JETHRO TULL

This has to be one of Jethro Tull's finest moments. While the band often was able to evoke a very wonderful old English sound and feeling with their earlier music, Minstrel in the Gallery is a true triumph in this respect. Every song has the "prog-folk" feeling that was explored later in their three folk rock albums, but here it is much darker and just... perfect. Ian Anderson put the minstrel concept to good use and as a result most songs on Minstrel are acoustic guitar oriented. But it is Jethro Tull, of course, and so the acoustic is blended with hard electric guitar riffs, thundering drums, and searing keyboards when needed. Add to that the usual string arrangements courtesy of David Palmer, and you have a nearly perfect album that is constantly engaging and amazingly unique.

It opens with the title track, which introduces us to the minstrel band presenting a lord and his lady one of their cheery tunes. At first, it goes along with sparse instrumentation and has that perfect medieval feel, with great acoustic guitar and flute. The lyrics are quite dense and don't have any obvious meaning, but that is a whole separate matter if you wish to take a look at exactly what it is he's singing. As the song goes on, the acoustic guitar fades away and is replaced suddenly by distorted, hard rock guitar. Then, the song kicks into overdrive, and we are presented with some of Jethro Tull's hardest, most complex and fun to listen to instrumental playing since maybe A Passion Play. Anderson also returns to the verses for awhile, but the real focus is the guitar and flute. This song sets the stage for the rest of the album, as some of the best songs follow a similar acoustic/electric blend. The complexity of the music doesn't die down much, either.

The other songs are all great as well, but the highlight of the whole album is definitely the nearly side-long suite "Baker St. Muse". This giant of a track is also one of the band's best songs and is more of a trip through a strange, mysterious London than a song. Broken into multiple parts, it features some of Ian's best acoustic guitar playing, which dominates most of the track, and spectacular string arrangements. The sections with the entire band are fantastic as well. "Baker St. Muse" is truly an amazing song, worthy of many listens. The other highlights of the album are "Cold Wind to Valhalla" and "One White Duck/0^10=Nothing at All", but every track has something very special. This is an album that is constantly rewarding and a true work of art. Additionally, the remastered CD version that I have features five bonus tracks, including the great "Summerday Sands". These are also similar in sound to the album tracks, and are worthy of listening to (except maybe the two "live" tracks, which despite the name don't make sense as live performances).

The only downsides to this album would be firstly the sound, which is not always that good. There is a rather dull quality sometimes, and even a high-pitched tone just audible behind the music in some tracks. I expect it was like this on the original album and it's a shame, because it does take away from the mood of the songs somewhat. Also, someone who likes harder prog or more electric guitar than acoustic, you may be dissapointed by this album, which often stays more mellow than fiery. Then again, there are plenty of parts that pack a real punch.

Final thought? Minstrel in the Gallery is probably my favorite Tull album and is without a doubt the best medieval sounding/themed album they did. One could say it takes the idea started on Aqualung with Anderson's short acoustic pieces and improves on it to the point where a whole album could be made from it. Really great album for anyone who likes acoustic, medieval prog and great songwriting.

Maybe not an abrupt turn of styles, but to follow STAND UP with the gut check of BENEFIT will feel a little weird to those following Jethro Tull in some chronological order. BENEFIT is very much a hard rock album nearing proto-metal many times, probably a byproduct of Martin Barre getting comfortable as the de facto electric guitarist of the band. Speaking of comfortable, the lineup of the band technically didn't change between STAND UP and BENEFIT; while long time organist John Evan first showed up here, I believe Evan's role here was mostly on a session basis.

You could call this a precursor to AQUALUNG in many ways as it has those album's characteristics without an overlapping narrative. To be honest, I get a lot more enjoyment from BENEFIT than AQUALUNG, maybe because the songs here are more unpolished of gems even if many Tull fans hold this album in high regard.

Other than bits and pieces scattered throughout the album, the acoustic bits are kept to slightly more than marginal. Granted ''Sossity'' and ''Michael Collins'' are very acoustic based, but the meat of the matter is in the harder rocking tracks and how it sounds like if Tony Iommi did rub off on Ian Anderson's composing style (Iommi was a brief member of the band in earlier days). ''Son'' is just face-tearing with a stomping riff, as is ''Inside''. It's also how well the riffs segue from one to the next that warrant a sense of stability in songs. ''Inside'' plays with the notion very well and can keep you guessing the whole song.

