Post by Mark Lavallee on Sept 1, 2012 22:18:33 GMT -5
And now we get to the album that made Tull international superstars, selling over 7 million copies. The masterpiece, Aqualung.
Released on March 19, 1971, peaking at #7 in the UK and #4 here in the US, and again reaching #53 with a CD Rerelease in 1996.
At the end of the Benefit tour Anderson sacked original bassist Glen Cornick and brought in his friend Jeffrey Hammond (credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond) who was familiar to Tull fans through his "tribute" songs on each of the prior Tull albums. Hammond was beloved by the bands fans for his sense of humor and general good nature. Not a proper musician by any means, he did have the uncanny ability to memorize exactly what he should be playing and posessed perfect timing. One listen to the albums he played on and the live document of the tour's shows he was clearly more than capable of playing the most mind bogglingly complicated basslines imaginable.
The album would also prove to be the last with original drummer Clive Bunker who was also replaced by someone from Ian Anderson's past.
On to side one. The album begins in top fashion with the classic title track. "Aqualung," should be familiar to anyone who has ever listened to classic rock radio. The great opening guitar riff is both memorable and iconic, but one thing you'll notice is that Tull's most familiar/famous song actually has no flute in it. Anderson takes on the role of a vicious tramp who is, "Eyeing little girls with bad intent." The name Aqualung a metaphor for the hacking wheeze the vagrant makes. The song is HEAVY, broken up with a great acoustic bridge before bombarding the listener with one of rock's all-time greatest guitar solos. Led Zeppelin were in the studio next door recording their untitled album when Page heard Barre's solo he came in and gave him a thumb's up, Barre waved back mid solo and kept playing. That take is actually on the album.
The pace of the album doesn't let up as next we're hammered with another radio staple, the classic, "Cross-Eyed Mary." The
Aqualung character makes a cameo appearance in this sordid tale of a schoolgirl prostitute who prefers, "Letching greys," and gets, "No kicks from little boys." Metalheads should be familiar with the tune as a cover tune on the B Side to Iron Maiden's, "The Trooper," single.
Things take a break with the short (81 seconds) acoustic piece, "Cheap Day Return," about Anderson visiting his old father in hospital, the title derived from his train ticket. It is a beautiful little piece of music. Next up is the whimsical, "Mother Goose," a mostly acoustic piece, Jeffrey Hammond's alto recorder making a perfect accent (as does John Evans mellotron). Barre's menacing electric guitar in the latter half is just beautiful, as it is both a contrast and a complement to the acoustic guitars. And, like the rest of the album, lyrically and vocally it is just incredible. A song about the weirdos around Hampstead Fair.
Then we're off with another short (at just under 2 minutes) acoustic piece, the beautiful, "Wond'ring Aloud," The piano and acoustic interplay is wonderful in this very beautiful ballad. Anderson calls it the best love song he's ever written.
The side ends with possibly my favorite song on the album, "Up To Me," with a very cynical vocal and a great melody it's a mostly acoustic track, but it has a very heavy feel. With Barre's distorted guitar breaking the calm, the great acoustic/flute riff is wonderful.
Side two is more thematically cohesive, with Anderson setting off on organized religion. The side opens with the classic, "My God," and at 7:08 it's the longest song on the album and it goes through many moods. It has a solo acoustic intro which leads to some piano before the band kicks in for a very bitter attack - not on god, but on the, "Bloody church of England," and what it's done to religion. Midway the band dissolves and we get a lengthy flute solo with some Gregorian style chant in the middle before it's back to the band. The song is quite the musical and lyrical journey.
From there we're off into the album's single (an odd choice), "Hymn 43," a powerful song fueled by Barre's electric guitar and Evans piano. Anderson gives a very angry vocal condemning the church, which is not exactly single material lyrically, so it's no surprise it only made it to #91. If only they'd flipped it I think, "Mother Goose," would have been a better choice.
And then it's the last of a trio of short acoustic pieces, the concise perfection for the 73 second, "Slipstream." The orchestral backing courtesy of David Palmer is beautiful. Then it's off into another radio staple, "Locomotive Breath." The famous piano intro almost leads you to believe you're in for a ragtime song before that famous heavy riff and trainlike rhythm kick in. "Locomotive Breath," is a great kick ass rocker. Legitimately great. Of note, Anderson plays every instrument on this track.
