UNDER WRAPS

An almost intolerable 80s synthpop analogue sound infiltrates Jethro tull's genius to the point of nausea. Yet this has a unique charm in that it is definitely no holds barred 80s. The album lineup is Ian Anderson on flute, acoustic guitar, vocals, Martin Barre on electric guitar, Dave Pegg on bass, Peter-John Vettese on keyboards and machine on drums. This is the worst part of the album. The drum machine, synth, and echoed vocals are all here and melodic ascerbic choruses. Some songs save this from abomination status.

I like 'European Legacy' a lot, especially the flute phrases. The lyrics are interesting; "Round the castle walls, about the Highlands and the Islands, the faint reminders stand, Visitors who took a hand a thousand years ago, or so."

'Lap of Luxury 1' is infectious but very retro these days. It is like Ultravox or Duran Duran meets Tull and it is a challenge to sit through this. I will admit it has some fun elements in that it is so ridiculously retro these days. Anderson sounds fine on vocals but he is completely out of the box. I still admit a guilty pleasure listening to that synth as I was a child of Visage, Ultravox and Depeche Mode, however it doesn't really suit Tull. He was never a new Romantic after all.

There is no prog on this album at all so it really is one to approach with caution. It is more entertaining than innovative. The entertainment factor is due to the nostalgia of the 80s sound. It certainly will not appeal to average prog fans or Tull addicts as it is too different on almost every level. Having said all this it is still a worthwhile listen even if only to check out what was happening in the 80s music scene. I especially like 'Astronomy' with very Depeche Mode synth sounds and spacey effects. It is weird to hear Anderson sing like this but the music is cold chill synth and works for me. The instrumental break is abysmal programmed synth from Peter-John Vettese. By the way Martin Barre is incredibly restrained and nothing like his usual brilliance.

'Apogee' is okay and has a great intro with spacey voice over and a theme about drifting in space. The slower pace and odder time sig is welcome. But it is still inundated with chinking drum machine and plink plunk synths and is too long for its own good. 'Automotive Engineering' may be a reference to Gary Numan's 'Engineers' but is nowhere near as good. It is choppy and mixed coldly with stuttering synths and b-b-booming bass, and clunky analogue. The flute is staccato and just as chopped. Barre's guitar is almost invisible. For some reason I like this as another weird curio on the album. It could have been recorded by any breakdance artist but its kind of cool with Anderson's vocals and that driving flute and synth.

Now for the worst bits and it is unfortunately the rest of the album.

'Later that same Evening' is a real culprit of drum machine tinsel and synth saturation. 'Sabatoeur' is simply awful, and there are other cringe worthy songs. 'Radio Free Moscow' is a parody of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America that claimed to be voices of democracy but Ian is stating it was all to no avail. This song states the untruth of the so called voice of the people. The song itself is full of drum synthetics, electric synths and soft guitar lines. It is okay as a curio but horrible musically. 'Tundra' should have been called 'chunder' as it makes me want to barf listening to this trash. 'Nobody's Car' is perhaps more like John Foxx's 'Nobody's Driving' than Tull but it is completely throwaway. You won't find this song anywhere else thankfully. 'Heat' is really annoying, especially the phrase "get out of the heat" repeated. The fast pace makes it even more sickening with that 4 on the floor time sig, and chilly synth. The multi tracked vocals are abysmal. When the synth solo starts I am completely underwhelmed by this filler effort. By the time barre's lead solo begins it is too late to save this. The album is full of filler tracks such as the appalling sacharinne fluff of 'Under Wraps 2', and cheesy 'Paparazzi' tripe.

Overall this is perhaps the last album one should try for Jethro Tull but it has some moments preventing the 1 star rating for me. As I said this is really only woirth hearing for the nostalgia retro music and nothing else.

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