Customer Reviews

Rock Island

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Rock Island does what you would expect from it's title: it ROCKS. And it does so more than any other Tull record, but never without the same amount of skillful song writing and expertly executed performances that fill most of their best efforts. Kissing Willie is the leering Tull of yore, gleefully singing about oral pleasures, while the musical hooks are as clever as anything Ian has ever written. Another Christmas Song is a mature and thoughtful return to the seasonal tune, written with a feeling and love for the holiday that makes this another classic Christmas song. Rock Island as a song cleverly keeps it's music personal and confined, creating the appropriate atmosphere, until in the end the real world comes crashing down upon it's shores in relentless waves. Ears of Tin successfully sets the folk and rock elements against each other to again create a musical landscape that fits the lyrics to perfection, written and performed with masterful skill. Heavy Water--a song that did receive some radio exposer--is a fine rocker, as is Undressed to Kill which manages to musically create the sort of sexual tension one might experience in just that situation. By the time we get to the end of the song, that tension is finally broken with a bursting forth of guitar and flute that suggests that the man in the song has finally "unloaded" his warm dream. The Whalers Dues is the real standout track on this release though. It rocks and rolls like a ship of fools on a churning sea that literally spills out of the speaker grills, against the waves of angry voices screaming, "NO!" in answer to the Whalers plea for understanding and forgiveness. Big Riff and Mando tells it's tale with a clarity that is rarely achieved by other lyricists, and with the usual musical professionalism that is Jethro Tull. Strange Avenues is a perfect conclusion, sounding like a truly personal moment from Ian's own rock island. In comparison to anything else this band has ever done, this record not only holds it's own, but stands well above some of the others.

Like many of Jethro Tull's albums, this one takes awhile to get used to. However, unlike some of the other ones, Rock Island is pretty shoddy at first, yet after it has been listened to a few times, it becomes better than most.

The album follows a few definite themes, such as man's destruction of nature (Heavy Water, The Whalers' Dues,) isolation (Ears of Tin, Rock Island, Another Christmas Song,) and Big Riff and Mando being possibly the funniest track that Ian has ever written. If you listen to this album a few times before throwing it onto a trash heap, you'll be glad that you did. Trust me.

i've read some really negatory reviews of this album on here, but really its not that bad. it does rock and there are some good tull songs. this album is simpler than alot of tull's more "concept" heavy recent albums. rock island particularly is damn catchy. i really think you can find albums that are better examples of putrid trash or whatever these yahoos called it. tull rocks your socks.

Mr. Beattie, like the typical rock music journalist, needs to check his facts. (1) The following statement is exactly the opposite of reality, based on what Ian Anderson & Martin Barre have both said on several occasions (and even in the book that comes with the 25th anniversary box set): "Under Wraps (an. . . .album that none of them remember with much pleasure. . ." Both Ian & Martin are very fond of "Under Wraps." In fact, Martin Barre said to me in an interview in 1988 that it was the only Jethro Tull album that he actually pulls off the shelf to listen to for pleasure and not just to learn his own part to prepare for a tour.

(2) "Then came Crest Of A Knave, which. . . .won the 1989 Grammy as hard rock/heavy metal album of the year." They won the 1988 award, not the 1989 award, as the album was released in 1987.

As for "Rock Island," it's not IA's best songwriting by any means, although "Heavy Water" stands out as a tune that should have gotten some airplay.

Mediocre at best by Jethro Tull standards.

This is an album that, for the sake of a few outstanding works, I wanted very hard to give three stars to -- but no matter how much I look through the rose-colored glasses there are simply too many big flaws and weak spots to get much above 2 and a-half at best. This is especially disappointing coming off what is arguably their strongest album (Crest of a Knave), but beyond four excellent examples of songwriting , the very tight band work, and a number of fine instrumental sections and backing tracks there really isn't much to praise here. Well, the cover is really cool.

I break down the album into three parts: Four excellent songs (though even one of these has a difficult-to-overcome problem with the vocals); Two decent to mediocre songs, and; Four songs that are, well, really awful. Oddly enough the four "really awful" songs are the first and last two on the album -- the middle is much better, for the most part. Unlike most, I include the opener "Kissing Willy" in the last group. While the rocking melody and rhythm do have some merit, the vocals (a serious problem throughout this album) simply ruin the effort. And, unlike many, I don't really find the rather unsubtle oral sex angle all that unique or entertaining.

Mr. Anderson's vocal limitations, following his mid-80's illness, are readily apparent in this collection of songs, which much more than those in Crest or later albums require a singer with the range that he had pre-illness. He simply did not write most of the songs on this album with consideration for his post-illness limitations. This becomes supremely evident in those instances when croaking replaces singing.

The rest of the really bad are: "Rattlesnake Trail" (country isn't going to work for Tull, either, no matter how much Martin cuts loose on the lead guitar); "Big Riff and Mando" (some good mandolin and acoustic guitar interludes, combined with a ludicrous story-line and an otherwise droll performance); and "Strange Avenues" (an unsatisfying dirge rumbling down memory lane).

"Ears Of Tin" ranks in the mediocre group, yet it does have a good enough instrumental track to actually perform that fine Tull trick of improving with increased listenings. The vocals are again distressingly weak. The other mediocre work, "Heavy Water" heads in the other direction, even with it's interesting lyrics. It's a catchy enough little rocker, but nothing special and it tends to lose its modest lustre the more times it is listened to.