Other strong highlights come in many forms. We have rock songs beefed up with Anderson's signature flute playing that give a sense of unorthodoxy (''Alive and Well and Living In'', ''Play in Time''), songs with excellent solo opportunities (''Nothing to Say'', ''To Cry You a Song''), and the overall highlight in ''With You There to Help Me'', a song that keeps the listener on the edge of their seat with well-executed and quick dynamic shifts.

BENEFIT ''benefits'' (BOO!) from not having as much wear on it as some of its neighbouring albums. If you're a prog rock fan looking for more bite, BENEFIT is waiting.

This was actually my first Tull experience. Buying it on cassette in a small, countryside shop in '91, I was pleasantly christened in the river of Jethro and has been a great believer ever since. Back then I thought the album to be a really great one but now, after years of devotion to the band itself, I find it to be a good but by no stretch of the word essential part of any collection.

"This is not love" and "Occasional demons" are great openers and still find a favourable listener in me with it's dark, hard rocking and sinister sound. The rest of the tracks are pleasant but not that memorable but when you've listened to the classic stuff I recommend you inspect this one, while you're at it. It is a collection of songs, some greater than others, with a rootsy hard rock feel to it, smelling of the spices of Jethro Tull. While it's not a classic, it is a worthy album.

"Spiral" is a very strong hard rocking track to open this review with. "Bends like a Willow" is a track that could have come off of the previous release and it is pleasant to the ears. "Awol" is just ok for me until a third of the way through the track when my ears prick up and the track becomes fatter in content. I like "Nothing@all" and it almost reminds me of Keith Emerson, a very short piano piece. "Wicked Windows" is a little quirky - it's a weaker track as far as I'm concerned. "Hunt by Numbers" is a number about cats, a standard rock track although a pleasant diversion. "Hot Mango Flush" - quirky and bawdy and interesting. "El Nino" is an interesting track that carries the world music flavor from the previous release. "Black Mamba" named for what is acknowleged by many to be the deadliest serpent on earth due to its venom and aggressive nature. This track, though, is not about a snake. "Mango Surprise", sheesh this guy has a depraved brain. "Bends like a Willow" again a world music flavor and again hiddenly erotic. "Far Alaska" is a standard number. "The Dog-Ear Years" does nothing for me - it's merely there. "A Gift of Roses" has strong references in the lyrics to the older, brilliant, album (A Passion Play) other than that it's merely pleasant. "The Secret Language of Birds" is a bonus track - an appetite wetter to something that sounds quite interesting.

This, for me, is a good and pleasant album however it holds no Tull highlights among the covers bookending it. In places the middle eastern strains from the previous release are still present however this is very much more a standard rock release from Tull. I can't in all honesty award this 4 stars but I can't fault it either. It's a fun listen. So - a solid 3 stars from me.

My original review was rudely interupted by a power surge that turned my pc off while I was reading through it just prior to clicking submit - that kind of thing makes one want to leave a tooth impression in the keyboard. I'm not going to attempt to rewrite the whole thing as I'm still acid about the affair however herein are the salient points. This album represents a change in the Tull formula where the band takes on a "world music" flavor with strains of middle eastern, eastern and at times african sounds and structures. I like this new sound and the album is a definate step up from the previous few releases. There is little of the Tull of the early 70's here however that can be almost forgiven with this incarnation which although nothing like as good is very interesting and appealing to the ears. I don't pick up much of the "Dire Straits" emulation and sound of a few of the earlier releases throughout this album barring for on the last track "Another Harry's Bar". The really stand out tracks for me here are "Roots to Branches", "Wounded, Old and Treacherous", "At last, forever" and "Stuck in the August Rain" although there is nothing that I percieve as subpar on this release. The rating from me is an easy 4 stars.

