Thick as a Brick: Jethro Tull

mine.. no surprise... it isn't even close to the greatest prog album ever made... pfffff..  the joke was on.. and Tull fans ate it hook line and sinker...

besides it is and only the 4th best Tull album and the last truly good album start to finish they made.


overrated album.. and group who died after Bunker left.. replaced by more of Anderson's cronies...

part of the greatest display of Prog ego since Waters took over Floyd. At least Waters had a real vision and talent Hah..

micky wrote: mine.. no surprise... it isn't even close to the greatest prog album ever made... pfffff..  the joke was on.. and Tull fans ate it hook line and sinker... besides it is and only the 4th best Tull album and the last truly good album start to finish they made. overrated album.. and group who died after Bunker left.. replaced by more of Anderson's cronies... part of the greatest display of Prog ego since Waters took over Floyd. At least Waters had a real vision and talent Hah..

hey man I'm not saying its a bad thing, your probably a step above most of us, but your very picky when it comes to music huh? I'm curious though what are your other 3 favorite Tull albums.

Far, far from the greatest prog album ever made, though I would say one of the greatest rock albums.

I can agree partly with Micky's PoV, but this album is an utter provocation piece, absolutely well thought-out, even down to the details of the St Cleve's Chronicle's classified adds, which go answering each other.

Extremely thoughtfull lyrics , hilarious package, outstanding musicianship, imaginative songwriting, nothing is missing in this one

Yes, I can regret that none of the original Tull remains by this point (Anderson excepted of course).
I loved Cornick and Bunker's respective playing, and TBH, the much-awaited Jeffrey (three songs dedicated to him) and Barlow - however good they are - don't bring anything more than their predecessors

micky wrote: mine.. no surprise... it isn't even close to the greatest prog album ever made... pfffff..  the joke was on.. and Tull fans ate it hook line and sinker... besides it is and only the 4th best Tull album and the last truly good album start to finish they made. overrated album.. and group who died after Bunker left.. replaced by more of Anderson's cronies...

Dont understand you guys with the problem with repetition, in the sense that repetition is part of musical development... and its not random repetition is well though and crafted repetition.

Please, explain that.

"Simply being told that there is a development won't help."- thats why I asked to explain. :P

For me its so obvious, almost take for granted... :/

PrognosticMind wrote: micky wrote: mine.. no surprise... it isn't even close to the greatest prog album ever made... pfffff..  the joke was on.. and Tull fans ate it hook line and sinker... besides it is and only the 4th best Tull album and the last truly good album start to finish they made. overrated album.. and group who died after Bunker left.. replaced by more of Anderson's cronies... I won't be as blunt as you here, but I totally agree. I still don't understand how this album is rated so highly. It's a fun listen, but just because it's long doesn't mean it's good (for me, anyway). There are lots of repetitions that make it feel padded a bit. I'm always amazed that people don't like Yes Tales, but praise this album. To each his own!   Skalla-Grim wrote: The problem about Thick and a Brick is that there is a great beginning (about 11 or 12 minutes), which belong to the best in prog, and after that there are too many repetitions. Probably as a non-native speaker I don't get every detail of the lyrics, but I'm talking about the music. The second part is boring sometimes. So in total it doesn't stand a chance against Close to the Edge (strange comparison anyway) and it is also not the best Tull album in my opinion. I like A Passion Play, Songs from the Wood and also Heavy Horses better than Brick.  Again, I agree completely with this. I still enjoy the record, but it's one of the few (if only) prog albums that for me doesn't make any sense as to why it's held in such high regard. It's got nothing on Close to The Edge, or even Relayer, IMHO.

Perhaps it's because I'm a folk rock fan at heart, and TAAB connects with me the way CTTE or Relayer never can. There's always more to people's musical tastes that meets the eye or ear.

A fabulous album - not without its undulations, but Side 1 is sublime and even after a slight lull at the start of Side 2, it picks up superbly. Recurring themes, wonderful lyrics, great keyboards, so many tunes! The time just flows... Tull might have done better individual songs, but as an album concept, no competition! A Passion Play paled in comparison, sadly. Too much post-irony from Ian Anderson on this one when explaining it. Maybe out-doing other prog bands at the time was in the back of his mind, but the music is too complex and structured to have just been a throwaway joke. It suited Ian to resurrect the idea in TATB2 when the UK music climate suited. I do get annoyed when creative artists belittled prog during the 'dark days' and then have embrace it of late as the demographics work in their favour - but I mustn't be cynical!!! Unfair to compare it to other classic prog albums. It is up there in its own right. I dare anyone not to be tapping their hands or legs during most of Side 1 at least - it's just so bloody melodic!   

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