THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST

In the early 1980s, the tireless Ian Anderson decided, without abandoning his glorious 1970s harmonies, that Jethro Tull should incorporate a greater dose of synthesizers to meet the challenges that the nascent decade presented. First came the more electronic rock of 1980's 'A', a solo project by the multifaceted musician that ended up being signed by the band, and a couple of years later it was the turn of 'The Broadsword and the Beast' (1982), the British band's fourteenth album.

And that inclination to 'modernise' the band's sound on 'The Broadsword and the Beast' (even though the cover suggests the opposite...) doesn't quite work when the keyboards are so prominent, as in the introductions to the simplistic 'Beatsie', with its bland chorus, or in the insipid middle section of 'Flying Colours', which detracts from Peter John Vettese's beautiful piano introduction, or in the hybrid melody between rock, folk and synth pop of 'Watching Me Watching You', which seems out of context.

In contrast, the album has its moments of greatest clarity when it approaches more folk structures with Anderson's acoustic guitars and flutes seasoned with ingredients from classic hard rock courtesy of Martin Barre's guitar riffs, as in the medieval 'Fallen on Hard Times' and Barre's outstanding use of the slide, also in the baroque sounds of the welcoming and emotional 'Slow Marching Band' (a gem), in the ceremonious mid-tempo of the epic 'Broadsword', or in the more progressive 'Seal Driver' and David Page's enveloping bass counterpointed by the guitarist's riffs and under an atmospheric blanket, probably the track that best encapsulates Anderson's stubborn quest to find the balance between the band's musical universes.

The brief and warm 'Cheerio' provides an interesting close to an album that, despite the ups and downs of its disjointed compilation, is a commendable attempt by Jethro Tull (or rather Ian Anderson...) to remain relevant.

P.S. From the 2005 remastering, both the pastoral 'Jack Frost and The Hooded Crow', the beautiful first part of 'Jack-A-Lynn' and the acoustic delight 'Mayhem, Maybe' would have deserved to be part of the main album.

3 stars

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