THICK AS A BRICK

Thick as a Brick is undoubtedly a masterpiece, and not just because it is a 40 minute song. It merits the five star rating deservedly, even if some parts (to some people) may seem immature or incapable of reaching full potential. The ambition of this album combined with the sheer musicianship, abstract lyrics, psychedelic ambience, surreal touches, and classical arrangements provide a great 40 minutes of listening. Most importantly, this album lends itself well to the imagination, as any good piece of art should do. It means what you want it to.

This masterpiece begins with a 3 minute folk number with perhaps the most mesmerizing lyrics in the whole thing. This really catches your attention, and the choruses, especially during the lyrics "and you wise men...feels" are very beautiful, causing a true "feel-good" moment. Towards the end of this beautiful little section, there is a surreal chord change and an organ added to the mix. And here you know something is about to go down.

We're attacked rather abruptly by a 5/4 musical version of Alice and Wonderland, with a thumping, moving bassline, some sassy keyboards (horns?), and then an amazing organ/guitar solo. This continues on for a bit, and really, just enjoy this and let the music take you away if it hasn't by now. It ends abruptly with an acoustic recap of earlier, and then some staccatoed notes make an amazing and memorable presence. And then...some jazzy(?) stuff. Some flute, piano, and bass begin to overwhelm you. It's jazzy and medieval at the same time, you have to hear it to believe it

The album continues to turn and twist like a musical labrynth, and it really stretches your imagination. You don't even have to read the lyrics to be mesmerized, but if you really want to take it to an extreme then you must. Throughout these forty minutes, you experience some of the best folk, blues, classical, jazz, hard rock, and even metal has to offer. These tiny bursts of genre blending fits perfectly into the lyrics, the mesmerizing instrumental sections, and they never seem overdone.

You have to listen to the rest on your own and formulate your own opinion on this, but the reason why it is so easy to become absorbed in this album is why it merits five stars. There is more complex music than this, more beautiful music, more trippy music...but the way this all finds a perfect balance, retaining a certain level of fun and seriousness, it truly lends itself to you. Something you simply must have in your collection

The mind-blowingly insane-the first few guitar/organ solos. The mind-blowingly beautiful-"do you believe in the day?" The mind-blowingly unexpected-the really random string section towards the end.

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