SONGS FROM THE WOOD

First off: Yes, Thick as a Brick would be my vote for best Jethro Tull album. But my personal favorite is Songs from the Wood - for many reasons. As a conceptual album (my favorite prog) it is ingenious. The emotional level of this album is incredible, with songs from Jack in the Green (which personally somewhat reminds me of one of my favorite characters in my favorite book Lord of the Rings, Tom Bombadil - not that Ian Anderson meant this as a reference of any sort.) Then skipping ahead to Pibroch - very touching emotional peice. The album captures the beaty and cruelty of the modern world, one of my favorite lines being "I saw some grass growing through the concrete today." Coming from a small town in the mid-west and now living in a large city I find great appreciation for the metaphors Ian Anderson so brilliantly makes. The great thing that Jethro Tull does with this album is just captures the feeling you have when you are one with nature. Saying this is a hippy album is not incorrect. But you cannot underestimate or under-rate this album. As far as composition is concerned, it is again one of my favorites. This album eases my soul, and just makes me miss being in the woods. To be completely honest, I could never truely put into words how wonderful this album is, and makes me feel. Ian Anderson truely is a "Singer of the Ancient times, with kitchen prose and gutter rhymes."