THICK AS A BRICK

I'll say I am at level 3 on this. I know it fairly well, but not quite an expert. I would say going in that this is probably my favorite Tull album, but let's see if that holds true. As I suspect most of you know, Ian Anderson decided to make "The Mother of All Concept Albums," after becoming frustrated with rock journalists referring to Aqualung (see my earlier review) as a concept album. Anderson said that while there were some themes running through Aqualung, he did not consider it to be a concept album; thus, his decision to make one.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

Track 1 - Thick as a Brick, Part 1

The whole album is actually considered to be one song, however, time limitations of vinyl LPs necessitated that the song be divided into two sections, one for each side of the record. So, we shall listen to it as such. But of course, "I really don't mind, if you sit this one out?" ;) Those lyrics begin our musical journey, along with Anderson's fine acoustic guitar playing. His flute fills in the spaces between vocal phrases with a delightful melody. After the second phrase, the rest of the band briefly joins in, but then stay out until one minute in when piano, bass & light ride cymbals replace the flute. By 1:40, everyone is in. Nice Glockenspiel at around 2 minutes. A personal note, for a long time, I was only familiar with the radio edit of approximately the first 3 minutes of the song, and didn't realize until much later, just how expansive of a song it was. After 3 minutes, the groove changes and the band stays in more steadily.

Nice organ work from John Evan at around 4 minutes, then Martin Barre takes a lead guitar break, before the acoustic guitar takes back over, briefly. I like the staccato rhythm pattern at around 4:45. At around 5:15, a slower smoother groove takes over. The next vocal melody takes over at approximately 6 minutes in. Barre takes another guitar solo at around 7:30. Jeffery Hammond and Barrimore Barlow lay down a nice rhythm section groove while there are two overlapping lead guitar parts. Another melody takes over at around 9:15, with some drum fills from Barlow. I love the instrumental arrangement on this album. Another new melody takes over at around 11:30, with an organ feature following. John Evan may be the breakout "star" of this album, as Anderson and Barre usually received the lion's share of attention on previous albums. The 6-8 organ melody that begins around 12:30 always gets stuck in my head. A new vocal melody joins in with this groove. Anderson takes a flute solo at around 14:15. At around 16:25, the acoustic part from the start of the song returns. I like the way Ian sings the melody in unison with Glockenspiel and bass. At around 17:30 the transition into a new part of the song. Cool bass lines from Hammond at around 19:30. Evan's high-pitched piano lines add a nice touch to the arrangement. Flute lines weave in and out across the stereo image, beautiful. Then at 21:10 the band hits very sharp accents. Evan takes a distorted organ solo a la Jon Lord of Deep Purple. A delay effect is manipulated as we close-out side 1 and get ready to flip the album over.

Track 2 - Thick as a Brick, Part 2.

The song fades back in with almost middle eastern melodies overlapping. But at 49 seconds in, the band begin a quick-tempo riff with Andersons' vocals holding long sustained notes. The staccato rhythm returns from earlier, but much faster. Nice drum solo from Barlow at around while hints of a new melody are interjected.1:30. At just before 3 minutes in, Evan plays some blistering runs on the organ. There are some spoken bits in the mix of this rather chaotic portion of the song. The initial guitar theme returns at around 4:00 in. I like the way Anderson's vocals are harmonized on certain phrases. At around 6 minutes in, a more somber melody begins. At around the 8- minute mark, the rhythm section returns. As we proceed through the next few minutes, the music begins to build dynamically and in intensity. Things set quiet again at around 11 minutes, but quickly begin to build up again. I love the inter-twining musical lines from the different instruments at around 12 minutes. There is a cool proggy section that begins at around 14:10. I love the instrumental accents that frame the vocals starting around 16:10. Next they do the same for the flute. Nice Tympani around 17:10. The music transitions again around 18:05, as a marching beat takes over. Mad time signature changes around 18:50. Excellent orchestration from D. Palmer at around 20:00., then at 20:35 the original melody and guitar parts take over to conclude this mega-epic.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I do believe that this is indeed Tull's masterpiece. Anderson & company really outdid themselves. That said, there are some moments in part 2, especially that don't always hold my attention. So, while great, it's a not quite perfect album for me. I'll give it a 4.75 out of 5. I can see why so many people really hold this album in high esteem.

Clicking 5, but really a 4.75. 4 is too low.

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