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

Almost. Misplaced Childhood set was great, but the Brave missed the opportunity to add the associated recordings (B-sides, outtakes etc), to give the complete overview of the period that Tull does and the booklets are not nearly as detailed.

The decision to use Blu-ray as oppose to DVD p***** me off a bit as well. I admit I rarely watch DVD's, however no means of watching the Blu-ray at all....

 

So will Stormwatch come out later this year?

 

Understandable. The format game is pretty much irritating.

One need to invest in a player that can play all of these formats if highest resolution is what you are looking for. No wonder why people are ripping, downloading or streaming whatever they can.

 

Blu Ray players are so cheap these day they are basically giving them away. Sure... it may not have the audiophile stamp of approval... but you can get a perfectly serviceable player for basically the price of a couple vinyl records.

 

I think the word in the street is that This Was is slated for November.

I don’t know if it’s officially been announced.

 

The challenge is always to stream out the hires content to an external DAC from either the coaxial or HDMI output.

 

£50+ ....admittedly been a while since I bought a couple of vinyl records....might think about it when I have all 8 sets......however we digress......back to the thread

 

1978: bands that were previously hailed as heroes were now mocked as old farts and dinosaurs and the critics and the audience were more excited for the tons of new punk and alternative rock bands that were coming out using a diy approach in order to overthrow major's monopoly. The old bands were releasing albums such as "Love Beach", "And Then There Were Three", "Tormato" and "Giant For A Day". Now, not all of these are necessarely stinkers but they hardly represent the finest acheivements of the artists who procuded them.

However, there were exceptions and one of these were Jethro Tull who were never really damaged by this scene: the so called folk trilogy of "Songs from the Wood", "Heavy Horses" and "Stormwatch" has always been considered one of the best periods of their career. Of these three albums, "Heavy Horses" is unquestionably my favorite. There are sentimental reasons: I remember, as a small child, listening to this album with my uncle, who was my musical mentor who introduced me to a lot of music, on vinyl and being fascinated by it. When I later explored Tull's discography I was incredibly surprised at how well this album holds even compared to the others from the same period, all of which are excellent. This album is in my Tull top #5 and it contains some of my favorite songs ever, such as "And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps", "No Lullaby", "Journeyman", "Weathercock" and, especially, "Rover" which I still consider one of the best songs ever written by anyone. I'm also extremely fascinated by the arragements and the sounds. This is an album that really shouldn't be missing from any serious music collection and it's one of the proofs that Jethro Tull always had an edge compared to even the best of their colleagues.

This is one of the instances where Wilson took more freedom than usual: the new mix is not exactly just a cleaned up version of the original which was somewhat flawed and a bit too boxy for the quantity of information that it included. However, I'll be the first to admit that it was one of the charms of the original album and that it gave charachter to the music so I can understand that some of purist will grimace at some of the songs. Personally, I'm more fascinated to the quantity of details that are now surfacing, especially in the vocal arrangements, to care. The ending result is so clear and beautiful that I think it was worth to make some changes, although it has to be clear that Wilson was still respectful towards the original and the music. In fact, for the first time in 40 years, it became known that the original mixes of "Moths" and "Rover" were accidentally slightly sped up and the songs are now back at their original recording speed, which is not too different but makes it sound more natural. I'm extremely satisfied by this remix and I'd say that, together with "Stand Up" and "Minstrel in the Gallery", this Wilson's finest acheivement in his Tull serie. I may play the original just for kicks once or twice but this one is going to be the definitve mix for me from now on.

