A PASSION PLAY

It would seem that I am not alone in putting this one second only to Thick as a Brick. Nonetheless, while it is up there, it clearly is not on the same level as Brick. There seems to me to be too much 'down time' here, either waiting for good parts to start, or between sections (for example, while I like the story about the Hare who lost his spectacles, but I almost always skip over it now. It does not bear repeated listening).

2.5 stars really!!

If this was not J T this might have been a good album but this is JT!! And it is completely over the top (as TFTO for Yes and BSS is for ELP) and it just went too far and finally came out as ridiculous. For this review, I kind of forced myself to re-enter it by spinning about 8 or 9 times in the last few days, five times with headphones. BTW, I have the Wilson remix - and unfortunately it doesn't have the lyrics (which might've helped a bit). Why the headphones you ask? Well, despite my best efforts, I couldn't concentrate on listening to the whole album (minus "The Hare" crap) throughout its entirety... I suppose this says something. It's not riveting me to anything at all.

But there are some brilliant musical passages, such as most of the faster-paced passages, whether instrumental or sung. Where it hurts is the constant step from Ian singing with just his acoustic guitar or with Evan's piano. The album's continuity is constantly broken by jumping from the acoustic/solo ground-floor to the electric/band floor... It's simply too much for me... TAAB of course did that floor-changing, but not nearly so frequently. As for Ian's sax playing, yeah, it's limited, as it pales in comparison to the flute parts (even the multi-layering of the flute is rather cool), but both are present, so it's not like one instrument is preponderant to the other (I read some critics dismissing APP as a "sax album"). What I do find a little annoying is that Evan uses here and there a synth to double or prolong Ian's sax parts... as fir the use (or abuse) of string arrangements.... Unlike the albums to come APP is not overloaded with them, and when there are some, they're justified. But the uneventful, boring and downright silly Hare piece (a failed attempt at creating a musical Monty Python IMHO) plus the rest of the album is a little too deconstructed and disjointed for me.

OK, I still don't understand anything about the concept, and TBH, I will not try as I don't care about it... If it didn't sink in upon the first few listen when I was still a teen, (I mean I understood TAAB upon first or second listen), it's not like it will sink in nowadays, though more mature - and not senile yet. I don't really think having the lyrics at my disposal would've made the concept any easier to grasp. But one has to give Anderson points for the daring adventure Ian & Co tried to experiment. The following project will abort because of the major criticism he got, courtesy of this album; and some of it was of course fully merited. As this is an extreme and controversial (love it to death or loathe it for life) album, it is very hard not to advise the Tull newbie to avoid this album, because they might just fall for it as well as hate it! Too bad for that bloody Hare interlude, which is responsible for the loss of at least one star

this is my favorite one of Tull's collection, actually this is my favorite album of all times. It has everything good prog record should have: specific mood, great instruments solos, poetic lyrics... this album just touches deeply, especially when Ian sings: "Fell with mine angels from a far better place, offering services for the saving of face. Now you're here, you may as well admire, all whom living has retired from the benign reconciliation." If you don't know this album you just simply have to listen to it, it's magic...

D'Isaster!

I know this album is constantly slated, but it is entirely justified. It really is astonishing how a band can follow up such a wonderful album as "Thick as a brick" with something as lacking in direction as "A Passion Play".

The ingredients which made "TAAB" so good appear to be here. The long single track, the storybook lyrics and the good sleeve are all present and correct, but the music is sadly lacking in inspiration. Whereas "TAAB" had witty lyrics, strong melodies, and a general coherence, "A Passion play" is lacking in all these areas. The lyrics are dull, the music wanders aimlessly, and there's little to distinguish one section from another. There's more of a jazz tinge to APP than any other Tull album, the trademark folk influences being only present in fleeting glimpses.

Even the supposedly humorous "The hare who lost his spectacles", fails to hit the mark. For some bizarre reason, this track within a track is split in half on the LP by forming the end of side one and the beginning of side two. The tale however is tedious and far from amusing, being a rather pointless shaggy dog story.

The "Chateau D'Isaster tapes" showed that Tull were well on their way to creating a worthy follow up to "TABB" before they abandoned that project and returned to the UK. Had they persisted with what they were creating then, the course of history could well have been different, and "A passion play" (or whatever it might have been called) could have become another magnificent album.

My abiding recollection of this album is of sitting down to listen to it with a friend who had just bought it on its day of release. We were full of anticipation having been swept away by TAAB. Halfway through side 2, he'd had enough, removed the stylus from the LP, and declared, "crap isn't it!". Sums it all up really.

Another one of the greats from Ian ANDERSON and Co. "A Passion Play" is really divided into 2 segments. The first is in the same vein musically and in structure of "Thick As A Brick", while the second part begins to take the shape more of a stage musical and storytelling. This is where I find JETHRO TULL to have been at their height of their musical career. As you would expect "Passion Play" digs deep into the mystical music that is associated with JETHRO TULL and contains some of their best flute and instrumental work. This is a very mature masterpiece displaying some very delicious progressive moments.

Along with Songs from the Wood (the folkier), Aqualung (the rockier) this is another masterpiece from JT. More theatrical, more progressive than any other TULL album, a passion play is two long songs (one for each side of the original vinyl album) that proves the genius of Aderson's band : great melodies, beautiful arrangements nothing misses here ! All this make "A Passion Play" the second bestprog album of 1973 (but who can compete with Selling England by the Pound anyway ?)... a true masterpiece !

Panned by critics upon its release, A PASSION PLAY is lyrically-oblique, though the imagery of Anderson's lyrics is strangely powerful nonetheless. This is a great album, beautifully recorded and performed, and it's as thoroughly rustic and English in its sound and feel as THICK AS A BRICK was. To me, these two Tull albums are far more effective than was 1971's AQUALUNG; the side-long tracks achieve a far greater power and atmosphere than did AQUALUNG's shorter numbers. When I listen to A PASSION PLAY, I think of rural England on a sunny autumn day, and churches, fields and peacefulness. It's a truly timeless work - which is surely a hallmark of great art - and Anderson's immense skill and musical/lyrical intelligence are always in evidence. The proto-PASSION PLAY tracks on the NIGHTCAP CD are also of an extremely high standard, and should be a source of great enjoyment to all lovers of this wonderful, sadly-underrated album.

Almost perfect, perhaps the most controversial album by JETHRO TULL, but anyway it is interesting all along its lenght... of course the critics regarded this one as the failed attempt to compose such a "Progressive album"; instead to me this album is not pretentious and the choose of the keyboards is remarkable as well: a great use of analogical synthesizers and the Mini-Moog above all. "The history of an hare who lost his spectacles" is a theatrical piece by an histrionic Jan ANDERSON... except on a few discontinuous parts, the rest of the album is memorable.

The most progressive effort by JETHRO TULL, and for this reason alone this album is well worth checking out at least!!

After the marvelous Thick As A Brick album, Jethro Tull comes with this jewel. It definitely sounds like the previous record, but I find Passion Play having more subtle and refined parts and more mellow bits than Thick As A Brick. Plus, they really sound like Van Der Graaf Generator here, as reveal the many organ and sax parts. The 2 epic tracks are VERY progressive and rhythm changing, and the charm resides in the miscellaneous echoed saxes parts and the catchy, melodic & well played piano. Ian Anderson's voice is OUTSTANDING. There are many excellent organ parts, like on the previous album. The bass and drums are not lazy at all, at least during the loaded bits! Anderson's flute can also be appreciated, still always exciting and professionally played. Martin Barre's electric guitar is rather discreet, except on some specific partsl; he uses more in the foreground the acoustic guitar. Because of the numerous saxes involved, I find the record sometimes slightly jazzy/fusion!! It is one of the best Tull's albums!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

"A Passion Play" picks up where "Thick As A Brick" left off. Their earlier album-length opus followed the life of one man, from birth to death. Their next ("Passion") follows the afterlife of one man, from heaven to hell. I don't know why this isn't more obvious to people, but some have apparently taken up the scent of the red herring in the title, concluding that "A Passion Play" has to do with the last moments of Christ. It does insofar as Christian theology holds that Christ's death vouchsafed our afterlife, but the operative architecture here is rather Dante ALIGHIERI's Divine Comedy than the titular medieval morality plays. And so many have gone looking for something that wasn't there, this despite "The Story of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", which cautions against looking for something that can't (and doesn't need to) be found. That's pretty much the theme in a nutshell, allowing for the usual human error on my part. (And, of course, if you've struck upon a theme you like better, by all means keep it!) Musically, "A Passion Play" is more complex than "Thick", downright diabolical in spots. The big difference here is the increased role of the saxophone, which supplants the flute and gives the arrangements a tempestuous twist that suggests GENTLE GIANT at this stage (unfortunately, Ian lost interest in sax after delivering "War Child"). Structurally, "A Passion Play" is less cohesive than its predecessor; "Thick" featured half a dozen or so themes played out several times throughout the course of the album, whereas Passion re-uses only a handful of themes and seems to consist of at least a dozen distinctive sections. By album's end, TULL resorts to piecemeal composition, stringing miniature songs together without even the pretense of a sound structural bridge between them.

In kindness, it could be that TULL was simply too creative to stay confined to a handful of musical themes, a point that "War Child"'s bulging bag of booty would seem to support. Some would rank "A Passion Play" with TULL's most magical creations (and far be it from me to debunk anyone's source of magic), but it's not a playmate I pull from the shelves too often, knowing it will only walk my mind in a circle.

This album has three problems:

1) It takes itself too seriously and fails to live up to its pretentions 2) It's short on strong melodies/themes 3) It sounds uninspired and directionless

A Passion Play was released smack in the middle of the band's golden era, preceded by classics such as Aqualung and Thick as a Brick and followed by strong the although maybe underrated offerings War Child and Minstrel in the Gallery. So, it SHOULD be good! How could a band at the hights of their powers NOT create another masterpiece? It's a mystery!

I think the problem might be that the band was trying too hard to create another "big work". They just didn't have it in them. The ambition level was too high and the ideas not strong enough. The lyrics are mostly large quantities of words with very little content. All is not poetry that's hard to follow! A collection of songs might have been a much better idea, as the outtakes released later indicates.

As it stands, A Passion Play is great in pathches but fails as a whole. In parts (e.g. "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles") it's outright embarrasing.

Though I was only 10 when this album was released in 1973, I was traumatized by it's power and glory. Ever since, I've felt compelled to defend this MASTERPIECE from it's critics. This is a master-work of epic proportions... from it's haunting musical interludes to it's profound lyrical content. I know Ian Anderson took a lot of heat for this album from the critics, but the Tull base audience LOVED it. The album soared to #1 on the Billboard charts... much to the dismay of the hack writers at Melody Maker and NME. This album stands like a classical monument, as powerful and moving as anything Bach or Mozart constructed. This was Progressive Art Rock at it's finest. Not only is this my favorite Jethro Tull album, it's my favorite album by any artist of ALL TIME. Yeah, you read that right... of ALL TIME. Ian blends his Medieval madness with classical arrangements to form the foundation of a true MASTERPIECE. I wish I was older in 1973 so I could've taken the critics on. "And so I'm dead, the young man said."

I remembered way back in 1994 when I bought the LP how surprised I was about this album. I've heard how trashed-on this album was by the rock critics. Even what critics that trashed on their previous effort, "Thick as a Brick" was mild compared to this. Well, thanks to "A Passion Play", I find what mainstream rock critics (Lester Bangs, Robert Christgau, Dave Marsh, their ilk) not exactly reliable, especially if you are a prog rock fan. Of course if you like The VELVET UNDERGROUND or Van MORRISON's "Astral Weeks", that might be a different story.

Reviewing "A Passion Play" is like reviewing "Thick as a Brick", you can't say what's your favourite song here because it's basically one song that takes up both sides. Here the music is even more elaborate than "Brick", in which ANDERSON & Co. wanted to compete with GENTLE GIANT for the most complex and over-the-top prog rock you can think of. In fact there are several passages here that remind me of GENTLE GIANT, especially on side one. John Evan just purchased a Mini Moog synthesizer, making this the very first TULL album with synths, and it's definitely a far cry from the synth- dominated albums they did in the '80s (like "The Broadsword & the Beast" and "Under Wraps"), sounding as you expect a Mini Moog to sound (that classic analog sound, as opposed to the synthetic polyphonic synths Peter-John Vettesse used in the '80s).

Part 1 and Part 2 of this album is interrupted by a silly story called "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", narrated by John Evan, with orchestration from David Palmer. It sounds like your silly children's book story. After that, the music resumes. The second half of the album is a bit more accessible, in which the music is more melodic. This part does sound like several different songs and you can tell where one ends and one begins (usually after John Evan does some noodling on his Mini Moog synthesizer). One section was actually included on the compilation "M.U. Best of Jethro Tull". For those who think "A Passion Play" (as well as ELP's "Tarkus" and YES' "Tales From Topographic Oceans") is the reason why punk rock happened, of course, you won't like this album. But for those wanting to hear TULL at their most progressive, this is the album to get.

4 1/2 stars

A Passion play is undoubtedly Tull's finest hour. Not that they haven't produce a lot of fantastic album, it's just that this one is by far the most intense and ingenious thing Ian Anderson and Co have ever come up with. When it was released back in 1973 it was universally panned by the so-called music critics. Here's what Chris Welch of the dreadful 'Melody Maker' had to say about it: "I must admit chagrin at not finding the lengthy lyrics easy to interpret. Half a dozen readings gave me as many possible conclusions to be drawn. Perhaps they represent Ian Anderson's compassion for the human spirit buffeted by life's whims and fancies, jests and cruelties. If that's the case, then sobbing into a microphone won't help. And as the music is contrived to support the lyrics every beat of the way, the result is an endless, shifting conveyor-belt of chords; a unison beating of keyboards, guitars and drums, wholly lacking in melodic or rhythmic interest, and bereft of tonal quality." Steve Clake of the NME (An even worse paper the MM) said: "Lyrically Passion Play baffles me. There are a few oblique references to God and the Devil and every now and then Anderson throws in a cliché like "barking up the wrong tree" or "hopping mad".Personally I've considered Jethro Tull to be on the slide since Stand Up right through to Thick As A Brick, though even then they played good music. If that was the slide Passion Play represents the fall. A shame because Ian Anderson is capable of so much better than this." And a Mr Stephen Holden from the god-awful 'Rolling Stone' said (in a paragraph worthy of Bablefish): "Viewed as a recorded oratorio, or as a prolonged 'single', or as any in-between hybrid, A Passion Play strangles under the tonnage of its pretensions - a jumble of anarchic, childishly precocious gestures that are intellectually and emotionally faithless to any idea other than their own esoteric non-logic." Oh really! I see."esoteric non-logic" eh. Define "non". He ends by saying : "The overall impact of this music, however, is very slight. Not a single leitmotif sticks in the mind. What blues figurations there are are constipated and redundant. As a whole, the score is far less substantial than Thick As A Brick, itself a suffocatingly fey concoction. Finally, one leaves A Passion Play with the feeling of having been subjected to 45 minutes of vapid twittering and futzing about, all play and no passion - expensive, tedious nonsense. " I imagine that the reason "Not a single leitmotif sticks in the mind" is because Ian Anderson has never used the leitmotif system. DUH! As for "constipated and redundant blues figurations" What the [%*!#]. . .???? Anyway, this album is classic Tull. It's a much darker, more lyrically oblique album than it's predecessor, 'Thick as a brick', and musically, much more mature. Its opening is remarkably similar to the opening of Pink Floyd's 'Dark side of the moon'. I've often wondered if the quiet heartbeat intro is meant to be a parody of the opening of Floyd's famous album. However, once the band enter, there's no mistaking that it's Jethro Tull we're listening to. The band launch into a twisted, limping "dance macabre" that has more than a hint of Berlioz's "witches sabbath" and Dukas's "Sorcerers apprentice" about it. This music has a sardonic, mocking quality that sets the tone for what's to come. The texture is also dark, with the sax making an appearance for the first time on a Tull album. (Interestingly enough, Anderson's soprano sax playing is one of the things that defines the sound and makes this album unique.) Lyrically, it's the most poetic thing Ian Anderson's ever attempted. Whether or not one can find any concrete meaning in the words is irrelevant when faced with verse as beautiful as: "And who comes here to wish me well? A sweetly scented angel fell. She laid her head upon my disbelief and bathed me with her ever-smile." And in true archaic fashion he sings "bathe-ed" rather than "bathed". Musically, A Passion Play is tricky stuff and contains some of the most complex time signatures of any tull album, probably due to the genius of drummer Barrimore Barlow. A good example is the weird sub division of 9/8 into 2+3+4 that occurs 'round about the six minute mark and which then changes to 11/8 (or 11/4, can't remember which) sub divided into 6+5. Not particularly difficult in itself, but throw in Barlow's weird phrasing and accents and suddenly we're walking a very perilous path indeed. John Evans's keyboard work deserves special praise. His playing is always inventive and in tune with the mood of the moment. The piano playing, heard after the opening "dance", is especially beautiful. And his two synth interludes that flank 'The hair who lost his spectacles are rather hypnotic and polyrhythmic and unlike anything Tull have ever produced before or since.