On the good side of the ledger fall the complex title track "Rock Island", the wonderful, raunchy heavy blues-rocker "Undressed to Kill" (with sadly deficient lead vocals), "Another Christmas Song" which is actually better than the original "Christmas Song" from early in Tull's career, and "Whaler's Dues", the 'piece de resistance' of this album.

"Whaler's Dues" is the one work on this album that can stand with almost any produced by the band at any time during their career. With a main melody based on an elongated two-note motif evoking the song of whales and the surge of deep seas, this slow, distinctive ballad provides a unique, and refreshingly not politically-correct, look at the catch-22 plight of a man whose once honored livlihood has somehow become criminal. It is a viewpoint on an emotional issue that isn't often heard through the intolerant shouting of certain media-blessed interest groups. Ian Anderson's voice is actually well-suited to this piece (one of the precious few on this record for which that can be said), and the vocals are excellently presented. The only aspect of this song's presentation that gives me any trouble is the discordant shouting of the masses ("NO") in response to the protagonist's plea for fellowship and, later, forgiveness. While the intolerant mass response brings the point home very clearly, it actually disrupts the inherent beauty of the music (which was probably the whole idea). I'd like to hear the song without those shouting responses -- an empty silence or a mere hint of the "NO" response, by instrument or vocal, might very well enhance the whaler's pleas, making the same point in a more subtle way.

However, even with this giant masterwork the album as a whole is not quite redeemable. In it's defense, it does significantly improve as you learn the music -- the higher points begin to stand out clearly. But all-tolled there are simply too many big flaws, which we are not accustomed to in a Tull album, even for a dedicated fan.

This album is Jethro Tull's weakest; even Under Wraps is more enjoyable than this sorry display of tired rock cliches that are about as imaginative as a pick-up truck commercial. Jethro Tull is certainly my favorite group, which makes this album even more putrid for me. "Kissing Willie" rocks good enough, but doesn't really go anywhere, and the sexist/tough guy lyrics don't seem very appropriate for someone who used to wear tights and a codpiece. That's certainly not an insult to Ian, it's just that he's MUCH too good to resort to Robert Plant/Rod Stewart posturing. "Rattlesnake Trail" is ok, sounds kinda country-rockish, not much to hang your hat on, though Martin Barre, as always, is superb. "Ears Of Tin" actually starts great, quickly becomes bombastic and then ends meekly. "Undressed To Kill" is probably Jethro Tull's most pointless song. It doesn't go ANYWHERE. The song putters around in circles without a clue. Again the lyrics are silly (especially for the best lyricist in rock); I'm definetly not Puritanical, but have the lyrics describe sex and seduction with a LEAST a little cleverness. When Ian used sexual metaphors in Acres Wild and Wond'ring Aloud, it worked perfectly! "Rock Island" is quite good, it describes its metaphor well, with the music being entirely in sync with the lyrics. "Heavy Water" is also good with a catchy hook (which can't be said for most of the songs on this disc). It has nice keyboard work, and deserved some exposure. "Another Christmas Song" is probably the best track, but I doubt Tull would have dared record anything this blatantly commercial during the 60's and 70's. It has pretty nice lyrics with a cheerful melody. "The Whaler's Dues" starts out wonderfully murky then gets stuck in a rut. The shouts of "NO! " make it faintly ridiculous. "Big Riff and Mando" probably can lay claim to be Jethro Tull's silliest song. The song starts out with a heaving guitar riff that gives way to a little, intricate mandolin part that keeps repeating itself. Then Ian dispenses a tale about the thrill a couple of English boys get when they steal a mandolin. Ohhhh..Kayyy. "Strange Avenue" ends this affair with what is basically a rewrite of "The Whailer's Dues", with a goofy salute to the Aqualung album included. It almost seems that JT tried to substain their artistic and commercial success of Crest Of A Knave, to justify their winning the 1988 Grammy for best Heavy Metal album, to update their sound for the late 80's, and to gather a new flock of fans, with this album. It failed on every count. It made Tull predictable, it probably didn't make many new Tull fans, it was an indifferent seller, and it gave the people who dislike Tull a handful of ammunition. The album is competent, but has no vision, making it a lone sore thumb in the majestic Jethro Tull canon. Fortunately, things got much better in the 90's with Catfish Rising, Roots To Branches, and Dot-Com.

Although the production here is somewhat thin, and songs like "Undressed to Kill" are more than just a little silly, the album holds together well, especially after the slightly piecemeal "Crest of a Knave". It has the feel of being played live, and "Whaler's Dues", "Big Riff and Mando" and "Strange Avenues" (the last three songs on the album) are especially solid. Nice return to form.

Not my favorite Tull album by any means but the title track plus Kissing Willie, Ears of Tin and Another Christmas Song are all well done.

This definitely is not the best of Tull albums. Particularly side A doesn't impress at all except for the title song Rock Island.Side B has some good numbers like Christmas song.Whalers dues and Strange Avenues are the one's which are very bluesy and really stands out and manages to pull the album above medioctity This album is the least impressive Tull album after Underwraps and Catfishrising.

This album is really great, and the spirit of Jethro Tull is at its best from the contemplative title track right through to the anthemic 'Another Christmas song'. I recommend this to absolutely anyone who has half a taste in music.