 3/10
Eh... Um... I like the opening track? The production falls flat here and, for all the talent on the record, the arrangements and songs aren't any great shakes either. Most of the good tracks here were only revealed live as instrumental workouts.

Broadsword 10/10
Another classic. Considering the dip the A represented, it's amazing Tull came back as strongly as they did here. And all of the released off-cuts are essential as well.

Under Wraps 7/10
Someone's going to throw rotten fruit at me for rating this one higher than Aqualung, but I see a lot to like on this album and there's nothing else quite like it, whether from Tull or anybody else. I could be convinced to put my support behind a new mix that replaces the drum machines with real drums though. Some of the programming isn't quite up to snuff. Not as strong as Ian's Walk Into Light album, but still worth a listen.

Crest of a Knave 8/10
While I understand the complaints some have that things got a bit "Dire Straits" with this album and Ian's diminished voice, I think this is a very solid record with some essential tracks. Any album with "Farm on the Freeway," "She Said She Was a Dancer," and "Budapest" has to have something going for it.

20 Years of Jethro Tull 8/10
It's hard to judge compilations like this and I'd be tempted to leave it off my list entirely - except for the fact that it contains previously unreleased music, much of it quite essential. It's a shame this set is out of print as it serves as a great dip into what Tull as a group is capable of through all eras of their output (up to that point).

Rock Island 5/10
There are good moments to this album, but it doesn't hang together very well and feels like a rush job, particularly in comparison to Crest.

Catfish Rising 8/10
It's an odd detour into blues rock for Tull - and probably the strongest Ian's voice got after the Under Wraps tour before it started to go downhill again - but it's a fun little album that will get your foot tapping. Don't come to this one expecting prog, just a fun rock album. While I'm not rating it as a "classic" because I realize it's not a perfect record, it ranks very high for me.

A Little Light Music 5/10
Some nice semi-acoustic arrangements of classic songs alongside then-new tracks from Catfish Rising. Not essential, but not bad either. Incidentally, I'm including this and not Bursting Out because I'm more familiar with this than Bursting.

25th Anniversary Box Set 5/10
I actually had to look this one up on Wikipedia to remind myself of everything that was included. I'm glad to have it as part of my collection, but I'd never call this essential for anyone but completists. The remixes disc is actually quite funny as booming 80s drums and various other early '90s production tropes are scattered all over classic tracks. In some cases, it works. In most, it's ludicrous and appeals to my sense of the absurd. The Beacons Bottom Tapes (think live-in-studio) are probably the only really excellent part of the set as the Carnegie Hall recording is truncated and the random live disc has recordings of varying quality.

Nightcap 7/10
I largely disregarded the "Chateau d'Isaster Tapes" disc in this set. Something about it never clicked for me and my lack of favor for A Passion Play probably figures into that. You're also not getting the unadulterated recordings as on the recent deluxe edition of Passion Play. For me, disc two is the highlight with various out-takes ranging from the 70s up to the 90s. Kind of a peek into alternate reality Tull. Very enjoyable.

Roots to Branches 9/10
Though this album feels a bit long towards the end, I'd definitely rank it as a late-career high water mark. Excellent incorporation of middle eastern influence in the melodies and arrangements and some very strong material. Again, as with the best Tull, it oozes vibe. Interestingly, it mirrors the Walk Into Light/Under Wraps progression from the '80s as an Ian Anderson solo album pioneered a sound before it was incorporated into a Tull release. The only difference is that, unlike Walk/Wraps, I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite between Divinities and Roots.

J-Tull Dot Com 6/10
While this doesn't feel like quite the dip Rock Island offered, I'd say it still comes across the worse for following such a strong album. Great moments on here like "A Gift of Roses" and "Hunt by Numbers," but the production and songwriting just aren't as strong. Also, I can't decide if I love or hate the title track.

The Jethro Tull Christmas Album 5/10
Good for what it is, but hardly essential. Ian's voice is really weak on the re-recorded tracks and perhaps sticking to the original arrangements was ill-advised. The instrumentals are all, without exception, excellent. This lineup was definitely on the same page by this point. Listenable, but not a great note to go out on.


Ian Anderson Solo:

Walk Into Light 8/10
I realize this is a dark horse in the catalog, but I think it's an essential album for someone who can get around the electronic flourishes. This is probably also a great case study for Ian Anderson doing well when faced with strong collaborators (see also the late '70s Tull lineup). Beautiful, dark, vibey songs abound here.