I'll not rant on any longer but end by saying that A Passion Play has to be one of the greatest "concept albums" of all time. I put it up there along with 'Tales from Topographic oceans" , and rank it higher than 'The Lamb Lies down on Broadway'. What more can I say. Creed!

This is a fantastic little piece from an excellent band. Harkening back to TAAB, the 40+mins. take you though a journey on the afterlife, or at least his take on it. The music is very good, and very progressive. Part one is more of the TAAB stage, but still very orginal. Part II is where this disk shines. A deffinate plus to any collection.

This is the album a lot of people say went "overboard." Bull. I just don't see it. It's every bit as good, if not much better, than "Thick as a Brick." Whereas "Thick as a Brick" drew on the aspects of life and cynical dealings with humanity, cycles, and all that heavy-handed yet Ian Anderson-ly sarcastic material (much like the first half of "Aqualung" did), "A Passion Play" draws on the more religious concerns of Jethro Tull (much like the second half of "Aqualung" did -- although the music in the two are very different). The Play is also sarcastic and irreverant, perhaps even more so than "Thick as a Brick," but it's more hidden and less immediately visible. The music as well is more unconventional, with the saxophone and keyboards playing much larger roles (occaisionally sounding like Van Der Graaf Generator and Gentle Giant in some places), but I don't really see anything 'diabolical', 'self-indulgent', or 'pointless' at all. Some compare this album to YES' "Tales from Topographic Oceans," but this is completely unbased. "Tales..." is a great album, but there is very little similarity between it and the Play. "Tales" is much longer, clouded in strange mysticism, and much more difficult to decipher; I haven't been able to yet. Others compare the Play to ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery," which I don't see at all. "Brain Salad" didn't go overboard, it went underboard in my opinion, with a lot of sub-par material filling the first half and some varyingly good and great material on the second half. Doubters should consult http://www.ministry-of- information.co.uk/app/index.htm for their full annotations and ideas. It REALLY helps, and only takes about 20 minutes to read through. I encourage the other reviewers here who gave this album mediocre reviews to see the site.

Regardless of what the title says, this is not a "passion play" in the sense of Jesus' life story. Instead, it is the story of an ordinary middle-class man (Ronnie Pilgrim) and his afterlife. The album begins with a soft heartbeat growing into a crescendo, and an instrumental "prelude" begins. Soon the prelude dies down, and the heartbeat does as well, crashing into the ground. As this happens, Ronnie Pilgrim's ghost rises from his coffin to attend his own funeral. After a short instrumental, he is taken to purgatory, where he meets an angel which leads him to a "viewing room" after another instrumental, to be sorted into either heaven or hell. Here, Anderson's sarcasm is apparent, as it would almost seem that this afterlife is flooded with earthly beauracracy. Ronnie enters the viewing room, and a panel of judges have him watch portions of his life on a screen. They review his life and criticize him during the second half of the first track, beginning softly and slowly increasing their sharpness and throwing impossible questions at poor Ronnie. Eventually, however, they let up and allow Ronnie to continue on to heaven, as he qualifies as "good enough." Following a short reprise of the first theme ("the silver cord") is a beautiful instrumental "Forest Dance" with a light, etheral, heartbeat keeping time throughout as magical guitars and synths build into a crashing halt as the second track begins.

Jeffery Hammond-Hammond announces "THIS IS THE STORY OF THE HARE WHO LOST HIS SPECTACLES!!!" loudly, and we have reached intermission. A silly Monty Python-ish story follows, orchestrated by the band and, well, an orchestra for background. It's fairly amusing, but has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline so far (much like "Willow Farm" in "Supper's Ready" by GENESIS).

Jeffrey declares "A-pairrrr" and the band begins where it left off, in the middle of the beautiful "Forest Dance" section, this time with a faster, more nervous hearbeat accompanying. It slows, and act three begins in "the office of G. Oddie and Son" (God and Jesus -- more Anderson sarcasm and post-death beauracracy hints). Ronnie has been in heaven for 2 days, and is bored. He complains to God that heaven is too pious and good for him, so he is going to give hell a try. The music intensifies, and the cry of a lost soul groans as the "Overseer Overture" begins and Ronnie listens to Lucy's (Lucifer -- get it?) monologue. This section is very synth-heavy, in contrast to the soft, acoustic music when God spoke. Ronnie predictably decides hell is not for him either, and he decides to flee. How he escaped eternal damnation is beyond me, but he does. He wishes to be alive again, and with the help of a mysterious non-speaking person/entity called Magus Perde he boards a train to a riverboat. The music becomes more hard rock at this point (the second half of the second track), and acoustic in sections much like "Thick as a Brick" as Ronnie rides the train and uses Magus Perde's powers to transport him onto a riverboat bound for earth. In other words, Ronnie has opted out of the Christian view of the afterlife, instead going for reincarnation. As the main theme is reprised, a more awkward, earthly heartbeat begins and Ronnie (now somebody else in flesh) rejoins the "ever-passion play," which is of course life itself.

There are many parallels between this album and other prog concept albums. For instance, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" by GENESIS is about a street punk named Rael who dies and enters a purgatory in which he confronts himself; "The Human Equation" by AYREON is about a guy who enters a coma and must choose whether to live or to die, and he chooses the former; in contrast, "De-loused in the Comatorium" by THE MARS VOLTA is also about a guy who enters a coma and must decide whether to live or die, but he chooses the former. JETHRO TULL's version of this classic prog concept also takes on it's own flavor. GENESIS' Rael character learns to love and must venture through an existentialist maze of tests; MARS VOLTA's Cerpin Taxt, in true punk-prog fashion, lives fast and chooses death over life; TULL's character wanders thru a classic Christian version of the afterlife (almost beaurocratic in nature) and doesn't learn anything at all: nothing about him changes, he learns no lesson, and it drives home "Thick as a Brick"s point, in otherwordly fashion: "OF COURSE: So you ride yourselves over the fields, and you make all your animal deals, and your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick."

Recommended for everybody.

A darker and more twisted twin of the previous masterwork "Thick as a Brick" and Tull's finest moment for me. I bought it together with Genesis' 'Duke' and it got more time in my CD player the first half year than 'Duke' ever got the chance to even to this date. This album is far more complex and quirky than usual Tull and draws parallels to bands like Gentle Giant in it's sound mingled with the usual unique attitude of Ian Anderson. This is an intense and bumpy ride that you'll either love or dismiss as rubbish, but it definitely need some time on your ears. I personally consider this as Jethro Tull's best work as I loved this album on first listen, and while it admittely lacks the focus of 'TaaB' the music is even more enjoyable on my ears, which is saying quite a bit. Give it a try with an open mind.

Though I like Jethro Tull as a band, I'm not very fond of their epic experimentations including this one and "Thick as A Brick". From these two records I have listened, this one pleased me slightly more. The core reason to this seems to be my disability to enjoy their stream of consciousness via long rock compositions, which appear incoherent, and often losing that kind of dramatic wholeness I personally would rejoice. I am certain this is just my own problem; Have had similar difficulties with some longer Van Der Graaf Generator classics also, which many consider as best music they have heard. On the B-side of the album "The Story of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" amused me as a witty intermission, but after some time the main composition has been spinning, I start to feel I'm being "in that forsaken paradise that calls itself Hell, and where no-one has nothing and nothing is well". This and "Thick as A Brick" are still indisputable classic albums, from which I personally just could not get a grasp.

My relationship to Jethro Tull's music has been complex. They have passed through so many styles and phases during their career that I have found myself liking different records or series of records at different times. This is to some extent natural for anyone who listens to a lot of music, but Tull seem to have experimented more than most with directions and I've found myself growing into their various developments. I began with the late 80's rock phase of Crest Of A Knave (1987) and Rock Island (1989), for which Tull somewhat farcically won a Heavy Metal award (over Metallica!). Then progressed backwards to the greatest hits of the early 70's. Then rocketed forward to the early 80's electronics of The Broadsword And The Beast (1982). Then backward again to the late '70s folk-based albums. The two albums I would not part with now are are A Passion Play and Minstrel In The Gallery. The point is really that at each time I thought I knew Tull and knew what I liked, only to rediscover them again later (A Passion Play became a foil for my increasingly electronic-dance orientated musical tastes), so I've been spared the nostalgia of 'I used to listen to this' but have instead found that Tull have remained relevant to my musical environment, from the beginning on, in a way that no other band have.

A Passion Play is the most complicated album Tull recorded, and, following Thick As A Brick, the second and last album to be 45 minutes of continuous music. And 45 minutes it is, rather than two sections of 23-ish minutes. In that comment lies my first criticism of every cd release. On both Thick As A Brick and A Passion Play, there is a sense of trying to overcome the physical constraints of the medium of a vinyl record. The end of the first side of Thick As A Brick fades out and the second side fades in from the same point. On A Passion Play there is an interval song, The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, and the bridge occurs in the middle of the story, during a natural pause after the main characters have been introduced. In fact the album anticipates the cd medium with its single side, and it was not until being issued on cd that this endeavour was truly fulfilled. However, every cd I've seen begins the second part of the album from the beginning of The Story... . It would be more appropriate to begin from the middle, as the vinyl did, or to dispense with such divisions altogether, out of acknowledgment of what the album was trying to do.

The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is an oddity amongst Jethro Tull songs, in that it is narrated and indeed not even by Ian Anderson, but by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond. Musically it is a psychedelic mutation of Peter And The Wolf filtered through Winnie-The-Pooh and only flirts with what we would recognise as Rock in the last few bars. But the words are the key for me: the punning makes you cringe in delight. My favourite part is quote on the right. On the newly re-mastered release, we are treated to a 7-minute promotional video of The Story... , complete with ballerinas, oversize animals dancing and frantic editing. As you watch this or listen to the music, it's worth bearing in mind that only two years previously Tull had been awarded a Heavy Metal award for Aqualung, on that occasion over Led Zeppelin, as this is as far from Heavy Metal as it's possible to get.

The words and lyrical plays are part of what makes the album so impressive. Perhaps the best line is on the second side: I'd give up my halo for a horn and the horn for the hat I once had. Overall, the album is about death and possibly life afterwards, beginning as it does with a funeral. Yet, 30 years after its original release, it is not only the lyrics which make the album rewarding. Released in the same year as the 'definitive' concept album, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, A Passion Play is for me the better recording, and a major part of the reason is the music. A Passion Play is more unified musically than The Dark Side Of The Moon; the latter is really just songs which cross-fade, whereas the former has an 'approach' and a sense of continuous development. The music often is among Jethro Tull's most playfully eccentric, flowing in and out of seeming incoherence. The opening instrumental, for example, has an inverted Teddy-bear's Picnic quality (which reminds me of the truly disturbing start of Faust's eponymous 1971 album) before turning to the apparent gravity of funeral described in the lyrics. Regular song structures are rare, while repeated motifs tie the various sections together. There's still a lot of acoustic guitar in there, but there's also a lot of jazz-based rhythm and extreme contrasts of electric to acoustic and wild to ethereal.

The strange thing is that this album marked the turn of critical acclaim for Tull. The critics hated it, and for some reason have never recovered. Maybe part of the problem was that Ian Anderson seemed to resent being put in a category (on both occasions of a Heavy Metal award, the next album was a violent reaction, almost as if to say, "Try calling this Heavy Metal!") Or maybe that Ian Anderson gave the impression of not caring whether they liked him and his music or not. Maybe the swing between introspective albums (A Passion Play and Minstrel...) and extroverted albums (War Child and Too Old...) meant that Tull were hard to get a grip on. And maybe it was simply a bandwagon that everyone got onto, and a guy playing a flute whilst standing on one leg is an easy target. But whatever the reason, Jethro Tull remain unpopular amongst critics and are for some reason considered to highlight the excesses of the 1970's prog-rock scene, even though their music has dated better than that of Pink Floyd, never had the classical bombast of Yes, ELO or even Deep Purple, and Martin Barre's guitar playing never degenerated into widdling and 40-minute solos.

And if you want more, then the 1993 compilation Nightcap is essential. The double cd set contains the original session for A Passion Play, recorded in France and labelled under The Chateaux D'Isater Tapes. Although much of the material was simply abandoned, some of the pieces, especially instrumentals, crop up again on A Passion Play, sometimes with alternative lyrics. For the full 'Passion Play Sessions', of course, you need to have War Child too, since Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day and Bungle In The Jungle were also recorded at the 'Chateaux D'Isaster', along with Solitaire, which appears in its original form on Nightcap. The compilation makes it easier to tie up various threads in this period of Anderson's writing, as for example with the animal metaphors and Law Of The Bungle.

All in all, a work of eccentric genius, in my opinion, closer to avant-garde than Rock. The critical headlines of 'Play without Passion' could not be further from the truth. Certainly a difficult album to listen to, but well worth the effort of trying. Still vibrant and inspiring 30 years after the original release.

Almost all ratings on this one are excellent, so I'll be quite alone with my disagreement. NB: I'm rating albums according to how I personally like them, without any thoughts of MUST admire something, or vice versa. First, Thick As A Brick is a superb and highly enjoyable work in my opinion also. With this, JT continued in that direction, but I think here lacks the adventurous and jolly spirit of TAAB. Instead it feels like it's been made just for making's sake, complexity for complexity's sake, without real passion(!) behind the music. It's quite even all the way, no notable highlights. I returned to this album yesterday after 12 years and I actually remembered it better (though not among the best ones anyway, even then). Frankly, I was bored. Afterwards almost nothing remained in my mind, except that saxes are played more than usual. It's surely more 'acquired taste' than other Tulls.

The hilarious fairy-tale narrative "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" in the middle is of course quite amusing with the exaggerated pronunciation. For most Tull fans there may be nothing wrong with A Passion Play, but somehow it leaves me cold. The sleeve notes tell of a failed studio session (was it in France) after which the whole concept changed for darker. For worse, perhaps?

It's been at least 15 years since I've listened to this album. I just bought the re-mastered CD and three things stand out the most to my ears: 1) How much Ian plays the soprano sax commpared to his flute. 2) How much it sounds like Gentle Giant, especially the first part/side one if you have the vinyl. 3) How well Ian sings. You forget how good a singer he was back in the 70's. I'm curious to know what this album would have sounded like if the lads had stayed in Switzerland and finished it instead of dropping what they recorded and went home to England. It is one sober, somber and bottom-heavy work. Just look at the cover, it speaks volumes. It really doesn't pick up until the climax, (my favorite part BTW). Yet, it's on par with 'Thick As A Brick' to me and if it wasn't for the Monty Pythonesque 'The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Specaicles' I would give it the highest rating. Such as it is, which is still one of the best prog albums of the early 70's, it rates 4.5 stars. A must have!!!

I was really caught off foot with this album. I was initially expecting based on the reviews that I read that this album was going to be a little disappointing to any Jethro Tull fan. Well, after giving it a few listens, I must say that this album is great. It's no Thick as a Brick, but it really does give it a run for its money. Ian Anderson and the rest of the group have a knack for writing great pieces, and they really exhibit their abilities on this album. The use of flute on the album is subtle and it really makes for a more light-hearted tone, even though the album deals with darker themes. When I first put it, I initially thought that I had accidentally put in Thick as a Brick, but soon I realized that this piece was so drastically different from TAAB. John Evans is once again at the top of his game, with the keyboards taking the forefront and really making an incredible experience. But the guitar is not drowned out, Martin Barre also plays some incredible licks and really shows why he is a great guitarist.

I really have to say that the first part is a lot better than the second part. It's really similar to TAAB, in that it feels as if all of their best work went into the first part, and then the rest was just filler (but good filler, mind you). I don't really enjoy the beginning of the second half. Once you get past the first 3 or 4 minutes, though, it really seems to get back into form.

I really was impressed by the intricacy and perfection that Jethro Tull had on this album. Then again, it wasn't as good or as remarkable as TAAB. There are few dull spots, but there are enough spots to keep you interested. I give it a 4/5 because I feel that if you give it a chance, you'll truly enjoy this work (I certainly did enjoy it).

