Customer Reviews

Original Masters

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(11)
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2 star:		(2)
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Anyone alive in the sixties remembers Juthro Tull's magical music as part of the soundtrack of their young lives. Under the strong influence of leader Ian Andersen, they produced a series of memorable classic albums, and many of the best songs from that enduring effort is here. From "Living In The Past" to "Thick As A Brick" to "Minstrel In The Gallery", all of their distinctive musical melodies and thoughtful and provocative lyrics are delivered with their unique steamroller-like brand of stunning electric music. My own personal favorites include "Aqualung", one of Andersen's most satiric songs, with its soaring electric guitar and baneful reminders that it is time to finally get one's act together. I also especially like "Locomotive Breath", another song along the same rueful lines, and "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day", a reminder of how superficially and carelessly most of us live our lives. This album is a rich witches' brew of British magic, boiled specially for us in the iron cauldron of one of the most exciting group's to ever grace the stage. Long live Ian Andersen and Jethro Tull. And remember, no matter what Ian may sing to you, you're still not too old to rock and roll! Enjoy!

It is a tragedy in the world of music that Jethro Tull is not a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, not to mention their most glaring and idiotic oversight (including their oversight of Aerosmith). Listen to this album and you will most certainly agree. "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath", "Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die", "Bungle in the Jungle", and other classics abound on this cd. It is nearly unrivaled in the world of rock and roll, and it is so greatly underappreciated that I am sickened.

This cd is where I first remembered hearing Aqualung, and ever since then I've liked practically every song on the cd. I have a friend who listened to my cd on a trip once and said that Aqualung just flat out scared him. I still tell him that maybe he would like Locomotive Breath. All of the songs on this cd are cool, but I especially like "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," "Bungle in the Jungle," and "Minstrel in the Gallery." I think a part of the reason that Jethro Tull is such an important classic rock figure is the eerily cool way that he regularly integrates flute, a instrument not usually associated with rock, into his songs. Also in the way that many of the songs will switch from electric guitar to acoustic or vice versa all of the sudden. I would have to say that this cd should be in every serious rock and roll fan's collection.

If you want to hear Jethro Tull's big hits in the best available sound quality, then this is the disk for you. Yes, it has most of Tull's major hits. But, what grabbed me was the great sound quality on this DCC Gold CD. A special bonus that Ian Anderson made available for only this Gold CD was the entire first side of 'Thick As A Brick.' What makes this release unique is it's the first and only time they have released the original mixdown tape for 'Thick As A Brick.' For the original LP, they made an EQ'd copy of this mixdown tape, then cut the master disk from the EQ'd copy, effectively losing two generations of sound quality. Well, there's no loss of quality on this CD, as you can even hear Ian Anderson's count down at the beginning plus a short break during the mixing session. As further evidence of their use of the best master tapes available, the fold out sleeve has a colour photograph of the master tapes in their original studio boxes. The only drawback to this CD is the higher price, but you're paying for the extra attention to important details plus the very rich sound quality.

Okay, so I was born in 1979, after most of their good stuff had been recorded. So I'm probably no authority. But I love music from the '60's and '70's, and this group cranked out some of the coolest stuff ever written. Fortunately most of that stuff is on this one CD. A wide variety of musical style is represented, from fairly hard rock (Locomotive Breath)to light-spirited (Thick As A Brick, since it's the short version) to musically intricate (Songs From The Wood). Since I'm too cheap to buy all their albums, I got this one.

This includes all the obvious hits: Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, Bungle In The Jungle, Living In The Past, and a couple of rather fun also-ran songs as well: Thick as A Brick, Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die. A simple glance at the track listings should be enough to help you decide. This being an early compact disc release, though, some of the sound aint perfect. The gramophone effect on Aqualung comes to mind. Other than that, though, this is a pretty fine CD, and at the used price of less than a buck, it's a steal.

Jethro Tull represents one of the most progressive and experimental elements of sixties rock, and the individual songs as well the concept albums are delights to listen to and enjoy. This is an excellent compilation of their hits, one that I was delighted to discover does in fact have "Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of A New Day)" on it. With that song included, it becomes (for me, at least) a very full complement of Ian Anderson masterpieces, ranging from the emblematic "Aqualung" to the trippy "Living In The Past', from a raucous "Bungle In The Jungle" to a comical "Too Old To Rock And Roll/Too Young To Die".

The compilation covers the progress of the group all the way from its early beginnings with songs like "Living In The Past" and "Aqualung" to its final efforts with songs like "Broadsword" and "Heavy Horses". Among my favorites here are "Locomotive Breath", "Songs From The Wood', and of course, "Thick As A Brick". Ian Anderson was famous for doing his own particular thing, for his quirky brilliance in arranging song structures and instrumentation, for mixing rock with a folksy twang, and for also never trying to cash in by copying the successful work of others. The group never tried to go mainstream rock, but were quite successful with their own peculiarly British take on sixties rock. Enjoy

With a great blend of talented guitar work, forceful vocals, and trademark flute melodies, Jethro Tull is one of the greatest all around rock and roll bands. Refusing to be pigeon-holed as an one type of music, they can blast you with powerful songs like Aqualung and Locomotive Breath or appeal to the harmonically inclined with Witches Promise and Thick As A Brick (although the latter is unfairly cut down to around four minutes from its true forty-two minute glory). Definitely a winner for the rock fan and the musician.

I grew up with this music, went and saw them several times in concert. I love this stuff, but how did they push Ian Anderson's vocals into the back, particularly in the Aqualung tracks. This disc has lost much of the urgency that was a Tull hallmark. I have most of this music in either vinyl or CD, and they just don't sound this way. If you like Tull do yourself a favor and try one of the other discs, otherwise you might think you are loosing your hearing.

If you are not a Tull fan or never heard Tull before , this is the perfect CD for you. "Too old to rock and roll, Too young to die" is worth your money.

Placing Locomotive Breath between Too old.. and Skating away... is a sin. The mood shift is unimaginable. Program your player such that #4 plays last or never. Its a beautiful song with great lyrics, but I would have loved to see Cross Eyed Mary instead.


Listen carefully to the lyrics of Songs from the Wood, Thick as a Brick and Minstrel in the gallery. Tull is about poetry of images.

The CD has songs recorded since '69 and the quality is very good.