AQUALUNG

Aqualung is Jethro Tull's first foray into prog-rock territory, and it seems to be that this is their most widely known and acclaimed release. The song lengths unquestionably have something to do with it, because if you look at the material on the two albums that come after this one, this has much less to offer. I'm sure if I heard this when it first came out, I would be raving about it, but such is not the case, and I have Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play to enjoy. Historically this is no doubt an important album, but my sense of history is not as sharp as my sense for good, so I don't care as much about that side of things.

This album boasts some memorable riffs and melodies to be certain: there are great flute solos, acoustic jigs (both fun and serious), vocals, lyrics, and even grungy parts. Everything you love about Jethro Tull is here, but they haven't yet amalgamated these sounds. On the band's later works, the different elements were put together, here they are mostly seperated into different songs. That's not necessarily a bad thing - I love several albums that have a similar layout - but there is something seriously synergistic about the styles being played together that is not present here.

The tracks are all good, but I find myself not getting into them very much. Again, I can attribute this to the quality of its successors, plus the quality of this recording is pretty poor. I also don't think that hard-rock style present on certain tracks suits them very well. I'm glad they got rid of it. Some people will really enjoy this, and to those who do, I direct you to the next two albums. Check them out; you may not bother with this album again. Even though this isn't a 40-minute song, I don't think it's any more accessible as a result.

In summation, this is a good record, it is an important record, but it is no longer essential.

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