Jethro Tull has been one of the mos believable emotional prog bands to ever grace the music scene. This album gave everything Tull could have ever offered...Dark humor, extremely complicated music, complex lrical meaning, and 1 damn good song seperated by the limitations of records. The use of the guitar as a supportive instrument rather then a main instrument was a good way to keep things sounding fresh, and the introduction of the sax where much flute could have been was brilliant. Drummer Barrimore Barlow is solid and impressive, and keyboardist john evans give the piece soft textures as well as chaos. Definitly Tulls best. This belongs in every well rounded music collection.

Not as good as Thick As A Brick, but pretty much in the same vein as TAAB. Again a two part suite each part filling an entire lp side. Great music, more mellow and more classicaly focussed than TAAB.

part one of A Passion Play has some nice piano melodies, and sometimes is reminiscent of TAAB, mostly in the drum and bass parts, with nice intricate rhythms, and frantic changes of melodie and intensity. It has some perfect moments, but overall doesn't appeal as much to me as TAAB did.

part two, The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, starts with a short narrated storie about a hare who apperently has lost his spectacles, accompagnied by some classical music, somewhat reminiscent of Prokofief's Peter And The Wolf, but with a bit of humour, and brilliantly told by Jeffrey Hammond. After this storie the music turns back to the style of the first side, with some brilliant music, and complex symphonised harmonies.

Not as good as TAAB, but A Passion Play provides some of the finest moments in progressive rock. Highly recommended

Quite simply THE BEST TULL ALBUM. Passion Play is one of the most underrated albuns of all times! OK, when it comes to Thick As A Brick, it's hard to choose one, but Passion Play it's definetely the best. It's darker and obscure. Instrumentation it's even better. There's more keyboards, also, and more sax. More atmosphere. It's a masterpiece. No Prog collection can be without this gem.

-Guilherme Baldin

AN ALBUM WITH CONTROVERSY

Honestly, I have had countless attempts to write a review about this concept album. Not because of the controversy between two poles that "hate it" or "love it" but due to the incapability to express my views that is fairly objective and comprehensive about this complex and serious album. As far as controversy issue, I have been on the latter pole, ie in the category of those who love the album. Big apology if this review of being too subjective, probably. What I can assure you is that whatever my view here is not exaggerating. But if you think so, I don't blame you - it's probably I appreciate prog musicians too much because I'm not a musician, but music is my soul. Music is emotion. I sleep with music, breathe with music, work with music .

Ian Anderson's Perspective

"With Thick As A Brick, we took the idea of the concept album and had some fun with it. Now we thought it was time to do something a bit more serious and make an album that wasn't a spoof and wasn't meant to be fun. We ended up going to record the album at Chateau D'Herouville, in France, where people like Elton John and Cat Stevens had made records. Our original plan was not to make another concept album. The project started off as a collection of songs, including two that ended up going onto our next album, War Child: 'Bungle in the Jungle' and 'Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of the New Day).' A certain theme had begun to emerge among the songs - how the animal life is mirrored in the dog-eat-dog world of human society - but the project just wasn't working out. So we abandoned what we'd done and went back to England."

"Back home, I ended up almost completely rewriting all of the material we'd worked on in France, and this became A Passion Play. The concept grew out of wondering about the possible choices one might face after death. It was a dark album, just as we had intended, but it was missing some of the fun and variety that was in Thick As A Brick. The critics savaged us. Chris Welch of Melody Maker and Bob Hilburn at the Los Angeles Times wrote really negative reviews that everybody jumped on and reprinted or based their own reviews on. It really snowballed from there, and we got a fair old pasting for that one. On reflection, the album is a bit one-dimensional. It's certainly not one of my favorites, although it has become something of a cult album with some fans."

Ian Anderson, Guitar World, September 1999

Well, the above quote speaks clearly enough so that I don't need to repeat. Chris Welch is a great reviewer and I learn a lot from his critics about rock music.

Album Review

"A Passion Play part 1" - The album starts off with a relatively complex and less-melodic music (which would grow to a melodic one with many spins) combining multi instruments including woodwind and flute. This part is where most people would most likely reject listening to the remaining part; nothing so attractive about it. It once happened to me when I first listened to it for the first three to five spin. At approx min [3:26] Ian voice enters wonderfully with powerful accentuation : "Do you still see me even here? (The silver cord lies on the ground.)" augmented with great piano work. Acoustic guitar inserts into the music during this first verse lyrical part that ends with: "There was a rush along the Fulham Road into the Ever-passion Play." And the music turns quiet.

Hammond organ solo continues the music and with the fading in of drum work the music turns into complex and fast tempo music with soprano sax as lead melody; and suddenly it breaks into silent passage where Ian continues with the second verse of lyrical part. The music then turns complex again in uplifting mood combined with low points with acoustic guitar work and with the drum brings the music into foxtrot, followed with third lyrical verse: "All along the icy wastes there are faces smiling in the gloom." Oh man . I like this part. It's a truly musical orgasm for me whenever I enjoy this part! Especially when Ian continues singing "Invest your life in the memory bank.. " what a memorable part!

At approx min [11:43] Ian Anderson plays his flute brilliantly and dynamically followed with fast tempo music with great drumming. The music is complex, overall. And the fourth lyrical verse continues with : "Take the prize for instant pleasure, .." with still complex arrangement. The music increases with energy when Ian sings "All of your best friends' telephones ." and I really like this part. Piano and guitar play together with sax, Hammond and drums. The music then stops for a while and moves up again with piano as main rhythm section and guitar work followed with lyrical part that begins with: "Lover of the black and white it's your first night." In relatively fast tempo and high energy music. It slows down beautifully when it reaches unique vocal line: "The examining body examined her body.". What a great break! The other great break is when Ian sings with acoustic guitar rhythm as background while other instruments stop playing for a while: "All of this and some of that's the only way to skin the cat." And the music returns back into high energy.

Another great treat for me is when the first play ends up with The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles where Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond does wonderful narration starting at approx min. [21:34]. What a wonderful narration and accompanied with a Tom and Jerry type of music.

"A Passion Play - Part 2" starts with the ending of The Story of The Hare with a floating music continued with wonderful entrance of Ian's voice that starts suddenly with "We sleep by the ever-bright hole in the door .." lyrical part, accompanied with stunning acoustic guitar rhythm. The musical composition is different than the first part but the main style is still maintained, i.e. the use of alto sax, organ and guitar as main solo that are played in intertwining style. At approx min [31:55] the music moves up differently with a combination of organ and drum work. Keyboard and piano work also characterize the music. Part 2 music is overall much more complex that Part 1.

At approx minute [40:22] the music turns differently with the entrance of guitar combined with organ and flute works followed with a lyrical verse that starts with: "Hail! Son of kings .". I thought that this ending part is a sort of disjointed portion of the whole epic because the style is totally different. But as I spin the CD more and more it feels to me that this can be considered as the epic's encore. Fortunately, the ending part of this last portion brings back the music into melody line similar to Part 1 with this lyrical part: "There was a rush along the Fulham Road into the Ever-passion Play." And it fades out .. Hmmm . what a peaceful feeling I got when the epic finishes. It's a rewarding experience!

Summary

Big apology for the long review but overall I can not put this album less than five stars rating. It's truly a masterpiece. I consider that this album is even better than the previous ground breaking "Thick As A Brick". For me personally, A Passion Play is the best of all Jethro Tull's albums. If you can not accept this album, please give it a chance for another 5, 10 or even 15 spins. I hope it'll grow. Otherwise, keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours,

GW

I love Passion Play for all those clever musical themes, transitions, and rhythmic & harmonic modulations. To my ears, it all sounds utterly honest. I don't find it the least bit contrived or indulgent. The music is more "exceptionally literate" than "extreme progressive". I hear "rock with classical influences from the Romantic period" and it's magic to my ears.

'The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles' tells a story, but the rest is lyrical impressionism - literate, asymmetrical, poetic and surprising. Anderson alternates the archaic with "the ice cream lady wet her drawers..."

Whatever one may say about Passion Play, I don't think anyone can say "they played it safe." Most critics say they went too far. Well, JT certainly did not go beyond their capabilities to execute musically or technically.

I love every heady minute of it.

Well, this album is the lest accessible of Tull's I've heard (this, Thick as a Brick, Aqualung, and Songs from the Wood). It is much darker than Thick as a Brick, and lacks some of the energy it had. Side one starts out with a kind of goofy carnival theme after some scary noises. Then Ian Anderson begins the verses accompanied by the piano, in fine classic Tull fashion/ Then the song goes into some crazy jazzy sections. This album is far jazzier than Thick as a Brick, and Ian Anderson plays thesaxophone a lot more on here. There are lots of dark melodies in the first half, but their is also some goofy stuff, like this goofy English accented fellow saying something about 'your sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the shoulders of a young horse named George' and some other kind of goofy stuff. I'm sure it's all just some weird metaphor though.

The secopnd half starts off with a goofy little story narrated by John Evan I think, called 'The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles.' John Evan uses a bltantly goofy and fake accent and this track is a waste of time I think. They definitely should've made it a separate track, because this is utterly bad. However, the rest of Side Two dominates. It features great melodies reminiscent of Thick as a Brick's darker melodies, and some pretty cool lyrics.

So the first half is not as rewarding on the first few listens as Thick as a Brick was, so don't expect that. And the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is definitely a downside of the album. Although side two continues on and ends perfectly. So if you liked Thick as a Brick (which I'm sure you did), expecially the jazzier moments, then you will probably like this. If you haven't heard Thick as a Brick, you need to get that first, and if you like it(which you will), then get this.

This album is one of the greatest albums Jethro Tull have graced us! They always demonstrate the talent of whom don't repeat the same formula. Yes, it's darker than Thick As A Brick, but anyway: what's the problem? It seems to be more various with the arrangements, including very interesting saxophone passages and beautiful Barrie's drums! The story of the hare who lost his spectacle represents a surprise, a break, in the obscure and magnificient atmosphere of A Passion Play........

........and it's sang by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, not by John Evan who, afterall, has made a great work, and having a great part in the construction of this masterpiece!!!!

Fans that love the style and character of Jethro Tull can appreciate this album. The mystical aura about the story and the video on the Interactive CD rom is visually and mentally dazzling. This album is as good or better than Thick as a Brick. I dont understand why it is not accepted as such.

During a family vacation in the Vienna woods in 1977 my father had bought a Grundig radio/casette player. We tried to listen in on the short wave for american stations but that only lasted so far before boredom crept in. The woods were great but as a teenager we needed some tunes. So my older brother put on the only tape we had with us. It was Tull's A Passion Play. He must have played it all day long for five days straight. I thought that I would go nuts. It wasn't rock. It didn't have classic riffs like Bowie or Zep. But over time this album grew on me. Form the heartbeats to the ever pleasant midieval guitars and unaccompanied vocals from Anderson to the constant build up of disjointed yet measured playing by the band, A Passion Play had a life of its own. Now when I look back at the Tull catalogue, I always measure each of their albums against this one. A magnificent work indeed. By the way, once we got home, the same brother repetitively enlightened any would be listener of the home to another twisted relic of days gone prog. That album was Nursery Crime. My mysterious journey into progressive rock had begun in ernst.

Wow. I have no idea this album got and still gets so much dirt. The lyrics may be confusing, it may have more jazz influences, and have a darker tone, but aren't these elements common in prog albums? I personally view this as Tulls breakthrough album. It is the first to feature a synthesizer, and there is more sax and less acoustic guitar. The musicianships is also at its peak. Also, instead of complaining about the infamous 'hare who lost his spectacles' all I have to say is that depends what kind of sense of humor you have. If your into Monty Python, you'll realize that the sequence is to sound like an opening sequence to the show, with the animated animals. It definetely dosn't bug like dosn't a lot a of people. If if you hate monty python, the other music is so good you'll just have to skip it.

4/5

This must be one of the most complex albums ever...its certainly Jethro Tulls most complex album ever. But, complexety does not make a good album!!! But it seems that in this case complexety has much to do with the final product. The musicianship, or better yet, the way the instruments are presented is very diferent from other Tulls albums. This is because the guitars have a minor role but at the same time keyboards are constantly there; John Evans does his best work ever with the group. The other weapon of choice is Jeffrey Hammonh-Hammond, whos bass is also a very important part of the 2 long pieces, as well as the voice that tells the story of the hare who lost his spectacles. Then there are the drumms. Barriemore Barlow, a virtuoso of his instrument does not play a 4/4 signature time in any part of the whole album...and if he does ( which I cant remember) its only for a breef lapse of time. As I already said the guitars play a minor role, yet they are constantly present, but not doing solos or fills, but as a supporting instrument...still Martin Lancelot Barre manageds to do something here and there. And finally we have the bones, heart and brain of Tull...Ian Anderson, who plays the sax, quite good I might add, as well as the flute. But his acustic guitars are also different, his signature folkish kinda playing is here not present, for it has changed to a some what more classical touch...nice!

But I just went on and on about the musicianship, but did not said anything about the music inself, other than its complexety...well, this is hard to get into! Its not for the die heart blues/folkish fans from early Tull, unless you are opend minded. The 2 pieces are pretty much just one 45 minutes song, with a fairy tale in the middle. The music is hard to swollow some times, and Ians lyrics and voice are different from other albums. Although there is a constant irony behind his words, they are not really funny as in previous works, but dark. I find them incredibly interesting! The way he mocks very seriously about some things...is excellent.

The album, because of his (again) complexety and theatrical aprouch ( A Passion PLAY!), makes the band no longer a folk prog band, but a symphonic one...very very nice!!!

From all the Tull albums I have at this point, and they are not much ( I dont have Thick as a brick...which many would say its a big mistake, havind Passion Play before Thick as a brick...and maybe yes...but I still find this one so very good!!!), this is the best...by far!!!

Yea well the follow up to the masterpiece Thick as a brick was bound to suffer from comparisment of the previous album...Just as thick as a brick it is a concept album divided in two songs on about 20 minutes each...You could think that the music on these two albums could be pretty similar but Ian Anderson has been able to make a rather fresh sounding sound on this album experimenting further with the epic song format. However there is a fine line between trying to make original and experimental music and trying to make the best possible music, and i think especially the first song suffers from trying to hard to sound new while ending up sounding patchy and sometimes leading into nowhere...There are generally some interesting bits here and there but they get messed up into trying to sound experimental by using unusual rhytms and timechanges, although i enjoy unusual rhytms and timechanges it just sounds so patchy and unnatural it is not much to enjoy. When the song finally breaks into part two it gets alot better and the song opens up with Jeffrey Hammond reading something that seems to be a childrens story written by him and anderson...Its quite funny and the music follows the storys mood perfectly and help putting an edge into the tale. The whole story lasts for another 4 minutes before it slides into regular music with anderson and this time around the music is alot better and the music manges to stay original without loosing direction although its still pretty far from any of the songs of the thick as a brick album it is one of the better Tull songs. Im bouncing between 3 and 4 stars on this album really but i will give it 4 stars becausse i really think this is one of the top 5 Tull albums ever released.

Further investigation: Thick as a brick, Aqualung Similar Bands: For more folky stuff try Mostly Autumn or Flarick and for great 20 minute prog epics try Foxtrot :-)

While not reaching the heights of Thick As A Brick, this album deserves its merits, since it has a very interesting concept (regarding after-life, it is cool to see IAN exploring such ideas) and has introduced a new style on JT: less flutes and more sax and keys. Unfortunately, the band didn't seem to feel like exploring new melodies with these instruments. That's why we have too much repetitive melodies, making the album a boring experience sometimes - i notice that i feel a bit tired sometimes at the middle of the second part, imagine if they haven't had add the Hare's story between, i think i wouldn't stand listening to the album as a whole. Anyone, despite being repetitive and not so inspired as TAAB, Passion Play is a very nice effort by Tull so i feel secure on giving it four stars.

After almost thirty five years of my prog explorations I find myself baffled how so many people passionately hate this album."Passion play" is everything prog record should be :complex,passionate,well produced,professionaly executed and ,yes,over the top!Once you're past early prog era to start educating yourselves about genre,you just have to sink your teeth into this one with an open mind,and I promise you'll find prog heaven,one of best prog records ever is gonna take over your mind.The fact is Anderson is way over the top on this one,but I always thought that ultimate definition of progressive rock music is about being outside the mainstream on all fronts.this is a modern fairy tale,with some almost ridicoulosly outrageous moments,but extremely entertaining and never boring,not for a moment.Never before or after this record Tull band sounded so tight and inspired in executing this masterpiece.Jethro Tull's crowning achievment and one of the best prog records ever comes highly recommended to all open minded prog lovers.