Divinities: Twelve Dances with God 10/10
Don't come to this album expecting rock. It's mostly synthesizer and classical players, but the tracks are solid from start to finish and it rewards both active and background listening. A stone classic as far as this listener is concerned.

The Secret Language of Birds 10/10
Considering this followed shortly after Dot Com, which was nothing to write home about, it's astounding how strong the songs are. This is an essential album. Additionally, the softer arrangements and acoustic treatments offer a much more sympathetic showcase for Ian's voice. Not a dud in sight - recommended!

Rupi's Dance 7/10
And... we hit diminishing returns again. Most songs keep to the formula of Secret Language, but there are a number of eclectic touches here and the album never quite feels like a cohesive whole as a result. Offering some frustration, there are heavier flourishes here and there that make you wonder if Ian wouldn't have been better served giving these songs to Tull for proper studio treatment. Highlights, for me, include "Calliandra Shade," the title track, "Griminelli's Lament," and "Old Black Cat."

TAAB 2 4/10
Again, I wasn't a fan of the original Thick, so the idea of a sequel seemed kind of retrograde to me when Ian seemed to be mining a reasonably rich vein in the non-concept-album area. Not bad and certainly listenable, but not something I reach for often. And yes, I do keep giving it chances to win me over, but it never quite gets there.

Homo Erraticus 5/10
This album ranks a little higher as it's not tied to a past release, but I'm still not sold on IA's late-career return to blocks of song. It's not a suitable setting for his voice and the players on this and TAAB 2 make me pine for even the late '90s lineup of Tull, which played with more distinction and power to my ears. Not a total flop, but I find myself hoping that the next release offers a return to stronger individual songs.

 

Well...

I never got into War Child, Too Old or Stormwatch. Nor did I ever dive into IA solo and I dont listen to anything after Crest. But as a whole I love Tull.

 

Listed as best first, rather than rate. IMHO.

Aqualung/Thick As A Brick
Stand Up
Benefit
Living In The Past
This Was
War Child
Minstrel In The Gallery
A Passion Play
Heavy Horses
Songs From The Wood
Stormwatch
Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die

Kind of lost interest after the 70's.

 

Not even "Aqualung"? Do yourself a favor and get the early ones, including "Living In The Past". You're missing out on JT's best work. All of the early albums through "Aqualung" surpass everything that came after "Thick as a Brick" IMHO.

 

I rated Aqualung...

I've heard a lot of the earlier material, just not the albums in their entirety, but can't say I'm into the bluesy stuff. I'm a prog guy

 

This Was 5/10
Stand Up 7/10
Benefit 7/10
Aqualung 10/10
Thick As A Brick 8/10
Living In The Past 9/10
A Passion Play 4/10
Warchild 8/10
Minstrel In The Gallery 8/10
Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die! 8/10
Songs From The Wood 10/10
Heavy Horses 9/10
Stormwatch 9/10
`A' 5/10
Broadsword and The Beast 6/10
Under Wraps 6/10
Crest Of A Knave 10/10
Rock Island 8/10
Catfish Rising 8/10
Roots To Branches 8/10
J-Tull Dot Com 9/10
Christmas album - does this count? 8/10

 

I guess I should have put a smiley face there to show humor, but I think Pete knows me well enough after all these years to know when I am joking around. Then again, maybe I should not assume that either.

 

This Was 8
Stand Up 10
Benefit 10
Aqualung 10
Thick As A Brick 10
Living In The Past 10
A Passion Play 7
WarChild 8
Minstrel In The Gallery 10
Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die 7.5
Songs From The Wood 10
Heavy Horses 10
Stormwatch 9
A 8
The Broadsword And The Beast 6
Under Wraps 4
Crest Of A Knave 5
Rock Island 4
Catfish Rising 4
Roots To Branches 5
DOT COM 4

 

Looks about right except I'd give Under Wraps a 0. What about the other stuff?

 

For many years Jethro Tull was my favorite band, and I still put them in my top 5 of all time. Here are my thoughts on the band's main discography.

This Was - 7 - A solid debut that is unique in the band's catalogue as Jethro Tull were never this bluesy again. Exit Abrahams. Enter Barre.

Stand Up - 9 - A remarkable sophomore effort, and an early classic. Barre's first steps with the group. The true Tull sound emerging.

