THICK AS A BRICK

As bold as it may sound, but out of the top five albums in this site, there's only two that I consider beginning-to-end masterpieces with no filler or weak tracks. The first one is, obviously, Close To The Edge, but the second one is without a doubt Jethro Tull's fifth album, Thick As A Brick.

An album that consists entirely of a single title track divided in half, with multiple movements. I don't think any other record I've ever heard is as compact as this one. It's a non-stop rollercoaster of tons and tons of different sections getting thrown at your face before you can even process them. It's a very technical album, yet it somehow doesn't feel pretentious or self-indulgent.

Funnily enough, this record is a joke. Music critics, as always, are never satisfied. When Jethro Tull released Aqualung, the critics said it was good but directionless. In other words, they wanted a concept album. Something easy to follow. Jethro Tull, in response, made a concept album that's basically an epic poem by a ten year old. The intentional messiness of the story complements perfectly with the manic and fast paced instrumentation that remains for the whole record.

Strangely, this is one of the most accessible Jethro Tull albums, don't get tricked by the fact that it's composed of two twenty minute tracks. The melodies are catchy, memorable, and easy to sing along to. There really isn't any Moonchild-ish sections that could come up as too experimental and scare away potential new prog fans. The album has an excellent flow and it's not boring a single moment. It combines up-beat instrumentation with mellow parts that are more present in the second half of the album.

This is one of those records that is perfect from beginning to end. There's nothing that you can change about it. Every second is there for a solid reason and the ending product is very satisfying to listen. An essential album of progressive rock, and one of the cornerstones of rock in general.