Well what do we have here? I was kind of hoping to find the old Tull hiding in the album sleeve. "This is not Love" - almost had me looking at te cover to see if there weren't bearded gents wearing mirror shades on it somewhere. KInd of like a ZZ Top and Springsteen get together with Anderson / Knopfler. "Occasional Demons" - I had to read the credits at this point to ascertain that no ZZ Top members were collaborating here. "Roll yer Own" - Tull does Bluegrass? "Rocks on the Road" - KInd of a bluesy track about the hassles to be found along the way. Not bad. "Sparrow on the Schoolyard Wall" - Rock fare. Nothing special. "Thinking round Corners" - I laughed aloud at points in the track - fun to be had here. "Still Loving You Tonight" - The Blues. Looking for Gary Moore. "Doctor to My Disease" - Rock n Roll and Blues mix. "Like a Tall Thin Girl" - Quirky bawdy romp. "White Innocence" - Softer track. Virgins and all. Best track thus far here however it only towers a little. "Sleeping with the Dog" - Blues number. "Gold-tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie" - Quirky folksy thing. "When Jesus came to Play" - I don't like this track at all. "NIght in the Wilderness" (Bonus Track) - by this time I'm really tired of this album. "Jump Start" (Live) (Bonus) - Too little too late.

Well - some fun to be had here however I found reviewing this to be a tedious affair. There are no really strong tracks here unlike the previous releases where there was always a towering number or two or three. This is - a lot of the time - Anderson does the Blues, the Dire Straits thing, Straight Hard Rock, quirky tracks - or whatever. I find myself wishing that Anderson would do the original Tull thing again. Two stars.

I'm kind of hoping that Tull have left their Dire Straits thing from the previous album behind. Sadly it quickly becomes apparant that although this is a harder rocking album I still here those danged Dire Straits inflections - if I wanted Dire Straits that is what I would get hold of. "Kissing Willy" - Oh, so that's your name for that thing? Standard hard rock here. "The Rattlesnake Trail" - again standard flute laced rock. "Ears of Tin" - way better than the previous two tracks but nothing special. "Undressed to Kill" - Ok track but nothing to keep my mind on it. "Rock Island" - Ok track but which holds my interest better than the previous fare. "Heavy Water" - This far into the album this is easily the best track for me. Still straight ahead rock but it is interesting. "Another Christmas Song" - One thing that gets me down is the word Christmas as part of the name of a track - I just know that I'm invariably going to get a track that is aimed at the Christmas spend spree. Awwww we have to get that to play on Christmas eve. "The Whaler's Dues" - this is the tower of the album and a really tall one it is at that - I love this track not least for the fact that it speaks of a subject close to my heart. This is more like the Tull that I want to hear at this point. "Big Riff and Mando" - an ok track, nothing more or less. "Strange Avenues" - Early reference in the lyrics to Aqualung. This is the second track on the album that I really enjoy and seeing that it's the final track that's not saying much for the album at all. "Christmas Song (live) (bonus) - I enjoy this track - where has this Jethro Tull gone to? "Cheap Day Return / Mother Goose" (live) (bonus) - as per my comment relating to the previous track. "Locomotive Breath" - Oh where, oh where have they gone? - maybe I'll find em on the next release.

Well - the album doesn't make me want to throw out (as my son used to say when he was feeling particularly ill as a really young lad) but aside from two tracks it doesn't make me want to reach to turn up the volume either. 3 sad stars from me as it isn't at all bad if what you're looking for is standard rock fare and two tracks almost had me standing up and applauding insanely.

At least most of the tracks on this album had guest drummers and thus didn't rely solely on electronic percussion. "Steel Monkey" not a bad track at all but was Anderson attempting to emulate Dire Straits? "Farm on the Freeway" - I like this track however the Dire Straits emulation makes me wonder who this is. I'm suprised Knopfler didn't have Anderson arrested for trying to be him. "Jump Start" - strange track to me but enjoyable - rock n roll meets Ian Anderson meets Dire Straits. "Said She was a Dancer" - very mellow. "Dogs in the Midwinter" - Nothing special here at all. "Budapest" - Excellent intro to the track, to my mind one of the best efforts on the album. Reminds me of "Telegraph Road". I really like this track - the monolith of the album. "Mountain Men" - another very good track. "The Waking Edge" - A dramatic entrance. Very good softer track. "Raising Steam" -a balls out rocker. "Part of the Machine" (bonus track) - Nothing wrong here.