So, we have one of Jethro Tull's best albums presented in the best possible quality: how do we make things better? Well, by including 32 minutes of associated recordings, of course, 24 of which were previously completely unheard. Four of these songs are completely new and heard for the first time. "Everything in Our Lives" and "Horse-Hoeing Husbandry" are sort of a preview of what Tull will produce in the "Stormwatch" period. The first is a folky song that musically is something that seems to anticipate stuff like "Kelpie" and the middle section of "Flying Dutchman" while the anti-consumerist lyrics seem to plant seeds for "North Sea Oil". The latter is a more complicated affair because it's as much as beautiful as it's frustrating. It's basically a multi section song which, however, seems to have been abandoned before being completed: it ends all of a sudden and, noticeably, except for some piano at the beginning, there are virtually no keyboards. The first section of the song is dark and it paves the way for "Dark Ages" and, especially, "And Further On": Ian Anderson's vocals here are great. The second part is yet another complicate and intricate jig not unlike the ones in the middle sections of "Velvet Green" and "Pibroch" and it shows the band's great ability as musicians and arrangers. The abrupt ending makes one wish for more and only repeated listens help appreciating what we have instead of complaining of what we don't have: if they had worked a bit more on this song it could have been a masterpiece. "Botanic Man" was not recorded for the album but was, instead, thought as a theme for naturalist David Bellamy's program by the same name. As such, it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the other songs, being basically a piano, vocals and string ballad with an instrumental flute section and it's easy to overlook it at first. However, again, repeated listens reveal a beautiful and well arranged songs that is even moving in places. If the track included an acoustic guitar and I didn't know better, I'd think it's a "Minstrel in the Gallery" outtake. It's curious that Ian Anderson on the book reaccommends to listen to it only once and then move on because this is a composition who grows on you on each listen. There is also an instrumental "theme" version featuring flute, acoustic and electric guitar and bass which sounds very nice. Finally, hidden at the end of the CD there is an extract of an unfinished song called "A Town in England" that Ian says it's an early version of "Made in England", although this is only true of the lyrical inspiration because music and lyrics are totally different. While it's great that they are looseing up and also including stuff that isn't really polished, the musical idea of this fragment is not very strong and I can understand why they decided to can it. Let me say that I'm extremely satisfied that they decided to include it, though: a while ago I suggested that unfinished tracks could still be included as hidden bonuses or easter eggs and they did it here. Here's hoping for more tricks like this in the future! The rest of the associated material consist of the two recordings we already had, "Beltane" and version 1 of "Living in these Hard Times", both of which sound so dramatically better than the 1988 mixes that it's not even funny (check out the strings on the latter) and unheard versions of known tracks. "Jack-A-Lynn" is not the demo version included in the "Rocks on the Road" version but a previous recording that features Ian Anderson on vocals, guitar and probably organ too. It's a warm intimate version that showcases well the potential of the song and that will wet many eyes. "Quatrain" was recorded after the tour and it's an extended version of the piece with many bits that you haven't heard before, including a couple of funny moments when things don't go the way they were supposed to do, leading to the Maestro's frustration. Finally, there's a second, fully produced, version of "Living in these Hard Times" which was slated to be released on the "Moths" EP that presents a more intricate arrangement and after years of hearing the other, my ears still have to get used to this version, although it's pretty impressive and many of you could even prefer it to the "original". So, as you can see, although not all of this material is 100% polished, it's all great to hear and it's a new mini album that will cause many eyebrows raised and many mouths wide opened.

CDs 2&3 contain the complete show at the Bern Festhalle, 28th May 1978, one of the shows selected for "Bursting Out". The book specifically mentions part of the flute solo, "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Too Old to RNR", "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath" and "The Dambusters March", other than the famous Claude Nobs introduction and some comments that are obviously the same as on the album (Ian Anderson used to repeat the same banter and speech for the whole tour but sometimes the intonations and the phrasing 100% match). However, I cast some doubt about what it's being reported: the vocals and the drums on "Cross Eyed Mary" do different stuff compared to "Bursting Out" and I don't think it's a case of overdubs: it's probably just a different version, partly at least. Of all the live material we got so far on these sets (Stockholm 1969, Paris 1975 and the Boston/Landover 1977 frankeinstein) this is absolutely the best and it's also the best sounding one, unsurprisingly: the others were either test recordings or stuff that was not meant to be released in full, while Berne was beautifully recorded to 24-track in order to be worked and get a release. The performance is excellent: Tull were at the top of their game in this period. Perhaps, some of the songs are better on "Bursting Out" and there are a couple of fluffes here and there, but, generally, it makes it for a warmer experience and it's a nice reminder of how an archivial live album sounds different than a polished and fully produced one. Also, apart from the stuff that was cut from the setlist ("Heavy Horses" and the "Living in the Past" instrumental medley after the flute solo), you get a couple of moments that sound really different than the album because of lack of edits and overdubs but I won't spoil where. I'm satisfied with Jakko Jakszyk's mix, which I think sounds more clear than "Bursting Out" but could perhaps sound "colder" to others because the artificial ambience and the audience are pushed back in the mix. All in all, I think the material presented this way will satisfy the weird people who consider "Bursting Out" and 'awful' offering. If you still don't like this stuff, well... you're hopeless

Again, I wish I could give my comments about the 5.1 mixes but I still have no way of setting my setup, so I can't play them. It'll be fun once I'll be able to do it because I will have all the previous boxes to listen to! However, I can tell you that the "Moths" and "Heavy Horses" videoclips look great and that you get two interesting TV ADs for "Bursting Out". Also, the reason for which I'm thanked on the book is on DVD 2, the one with the Berne concert. I was approached by my friend Pat, who is also thanked on the book, because Warner wanted a scan of the Bern concert ticket. They found a scan on the net which was credited to an Italian guy but they could not use it without his permission: the problem is there was no way of contacting him so I was asked to see if I could track him down. I didn't suceed but I rememberd I used to know a guy called Aldo who attended that show so I e-mailed him whether he still had the ticked and if he could provide a scan of it. He had and he did and it's the one you see in the menu, so, eventually, both me and Aldo got the credit on the book. To see your name credited on the reissue of one of your favorite albums ever is extremely cool!