Benefit - 7 - Tull's "sophomore slump" actually occurred with their junior recording. Still, not a bad album overall. Enter Evan. Adios Cornick.

Aqualung - 10 - A stone cold CLASSIC and top 10 seller. There's a reason this has been played to death on radio. It's up there with Dark Side and Zeppelin IV. A perfect album. Clive Bunker's last statement with the band. Jeffrey Hammond's first.

Thick As A Brick - 9 - They almost did it again. We'll call this one a small "c" classic. Amazingly, this long-form prog epic became Tull's first number 1 album (USA), and it was the first release featuring the classic lineup of Anderson, Barre, Barlowe, Evan, and Hammond.

Living In The Past - 8 - Most musicians would kill to write material that was of the quality of Tull's leftovers. Ian's cup runneth over, indeed.

A Passion Play - 8 - Lacks the spark of TAAB, and it runs low on fuel at the end. Still, it's a rewarding listen with repeated plays. Tull's final #1. (USA)

Warchild - 8 - A return to shorter tunes resulted in this odd little record which graced the top 10 and offered a top 40 hit. Not bad. A neater, cleaner prog then.

Minstrel In The Gallery - 10 - My personal top Tull album, and Martin Barre's shining moment. This prog ROCKS! Ian at his vocal peak. A desert island disk.

Too Old To Rock And Roll... - 6 - Tull's oddest 70's era album has its moments. But while Warchild was able to shine TOTRAR comes off dull in spots.

Songs From The Wood - 9 - Another small "c" classic that just misses perfection. The first of the environmental/folk trio, SFTW was Tull's last top 10 album.

Heavy Horses - 8 - Basically, HH is Songs From The Wood (Pt. 2), and this is not a bad thing. Earthier. Rougher around the edges. Nature can be brutal.

Storm Watch - 8 - Ian turns his attention from the land to the ocean and is not happy at what he sees. A darker set of tunes, for sure. Still, Dun Ringill is magical.

A - 8 - I'm in the minority in that I really like this album. I always have. A new decade, a new band, a new sound. Ian was expanding his horizons.

The Broadsword & The Beast - 8 - Ian's cup runneth over again. A solid effort that (briefly) returned the band to the top 20 (USA). The Broadsword tour was my first live experience with Tull. (Saga opened.) Love the album cover, and I still have the t-shirt from the show.

Under Wraps - 6 - Ian fully embraces technology with mixed results. The tunes are actually pretty strong throughout, but I prefer my Tull to not be this electric. The tech overwhelms the tunes at times.

Crest Of A Knave - 8 - Ah, yes. The "metal" album saw the return of Martin Barre to the fore. And though Tull was never metal the band could (and did) rock hard at times (see Minstrel In The Gallery). Hence, the Grammy victory. Tull's best 80's era release despite Ian's reduced vocal firepower.

Rock Island - 7 - To me, this is Tull's 80's era version of Benefit. Overall, it's not bad by any means, and the high points are strong ones. Yet something is missing.

Catfish Rising - 6 - Tull return (somewhat) to their blues roots with mixed results. A perfect example of a CD being too long, but the thing sounds damn good.

Roots To Branches - 8 - Tull's last shining moment as far as album length statements go. The middle-eastern vibe is strong with this one, and Ian seemed reinvigorated in the song writing department. (His voice had improved too.) Still, cutting this thing down by two or three tunes would've resulted in perfection. (By the way, were's the bass?)

Dot Com - 5 - This is the sound of a once mighty band running on fumes. Sure, there are some good moments here and there, but overall a mediocre album. Still, the mighty Jethro Tull had one hell of a decades-long run. How many rock bands can say that?

 

THIS WAS - 9
STAND UP - 10
BENEFIT - 10
AQUALUNG - 9
THICK AS A BRICK - 7
LIVING IN THE PAST - 8
PASSION PLAY - The one where I lost interest and drifted away ...