I have always been perplexed by the bad light usually cast upon Tull's Passion Play. I was 13 when this album was released, and was already a huge fan of all their previous work. Having been blown completely away by Thick as a Brick, I found Passion Play to be just as good of a record, but in a very different way. I enjoyed the darker subject matter, as did I enjoy the somewhat darker and deeper melodies and musical ideas. I must admit, that at the time the album was released, I had very little concept of what Passion Play was really about...but to me it was pure art. Jethro Tull at their creative peak. A masterful example of strange art rock.

I remember I bought "A Passion Play" in the very same day it landed in the shop; in fact, I was there looking for something different when I noticed that one hot-from-the-press pile of gory and macabre covers had just arrived that I promptly sacked one and ran home (after paying, as a civilized sacker must do).

My first hearing was an astounding adventure: I was literally crushed! But some demon inside told me that this work should not be well received by the mainstream and even the sidestream peers. Later, I read the critics and realized that "A Passion Play" wasn't properly lighting the neon. What a pity!

Well, nothing better than the elapsing of time and when the 20th Century faded and the new millennium arrived, apparently the comprehension of this work improved hugely (or maybe, averagely). Many people are considering, now, "A Passion Play" in the same level of "Thick As A Brick" (a JT's magnum opus for several honest fans) or even in a higher position - a posture able to get an asylum passport 30 years ago. I wasn't really one of those probable asylum dwellers but I always considered that either epics were more or less leveled, with "Thick As A Brick" a bit overrated, maybe for being the first to be born.

Unlike its older cousin, "A Passion Play" hasn't a main theme being repeated here and there, except for the intro and the end. The piece is a bunch of average-to-good songs that keep a general homogeneous atmosphere; the real link is done by the lyrics and mainly the band's playing - seeming sometimes foolish and vague, but never deviating from the target.

Never before, Jethro Tull played so harmonically; Ian Anderson had the vocals and splendid saxophone solos, but keyboards, guitars, bass and drums had their peaks along the song - great moments indeed. "A Passion Play" has high points but the near-ending is totally amazing - after 40' of different musical parts, the listener is caught for about 3 minutes in a tsunami of rock-folk-symphonic sounds that form undeniably one of the unforgettable passages of the entire prog-rock scenario, all sparking after 'Hail, son of Kings.'; a majestic and splendid end for a great musical piece.

Ah! I forgot to mention the interval curiosity summoned by the name of 'The story of the hare who lost his spectacles', a psychedelic fable, excellent to learn some Lancashire accent, according to my British friends, isn't it?

And finally, how to rate a work that has a different passion and a difficult play? I recommend "A Passion Play" for all serious and diversified prog collection. Total: 4.

1 2/3 Stars

Rather than the ambitious Tales of Topographic Oceans taking the blame for everything wrong with Progressive Rock and making the public lose interest, I think this should been that album. It is amazing how can a band that releases masterfully crafted classic rock albums like Benefit, Aqualung, and the sophisticated Thick as a Brick can suddently lose the inspiration and release a Thick As a Brick wanna be without the direction, melodies, and charm that made Thick as a Brick so successful. While the folk -> jazz change could have been a good one, I do not like the execution. The only things remaining are the great musicianship and the poetic lyrics from Ian Anderson. Just check on the internet the lyrics and you will be amused at the poetic talents of Ian. Also, the keyboardist here sounds like a hybrid of Charly Garcia and Italian prog keyboardists with his synths while Ian plays great flute and even the sax, the rhythm section is strong, and the guitar player plays a led-zeppelin-style kick ass riff near the ending. Sadly, those two can't help the disaster that this album is.

The story begins and you can hear that the musicians are playing complex arrangements, but are they good? I really can't remember much after it as the melodies are weaker than ones I could compose myself (and I'm not a composer at all!). How can the band compose such unremarkable melodies when they were the complete opposites with songs such as Aqualung and Thick as a Brick pt1? Lack of good melodies are not the only problems with the album as I stated in my first paragraph. I think the biggest problem with the album are lack of ideas and inspiration. Not only are the melodies weak, but the themes and riffs, and even the solos too. Everything in here is so uninteresting that it makes it a dull moment in your life to spin the disc. There are 2 more problems to be addressed:

_ Directionless : The album goes through one theme, doesn't really develop it and goes through another section. While the transitions aren't horrific cut and paste jobs, they still make the album incoherent and directionless.

_ The Hare That Lost its Spectacles : Oh My God!? If you want an example of the bad things about mixing music with humor, this is the first place to look. The story is silly and the humour is pathetic and irritating after a couple of listens. Ian makes a fool of himself with ridiculous vocal tones and the band plays childish theater soundtrack to follow the music. Remember when the band seemed to follow the lyrics brilliantly like in "My words but a whisper -- your deafness a SHOUT." when you hear a hammond organ chord when you hear the word "Shout"? Now, you hear Evans do cheesy 'shakes' to create tension I guess, but they are so out of place. Also, the riffs/melodies are some of the cheesiest, most ridiculous things I've heard. Finally, I haven't addressed the final problem with this part: Why is it in here? It doesn't suit the song musically and is really put as a cut and paste job in the middle of the epic just after it was kinda getting good. This song within a song almost makes me put 1 star in the album.

For diehard Fans only. If you are not a fan of Jethro Tull, you'd better stick with the early great albums and their mid-career gem (Songs From The Wood). Do not start the band's discography with this one!!

1. A Passion Play (Part 1) 4.5/10

2. A Passion Play (Part 2) 3/10 - The Hare play: 0/10 - The Rest: 4.5/10.

My Grade: D-

This album is just great. It has some of the most creativity in a prog album ever, which is saying a lot. To some, this massive amount of originality is overwhelming and unnattractive, which is fine! But to those who care to step outside the boundries of usual progressive rock, you will love this album. It crosses many sub genres such as acoustic, hard rock, story-telling, psychedelic and then Jethro Tull's own style, wrapped in an otherworldly atmosphere with Ian Anderson's bizarre lyrics on top. Very memorable, compelling and sometimes emotional. The experimental nature of this album sometimes ruins an emotional sequence, but that is really its only flaw. The mood deviating from the music is addictive, intoxicating, strong and very captivating. A very great album not to be overlooked. It's a masterpiece.

This is Jethro Tull's most ambitious and progressive album. The music is fantastic and is the most creative work Ian Anderson has ever composed. It continues where Thick As A Brick left off and takes the listener through the many twists and turns of the dazzling Passion Play. A massive amount of material here is squeezed into 45 minutes so it can be a bit overwhelming at first. But the patient and experienced prog listeners will be greatly rewarded. A flawless masterpiece. Five stars.

It simply boggles my mind too see so much people condemning this album as their worst. I simply don't get the hatred. Surely it's not better than Thick As A Brick, but they're almost in the same vein musically-wise, with some detailed differences. I certainly find more flaws in this album than in Thick As A Brick, but it wins by very close competition and few points.

A very obvious improvement is in Ian's vocal delivery, whereas in the previous album he's voice didn't differ much from a generic Syd Barrett imitator, in this album his voice has increased in inspiration and warmth, and he modules better in a very operatic way.

Another one is in sound quality: just take the remastered version of Thick As A Brick and grab A Passion Play's remastered edition and you'll see the improvement.

I find two flaws: Particularly in the composition and in the choice of instruments. Some people call it lack of melody, but they have no idea what a melody is so I interpret it as "lack of catchy melodies"; and actually that's not what I see in the album: it certainly has various hooks throughout. The problem lies with the lack of tone variation: apart from the main theme, the song within the song are mostly presented in a G key and it hardly varies from it, making it very monotonic (especially in side B, until the Magus Perde part, where they tune down to F). But one might actually get to hear some interesting and unusual chord sequences, and in the main song they're conciously trying to avoid ending in a dominant chord until they reach from the starting minor chord to major chord of the same key, in the old baroque sort of way; it build a very complex and amazing melody. By the way: Martin really seems absent in this record; I saw a video of the Passion Play tour where he actually did an extended guitar solo. I wish they could had lit the spotlight on him a bit more on the original album.

Then there's Ian choice of introducing the sax; it's just an awful sound. I remember playing back the first Nightcap CD and my father (who is a Jazz saxophonist) couldn't tell the sax from a violin, because it sounds very synthetized; it sounds indeed like another of the many synthetizers they used on it, and that's my other complaint. Again apart from the main verse, everything else is just flooded with synthetizers, which can get annoying after a while.

that just makes a tie of flaws between the two "epics", which tells you that . Although at the same time they're very alike (it's the same Jethro Tull) the two shouldn't be taken as standard of one another, but as two different approaches, and that's the main problem with the critics: when they give you another Thick As A Brick, they complain about the carbon copy; au contraire, the despise it because it's not up to the standards of Thick As A Brick. I think it's a very good album, not better than Thick As A Brick but neither worse. Hence I give it 3.5 stars which I round to 4 in the Jethro Tull catalog.

TULL did it once again!!

So this one had been Tull's most controversial album ever and actually I can understand that rock critics and fans being more into mainstream rock had devaluated it since it had been undoubtedly their most complex and hardest approachable work. But honestly I cannot follow those Prog fans putting this great album which I consider at least as good as TAAB down as crap. Actually I liked the overall darker mood of the music right from the beginning but it really took me numerous spins before I've been able to memorize some parts of it. The two-parted compositions is much more dominated by Anderson's sax and Evans' moog playing than any of their previous releases and resembles rather bands like Gentle Giant or VDGG than typical Tull. The album's concept which had been designed as a stage performance is centred around the story about death and afterlife of a guy called Ronnie. I wouldn't claim that I went already deeply into the lyrics which are even more difficult to understand than the ones for TAAB allowing multiple interpretations but for better understanding I can just confirm my fellow reviewer Dex F.'s advice to follow the link he mentioned. Actually it didn't work with me at the first place but you should go to www.ministry-of-information.co.uk and then follow the link for the album. There you might get as well explanation why they've put this strange and hilarious hare-story which isn't related at all to the concept in fact right between the two tracks. As far as I understood you've got to imagine the record as a stage play and I guess this short nonsensical yet amusing story had been meant as a refreshing break for the audience to recover a bit from the quite serious topic of the main story. And I've to say it's quite nicely done much in the vein of "Peter and the wolf" and I didn't find it disturbing at all. Anyway apart of that the artistic performance of all band members is just stunning here and this album offers some of the best sections they've ever done during their career. In my view The Play should be considered Tull's second masterpiece after TAAB and anyone who appreciated that one should find this one enjoyable as well, at least after a couple of listens. Some people might find it too pretentious but IMHO it wasn't but rather a masterpiece of progressive music!!

I listened to this album a long time ago, but I remember that I heard very good things. The arrangements are very good, and I think that, from the albums that I have listened from this band, this is one of their best albums, one of their more Prog albums. It has an humorous section, called "The hare who lost his spectacles" or something like that, which sounds funny. This album also has songwriting credits in this section for other members of the band, who also "sang" a bit. This is a fine album, IMO, from a band which is not one of my favourites.

Hah. The most progressive Jethro Tull's album (so far), but not necessary the best one. Everyone will agree this is an attempt to be thicker and brickier than a "Thick As A Brick". Well, of course, the band failed to overtake the artistic value and success of the previous album, but this one is not bad actually.

This is another concept album, (with "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" mockery thrown in), and it doesn't works perfectly. Well, "Thick As A Brick" wasn't working perfectly neither, but I still think it's a masterpiece. The problem with this album is in the fact that it's much less homogeneous then it's predecessor, while sharing the same amount of complexity and diversity. However, I'm doing the same thing as most of the reviewers are: I'm comparing it to "Thick As A Brick", which is maybe unavoidable, but it's certainly not very fair: there's plenty of other Tull albums from the same era to conclude what status "A Passion Play" deserves.

If we look at it as a isolated entity, this is a very good album, with excellent cover, witty Anderson's lyrics and superb musicianship. Anyway, this is the first (and the last, I think) appearance of soprano and sopranino saxophones on Tull record, played by Mr. Anderson himself. Album contains boldly used Moog synthesizers; keyboards are all over the place, most of the time emphasising Ian's vocal perfectly ("My touch, freezing"). Hammond is ridiculously overdriven more than on any other Tull album. "A Passion Play" also contains some time signatures that could be described as a pure madness, plus my favourite rhythm-guitar section of all times (theme that has been repeated in variations through all the record, and the last one just before the grand finale); unique and frenetic combination of ehm...regular guitar chords and guitar harmonics. I never heard something similar before or after.

I would not comment the theatre play related to "A Passion Play" and I won't compare the album to the "Chateau D'Isaster Tapes"; I'm not very familiar with the happening at the time, and it's not very relevant to the music itself, really. Just an small remark about "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles": it contains some excellent music, and nice touch of humour somewhat similar to Bonzo Dog Band, perhaps a bit more pretentious. It's rather pointless inclusion in the middle of the record, but it's fun, and it's high-quality work. The video spot is great too.

Anyway, if there is any chance to avoid comparisons with other, more or less similar Tull's album, and if we try to criticise this one from the sheer musical point of view, than we have an excellent, epic-long jazzy symphonic record with touches of folk, of course with omnipresent "tullness" all over the place. So how can I say that "A Passion Play" is not good?

I discovered "A Passion Play" before "Thick is A Brick". It was back in December 1974. I received a taped cassette from it (you know, the ancestor of the download ...). At that time I found it a quite interesting and good album. I listened to it quite frequently although it was rather difficult to enter into.

After a looooong period (thirty years : so you can add several ooooooo's), I (re) discovered it. At first, I was quite disappointed. The Tull obviously tried to match "Thick" (which I had discovered in the meantime). This album is not as catchy as "Thick". It will also be poorly appreciated by the rock reviewers and press in general. I could not blame them.

When I listened to it back in 2004, I thought : hey ! how could I have loved this one (really). I spun it only a couple of times till recently. Since I decided to review the whole of the Tull's repertoire I tried again and again. I think that I have listened more to "A Passion Play" for the last three days than for the last three years for the purpose of writing about it. After a few spins, my meaning started to change : part one was rgood with very few weak moments. Not as melodious as "Thick" but a dark, profund prog track. Too little fluting though for my taste.

It took me another four (or even five) spins to be able to get into part two. It is really hard. At first (I remind you that this was more than thirty years ago in my case), I considered the cabaret-type intro as funny (you know "The Hare"). When I rediscovered it, I found it boring, dull : in a word useless. This is still my feeling. Another minute or so of average "sounds" and there we go again for another good Tull moment.

And again I tried and tried. Till the moment that I effectively believe that this is a very good Tull album. Not reaching the masterpiece level, but I can tell you, my rating for this one was two stars when I started to prepare my first hundreds of reviews to be posted here. Two months have passed, and I got used to "A Passion Play" and started to like it, even if it will never bring me true "Passion" (like other Tull albums).

It is definitely not the Tull album to start with. If you do not like at first sight, forget it a bit, then come back and listen carefully. You'll be rewarded, really. Seven out of ten.

Excellent!! Possibly overshadowed by Brick, this album is almost on par with it, and definitely better than all releases other than Thick as a Brick. I wish they would have kept with the single song "concept" album feel, they do it like no other band.

Same lineup as the last, the story goes, they were recording and writing an album in France, only for the tapes to become unusable, to which Anderson handled superbly by some how coming up with this epic album in such a short time for release. The story is of course, about a man who parishes, goes through the cycle of Heaven and Hell, not liking either and ultimately being reborn. The lyrics are pretty vague and metaphoric, the writing is superb.

The atmosphere of this one is darker than the comedic feel that Thick as a Brick so often exhibited, John Evans delving deeper into the worlds of keyboards and moog synthesizer. Barre is featured less prominently, but you can always here him playing along in the backround. Anderson adds more wind instruments, the soprano and sopranino sax. His acoustic guitar is shown to be very effective, Ian is really underrated as a picker. The themes in A Passion Play are excellent, perhaps a little weaker than Brick, but great regardless. I prefer side two, and "The Story of the Hare" is a playful bridging of the sides. It DOES get old, however.

In my opinion underrated, maybe some of the negative reviews have been biased by the interpretation of the album by critics so long ago, which was unjust to say the least. I can full heartedly reccomend this album if you enjoyed Thick as a Brick. A certain masterpeice.