The album finishes with the fan favorite, "Wind Up," which starts as a melodic soft number before the full band comes crashing in to close the album in style, a vicsious attack on Sunday school and the church. My kind of album!
The 40th anniversary edition of the album (pictured at the top right) is a revelation. The remix by Steven Wilson is quite drastic. Previously, the album was muddy and lacked definition or clarity, but the new remix is reference quality. The clarity is amazing. Wilson managed to remix the album in a way that sounds like what the album was originally intended to sound like. The bonus tracks are wonderful as well. They lead off with the outtake, "Lick Your Fingers Clean," a great rocker that was slated for side B of the album (and was reworked as, "Two Fingers," for the War Child album in 1974.) "Just Trying To Be," is next, which is also on the Benefit remaster. Up next is an early version of, "My God," which is strikingly different from the album version. The lyrics are totally different and the instrumental section is as well. Great stuff. This song had been in the setlist from the beginning of the Benefit tour.
Up next is an alternate version of, "Wond'ring Aloud," followed by another quite different earlier version of, "Wind-Up." Then we have an alternate take of, "Slipstream," followed by a radically different early version of, "Up the 'Pool." Up next is the biggest revelation of the album, "Wond'rind Aloud, Again." "Wond'ring Again," appeared on the 1972 B Sides compilation Living In The Past, but this is the full version and it is wonderful! Featuring Glen Cornick on bass, his work here is extraordinary. This would have been a major highlight on the album.
The remaster concludes with the whole of the wonderful, "Life Is A Long Song," EP (which peaked at #11), the first recordings with new drummer extraordinaire Barriemore Barlow. A childhood aquaintance of Ian Anderson's, they'd played together in various Blackpool bands in the 60s. Metalheads may remember him as the drummer on the first Yngwie Malmsteen Rising Force album (which features some fantastic performances from Barlow).
The title track of the EP is a beautiful melancholy ballad. Next up is a song about Anderson's childhood town Blackpool, "Up The 'Pool," and it is a beautiful homage to his childhood. Next is the menacing, "Dr. Bogenbroom." Very nice. A short instrumental called, "From Later," follows and the EP concludes with another song written on the train to visit his sick father, "Nursie," a hauntingly beautiful piece.
Final rating - 5 out of 5 stars, this really is one of rock's great albums. If there's one Tull album everyone must own it's this one.
Released on March 19, 1971, peaking at #7 in the UK and #4 here in the US, and again reaching #53 with a CD Rerelease in 1996.
At the end of the Benefit tour Anderson sacked original bassist Glen Cornick and brought in his friend Jeffrey Hammond (credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond) who was familiar to Tull fans through his "tribute" songs on each of the prior Tull albums. Hammond was beloved by the bands fans for his sense of humor and general good nature. Not a proper musician by any means, he did have the uncanny ability to memorize exactly what he should be playing and posessed perfect timing. One listen to the albums he played on and the live document of the tour's shows he was clearly more than capable of playing the most mind bogglingly complicated basslines imaginable.
The album would also prove to be the last with original drummer Clive Bunker who was also replaced by someone from Ian Anderson's past.
On to side one. The album begins in top fashion with the classic title track. "Aqualung," should be familiar to anyone who has ever listened to classic rock radio. The great opening guitar riff is both memorable and iconic, but one thing you'll notice is that Tull's most familiar/famous song actually has no flute in it. Anderson takes on the role of a vicious tramp who is, "Eyeing little girls with bad intent." The name Aqualung a metaphor for the hacking wheeze the vagrant makes. The song is HEAVY, broken up with a great acoustic bridge before bombarding the listener with one of rock's all-time greatest guitar solos. Led Zeppelin were in the studio next door recording their untitled album when Page heard Barre's solo he came in and gave him a thumb's up, Barre waved back mid solo and kept playing. That take is actually on the album.
The pace of the album doesn't let up as next we're hammered with another radio staple, the classic, "Cross-Eyed Mary." The
Aqualung character makes a cameo appearance in this sordid tale of a schoolgirl prostitute who prefers, "Letching greys," and gets, "No kicks from little boys." Metalheads should be familiar with the tune as a cover tune on the B Side to Iron Maiden's, "The Trooper," single.