 

Live Album Ratings:

Live -Bursting Out: 9/10 -Great selections and performance. Even the drum solo (Conundrum) works for me and I HATE drum solos!
Live at Hammersmith '84: 5/10 -Short and not very sweet. Ian's voice is ok still.
A Little Light Music: 7/10 -Interesting tone to Martin's guitar -the stripped arrangements and addition of Dave Mattacks make this one interesting. Unfortunately Ian's voice is damaged goods at this point.
In Concert (1991): 6/10 -Nice cherry picking from Catfish and a pretty decent mix, also Maartin Allcock on keyboards is a nice addition.
Living With The Past: 6/10 -Vocally bad, but the recoding quality is very good and the setlist is a nice mix of old and new.
Nothing Is Easy Live at the Isle of Wight: 8/10 I have the DVD, not the CD, but I suspect the mix is about the same -great energetic early bluesy Tull.
Live At Montreux 2003: 3/10 -Mostly lifeless.
Live At Madison Square Garden 1978: 8/10: Great show and sound, unfortunately it is not a complete show.
Live At Carnegie Hall 1970: 7/10 -I like the energy better at the Isle of Wight Show and Martin's solo piece does not impress me (he gets much better).

 

You have me wondering, did I buy Past before Brick?
I mentioned the other day that Thick As A Brick turned me off of Tull.
If I was asked yesterday, what came first, Brick or Past, I would have said Past.
But I bought Living In The Past when it came out and I liked it.
So did I buy Brick after that, and then when Play came out it was Brick all over again and then I fell off the Tull Train?

And if you don't know, who does?

 

I mostly agree, except that A is a meh album to me, I wouldn't give Under Wraps more than a 3 or 4, and Catfish is my favorite post throat issues album. Probably give it an 8. I'd rate Dot Com a notch or two higher as well.

And, what, no Christmas Album?

 

Im not afraid to say it...one of my fav Holliday albums period.

 

Jethro Tull is one of my very favorite bands. I'd rank these as my favorites:

This Was 5/5
Stand Up 5/5
Benefit 4/5
Aqualung 5/5
Thick as a Brick 4/5
A Passion Play 5/5
War Child 3/5
Minstrel in the Gallery 5/5
Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll 3/5
Songs from the Wood 4/5
Heavy Horses 5/5
Stormwatch 3/5
A 3.5/5
The Broadsword and the Beast 3/5
Under Wraps 0/5
Crest of a Knave 3/5
Rock Island 3/5
Catfish Rising 2.5/5
Roots to Branches 3/5
Dot.com 3/5

 

Very glad to find another hand-on-heart fan of this album. In 2002, it was my gateway drug into the wonderful world of Tull (well, I'd always known 'Aqualung,' and I loved 'M.U.,' but until Ian's acoustic record I'd never dug in to the catalog deep).

 

I have The Christmas Album, but I haven't listened to it in years. I have to re-familiarize myself with that one.

As for Catfish Rising, if that CD were shortened by two or three weak tracks I would probably give it an 8 also. But I judge these things as whole statements. Hence, the 6 score for CR. Then again, 6 out of 10 isn't exactly bad. Also, Catfish Rising is one of the better recorded/sounding Tull albums (IMHO). Roll Your Own in particular really hits the ears in a pleasant way. I wish Roots To Branches sounded as good.

 

What's not to like? I'm surprised there aren't more people singing the praises of this album. Part of me wants to say it was the first "new" album from anyone in the Tull camp after I started buying my own music, but I was stoked for Rupi's Dance and that one left me cold even at the time, so I don't think the nostalgia goggles really make up too much of the score here. Ian was really firing on all cylinders both with his songwriting and arrangements here and it really seemed to be a set of songs he wore well, for lack of a better description.

 

You could always get the lp version. Like Crest and Under Wraps, it is shorter than the CD.

 

Aqualung 10/10
Thick As Abrick 10/10
Anything else I have 6.5/10

 

Stand Up - 8
Benefit - 7
Aqualung - 8.5
Thick as a Brick - 10
A Passion Play - 10
War Child - 8
Minstrel in the Gallery - 9
Too old to Rock "N" Roll - 6
Songs from the woods - 8
Heavy Horses - 7.5
Stormwatch - 8
A - 7
Broadsword and the Beast - 6
UnderWraps - 7 (a little underrated - first half of the album is particularly strong IMHO)
Crest of a knave - 5 (and lost me from here on -apart from the both anniversary sets)

Like a few of the other big prog beasts of this era - I thought the early to mid 70's was the band's peak- with TAAB and APP being huge highs.

 

This Was = 7/10
Stand Up = 10/10
Benefit = 9/10
Living in the Past = 10/10
Aqualung = 9/10
Thick As A Brick = 10/10
A Passion Play = 7/10
War Child = 10/10

What a great band!