And the book... jeez, what could we say about the book? You get a detailed history of the timeframe, as told by Martin Webb with inputs by Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Dee Palmer that really sheds light on the recordings, the touring, the relationships between the band members and the creative process, including specific credits for the songs and various inspirations. On this later issue, I've always noticed similarities between Captain Beefheart's "Click Clack" and "And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps" but each time I brought that up I was met with suppressed laughter and raised eyebrows: the book of the "New Shoes" edition confirms I was always right and I'm seriously and egocentrically pleased! The book also contains the usual excellent track by track commentary by Ian Anderson on the album and associated recordings, inputs by Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior and Curved Air's Darryl Way on their association with the band, Tony Williams (the bass player who substituted for John Glascock on the October/May 1978 tour as seen and heard on "Madison Square Gardens") on getting the job and touring with Tull and a moving article by studio engineer Colin Legget on working at Maison Rouge and on the album. Of course we also get the obligatory superinteresting sessionography which, even though we got a lot of new material here, makes us wish for more: among the stuff listed, there are a new studio version of "Sweet Dream", an early version of "4.W.D (Low Ratio)" and an alternate "Horse-Hoeing Husbandry" with extended intro, all of which only exist as rough backing tracks and thus were excluded for being too incomplete.

So, to conclude, we have another winner and let me say that I'm a bit disappointed that it hasn't been well received yet as some of the other boxes because I really believe it couldn't be better than this. I wonder if this is the result of Steven Wilson and the gang spoiling us because the quality of these sets have never been once less than excellent. Remember, fans of the other bands are not treated as well as we are. Meanwhile, enjoy the set because there's a lot to love, and keep listening. The only fault in this serie is that I just got "Heavy Horses" and I already look forward to "Stormwatch"! Bring them on, please, bring them on!

 

^ "Rover" which I still consider one of the best songs ever written by anyone."

Me too!

 

The only time Tull were bothered by the critics was between 1974 and 76. They released a couple of poppy soundtracks. But Tull had back up material in this period to their usual great standard. So they never lost their magic at any moment during the 70s but they just got sucked in to recording some pop songs

 

Great review! Thanks.

 

While each to their own, I think their best period of time was 1970 to 1972, when they released Benefit, Aqualung and Thick as a Brick.

 

Tull is a bit like Dr Who. You remember with nostalgia your first Dr Who, on a Saturday afternoon he becomes 'The Doctor' in your world evermore. Same with Tull, the BBC Sight and Sound and Madison Square Garden performances were my entry into the music and visuals of the band so the folk trilogy is the period I love most and consider as Jethro Tull's finest period?

 

Ive never been a big fan of Stormwatch but now I have a chance to catch up on purchases and looking forward to This Was and Benefit being part of this reissue program. I still need Songs and TOTRARTYTD.

 

Tom Baker!!!!

before anyone asks.....

 

Is Benefit going to be released in the book format

 

I dont know. I hope so. With Carnegie Hall in the proper place.

 

John Evan - Jethro Tull

 

Well, you could spend a whopping $40 on a Blu Ray player.

 

My buddy, a big Tull fan, says Stormwatch is his favorite album. However, I'm like you. I like it, but I'm not a huge fan. What's tantalizing is the reason - I think the production is cold and edgy. Guess that suits the cover art.

But seriously - while I love these new remixes, I've never had a problem with Songs of Heavy Horses in their original mix. The new remix is a new angle. For Stormwatch I have the feeling it could transform it.

 

I'm curious about "Broadford Bazaar" not being included. Must be from Stormwatch sessions?

 

The Harpo Marx of Tull. One of my keyboardists!

 

John Evans, in my opinion, is one of the buried jewels that is Jethro Tull. Often overlooked, hidden on the sidelines, and not given enough credit for his genius and playing, is as integral to the Tull sound as Ian's flute or Martin's guitar. His contribution to Heavy Horses is further evidence of this. Dee Palmer's arranging is another aspect that should also get similar praise. I am always drawn in by the incredible performances of Tull's bass and drum players, but the keyboards really are the glue for me that often holds the tune together.

A huge thank you to Steve Wilson and to everyone else who contributed on yet another fabulous sounding release! I too look forward to the next release, but in the meantime I do have a difinitve collection of Tull to hold me over!

 

Slated for Stormwatch deluxe.