Your avatar would make a good album cover.

but

Tull

Aqualung: really good album with a couple great tracks.  Never been able to get into it that much.

Si On Avait Besoin... just beautiful, so I gotta go with the minority here.

It's absolutely worth hearing, and getting, truly one of the most beautiful, pastoral albums ever. That said I have to vote Aqualung because it's Tull's finest moment.

Only when I just looked it up did I find out Harmonium were Canadian and not French!

I don't listen to either all that much although the Canadian band created a masterpiece as mentioned before. To be fair Aqualung was never intended to be viewed in any way other than a collection of songs. There are some really good ones for sure but I'm not that bothered about it and would rather concentrate on the later ones ie TAAB onwards. Another vote for the Canucks!

So we have two incredible albums and a very tough question.

Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquième Saison is so special. Acoustic guitar parts are so well developed, we have touches of mellotron and flute, lush melodies and at least one masterpiece ("Histoires Sans Paroles"). A rare example of soothing BUT cerebral music.

And then there is Aqualung. Eleven songs of which... 9? are fantastic and leave nothing to be desired. Almost every time a new tune arrives I'm instantly curious what's going to happen, even though I know that stuff like my pocket. Please show me other prog rock albums that are song oriented (~4 min average) and land a hit every goddamn time. Even "Slipstream" and "Cheap Day Return" get me going!

Pound for pound, I think Aqualung packs more punch, the flow of catchy and engaging ideas is more constant, while Saison has its downtimes / cooldowns. So I pick Aqualung, but both albums are 5 star worthy.

This really sums it up for me. Agree with everything said.

Purely because of familiarity, I vote Aqualung.  Given time this may change.  

Saisons is some high quality stuff though.

miamiscot wrote: Harmonium is rather boring to my ears. Tull by a large margin for me.

Same here.

iluvmarillion wrote: The Harmonium album is a masterpiece. Not sure you can say the same of Aqualung. Of course over the journey Jethro Tull are the superior band.

 

This.

One of the things that makes it so utterly masterful is that it has catchy, hummable hits like Loco Breath and the title cut, but even with those hits, the album still has its greatest impact when taken in as a whole.  

If you truly immerse yourself in the experience, by the time you're wrapping up with Wind Up, you're stunned, challenged, and drained.  It's one powerful album.  It is musically compelling, and unlike so many other prog albums, even great ones, it is also lyrically brilliant.

And it's timeless.  I remember having not listened to it in a few years other than loco breath coming up on a playlist once in a while, and on a road trip a few years ago, my then 17 year old son saw it in the CD case and was curious so he popped it in and we both listened to it in complete other silence, neither of us speaking until it was over. Not only was I completely floored, not having really listened to it in some time, and more blown away than any other time I'd heard it, he was also astonished and effusive with praise for the power and brilliance of both the concept and the execution.  

The album rules.  

I would have voted for Harmonium versus anything released by Jethro Tull except for Aqualung. With the two albums in my hands I can choose one of the two indifferently, so no vote.

dougmcauliffe wrote: I’m very Tull skeptical..........

your seemingly I-don't-care-for-Jethro-Tull posts show it.....I'm very Genesis and Yes skeptical, but I never bang on about it. Maybe I should!