AQUALUNG

With Jeffrey Hammond replacing Cornick on bass and with John Evan now a full-time member on keyboards (he had already collaborated on previous albums too), a five-piece JT recorded the musical hurricane called "Aqualung". Making two timeless hard- rocking tracks (the title song and "Locomotive Breath"). They provided a sound fan base among the schoolboys and schoolgirls that helped them reach the rock stardom. But, that's not all. Behind the quite impenetrable lyrics (at least to a non-English native speaker), seemingly touching the dream-like social critique with the Tramp and other literary characters (Mother Goose et al.) on side 1, and the strong anti-religious/anti-ecclesiastical God-centered philosophy on side 2, lies one of the most remarkable rock albums of all time. Music production, arrangement, concept and performance are brilliant - with Anderson almost eating his flute out! Simply put, there is no weak moment on this album, no matter how many times you listen to it (It might be a hundereds of times that I heard "Locomotive Breath", each time discovering someting new). The only thing I never liked is that a bit watered-down acoustic number "Wind Up" is placed after the "Locomotive" to end the album on a lower note. But hell, after God being depicted as a strict father-figure judgment person who "stole the handle and the train won't stop going", at the end we get a more tolerant wise guy who patiently and peacefully said "I am not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays". Almost a Deistic/Universalist approach...

PERSONAL RATING: 4,5/5

P.A. RATING: 5/5