THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST

Jethro Tull's discography is a bumpy ride with many ups and downs. The Broadsword And The Beast is certainly one of the ups and by far their best 80's album. The previous A had been a bit of a down after the very strong triology of Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch in the late 70's and the next one, Under Wraps, would be a major down. The A (for Anderson) album was originally intended as an Ian Anderson solo album, so in a sense Broadsword And The Beast is the true follow-up to the excellent Stormwatch and it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Heavy Horses and Stormwatch (and it is even better than Songs From The Wood in my personal opinion!).

The songs all have strong melodies and several songs sound like real Jethro Tull classics. The instrumentation and vocals are great. The synthesisers may sound a bit thin and minimalist at times, but the bass, drums and guitars don't have the typical 80's sound that killed so much music around this time. Indeed, these instruments have a powerful and full sound. The genuine and "warm" sound of the vocals, flute and acoustic instruments contrasts perfectly with the electronic keyboards and electric instruments giving it an interesting sound. Almost like a futuristic form of Folk music! And it rocks hard at times too.

Cheerio has become a closing number on the bands concerts and for that it fits perfectly. The CD version has several bonus tracks that are great as well. Jack A Lynn is one of these and when I saw Jethro Tull live on their acoustic tour a few years ago they performed this song. Quite a surprise I would say, but the audience loved it!

Broadsword And The Beast is one of the best albums by a classic prog band released in the early 80's. Highly recommended!

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