Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick or A Passion Play?

I agree.

 

Does anyone else absolutely hate the first couple minutes of Side 2 of Thick As A Brick?

 

It's every bit as brilliant as the rest of the album.

 

A Passion Play, though I like both. APP edges it for me, though it's a slowburn thing.

 

I did, until they topped it with Hare.

 

My vote goes to A Passion Play.

I guess maybe because it was my introduction to the music of Jethro Tull.

 

For me, both on LP and in concert (saw both tours back in the day) Thick As A Brick all the way.

Rick G

 

Thick As A Brick is my pick . I never could really enjoy listening to the complete Passion Play album. If I would have seen Tull do it live back in the day I would possibly have more of a feel for it. I just always got bored with it when I tried to get into that album.
Maybe I should try another serious listening session with it though, some things get better over time they say. Jethro Tull was and is a very unique band. I have seen them a couple times over the years and were great live, I always thought Martin Barre's guitar playing was fantastic too.

 

The first 4 minutes to be exact, I could live without.

 

I agree that the first few minutes of side two of Thick As A Brick are not necessary.

 

Is it just a couple of minutes? I don't own this but borrowed it from a friend. The 15 minute live version is all I ever need, unless I borrow it again and see if I can edit the album myself for a studio version that's less bloated.
It's still better than the mess that's A Passion Play.

 

I love both but TAAB gets my vote because I loved it the first time I heard it yet APP was an acquired taste...I'd recommend TAAB to anyone looking to hear a great classic album yet APP might scare many away. (I actually forced myself to listen to Passion Play once a day for two weeks to get into because a friend told me how great it was...of course he was right, but it took time)

 

Loved TAAB right away but the combination of mostly dark, abrupt, off-putting music with the strained humor of The Hare made APP hard to approach. Later I got past this and became a big APP fan.

 

I agree with the original poster that side 2 of TAAB pales in comparison to side 1 - but that is just because side one is just so gosh darned awesome. And in my mind the one brilliant side makes TAAB the clear winner here.

As for Passion Play, I used to love it but it kind of wore on me. That whole story with the spectacles etc...it just comes across as kind of silly to me now...

 

Passion Play.

I'm odd man out on this. I love side 1 of 'Brick' but the second side doesn't hold up as well. Drum solos on studio records rarely age well (unless it's 'The End' by The Beatles)

'Passion', to me, sounds like a more consistent work from start to finish, apart form the children's story (owl who lost his spectacles). That must have been thrown in as a way to break up the sides.

 

I guess I'll go against the grain and mention that I love the bizarre section of TAAB at the beginning of side two, and wish Ian/Tull hadn't lost the sense of humor displayed there.

 

I love TAAB. I like APP. But very glad they did them both.

 

The second half of A Passion Play is the best music Tull ever created, but as a whole, Thick As A Brick is a much stronger album, so I voted for Thick As A Brick.

 

The Thick Brick please!

 

Thick As A Brick! However my favorite period of the band was the first 4 albums Just awesome!

 

Thick as a Brick easily, especially the new 5.1 mix. Having said that, the upcoming SW mixes (2.0 and 5.1) of Passion Play may remove the "easily" from the equation. I don't think the music on Passion Play will ever be as dear to me as TaaB but I can see myself liking a lot more than I ever did before with a new mix. Passion Play to me is kinda like King Crimson's "Lizard" or "Islands" and the 5.1 mixes of those made me appreciate those records more than I ever did before but they'll never be in my "fave Crim" pile.

 

Thick As A Brick for me, although I really like Passion Play too.