STORMWATCH

An album that I really enjoy and one that Tull purists kind of became a bit anti about. "Northsea Oil" - A track about oil, nuclear energy and the looming energy crises. This is harder rock edged than previous albums were losing the medievil kind of folk rock that Tull were exeptionally good at writing. "Orion" - again a harder rock edge intersperced with light folksy passages. Very emotive in parts. "Home" - a soft track which is simple yet very pretty. "Dark Ages" - not about the dark ages of the past but the dark ages to come. Strong track that crosses into hard rock / metal territory in parts. "Warm Sporran" - essentially an instrumental track with strong rock folk fusion parts. "Something's on the Move" - a hard rock edge once again through this track. "Old Ghosts" - I find that a lot of the cleverness in Anderson's lyrics have been diluted with this album although there are gems here and there throughout the lyrics. "Dun Ringill" - A real life place, the ruins of a fort. Back to older Tull folk territory. "Flying Dutchman" - I love this track with the piano threads throughout. A very emotive track . The lyrics are once again up to Anderson's good previous standard. Reference to Vietnamese refugees within the music as an example. "Elegy" - the beautiful David Palmer instumental track closes off the original album. "A Stitch in Time" (bonus track) - good standard rock track. "Crossword" (bonus track) - another standard rock track interesting for among other things the bass use. "Kelpie" (bonus track) - A Scottish folklore magical creature that can transform itself into a beautiful woman that lures men to their doom. A river horse. "KIng Henry's Madrigal" (bonus track) - pleasant enough little instrumental.

A solid four star album for me.