THE BEST OF JETHRO TULL: THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

This compilation album was my second exploration of Jethro Tull, right after the love-at-first-listen experience of Thick As A Brick, and in retrospect I'm glad that I got to hear what is most probably the best compilation release of the band's repertoire. This release follows all of the golden rules of how a great compilation should be and it's truly a pity that more of these "best of" can't follow this simple formula.

First off, this 2-CD collection features material compiled in a chronological order which makes it easy to follow the band's development with each new track. Another important rule is to have at least one track off each studio release, even the disastrous such, with an emphasis on the most popular recordings. In this case the compilation had highlighted the albums Stand Up, Aqualung and Songs From A Wood by adding 3 to 4 tracks from each of these albums. This choice falls in pretty well with my opinion of Jethro Tull's discography, even though I haven't heard each and every single one of their albums. Finally you add a few great none album tracks like Living In The Past and Life Is A Long Song and there you have it folks -- a great compilation album!

The Best Of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection is an excellent way to discover Jethro Tull for everyone who might have only heard a few of their albums and are interested in figuring out what era of the band's sound they should explore next. My most obvious discovery was that I should probably stay away from the '80s material since I just can't stand how Jethro Tull incorporated that new sound into their style. Instead it gave me a taste of Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die, Songs From The Wood and Heavy Horses, even if the latter turned out to be a disappointment in the long run.

***** star songs: Bourée (3:46) Living In The Past (3:21) Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09) Aqualung (6:37) Locomotive Breath (4:25) Thick As A Brick (extract) (3:02) Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day (3:53) Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die (5:40) The Whistler (3:33) Heavy Horses (8:57)

**** star songs: A Song For Jeffrey (3:20) A New Day Yesterday (4:09) Nothing Is Easy (4:23) Teacher (4:01) Sweet Dream (4:01) Mother Goose (3:53) Life Is A Long Song (3:19) Bungle In The Jungle (3:34) Minstrel In The Gallery (6:11) Songs From The Wood (4:54) Jack-In-The-Green (2:29) Dun Ringill (2:41) Fylingdale Flyer (4:32) Jack-A-Lynn (4:42) Pussy Willow (3:54) Broadsword (4:59) Under Wraps II (2:14) Steel Monkey (3:34) Farm On The Freeway (6:28) Jump Start (4:53)

*** star songs: Beggar's Farm (4:19) A Christmas Song (3:08) To Cry You A Song (6:15) A Passion Play (extract) (3:47) Kissing Willie (3:31) This Is Not Love (3:54)