Ian Anderson had recently had an operation on his vocal chords and he can be forgiven for not being the voice that Tull fans know and love. The similarities of this effort to Dire Straits are numerous but then this would have made a hell of a good Dire Straits album. This is still a long way from the original Tull sound however it is not an unappealing sound at all. I really do enjoy this album and my rating is three and a half stars rounded up to four.

A very different sounding Jethro Tull - very electronic rock sound not similar to what came before. "Lap of Luxury" - I enjoy the sound of the track although I have almost got to take off my old Jethro Tull hat to appreciate this. "Under Wraps 1" - is that a beat machine I hear as opposed to drums? Oh Dear! Interesting track though. "European Legacy" - I don't mind the sound however as I said before I have to lose the Jethro Tull Prog hat. "Later that same evening" - I enjoy this track a great deal. It has a dramatic mysterious feel. "Saboteur" - straight ahead rock track in the 1984 vein. "Radio Free Moscow" - electronic driven rock again - lots of electric squawks and squonks. "Astronomy" - Nothing special at all. "Tundra" starts off sounding like good UK track however that morphs into a kind of ooooooooo electronic rock again. I don't dislike it however. "Nobody's Car" - what have we here? hot damn! more electronic rock. "Heat" - A bit of a rougher sound before almost turning Disco. The mid section of the track appeals to me but it's kind of short lived. "Under Wraps 2" - This is a track that I quite like but it's really short lived. "Paparazzi" - This is kind of sweet. "Apogee" - Not bad. "Automotive Engineering" - doesn't grab me in the slightest. "General Crossing" - again electric squawks and squonks - by this time I'm tired of the album.

Was this Tull's attempt at Dance music of horror of horrors - Disco? The mid 80's weren't kind to prog rock at all. Electronic drums do not do it for me in the first place. There seems to be a theme of espionage running through this album. This isn't a poor album to me but it's not what I would have expected from Tull. I'm going to shock myself and give this one a 3 rating - in a strange way it is an appealing album to me because although it represents what is bad about what can happen to a prog giant it is pleasant enough and if I'm in the mood for some compulsive foot tapping a may play this. It isn't bad at what it attempts to do but why oh why did Tull have to be the band to do it?

A new incarnation for Jethro Tull and one that I really like in this album. "Beastie" - Dealing with phobias and fears - Love this one. It is not Tull of old however it's good rocking Tull. "The Clasp" - very much more keyboard orientated incorporating the sound of Tull albeit a much modified sound. "Fallen on Hard Times" - again a modified version of the Tull sound however old Tull can be heard clearly here. "Flying Colours" - I love this track. The emotions that run through this are powerful. "Slow Marching Band" - Another very emotional piece of work - love it. About the death of a loved one? "Broadsword" - Epic track dealing with a Viking or Norse invasion - Love this - a great deal. "Pussy Willow" - Very good cross between old Tull and the more modern Tull. Gee I wonder what this could be about? "Watching me, Watching you" - Very clever play on words - a good electronic rock track. "Seal Driver" - Hot Damn! I love this track. Very emotion laced music here. Kind of makes a guy want to have an adventure. "Cheerio" - pleasant little ditty.

This represents the original album and I absolutely love it - Sorry Tull purists (of which I'm one) but this is heading for a 5 star rating from me.

"Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow" - interesting mix of Folk and Rock. "Jack A Lynn" - very nice powerful slower number. "Mayhem Maybe" - nice ditty with an interesting tale. "Too many Too" - straight forward rock track. "Overhang" - oooooo the dreaded hangover - good track. "Rythm in Gold" - interesting Rock track. "I'm your Gun" - another interesting Rock track. "Down at the end of your Road" -

I don't get the many who don't like this album - to me it is a total winner. Jethro Tull weren't a sell out in the vein of later Phil Collins Genesis. This represents a way more rock orientated Tull however the distinctive Tull sound was still very much part of the music. This is an album full of emotion and that, when it's well represented, nearly always scores for me. 5 easy stars from me.