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"A" brand new Tull This is one of those Tull destined to forever divide the fans.Was it ever going to be a solo Anderson album? Does it matter? The "old" Tull was starting to sound very tired on Stormwatch so bringing in some fresh talent needed to happen if Tull were going to keep going. And what fresh talent they were. Dave Pegg -the ace base player from legendary folk-rockers Fairport Convention, multi talented keysman Eddie Jonson fresh from his work with the drop dead brilliant proggers UK along with US jazz-rock drummer extraordinaire the late but great Mark Craney.

A lot of complaints about this album stem from the overuse of keyboards and I guess it really does come down to whether you are a fan of Eddie Jobson because his keyboards really do dominate this album.The other complaint is that it doesn't "sound" like Jethro Tull whatever that means. For such a multi-faceted band that always seems like a rather facile comment and in any case most of the ingredients which inform their sound is present here.By that I mean quirky melodies, herky jerky rhythms lots of flute and guitar riffs galore.

I won't go into each individual tracks and just mention the highlights. "Flyingdale Flyer" is a real cracker that actually reminds me of Songs From the Wood with its anthemic chorus and sudden rhythm changes and stop-starts. "Black Sunday" is a genuine full-on Prog Classic which makes full use of Jobson's mastery on the keys.I also love "The Pine Marten's Jig" a folk-prog instrumental that would not have sounded out of place on Songs from the Wood or Heavy Horses.I suspect a lot of fans of the old Tull will like the closing track "And Further On" as it has that stately Tull sound.Ironically the one track I get a little tired of is "Working John Working Joe" which was originally recorded about the same time as "Songs" but at 5minutes long tends to drag on a bit for such a slight melody.

Overall I find this album so refreshing and energetic after the frankly dull and tired sounding Stormwatch that I have no hesitation giving it 4 stars. Not essential but excellent.