Surpassing the pretentiousness of its amazing predecessor "Thick as a Brick" and somewhat predating the dark mood of "Minstrel in the Gallery", "A Passion Play" is a gem in its own terms in the multicolored musical history of Jethro Tull. By now, the interest of Anderson & co. in exploring the progressive potential of their musical vision had been fully exposed throughout the last two years, and now with this epic satire (funny and bitter at the same time) of the afterworld, the band is ready to push the envelope: neckbreaking complexity of compositions, unabashed sophistication of arrangements, impressive lyrics full of literary references, augmentation of the instrumentation with the addition of saxes and synth as well as a full orchestra for the 'Hare' section (a very Monty-Pythonesque fable that feels perfectly coordinated with the Tullian ideology of music with farce). The storyline to this album finds a man experiencing a parallel to the travels of Christ to the 'other side' after his execution by crucifixion and his resurrection, but now Ian Anderson bears a different muse, a muse of disenchantment and frustration about the idea that the afterworld is as pointless and dull as our earthly realm. The intro theme, punctuated by a synth and bass beating heart, gives way to a joyful yet slightly somber motif that turns out to be quite catchy. The first sung section, a languid piano-based ballad in full chamber fashion, shows Ian at his most vulnerable. The choruses are so effective in their simplistic solemnity: "There was a rush along the Fulham Road / There was a hush in the Passion Play". A nice passage that is soon counterpointed by an amazing 11/8 interlude (similar to the famous "TAAB" interlude, at least, to a certain degree), and that's when the power gets in and remains consistent. The rhythm section bears a very solid feel, especially regarding Barlow's taste and precision in his rolls and other percussive tricks. All the way through, the rockier passages are the ones that take center stage, sometimes going for the hard, sometimes going for a bluesier vibe, always keeping an aura of controlled complexity. Anderson is really enthusiastic with his soprano and sopranino saxes, which assume a more prominent role than his archetypical flute: not that there are not flute extravaganzas (the incendiary solo for the interlude's reprise is awesome, simply awesome), but it is clear that the saxes are there to provide a new texture for Anderson's duels with Barre's guitar leads and Evan's keyboards (organ or synth). The A side ends with an acoustic guitar interlude that introduces the excellent, bizarre farce 'The Hare who Lost His Spectacles'. Ended the fable, the interlude is reprised in order to pave the ground for the mysterious 'Down of Our Stairs' section - one of the most vibrating introspective pieces ever written by Anderson, undoubtedly a hint to things to come in the "Minstrel" album. The lyrics, which portray the hero's disappointment with the boring solemnity of Heaven and seriously considering a visit to that "forsaken Paradise that calls itself hell", are really moving: beyond the poetic tricks, the emotion is clearly palpable. Once again, after this dominantly introspective passage, comes a series of rockier sections in which the main character discovers there are also reasons to be disappointed at Hell and its master chief Lucifer. The final section, in which our hero turns the stone to return to Earth, is one of the most accomplished regarding composition and performance stamina. The climatic ending is adorned with the final chorus and the reemerging heartbeats - an awesome finale for an awesome progressive opus. No matter how much their music challenges the progressive label (as well as many other labels), "A Passion Play" has to be one of the most outstanding prog albums ever, and most certainly JT made a bunch of them in the 70s. A bit less consistent that "TAAB", but masterful all the same.

A great mixture of prog excess and pantomime exuberance, "A Passion Play" is a greater success to this reviewer than "Thick as a Brick" as the band strive to bring the variety that its predecessor lacked. Incidentally, "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" is brilliantly written and is the sort of joyful incidental music that Camel's "Snow Goose" should have been. I'll spend no more time on this one as it's such a popular and oft-reviewed release.

A passion play is obviously the most controversial album made by Jethro Tull (I do not count their 80's albums as controversial because 80's were awful in general).

Without any doubt it's not a masterpiece. After Thick as a brick, Ian and the band tried one more time to make conceptual piece of music, but from the listener's point of view it's not so great to listen to it. Great melodies are somehow missing. The best parts are the beginning and mainly the last five or six minutes at the end (and this part is always presented on their best ofs as TaaB excerpt). That Hair-part at the end of the first side of the album is very unusual (yet my wife likes it) and adds nothing to the concept. It is not classic Jethro Tull and it is not something that will attract the wider audience.

On the other hand, it is quite good instrumentally. Jethro Tull were always good musically. If this had been done by some other group (e.g. Beatles - ha, ha, ha - than I would be eager to call Beatles progressive...), it would have been surely called extraordinary. But Jethro Tull could have done it better.

That's why I give to that three stars. It is a good album, but not their best and not even essential.

A misunderstood album, 'A Passion Play' is JETHRO TULL'S last great progressive work. Let's review the misunderstandings.

Can't understand what it's about? This album was based on a real art form. A passion play told the story of Christ's trial and death, and the form developed over the centuries to include everything from the fall of Lucifer, the creation of man and the second coming. A modern version is Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'. Even 'Jesus Christ Superstar' has elements of the passion play. This form allows the maverick JETHRO TULL to explore a passion play about the afterlife, beginning with the funeral (my friends as one all stand aligned) with cameos from God and His Son, Lucifer, Magus Perde and everyone else IAN ANDERSON could think of. Dante's 'Inferno' meets the Gospel of St. John.

Lack of melodies? The problem is not the lack of melodies, but too many, all falling over each other to be expressed. Listen to the introduction (Lifebeats/Prelude): I don't think they wrote anything as melodious as this. One of my criticisms of this album is that JETHRO TULL have collected too many ideas here, and don't give them room to breathe. Sixteen tracks (as IAN ANDERSON identified in 1973) is too many for 48 minutes. The album is either too short or too dense. Probably both.

The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles a pointless diversion? Quite the opposite. Such an interlude is an essential component of a passion play. Treated humorously, it is the equivalent of a Monty Python episode, and introduces levity into what is, by and large, a serious album. Treat it as an intermission. Take it out if you've had your humour gland removed. After all, this album is five minutes longer than 'Thick as a Brick'; it isn't as though you've been short-changed.

Speaking of 'Thick as a Brick', doesn't it suffer in comparison to that masterpiece? Well, yes, so does almost everything. That's not a reason to dislike this. In fact, in some areas this album is superior: this is arguably IAN ANDERSON'S premier vocal performance: the operatic nature of the mesic suited his voice perfectly. And the extra instruments certainly creates a more varied sound than TAAB.

The citics hated it. Yes, they did. They were willing to forgive one excess (TAAB); to many, 'A Passion Play' was taking progressive music too far. But you'll find that the most trenchant critics of this album also harboured a grudge against progressive rock in general. Sadly, the critics knocked the stuffing out of IAN ANDERSON'S musical and lyrical ambition. This album was followed by 'War Child' (shudder), and TULL'S subsequent exploration of folk and heavy metal has always smacked to me of a retreat, the antithesis of progressive music.

So what's good about it? Great lyrics, an excellent concept, melodies all over the place, superb musicianship (go to 11 minutes in and listen to the jam, superior to the TAAB jam at 7 minutes on that album, in my opinion), and some great composition ('Best Friends', at 13 minutes on Side 1, is outstanding, as is 'Overseer Overture' on Side 2). It's a little disjointed; it did have a chequered history and could have done with a little more thought and development. But what is here is magnificent. 5 stars for brilliance, even if it is flawed.

NOT THAT THICK, BUT STILL STRONG

This was the next adventure into Jethro Tull's musical exploration alter the release of their prior masterpiece "Thick as a Brick", but it didn't work as well as the previous mentioned one. When you listen to Jethro Tull, the only thing you can expect is a close expression of what perfection is, so maybe that's why I can't rate it 5 stars, but that doesn't means this is a bad album at all, quite contrary, after "Thick as a Brick, this was the album I enjoyed the most of this band leaded by Ian Anderson. The own sound they've developed since their first album in 1968 is pretty amazing and they have also experimented not only with folk, but with some blues, space keyboards and heavy riffs, and this is what makes their music so cheerful and enjoyable. The fact in here is that they've put the bar so high and that's really hard to beat.

How do you live up to Aqualung, a nearly perfect album? You create Thick as a Brick, a perfect album. And, how do you live up to a perfect album? You don't...but you try. Unfortunately for Jethro Ian, his attempt wasn't all that good, and A Passion Play does not go on to become one of my favorite Tull albums.

It is not, however, my least favorite album either. Arguably the most misunderstood album in Tull history, Play is over-loved by fans and over-hated by critics. I like to think of myself right in the middle. When I say good but not essential, that's exactly what I mean.

What restrains the album is probably not what you think; at least, it wasn't what I thought at first. Initially I thought the album suffered from lack of time to prep and record, but Thick was also created very quickly. Alternatively, I thought it was a lack of humor; I had heard that Play was very dark. And it is dark...sort of. Actually, it's not dark at all. Lighter than Thick, lighter than Warchild even. I mean, the subject matter, life and death and all that, is pretty heavy, but it's just performed in such a toss off way. Besides, how can any album with the line "Flee the icy Lucifer, oh he's an awful fellow" be dark?

Nope, my problem with Play is two things: first, I find it to be fairly unmemorable and un-diverse. Secondly, it's a total sell out. Which is not to say it's not a progressive nightmare, it still is. In fact, it's Tull's most "progressive" work. But it's still a sell out.

We open with the amusing, and somewhat deceptive, overture. It's sorta folksy and bouncy, and reveals the introduction of our newest instrument, the saxophone! How is Ian's sax? Well it's...not bad. It's not fantastic either, instead of playing it like a real cool jazzy dude, Ian plays it like a merry medieval instrument.

This fades into some acoustic musings from Ian (by the way, if you have never researched Jethro Tull at all, the plot of Passion Play is a young man's travels through the afterlife. 'nuff said). It really doesn't stick with me because I can't remember any of it. Oh well. That turns into a bit of saxaphonery with some keyboards mixed in for good measure. Oh, by the way, do you like trading acoustics off with sax/keyboard noodling? You do?!? Oh good! Then this album is for you, because that's all that's on it!

Anyway, this goes on for a while. There are little snatches of possibility (a violent sax solo, some church organ), but nothing sticks around long enough to become anything. "Roll up, roll down?" What came first, the Play or Brain Salad Surgery? A word about the lyrics, they're great ("here's your ID, ideal for identifying," the infamous "ice cream lady"). They're not backed with particularly memorable melodies, which would be okay if I still had the lyrics sheet, but I lost my liner notes. Getting back to the review...

We continue with some more samey sounding stuff. Occasionally a guitar pops in here and there, and there's one decent flute solo, but all in all, doesn't click. A fairly popular bit of noise is called "Lover of the Black and White." It's repetitive and sounds suspiciously like the movement we just got out of, but you can at least headbang to it. It also contains some great spoken bits from John Evan and Jeffrey.

We gradually return to the overture theme. This eventually morphs into "The Hare Who Lost his Spectacles," a childish fable dropped on its head in the middle of Ian's most bombastic work ever (the point of course being that real medieval passion plays always had little fables in the middle like an intermission, yadda yadda yadda, history lesson). It's VERY underappreciated, in my opinion, and needs to be given its due. Perhaps you can't understand it without the video, but trust me, it's hilarious. Spoken word via Jeffrey backed by a real orchestra, instead of just John's keyboards (although John gives the quick spoken intro, great stuff). All the little blobs of music, the pauses and sound effects, the over-exaggerated sniffing, works perfectly with the narration.

Now, back to the album. "Black and White," overture, "Hare." We're lookin' good! We lose a little sight with "Foot of our Stairs," an inoffensive, but unimaginative, acoustic/keyboard/sax deal that's pulled beyond its means with jamming, and nothing that you haven't heard before. But then we meet Satan...

If there is anything on the album worth talking about, it's this. The "Overseer Over You." Everything works somehow. Ian's vocals are over the top, but hilarious. The keyboards are spacey, but cool. And Martin's guitar actually comes through for a change (he's playing out of a box; like on "Cross Eyed Mary!"). And Ian? Possibly the greatest noises he's made the sax ever produce. If Passion Play produced a classic number, it was the "Overseer Overture."

I love the organ transition here, and it becomes "Flee the Icy Lucifer." It's a decent enough rocker, but as I've said, nothing you haven't heard before if you've been paying attention to the album. Although I like the jig instrumental bit.

For some reason, we are next hit with some acoustic strumming that reminds me of Hawaiian music (hmm...maybe Play's more diverse than I give it credit for). This takes a very sharp transition, and turns into the energetic "Make the Ever Dying Sign" movement. It's not bad, but as I've said before, nothing you haven't picked up before. Just faster this time. Although I like the chorus bit.

There's some final acoustics to show we've come full circle, and one more shot at the overture and we fade. Now, remember how Thick ended? Yeah, it was awesome. Dude, that album ENDED. Play? Not so much. It just sort of falls apart in a lackluster kind of way. All I like is that brief shouting (what's he saying?). Maybe if Ian ended it better, I might be persuaded to raise rating, but...

So, as I've said, Passion Play is a collection of interesting musical ideas that are extended beyond their abilities, and any diversity is killed by overuse of Emersonian synths and weak sax. Not that I have anything against John's keys or Ian's sax, they're all well played, but remember Thick? EVERYONE in Thick had a shot to shine. There was a friggin' drum solo! Now, there ARE some decent guitar and flute parts, but they're buried (poor Martin) or few (where's Ian?). Barrie and Jeffrey are screwed though. So, lotsa synths, but the album can't work as atmosphere because it still tries to be engaging, nor can it work as listen-to music because it's not particularly memorable. Is it interesting? Sure. Amusing? Usually. But not particularly good.

Now, what do I mean by sell out (remember that?)? Up to this point, the Tullers were embracing early seventies alt-rock, but it was always on their own terms. Try to describe Aqualung using other bands: "if the Who had Eric Clapton and John Lord instead, hired an orchestra, and tried to play some hard gothic rockers with a little Bach thrown in for good measure." Okay, now Passion Play: "ELP covers the Yes Album." WHAT?!? Yep, even though Tull always had their own unique Tuller sound, with Passion Play, they play what sounds like everyone else around them (mostly due to the over reliance on John's spacey keyboards).

Alright, that's not fair to Tull (since the album does use the "Tull sound"), or to ELP (who I really do like) or to Yes (who I also...uh, I like the Yes Album at least). But still you see my point; Passion Play is a sell out in that it sounds like other popular albums at the time instead of that unique Jethro Ian noise.

Not that I'm saying it's a total waste of time. And I can understand why some people adore it. The first side has its moments, and the second side is almost cool. In fact, if you're more in for the prog haul than the Tull haul, then dude, this is YOUR album! Of course, I can also understand why some people can't stand it...

(Passion Play comes with but one extra feature: a video! And it's the greatest Tuller video this side of Slipstream. In fact, it's a better saving grace for the album than the "Overseer Overture." The video is, specifically, a theatrical version of the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" from the middle of the album. It is also one of the trippiest (not recommended for newcomers), most hilarious pieces of rock theatre ever recorded. Ever. If you're having trouble getting into "The Hare," you need to see this. Helped me. Jeffrey is the devil. Barrie is a cameraman who chases ballerinas. There's some guys in really bad bee and newt costumes. Best moment? Ian (SNIFF) hands Jeffrey a clipboard; Jeffrey reads it, then tosses it carelessly behind him. It's almost scary to think that someone gave them money to film this. It doesn't raise the overall rating a point, that would be too kind for a single video, but it easily raises it to a 3.5. In fact, maybe even the record alone gets a raise from the video, since it honestly helped me appreciate the album more. Seriously though, if you consider yourself a fan of Tull, prog rock, or just whatever, you need to see it at least once. Did I mention Jeffrey is the devil?)

Another great by Jethro Tull. "A Passion Play" is really divided into 2 segments. The first is in the same vein musically and in structure of "Thick As A Brick", while the second part begins to take the shape more of a stage musical and storytelling. This one along with Songs from the wood are my fav. Despite the fact that some reviewers are not so pleased by this album, i find it very catchy, more on theatrical side, but very well done. Here JT try to explore new sounds and most of the time succeded. On the other hand, it is quite good instrumentally. Jethro Tull were always good musically, and here is clear they develop complicated music, folkish prog at the highest level. In the end i rate this one 5 stars, because i relly enjoy this album more than Benefit or Aqualong. Here Jt were in the front line of prog, no doubt. Sorry if i deseppoint some reviewers with this rate, but for sure i pleased others. A masterpiece of prog, and among the best Jethro Tull albums.