Things take a break with the short (81 seconds) acoustic piece, "Cheap Day Return," about Anderson visiting his old father in hospital, the title derived from his train ticket. It is a beautiful little piece of music. Next up is the whimsical, "Mother Goose," a mostly acoustic piece, Jeffrey Hammond's alto recorder making a perfect accent (as does John Evans mellotron). Barre's menacing electric guitar in the latter half is just beautiful, as it is both a contrast and a complement to the acoustic guitars. And, like the rest of the album, lyrically and vocally it is just incredible. A song about the weirdos around Hampstead Fair.
Then we're off with another short (at just under 2 minutes) acoustic piece, the beautiful, "Wond'ring Aloud," The piano and acoustic interplay is wonderful in this very beautiful ballad. Anderson calls it the best love song he's ever written.
The side ends with possibly my favorite song on the album, "Up To Me," with a very cynical vocal and a great melody it's a mostly acoustic track, but it has a very heavy feel. With Barre's distorted guitar breaking the calm, the great acoustic/flute riff is wonderful.
Side two is more thematically cohesive, with Anderson setting off on organized religion. The side opens with the classic, "My God," and at 7:08 it's the longest song on the album and it goes through many moods. It has a solo acoustic intro which leads to some piano before the band kicks in for a very bitter attack - not on god, but on the, "Bloody church of England," and what it's done to religion. Midway the band dissolves and we get a lengthy flute solo with some Gregorian style chant in the middle before it's back to the band. The song is quite the musical and lyrical journey.
From there we're off into the album's single (an odd choice), "Hymn 43," a powerful song fueled by Barre's electric guitar and Evans piano. Anderson gives a very angry vocal condemning the church, which is not exactly single material lyrically, so it's no surprise it only made it to #91. If only they'd flipped it I think, "Mother Goose," would have been a better choice.
And then it's the last of a trio of short acoustic pieces, the concise perfection for the 73 second, "Slipstream." The orchestral backing courtesy of David Palmer is beautiful. Then it's off into another radio staple, "Locomotive Breath." The famous piano intro almost leads you to believe you're in for a ragtime song before that famous heavy riff and trainlike rhythm kick in. "Locomotive Breath," is a great kick ass rocker. Legitimately great. Of note, Anderson plays every instrument on this track.
The album finishes with the fan favorite, "Wind Up," which starts as a melodic soft number before the full band comes crashing in to close the album in style, a vicsious attack on Sunday school and the church. My kind of album!
The 40th anniversary edition of the album (pictured at the top right) is a revelation. The remix by Steven Wilson is quite drastic. Previously, the album was muddy and lacked definition or clarity, but the new remix is reference quality. The clarity is amazing. Wilson managed to remix the album in a way that sounds like what the album was originally intended to sound like. The bonus tracks are wonderful as well. They lead off with the outtake, "Lick Your Fingers Clean," a great rocker that was slated for side B of the album (and was reworked as, "Two Fingers," for the War Child album in 1974.) "Just Trying To Be," is next, which is also on the Benefit remaster. Up next is an early version of, "My God," which is strikingly different from the album version. The lyrics are totally different and the instrumental section is as well. Great stuff. This song had been in the setlist from the beginning of the Benefit tour.
Up next is an alternate version of, "Wond'ring Aloud," followed by another quite different earlier version of, "Wind-Up." Then we have an alternate take of, "Slipstream," followed by a radically different early version of, "Up the 'Pool." Up next is the biggest revelation of the album, "Wond'rind Aloud, Again." "Wond'ring Again," appeared on the 1972 B Sides compilation Living In The Past, but this is the full version and it is wonderful! Featuring Glen Cornick on bass, his work here is extraordinary. This would have been a major highlight on the album.
The remaster concludes with the whole of the wonderful, "Life Is A Long Song," EP (which peaked at #11), the first recordings with new drummer extraordinaire Barriemore Barlow. A childhood aquaintance of Ian Anderson's, they'd played together in various Blackpool bands in the 60s. Metalheads may remember him as the drummer on the first Yngwie Malmsteen Rising Force album (which features some fantastic performances from Barlow).
The title track of the EP is a beautiful melancholy ballad. Next up is a song about Anderson's childhood town Blackpool, "Up The 'Pool," and it is a beautiful homage to his childhood. Next is the menacing, "Dr. Bogenbroom." Very nice. A short instrumental called, "From Later," follows and the EP concludes with another song written on the train to visit his sick father, "Nursie," a hauntingly beautiful piece.
Final rating - 5 out of 5 stars, this really is one of rock's great albums. If there's one Tull album everyone must own it's this one.