THE BEST OF ACOUSTIC JETHRO TULL

A Jethro Tull album that features all of the acoustic material seemed like a good idea at the time I suppose but after a while this becomes a tiresome exercise. The best thing about the Tull albums in general is how the quieter moments of acoustic glory are well balanced with the proggy heavier guitar riffs. Removing all of the heaviness of the band is akin to extracting the roar from the lion; in the end you get nothing but a cute oversized pussycat.

Jethro Tull are an edgy band with delicious helpings of heavy guitars and rocking bluesy folk songs. The acoustic songs are designed primarily to counter balance these complex heavier moments and they always work brilliantly. When one listens to these acoustic songs one after another the style itself becomes exposed, and we realise just how similar these pieces really are. I always love a burst of acoustic in music but not the whole ruddy album! Ian Anderson has a voice that could send you into a coma with all that acoustic guitar.

I guess one of the plus sides to this is at least this album can be played while one sleeps, it has a lullaby quality and is likely to lull anyone to sleep, without Martin Barre's jarring riffs ready to jar you awake. It might seem harsh to review it with only 3 stars but this is simply all the material on the Jethro Tull albums that were transition points, filler material or at best 'calms before the storm'. The difference here is there is no storm, just a gentle breeze, and that can be a yawnfest after the first initial listen. There are better compilations out there and this is simply another cash in for the Jethro Tull machine. One hopes that Ian Anderson will polish off his flute and get back to the studios to release some new material and stop bringing out one compilation after another.

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