A different perspective on PASSION. Although I am in agreement with the many critical perspectives presented about this work I think the work has sufficiently passed the time test to include it as one of the seminal progressive rock endeavors. I first became familiar with JT about three albums in and my perspectives on Passion reflect that entry point, and bias. I caught the live show in Minneapolis and again in retrospect found it to be a life changing experience. I did happen to see Thick a couple years earlier and was anticipating a natural evolution. I did find Passion to be equal to and in many respects greater than Thick as a serious artistic work. I think the work did mark the departure of what we now refer to as progressive rock, but in retrospect, it truly left it on a high note. The dissent it garnered was more a sign of public apathy towards the industry, and the directions it was going as a whole than a critique of the band in particular. What I think is its true virtue is the unsettling conscious state it left the true JT believer. Even today, 25 years later, it still leaves me allienated , searching, grasping for its essence. The music has a haunting, mystical quality that even though overworked, leaves an indelible imprint on your soul. The disjointed, over the topness of the song sequence lingers, but as a whole, credible musical envelope I am left in the way Messien, Bartok, Scriaben, Webern leaves you. I think the work reflects an artist that has personally come to the realisation of the limitations of the art form itself, and is in his own way crucifying the duality in his own artistic persona. Without getting into the minutia about the subtext, music and presentation which is well presented here, I note the radically different perspectives presented offer a glimpse into IAs genius. With all of its strengths and weaknesses, Passion is a jewel in the vast landscape of the progressive rock movement. Quirky but unforgettable.

In a genre as full of bizarre concoctions as progressive rock, A PASSION PLAY must be one of the craziest gallimaufries around. Many proggers just can't stand it, and even Ian Anderson has written (in his liner notes to the 2003 remastered edition): 'The badge of honour worn today by the hard line Tull fan who knows everything, is to claim to have listened all the way through, twice'.

Well, I may be a JT fan, but there are at least seven of their albums I don't know (all of them post-1979), and still - I never had a problem with a PASSION PLAY. This must be because I grew up with it and digested it slowly, in the same way as TUBULAR BELLS or CLOSE TO THE EDGE.

Oh, I do understand that A PASSION PLAY suffers from some shallow patches. When Ian first starts singing, for example, it sounds kinda... boring, and he's definitely not helped by the sheer awfulness of the lyrics. Lines like "She lay her head upon my disbelief and bathed me with her ever-smile" just about make me want to puke. But let's not forget what a splendid instrumental introduction the album has! And with the "All along the icy wastes..." passage A PASSION PLAY takes off for real. From then onwards, the listener finds himself on a rollicking rollercoaster ride, full of exuberant folk-rock dances, brash guitar riffs, pretty pastoral intermezzos, manic flute and sax solos, and crazy keyboard interludes. The sheer variety of sounds and melodies is exhilerating, and when (on the original B-side) Ian reaches the passage "Colours I've none - dark or light, red, white or blue", the band rock as hard as Jethro Tull have ever done.

I see no need to use the word 'self-indulgence' in such a context. A PASSION PLAY is a glorious entertainment, one of the most accomplished Jethro Tull have offered us.

Wow. This album still leaves me speechless. I'm not sure if I mean that in a good way. I've listened to this album many a time, and I've come to the conclusion that I like it a lot, I just can't handle the whole thing at once. The second side is definately better than the first, altough the first is still pretty awesome. It's difficult to review specific likes and dislikes because there's only two tracks and I don't feel like going through the songs and finding the times where stuff goes down. Overall, it's a strong album, I just don't seem to get that into it.

A Passion Play is a divisive album. Even hardcore Prog fans find it dense and impenetrable, or else simply boring and pointless. On the other hand, it has its supporters. I am one of the latter.

In my view, A Passion Play is simply brilliant. Following on the heels of Thick as a Brick, Jethro Tull attempt the impossible: to top a masterpiece of long, shamelessly excessive rock with another album even longer and more excessive. One is reminded of the day Yes went too far and made Tales For Topographic Oceans. However, in this case I believe Jethro Tull succeeded, if not in topping Thick as a Brick, then certainly in equaling it.

The subject matter and general vibe of A Passion Play is far darker and more serious than Thick as Brick, dealing with religion and death. The music takes a little while to get going, and it takes a few listens to get your head around the not instantly accessible melodies, but I've found that this depth is one of the most appealing things about the album. Every time I listen to A Passion Play, I get more out of it than the time before. For me this is truly the hallmark of a great record. Many albums that sound amazing the first time around start feeling empty and trite with repeated listens. Not so with A Passion Play.

All this seriousness and gloom is interrupted halfway through, with the delightful and humorous story of the hare who lost his spectacles. Many other reviewers find this interlude stupid and pointless, but I love it. It is filled with puns and clever wordplay and is reminiscent of the writings of A. A. Milne. Most importantly, it injects some much needed levity into the dark and brooding music that surrounds it.

The quality doesn't suffer on Side 2, probably because there are lots of musical ideas and the piece doesn't rely on repetition as much as its predecessor. A Passion Play is a masterpiece from start to finish and as good as anything else in the Tull catalog. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in long form and classical music, as well as Jethro Tull fans who haven't yet taken the time to hear it.

Ok, this isn't a Tull album. Because Tull are a band that codified the perfect mix between Blues, Folk and Hard Rock (heavy Rock). This is a sort of Rock Opera. That isn't a bad idea... But that for a non Tull fans isnt good. The Hard (Heavy) Folk Prog of Tull is totally missing in this album and is totally missing the Flute of Ian Andreson. But I think that these brave choice indicate that the tull is totally immersed in the 70's musical scene, to cost to conceive a brave but incomprehensible album. The point of forces of this album is that is a Rock Opera because I think that the Tull aren't capable to wrote one or two suite and the conception of a Rock Opera is good for To mask this fact and to project the Tull to the writing and playing the more Prog album of their discography. Today this album play like out-of-date album. But the feelings and the beauty of "A Passion Play" are totally unchanged.

Not too much passion apparently.

When you fail to get into a certain band for once, it’s either you’ll give up at that point, or you’ll give them another chance. For me, Tull is a band that failed to click with me before, and somehow I still feel that I’d like to give them a second chance. This album is my second encounter with Tull, which ended in…failure, once again. Well, it’s not a complete failure. As with War Child, there’re some parts that I quite like from this album, and some parts just turn me off. Maybe I just don’t get their music, or maybe they’re just simply not my cup of tea. Anyway, I still find this album better than War Child (a bit, yes a bit).

Well, better cut the lame intro and let’s start getting down to the business, err…the tracks, I mean. ‘A Passion Play’ only has 2 tracks in it, but both of them are actually part of the title-epic track. This album starts with some cheerful and energetic tunes, as if the band trying to live to the album’s title here. The first track, or rather part, is actually quite interesting, with some nice alternation between the ballad and the folk rock the band delivers. I’ll admit that when I listen to this for the first time it sort of lifted my mood to listen to Tull again. And somehow I have a thought that maybe I’d like this album completely this time and eventually would like to discover Tull more, well – in the end I was WRONG apparently. And why’s that? Well, of course, the second part contributes to this. Yes, honestly I’d say that this album is only HALF good, and that second half is quite ruining the album. Anyway here it goes. After the pleasant music in the first part ended, the second part immediately starts with an announcement of “THIS IS THE STORY OF THE HARE WHO LOST HIS SPECTACLES!” And I thought - what the heck. Don’t jump to any conclusions now, for this ‘story’ is actually quite fine with me. It’s silly, unimportant, and ridiculous but also funny – in a way. The background music is quite enjoyable, the narrator with that British accent (which turned to be Jeffrey according to the video) is…well, I’m not going to say he’s annoying, he’s quite funny actually and I sort of like it. Right, so that ‘hare thing’ is didn’t really bother me apparently, EXCEPT, if you’re going to give this album repeated spin over and over again for a short while, it’ll eventually become a bit boring and less ‘interesting’ or that’s what I’m thinking at least. Anyway, the second part is not all about that silly hare (what kind of hare need spectacles anyway? Heh, just kidding), but there’re also some rather nice tunes that continues after it, for example, most parts through the halfway of this track after that hare story. Not that all the rest of the parts clicked with me, though, even after a few more listening. I mean, they’re not horrible, only not exactly my cup of tea, especially the bit of bluesy part near the end of this album. One thing that I’d point out is the vocals. I don’t know whether my ear’s wrong or not, but the singing at the second half is quite dull compared to the first half. Well, I’m not really a fan for Ian’s vocals, but this is something that I don’t mind much with ‘War Child’.

Another thing worth to note: for those of you who thought that the hare story is some sort of crazy pointless thing or whatever you should see the video that included on the re-master edition. Not that it would help you to like the hare story or anything (heck, there’s even a chance you’d hate that thing MORE than you already are) but it’s quite worth for just a laugh I think.

Overall, not a bad album, but not really a good one either. This album is actually quite interesting in fact. It has some energetic, nice and pleasant moments, a little bit of silliness and playful moments, and others. I also found that the more I listen to this album, the less and less impressive it becomes although it’s not become a completely boring album. As a little last note, I’ve been advised not to take this album very seriously, which I tried although I doubted if it make a big difference for me, but maybe it’s an advice that you could use. Three and a half stars.

THE JETHRO TULL LOVE/HATE ALBUM!

It seems than every major prog band back then released an album ''good'' enough to be crushed to pieces by critics and some of their fans.ELP had BRAIN SALAD SURGERY or WORKS vol1, YES produced the always ''controversial'' TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS or PINK FLOYD with THE FINAL CUT!

PASSION PLAY fits this criteria for JETHRO TULL.After the release of THICK AS A BRICK which became a #1 hit in UK and in the USA, IAN ANDERSON decided to stick with the magic winning formula.Another concept one song-suite! Why not? Don't fix if it ain't broke, they say!!

When released in 1973, PASSION PLAY was badly criticized by almost all rock critics, real bad. All the words used to decry a prog album were used with profusion such as pretentious, over the top, self indulgent or pompous. What was great with TAAB suddenly has disappeared with the new album, replaced by worthless music. So what about PASSION PLAY 3 decades later??

This is not an album to hate or reject, neither it is an album i worship! this is a good album, not great, some kind of middle of the road JETHRO TULL music. There are some pleasant parts like the beginning of the 2 parts with nice ANDERSON vocals, some nice instrumental parts that are very energetic and enjoyable like on part 2, some other kind of dull noodling like at the end of part one. Some melodies are memorable, some other suffer from originality, or lack of!

Also, i am sure MARTIN BARRE is not listening too much this album as he is quite non-existent throughout the album! Ian ANDERSON is all over it. When he is not singing, he is fluting; when the flute stops, time for the saxophone!!and a lot of it, believe me! more than the guitar ,for sure. But i like to hear the guitar of LANCELOT on a JT recording.I have to wait the end of the album to finally notice him.

Next to IAN ANDERSON, the star is JOHN EVAN very, very present: a lot of good organ, piano and even some synths.This is definitely the most proggish album from JT with TAAB. Did i mention about THE HARE?? everybody has an opinion about this piece of ''music''. Again, i am in the middle for this ''masterpiece''; it's not bad, it's even entertaining, but it could have been well shortened!! There is nothing wrong being funny even for a serious prog musician.

Not a bad album, even pleasant to listen to on some occasions. I definitely prefer part 2 than part1, but JETHRO TULL did better than that before and....will do better.

3 STARS!

Its not art if its not hated by some

Am I right? All of the great artists through history had works that were hated by contempararies and in many cases considered offensive. While usually not as extreme, similar views have been expressed regarding JT's 'A Passion Play'. What is puzzling is that 'Thick as a Brick' is used as a lithmus test for the album and is praised and stroked like the pretty golden child while 'A Passion Play' is the ugly step-child kept chained in the closet. My opinion is the opposite of most in that TAAB is an off target first attempt at a concept album and APP meets the mark in a more adventurous progressive manner. And certainly the most unfair comparisons to Yes' metaphysical monstrosity 'Tales from Topographic Oceans'. Neither of the 2 JT works even come close to floundering with the audacity of TFTO.

The album starts with a bouncy main theme with a circusy feel to it that morphs into a classic Ian Anderson accoustic guitar vocal movement. The main theme returns with a more sinister feel, alternating through the accoustic piece. The music flows into a jazzy feel with multiple winds, not the least of which is Anderson's ethereal flute. Throughout the albums first side the main theme is hinted with increasing sinister modulations. The 'skin the cat' portion, as I like to call it, is the heaviest and most sinister porion of the side. The side closes with the part of the album that makes the most people stomp around angrily, 'The Hare who Lost his Spactacles'. I love the intermission.

My feeling on 'The Hare who Lost his Spactacles': regurgitated from one of my forum posts: I love the story. I think its an outstanding metaphor for what was going on socially in the western world at the time. The anthropomorphic representations of establishment: Hare - The youthful idealist who has lost his spectacles and therefore his vision. Bee - The laborer: Is ready to help, but not the best thinker. Kangaroo - The leader, mother: Hare is far to big, and independant for mother's help. Owl - The wise, the forefather, the man: Has the wisdom of the ages, but conventional wisdom is old and tired...and falls asleep. I'm still a little puzzled on what newt represents. In the end the lost spectacles were his own affair (mind your own business!) and hare indeed has a spare pair, or his own vision for the future. Maybe it means nothing, but I doubt it. Its presented like a fairy tale. And nearly all fairy tales have a moral.

The second side starts with anoter classic Ian Anderson accoustic guitar and vocal part with very dark textures. Most of the second side holds a more consistent theme of its own with occasional recalls to the side one theme. What stands out on the second side is Andersons use of saxaphones which provide a very distinctive sound to the album.

I have read interviews with Anderson regarding this album. It is certainly not one of his favorites. There was even talk that the music from APP was to be part of 'War Child', including 'Bungle in the Jungle' (I'll consider that a bullet dodged). Thank you Mr. Anderson for letting this fine work stand on its own.

4.95 stars

Well, if you thought Jethro Tull took on religion with Aqualung, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

I think that's probably why this album doesn't get a lot of respect. And then there's that irritating Hare Who Lost His Spectacles bit. Actually, being a Monty Python fan, that doesn't bother me a bit.

Passion Play is musically very interesting and has some great lines: "All along the icy wastes there are faces smiling in the gloom." "(The examining body examined her body)" "All of this and some of that's the only way to skin the cat." The whole "hare who lost his spectacles" bit makes me think "hare who lost his testicles" for some reason whenever I hear it. "But after all he did have a spare pair." "Show me a good man. I'll show you the door." "Here's the everlasting rub, neither am I good or bad. I'd give up my halo for a horn and a horn for the hat I once had." "Everyone's saved, we're in the grave, see you there for afternoon tea." Eh, I could go on, but I don't want to border on lyrical plagiarism for this review.

The music here certainly has some of the important qualities that define classic prog. It's got dark moments, complexity, and moments of beauty, with a few silly things thrown in for good measure.

They really don't make it like this any more. May actually be the only time they've made it like this, period. Maybe a bad or a good thing. Not a bad thing for me.

A well nutty album from one of my favourite ever bands.

I palyed it and played it trying to understand, but I never really got there! There is a lot of fun in it - I mean "The Hare who lost his spectacles" - what?

There are some great moments in it, and it is Jethro Tull's closest to true Progressive rock (outside of "Thick as a Brick". However, the music jumps around too much - it stops and starts too often.

Recommended only for true JT or full-on 70's Prog music lovers, but I really wouldn't recommend it for those trying JT for the first time...

Enjoy the nuttiness!!

Well, it didn't take long for Tull to immediately lose whatever credibility they'd gained with Thick As A Brick. A Passion Play is plodding and grating, bloated and pretentious, and so wrapped up in its own complexity that it is aurally claustrophobic. Truly, the emperor has no clothes. At best, it comes across as a parody of TAAB, though not a very good one.

We can't fault the musicianship; the band is in fine form here and tries to bring infuse energy into to the lifeless compositions. But by nearly any other measure by which I rate an album, this is a failure. I bought A Passion Play back in 1973 upon its release; I didn't purchase another Jethro Tull album for 30 years. It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and I'm feeling in a generous and well-sated, so I'll give it a 2. Newcomers be forewarned: this is not the place to start your Tull collection.

This is a type of album that often apears in prog: a love it or hate it album. For me, sorry to all you fans out there, it's a hate album. I cannot stand it. It was a blatant attempt at recreating Thick As A Brick, and it was a pathetic attempt in my eyes: TAAB was a one off where JT were at their peak, that was to never happen again. Of course this album has its moments, but overall it is an abomination to my CD collection. Overcomplex, overpretentious, overexaggerated rubbish with a stupid concept and not direction, i detest it with a passion (pun not intended). The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles just sprinkles this sewer-water cappecino with powdered [&*!#]. There was never going to be another TAAB.

