Jethro Tull - A (A La Mode edition) (3 CD / 3 DVD) - Steven Wilson remix

I think that what might be throws me off so much with A, is that Barrie isn't there. I know he wasn't their original drummer, but he was such an integral part of the sound – same with John Evan – that his absence on A is so distinct. The drumming is good on A, don't get me wrong, but it's not Barrie, and I think I finally realized that that might be it.

I still dig A, though! Just very different, even though it was only a year after Stormwatch.

 

Wasn't John Bonham himself a fan of Barlow?

 

Barrie Barlow - Interview

 

I love this quote from the interview: “One of the things I'm happiest about is that I remain good friends with Ian 'Elvo' Anderson and with John Evan and the others from the Jethro Tull days. After a gap of a decade or so, one day I listened to the remastered version of ‘A Passion Play’. It was bloody fantastic. I wrote immediately to Ian to say I'd just listened to it with new ears and loved it...and great writing, Elvo. I'm very proud to have been a part of all that.”

 

Wow. I really enjoyed this. Thanks for posting.

 

And, finally ordered A!

 

I see it as then end of an era and the beginning of a new one...

 

I think of it as a transition rather than the start of a new era. The old era ended with Stormwatch and the new era began with Broadsword. In between, A was neither fish nor fowl. It sounded higher-tech than the '70s records, and there were no nine-minute epic songs like "Dark Ages", but there was still a lot of guitar. Jobson was another '70s prog-rocker who had worked with people like Frank Zappa and Roxy Music. There was still a lot of piano, electric piano, and organ on the record (to say nothing of Eddie's electric violin), though synthesizers began to become more prominent on some songs. With Broadsword, the sound became much more synthesizer-based, and the keyboard playing was less flashy. The drumming changed to a much simpler style. All of this continued to develop through Ian's solo album Walk into Light and the next Tull album, Under Wraps. Then Crest of a Knave seemed like Ian trying to retreat to a more traditional Tull sound while still sounding somewhat modern (by '80s standards).

 

These are pretty good assessments, I'd say. I think I was just trying to pin down what sounded "off" about A to me; I still think it's a good album, and one that I return to every now and then, but I think the only songs that really make any impressions are Working John and Fylingdale Flyer. The others are interesting and enjoyable, but don't have any hooks I can recall off the top of my head. I'm sure the box set will help me reassess it!

Oh, and I found a playlist I had made for the '82 leftovers back when I must have felt so adventurous. I, too, called it Rhythm In Gold and tried to keep it to an LP length:

1. Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow
2. Drive On the Young Side of Life
3. Too Many Too
4. Crew Nights
5. No Step
6. Commons Brawl
7. Lights Out
8. Motoreyes
9. I Am Your Gun
10. Jack-a-Lynn
11. Down at the End of Your Road

Might need to revisit that now, however... or hopefully next year!

 

I'm 53 and don't think I've ever heard A , last LP I bought was Stormwatch , got into other music and kinda stopped listening to Tull for a long time . I'm getting it because of everyone's comments . Tootull alone pretty much sold it . . . Broadsword too , fell like I gotta now.

 

A is not one of my favourite Tull albums, but these sets are just so good, so of course I have ordered it.

 

I totally agree with you, it sure wasn't the same without Barlow, Evan, and Palmer. Barlow gave them that awkward prog-rock rhythmic quality that they never recaptured after he left. Again, Craney was a fantastic drummer, but he played a bit more straightforward, at least in his time with Tull (although that might have been how Ian wanted it). I think the drumming really took a nosedive on Broadsword, it was pretty much just standard 1-2 drumming with hardly any rhythmic experimentation. I don't know enough about the drummer's other work to make a judgement on his skill but I don't really blame him, I'm assuming he simply played what Ian asked of him.

 

I bought A when it first came out, after playing it twice thought it sucked badly then never gave it a second thought.

 

You left off the title track Rhythm in Gold, and Mayhem, Maybe, two of my favorite leftover tracks, but included No Step and I Am Your Gun? I do like most of your other choices.

 

Gerry Conway had been Cat Stevens' drummer for most of the 1970s. He's definitely more of a minimalist as a drummer compared to Barrie or Clive, but in the right context he can do a fine job.

 

On the theme of Tull drummers, there's a good article here, which includes brief but insightful interviews with Bunker, Barlow, Craney, Conway and Perry, plus IA:

Jethro Tull Press: Modern Drummer, December 1990

 

So was his nose growing when he said that, or have they truly come to a peace?

 

I called that collection "The Gun and the Crow", as sort of a parallel to "Broadsword and the Beast".

 

P

More or less the same experience here but after reassessing it a few months ago, I am digging more into it than 41 years ago when everything was about the Clash and the punk movement.

 

Yeah, this was from a few years ago... I definitely need to revisit it!

 

Some cool tracks. Production isn’t great. Some will sound a lot better with some Wilson touch. I must be the only person who likes The Curse lol. Has a Devo feel. Too many Too is the only one on that list which has pretty good production imo. The others range from average to bad. But the songs have a lot of potential. With some Wilson magic they can go from 3 star to 5 star

 

If you go back far enough, the original lineup was Anderson/Barlow/Evan/Hammond.

I suspect that Barrie considers Ian a friend, and that they are close enough to be honest with, and about, each other. You can be annoyed - even angry - with someone and still consider them a friend.

 

Nice. Ian at left, Jeffrey in back with the mustache and pointy little beard, John at right behind the organ. I think Barrie is standing in the light-colored sweater, but I could be wrong.

 

Would have been nice if Evan was on This Was and Stand up. Some more keys would have given them the true Tull sound in the 60s

 

Respectfully, ummmm, No. This Was and Stand Up stand on their own literally. No keyboards needed here. Stand Up might be my favorite Tull. Honestly, I think the keyboards started to get over used eventually. But that is just me. If I needed that I had Yes or ELP.