Into the ever Passion Play

Jethro Tull's A Passion Play has to be one of the most controversial albums ever to hit the market. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but simply in seeing that it comes right next in line after the Godly Thick As A Brick makes one know that expectations are going to be high, and any slight disappointment it going to be magnified infinite times by the fans, as unfortunate as that is.

It's not surprising to see the reaction that this album gets from many critics. This is indeed, Tull's most bizarre album. Anyone venturing into its territories is going to need a sense of humor and an ear for the extreme end of things. Lyrically it follows Thick As A Brick with its satirical views on everything in the world, but while Thick. expressed that through lofty and poetic stanzas, Passion Play tends to play more to the eyebrow raising one-liners. ''Here's your ID/ideal for identifying/one and all''. ''And your little sister's immaculate virginity wastes away on the boney shoulders of a young horse named George''!

Of course, the music can be expected to be just as strange, and it is. Where previous albums helped define the prog-folk subgenre, this one tends to use more lofty and strange synthesizers, at times relying on them entirely to complete a given section of music with one recurring obscure synth riff. This is not a bad thing however, since the flute is not hidden away entirely and still gets played here and there, not to mention that the pressing synths are actually a welcome change to the music.

This is all, of course, with the ability of full 20/20 hindsight. It's very clear to see where disappointment would have come from after a seemingly serious album such as the previous two. The middle segment of the track that kicks off Part 2 is the ever controversial The Tale Of The Hare Who Last His Spectacles. A strange bed-time tale from the band which has been dissected with semantics hundreds of times over but in the end is likely just a strange spoken-word middle section to break up the monotony for the band while playing a live show of the album. Enjoyable, if confusing the first time you hear it, this section of the song is best taken without a serious tone in mind.

Really, what we have here is an excellent album from an excellent band. Stating that the album is misunderstood would be a redundant and vague overstatement, but really, it can be. Not for the faint of heart, this one is still easily recommended to prog fans everywhere and people who fancy themselves Tull heads. Just consider yourself warned. now sit back and enjoy, because this album has a lot of spine tingling moments that can't be missed. 4 stars! Not quite a masterpiece, but close.

Review 45, A Passion Play, Jethro Tull, 1973

StarStarStarStarStarLamp

After the phenomenal success of Thick As A Brick, Anderson and co. at length and after the abortive and somewhat vague events of the Chateau D'Isaster resurrected from the ashes a more cohesive and thoroughly composed one-song album. Whereas Thick As A Brick's approach (several songs welded together, and parts of pt. 1 cleverly reprised with variations in side 2) had a definite charm throughout, this is a much more acquired taste, and it takes time to fully appreciate exactly where the more unitary one-song album pays dividends. I did like this on the first listen, but it took a lot longer to remember the melodic hooks and clever twists in it. In short, the issue is very much one of cohesion and the opportunities for real twists rather than small additions. You can get the same bar of music leading up to a completely different entity, and that does grow on you. All of the flow is more deliberately handled than on Thick, certainly, but with Thick As A Brick, you come to love the problems as well as the greatness, and with the more clinical approach of A Passion Play, that is not the case.

Ian Anderson's vocals (most of those here, though John Evan and Jeffrey Hammond contribute a couple of spoken lines), lyrics, acoustics and flute are excellent as ever throughout the entire album, and the more prominent use of his sax (which isn't generally great, but does contribute to the more chaotic and dissonant sections of the album). We do get some well-applied touches of violin, most obviously on The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. Anderson's vocals on this album may well be his best ever (though my money's on Baker Street Muse). The other standout player is John Evan, whose hearty application of piano and organ for blocky, delicate, effervescent, grandiose, forceful and hectic sections in equal measure is a welcome development from Thick As A Brick. There are also valuable glimpses of VCS-3 in both the more chaotic and careful sections.

Martin Barre generally seems rather more carefully applied on this one, so carries a lot more weight when he does burst out of the woodwork. He does handle some superb soloing and hard rock lines around the 'All of your best friend's telephones/Never cooled from the heat of your hand' section, as well as some wonderful sax-guitar-VCS-3 interplay on the second half. Barriemore Barlowe has, somewhat deliberately, not so obviously spotlighted the glockenspiel on this one, and gone more typically for occasional bangs on tympani, as well as some very interesting rhythms (I don't pretend to understand them, I just find them interesting) on the drums. He contributes well throughout.

I suppose the player I find least enjoyable on this one is Jeffrey Hammond(-Hammond), who is still an excellent bassist and completely adequate. My small issue is that I loved his connecting bass on Thick As A Brick, with its oozing, flowing feel, and I find the bass on this slightly less distinctive. Nonetheless, his bass throughout is very good, and has its moments.

Now, that's just an overview of the musicianship. The combination of these things, and the masses of high-quality interplay in an initially overwhelming array of styles (whether that's pure acoustic guitar and piano, harder rock, chaotic jams or even the parodic Hammond-narrated Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles) is half of what makes this album so exceptional. There are very few moments, if any, where I feel someone is taking away from the mix. The much-loathed Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, in my opinion, is a fairly amusing touch, and doesn't clash too much with the rest of the album. I could see it being split over the two sides as an annoyance on vinyl, but I think it's transferred well to CD format.

The other half is the composition. Anderson's writing provides clever catches and multiple cases where you have the same lead-up to two completely different sections and end up virtually tripping over yourself in either admiration or surprise as you hear the twists. The overture is neatly done, and the choices of instruments throughout is grand. This is not at all trying to be Thick As A Brick, it's trying to be a one-song concept album, and, as a rule, it succeeds monumentally at that. I do get a little irritated by the 'Overseer' section, and I think an ending with slightly more aggression or force would have been more desirable, though probably not better-suited, but otherwise the whole piece is fantastic listening.

After sufficient acquisition time, this album definitely begins to grow on you, and there are some incredibly good moments, both lyrically and musically, but its increased panache doesn't always result in an increased charm. Essential listening, for curiosity and interest as well as quality. The flow is impeccable, and the benefits of the one-song album as a basic concept are on display throughout.

If we're arguing 'objectively' whether Thick As A Brick or A Passion Play takes the Tull crown, I'd go without hesitation for A Passion Play, but for personal connection, Thick is a much easier and better sell. For the hard-core proggers this is clearly of much greater interest, and noone should miss out on this album. More trivially, this is one of two albums to which I have been caught playing air acoustics very badly. I'm restraining myself from awarding five stars, but only because my personal preference finds itself elsewhere at the moment.

Rating: Five stars in contradiction to the above (edits are edits) - preferences changed a little. Favourite Track: Ian Anderson unwittingly mocks my review format.

Fived. I'm as likely to listen to this as anything by Tull these days.

A Passion Play by Jethro Tull was the much anticipated follow up to highly acclaimed Thick as A Brick. While certainly exceeding the latter for more sophisticated and complex music it doesn't reach some of the more emotional highs or memorable passages of its predecessors. Certainly in the second part the band reaches the level of Thick as Brick but the moment is too short and may have served better as a series of shorter songs than this one long piece of music. For one I could do without the reprised chorus of along the Fulham road repeated so many times.

That being said there is a level of music here that goes beyond Tull's usual blues and folk base and even conjures up memories of Van Der Graff Generator and Gentle Giant. It is probably the most experimental Ian ever went and Anderson was severely beaten up for it in the press. That must have had some effect on him as you can tell by the next two albums which brought back shorter and simpler but still good formats.

Still there is a lot to like here. The band is in good form and the music for the most part is stellar. Surely more dark than and not as uplifting as TAAB and more mysterious than Aqualung it still has ways of grabbing you when you least expect it. It is sad that Ian has turned his back on doing a medley of some of this material in his live sets because I think it would have been good to hear.

Without The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles narrated by Jeffrey Hammond- Hammond and replaced by another song this would be easily a 5 star album but I seriously cannot rate this as high as the last three albums in their catolog. The last of the progressive rock era of Tull as we knew it still rates 4 stars

A very good work from JT, not their best of course, but enjoyable for the beginning to the end! The rythm and music never stops to change, it has some cool folk-jazzy feeling and Martin Barre's guitar has some really incredible moments!!!

It also includes a funny (almost silly) song with a Hare that lost his Spectacles... the interesting part in that is Anderson's really funny accent... yes, he would be a great radio comedian!!!

Few loves it , many hate it , it's surely Progressive at peak , and deserves more than appreciation and ratings . Time factor is the only way to discover this beauty in symphonic folk progressive rock , with a blend of bluesy - jazz orientation . In 1973 i was 20 years old , TAAB was my first introduction to Tull , and the decision to discover all Tull's releases was taken . Aqualung was next , amazing , then few months later A Passion Play ............. If Thick as a Brick is one of the masterpieces of progressive rock , A Passion Play is the Masterpiece of Jethro Tull , it was a clever move by Ian to release this album back in 1973 , it was the right time no doubt after TAAB ... iF ONLY THIS ALBUM WAS DIVIDED INTO tracks , for commercial reasons only , and its cover was coloured , and Peter Hammill as vocalist instead of Ian , and the year of release was 1971 , then many of progarchieves professional reviewers will change their mind , and we have more than an excellent album , we have a Masterpiece ........................ But simply i don't care about those changes , i'm really satisfied with what i have , it's really A Passion Play ............... Regardless,((((((( Tracks Toni

Soon after Chateau D'isaster incident Ian Anderson decided to continue idea of concept albums and wrote A Passion Play concept to satisfy all those we loved previous release. Fans were satisfied but not the critics. I personally think I could simply tell all those critics to bugger off because this album is same good as Thick As A Brick and maybe even better from lyrical side. In opposite to previous story this time Ian wrote more serious poem. The whole idea is a view on life after death. Main character of this album is Ronnie Pilgrim and he dies and goes to hell. There's something majestic in this release and I think it's probably the most honest treating of religious aspect in whole Ian's career. The main story is totally serious but of course with a bit tongue in cheek bite. In the middle of that tale Ian decided to prove he still has big sense of humour. The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is totally cracked up. It's a kind of Jeffrey Hammond's speech with an English accent to symphonic melody in the background. It's of course done in Monty Python's style and it's funny and bizarre. That story is officially part of A Passion Play side B cos this album same as previous one includes two parts of the concept. Anyway Ronnie Pilgrim being in hell finds out how miserable person he was when he was living his earthly life. But the gates of hell open and he gets another chance. There's kind of resurrection and that fragment Living BE. Here Am I, roll the stone away, from the dark into ever-day is like glorification of life. It's amazing how the story fits with image of 1957's movie Seventh Seal. I have to say something about music as well. To me it isn't far from what band did on Thick As A Brick. But it was the first time Ian played soprano saxophone and there's awesome solo in 2nd part of Play. I think Eddie Jackson (great musician) would be satisfied if played that solo. It's such good. There are also other things I'd like to mention. First of all the beginning of the album reminds me of Balkan folk artists. It was something quite original at the time (later Van Der Graaf Generator did something like that on their World Record album). I can hear a bit of Gentle Giant here and there and it's also a bonus. The final section is definitely more vital hard rock and I think it was a good idea after the first dark and gloomy part. A Passion Play is a timeless classic. To me musically it's same good as Thick As A Brick and the lyrical concept is even better. So don't listen to all those who follow the unsatisfied critics. It's solid progressive rock release. One of the must have albums. Highly recommended.

As the circumstances surrounding the recording of this album are well known, I'll skip that bit and concentrate on not describing the music.

Pause.

OK, so how about the fact that there are two songs here that are split over...

Boring!

Well, let me mainly draw comparisons between Passion Play and Thick as a Brick, a bit of a no-brainer considering the similar structure then.

What always gets to me is how people tend to rave over TAAB and diss this one, haven't they listened to it? I can only imagine that the problem is that this one is initially more difficult (quite difficult, actually) to get into, but once the melodies and flow of the album have settled into your ears, it's not only on par with TAAB, but perhaps even slightly above it in quality (at least in parts).

After a few listens it sounds even more 'together', the individual sections flow more seamlessly into one another and in parts seem to point accusingly at TAAB and say: 'Oy, you should have done that the way I'm doing it here!'

Granted, the melodies are less whimsical and even IA admitted that it was missing the light- heartedness that were prominent on other JT albums, but does that play a role in how such a magnificent piece of music should be judged? I believe not. These melodies are always interesting, never repetitive, and range from dark brooding passages to soaring sections.

The playing is flawless and the instrumentation and arrangement are as perfect as you could wish for. It has to be for the result, this was no era for studio wizardry.

And IA plays saxophone, in a strange plaintive sort of way that seems to have more echo than body. Weird and very suited to the music.

The middle section, the famous 'Hare and Spectacles' intermission thingy is wonderfully strange. Is there something like it on TAAB? I think: Yes; There's the atonal sequence there that here has been replaced by this aural stage play. It's as if JT had been wondering how to do something similar and different at the same time and came up with this. And it works.

How can music like this be described? I really don't know, it's not like anything I've heard before (or after); It's unique JT without actually being TOO JT in some weird way.

It is one of those albums that get to you and don't let go, but only after you've listened to it loads of times. If you don't, you'll land with the fraction of listeners disliking this album, which is a shame. They don't know what a wonderful experience they're missing.

I don't think that I prefer one album to the other, and because I rated TAAB 5 stars, I'll have to do the same here. I don't even have to think about it.

"Fell with mine angels from a far better place, offering services for the saving of face"

The continuous upward trend that Jethro Tull had found themselves in ever since their humble Blues Rock beginnings in 1968 could not go on forever. Like most others, I too think that Thick As A Brick was their peak. A Passion Play is inevitably a lot weaker, but still in my opinion a decent effort in its own right. If Thick As A Brick was Jethro Tull's Selling England By The Pound or Close To The Edge, then A Passion Play was their The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or Tales From Topographic Oceans. Like those efforts by Yes and Genesis respectively, A Passion Play too is much less good compared to its immediate predecessors and even slightly rambling in places, but ultimately a worthy album with several very good moments.

The only thing about this album that I really don't like at all is the ridiculous and embarrassing spoken word interlude The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. It is obviously an attempt to be funny, but it really isn't funny at all! Just totally annoying and silly. I am certain that if this story had been left off the album completely and that the music too had been somewhat trimmed in places, A Passion Play could have been a better album. It would still not have matched Thick As A Brick, but it could surely have been better than it is.

While the quality of the material on this album is clearly lower than on Aqualung and Thick As A Brick, the band's sound continued to evolve. The composition is musically and lyrically very complex and the instrumental palette is broader than ever. There is more Jazz influences here and the saxophone makes its first appearance on a Tull album. There is a wide array of various keyboard instruments. Had this been the band's sole album, they would no doubt be listed under Eclectic Prog rather than under Prog Folk.

A good play, but there are many better Jethro Tull albums from both before and after this one

This record is difficult to crompehend. I hear some Gentle Giant influenced melodie parts in it and some van der Graaf influenced psychedelica. Their is still folk in it, but things seems to be a bit disorded. It seems like a mess.

To some people, this turns out bad.

To other people including me, this turns out very well.

I really didn't understood the whole thing when I first listen to this album, but I really wanted to understand where this album is all about. There were a few things that kept me interested during the first listens. This album is getting better and better, everytime you listen to it. I still can't say I fully understand the record, but this turned out to even more interests for the album. I still really can't believe my ears, sometimes. It's like magic.

Five stars, in one word I would describe this album as 'challenging'.

This album will never, ever make it out of Thick as a Brick's shadow.

I have always gotten the impression that, under pressure from a whole lot of directions, Tull took some average-quality music, hastily mashed together into some really long tracks to mimic the format of their highly successful previous album, and then released it. I firmly believe that the music would be much better if the individual songs were divided up and wrapped up and presented like the individual songs they should be. Instead, we got an awkward medley of this and that, something like an album thrown in a garbage compactor and condensed together. And I think all of it suffers because of that. Clever ideas just get lost in the mayhem.

And don't get me wrong, there are some really neat bits in here. Some of Ian's flute strains can rank up there with his best moments ever. There are a couple of really neat melodies. It just leaves me kind of sad, I suppose, looking at what could have been developed into a wonderful follow-up album, rather than the chaos it results in. Also, I would have appreciated the ability to skip past The Hare and His Spectacles, which isn't terrible or anything, but there is no way it can be listened to with as much frequency as real music can be. Jethro Tull find their feet again after this record, at least after a few more years, and they return almost to a place almost as high as what this album by all rights should have been.

Serious Jethro Tull fans will probably enjoy this release well enough, but as far as an album goes, it's pretty weak. Do not expect a Thick as a Brick Mark II with A Passion Play.

1. The Passion Play (Part 1) Oh the year 73, all disks that out this year are fantastic! Well having spoken so.

Part 1, tension, the melody in the background, some noises, the stereo through the boxes, and increasing .... boom! Sound! The band starts the journey almost a theme tune with different hard and of course that the whole sound of Tull is there, but they opened the range of influences, for sure! The voice of Ian (which for me is one of the most vocal of all the prog [%*!#]) enter almost like a chapel, a song. Part folk takes on a tragic and emotional, the guitars that Ian Anderson plays are excellent, the melody is difficult to engulir of first. But hey! we are here for different sound, not for more of the same! Another high point is the low Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond unparalleled, and even more from the battery of Barriemore Barlow. Some saxophones throughout downtown give a taste of more, and of course we have John Evans playing the keyboards, yuuupi! (laughs) Speaking of guitars Martin Barre is also very wronged because it is little remembered when it comes to guitar players! Injustice! The guy is very good. Lines excellent! More part melodicamente complex and difficult to digest is as follows, but as soon as you can throughout the indigestion becomes a pleasure, who want to run the risk! Then the flutes catch fire, this is another brand of Tull, the always excellent flutes of Ian, he plays the way of crude, not so classic, almost always in the fast passages of music. More parts and vocal melodies difficult. Why then an even more rock 'n' Roll, assobiável completely. Overall this disc is very complex, I think that is why most of the staff remember The Thick The Brick, which is also very complex, but the melodies are much more accessible, the guys here have tried it. It is a continuation but is not. Many pianos and counterpoints, conventions, and the narratives of John Evans who come very well in music, some classical vocal means' tiração of fun '(sic), and more rock. I love the parties that everything and move to the melodies and then suddenly changes again, that they are kings. Until today I wonder how so many parts fit on the head of personnel of the band! The 'near-final' with piano and voice is creepy! Here is a melody of guitar and a 'hit', some keyboards and flutes and of course the bottom solando like crazy. But the keyboards are even taking account of the epic final track.

02. The Passion Play (Part 2) - The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles What opens the second part is The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, a tale 'child' which tells the story of a hare which loses the glasses and is helped by animals of the forest, not yet well understood that the co-relation music in the second part, but is so good to hear Jeffrey telling the whole story with that accent and I dragged me uncomfortable. The instrumental part of this is undoubtedly one of the prog worked throughout the world (only compared to the geniuses of the Gentle Giant, complex enough to say). When the band around it seems that nothing happened, back across the sensational tone of Jethro Tull we love. In this second part some passages resemble somewhat the Thick The Brick The first part, which is very natural. Many synthesizers animals across the track, sounds and everything back 'to normal', these guys are good. Many letter that disc (as well as before) is very complicated prepare these 'texts' for music giants. It is not just writing out, have to make some sense. There is a part near the end with guitars and a keyboard that's too much, a very nice melody martial, must have been written at least some four guitars here. And then ... The guitar comes with everything a melody that is not strange, I think now of the repertoire of the guys, some keyboards of hell and a fantastic voice!

www.progshine.com

For those of you who weren't alive and/or aware during the 60s and 70s and wonder why that period of musical history garners so much attention and admiration in the prog world, consider the fact that both "Thick as a Brick" and "Passion Play" were not just popular but rose to #1 on the charts in the U.S.A. Chew on that for a moment. The general public at large not only enjoyed but fully embraced progressive rock in that era. Nowadays if you confess to your friends and family that your preferred genre of music is prog they will most likely look at you as if you just rudely crapped yesterday's meatloaf on the living room floor. So, when you listen to this enigmatic work of art, keep in mind that, despite a complete lack of radio support (there was no single or excerpt to play), it was readily accepted by even the most average of Joe in those days. Hard to believe but the data confirms it.

Having said that, I must admit that I missed "Passion Play" completely. As revealed in my review of TAAB, I was so disgusted by what I perceived to be the blatant commercialism of "Aqualung" that I childishly turned my back on one of my favorite bands and boycotted every offering they released thereafter. Thus it wasn't until this millennium that I came to my senses (heavily influenced by the esteem that my proggy peers place on Jethro Tull's contributions to the cause) and delved back into what I cavalierly dismissed like some spiteful lover scorned. The downside of my infantile behavior is that I denied myself the pleasure of the group's creations for decades. The silver lining is that it's not too late and now I get to discover them anew.

It's apparent that "Thick as a Brick" is pretty much universally accepted by proggers young and old as a bonafide masterpiece, and rightfully so. It is amazingly cohesive and inspired. Yet many of the same folk that applaud that album disparage this one and I'm not sure why. While I will concede that "Passion Play" doesn't quite scale the dizzying heights that its predecessor does, it remains a challenging and very thought-provoking endeavor that should appeal directly to those who firmly profess to adore unorthodox, progressive rock. (By now you're mumbling "Enough already, old dude, get on with your insightful report. I humbly agree and will do so forthwith.)

The first section is a glimpse of our unnamed protagonist's earthly life distilled down to a 3:24 time span, represented by a festive marching parade atmosphere and book-ended by his first and last heartbeats. Now he awakens in the afterlife where, after the initial shock wears off, his first inquiry to no one in particular is "Do you still see me, even here?" The beautiful interplay between Ian Anderson on acoustic guitar and John Evan on piano as they underscore the complex melody line is terrific and they do a great job of allowing Ian's abstract lyrics to flow effortlessly. Our boy isn't sure what to think of this place. "Such a sense of glowing in the aftermath/ripe with rich attainments all imagined/the sore thumb screams aloud/echoing out of the Passion Play," he sings. Suddenly the band jumps in and delivers a high-spirited, jazzy interlude before they return to a calmer motif. A "sweetly-scented angel" leads our hero to the pearly gates where deft acoustic guitar playing serenades him. A very Tull-like rocker approach is used to personify the heavenly security guards that usher him into a viewing room where he's informed that during his mortal existence "cameras were all around" and "we've got you taped, you're in the play." The dense musical structure here is filled with intricate time signatures and difficult passages as well as raw saxophone and synthesizer lines whilst Anderson plays a stunning flute solo. At this point my mind reels at the group's audacity and courage.

The poor fellow's history is screened for him without discretion and there are so many entertainingly poetic lines thrown about during this extended, rocking sequence that I can only encourage you to follow along in your libretto as you listen. The dynamics are interwoven with astounding skill into the flow of the narrative that speaks of telephones that "never cooled from the heat of your hand," how he was the actor of the "low-high IQ" and how he was reminded of his little sister's virginity being snatched by a "young horse named George/who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision." While the film's end credits roll he is asked by the staff whether he thinks the documentary was for "our good cheer" or for "the gory satisfaction of telling you how absolutely awful you really are." (St. Peter and his posse are rather cheeky, are they not?) A short reverie from the acoustic guitar leads to a gorgeous, too-brief instrumental featuring an echoing synthesizer air as it resonates among the clouds.

Without explanation Jethro Tull next tosses in the controversial spoken-word diversion that is "The Story of the Hare who lost his Spectacles." While I understand how and why this disruption ruffles the fur of many, I've come to consider it a sly, wry satire on the sometimes confusing and irritating clerical employment of condescending parables as theological and ethical teaching tools. Its abrupt appearance smack dab in the middle of the album is strange, indeed, but the background orchestration is intriguing and I like the implied sarcasm in the grandiose presentation of a tale that, in the end, means absolutely nothing. (Evidently, though, the angelic professors are extremely proud of it.) A reprise of the lovely music ensues, then the group leads you into a mellow but still non- standard/involved segment where our disembodied man finds himself in the company of a bunch of groveling carpet crawlers, surrounded by old farts who "talk of when they were young/of ladies lost and erring sons" and where the Gods are "floating by/wishing us well/pie in the sky." Our restless soul is not impressed by this shallow heavenly abode so he puts in for a transfer to somewhere else.

Since Hell is the only other "somewhere else" there is, that's where he lands. A jazzy jam greets him, then Ian's vocal and acoustic guitar extend a gracious welcome as the Devil asks him to "give me your hate/and do as the loving heathen do." Another lengthy but satisfying rock & roll episode decorates his whirlwind tour of the underworld. It's not ominous music as you might expect, but stately and pompous in its intensity as Lucifer briefs him on the saga of his falling "with mine angels/from a far better place/offering services/for the saving of face." But apparently the stench of brimstone doesn't endear our hero to Hades, either. Since rejoining his breathing brethren on Terra Firma isn't an option (though he'd gladly "give up my halo and the horn for the hat I once had") he thanks-but-no-thanks the Crimson King for making him feel wanted while boarding the tram back to the penthouse pronto.

Pretty acoustic guitars from Anderson and fluid electric guitar lines from Martin Barre color his unconditional return to Heaven Station just before an edgy, forceful riff takes over for another rock excursion where the rhythm section of drummer Barriemore Barlow and bassist Jeffrey Hammond- Hammond are so tight that you hardly notice them. Our ethereal boy has resigned himself to willingly participate in the curious cosmic adventure as the seraphim "roll the stone away from the dark into ever-day." He still has no clue as to what is expected of him or what the future entails exactly but the dissonant sounds emanating from the fade out indicate that eternity is going to be a real mindf**ker.

Everything from the clever but macabre cover shot with its dead, bleeding ballerina to its daunting, abstruse musical themes and arrangements literally screams PROG and nothing else to my ears. So my thinking is that if "Passion Play" doesn't appeal to those brave 21st century aural adventurers who frequent websites like this one then it certainly won't hold an iota of charm for anyone else. I like it a lot. I deem it to be a slightly-flawed yet delightful, highly uncommercial romp in which Jethro Tull dared to continue to contradict the low-risk wisdom of cranking out more light, hummable ditties like "Cross-eyed Mary" and "Locomotive Breath" in lieu of running in the front ranks of the progressive rock movement. It's not "Thick as a Brick" but it comes damn close. 4.4 stars.

It's a Passion to Dislike this album at first listen

After one of the finest and most remembered Prog Rock records in the entire history of Prog, an album similar in concept, two 20+ minutes grandiose songs, followed, however the style was completely different leaving desperate lovers of Thick as a Brick cold and annoyed. I'll be sincere and say I disliked this at first completely, didn't know what it was about, just saw 2 songs, and thought ''Hey, another Thick as a Brick, this is gonna be great'', I was so dissapointed that I gave it to my father who was and still is a real lover of the album, he was very happy I had bought it, so we made a little exchange, I gave A Passion Play to him and he gave me Thick as a Brick, excellent deal, huh? Well I was going to regret that exchange for, like 2 weeks. He played it in the car every time I went with him, at first I felt the same as before, just noise, no sense, too much, PRETENTIOUS! But then after a few more, dedicated listens in the car, I started to think ''gees, what a great instrumental passage'' or ''awesome quirky synths'' or ''wow, that saxophone is superb! Thick as a Brick doesn't have one!'' and so on. Also hearing my dad narrate the parts of The Hare Who Lost It's Spectacles by memory was really shocking, and made me enjoy a bit the story, while I barely listen to it, if someone else puts it, I won't be annoyed, on the contrary I'll be quite delighted remembering my father's humorous way of narrating it. I finally realised it was just a matter of time and DEDICATED listens, that ''noise'' and ''nonesense'' I thought before had just tansformed to ''awesome!'' and kind of the like, like I mentioned before. I asked my dad if we could, well to be honest I didn't ask my dad, I just ''stoled'' it and I put Thick as a Brick again in his collection, obviously he didn't realise since he's a bit too old to remember things like this.

Anyway, anecdote apart, I can say that this album is a true challenge, just like Relayer or Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes are, or Brain Salad Surgery by ELP is. They're definitely the most adventurous album written by each band. These albums truly deserve more respect than they have.

To go a bit further of the style of this album, I'll say it has a much more eclectic style compared to the previous Prog Folk/Symphonic masterpiece. The acoustic guitar doesn't have a lead role anymore. John Evan plays less his superb hammond-organ replaced by the quirky synth which is definitely an acquired taste. There's less of Ian's splendid flute which is replaced by a extremely catchy and enjoyable saxophone played by Ian himself. Martin Barre is still is a backing member supporting some nice guitar ideas, while Jeffrey Hammond is still playing some fantastic bass lines alongside Barriemore's efficient drumming. There are parts which are so quirky or complex that remind me of Gentle Giant.

Overall, A Passion Play for me is tied up with Thick as a Brick in the #1 spot of Tull's best albums, despite both being extremely different. One being highly melodic and playful with a lot of focus on the flow of the composition, while the other one being by far more eclectic and yet the compositions are done brilliantly.

Certainly an album that all Prog fans and Tull fans should check once in their life-time, give it time and dedication if you really want to appreciate it. Of course, you may have done that and find no positive results, but it's worth the try. Gentle Giant fans may find this a very rewarding piece as well. A masterpiece.

This has to be the single most bonkers, grotesque and twisted prog masterpiece that I have ever heard... and I do not say that lightly. How does one go about reviewing an album this contorted and willfully difficult? Lets start with the concept. A sort of dickensian paradise lost, a whimsical trawl through the afterlife. Dark, complex lyrics clash with demanding arrangements that pull us ever further down the rabbit hole until we get to the mad hatter's tea party that is, The Hare That Lost His Spectacles. A wonderfully narrated piece of whimsy that acts as a bridge between songs one and two. It is hard to put into words the look of bewilderment on listeners' faces as we are regailed by tales of the wise old owl and his furry cohorts. My own experiences with this album range from complete bewilderment and disappointment at first, to accepted appreciation and now, utter amazement. This is definitely a divisive album that demands a tremendous leap of faith from the listener. It is an album that has grown with me and I have grown with it. It is also an album that reveals more of itself with each spin. As to whether or not this album is better than Thick As A Brick, it is a moot point, as both albums represent not just a pinnacle in Tull's career, but also two sides of the same coin. Special mention must go to Martin Barre who once again delivers fluid and emotive lead work over a backdrop of ever increasingly complex rhythms and odd time changes. The final cherry on this massively indulgent fruit cake is as always, Ian Anderson's thoughtful, funny and inventive lyrics. It is hard not to be passionate about A Passion Play, whether you passionately love it, or passionately hate it. For me at least, it pushes all my prog buttons and stands as my favourite Tull record.

So what is going on here - Tull does cheesy children's pantomime theater?

I love Jethro Tull's music passionately and knew eventually I would get hold of this CD. I picked it up many times, looked at the cover, shook my head and placed it carefully back in the stack. Finally it happened. I had the CD in my hands and was on my way home eagerly awaiting the characteristic enigmatic sound of the Tull to bless my ears.

Wait a minute... what is this? No! This can't be Tull. I must have put on the wrong CD.

My ears were not blessed at all. It was one of the most unnerving experiences. Interesting music and some weird lyrics. I can cope with this until - - - - - - A voice began:

This is the story of the Hare That Lost its Spectacles. It is basically a mix of a strange commentary that is not all humourous and comes across as rather a silly commentary, blended with chaotic fairytale music that is irritating and extremely pretentious. A childish theater prank laced with humour that does not work on any level. Even my children thought it was stupid and questioned what it was all about. The insanity of it all is not even clever and is beyond music - in fact, it is difficult to listen to after one listen and it is one track or section that you will probably skip as it is rather dull once you have heard it once. The novelty wears very thin and only diehard Tull fans will bother, the rest will shake their head in dismay with 'what were they thinking?'

The CD comes with a little bonus filmclip of the HTLIS story with Anderson and co playing it up to the hilt. Bunnies, stillettos, ballerinas and greasy old men - this is Tull at their most freakish. Admittedly the clip is better than the album itself but its available as a bonus on the 21st Anniv DVD so nothing to write home about if you have the DVD.

The press absolutely creamed this release and it received bashings from tabloids worldwide. They didnt get it. and, no, sorry I dont get it either and I implore you not to get it. This release is sandwiched between the masterpiece Thick as a Brick and the great War Child. Anderson found out that releases such as the Passion Play are not worth the effort but it became important for that reason I guess. Here's a prime example of what NOT to do. If you have picked it up and wondered if it is worth a purchase - just place it gently into the CD rack and move on to such Tull brilliance as Thick as a Brick, Aqualung, Minstrel in the Gallery, Living In the Past, Benefit, Stand Up or J-Tull dot com - anything but this pretentious, indulgent nonsense.

**2 stars for the first section and bonus's.

Something about A PASSION PLAY annoys me now moreso than when I first listened to it. It's not that this thing is more experimental than other Jethro Tull works, employing many a saxophone line and toying with a few synths. I admire Ian and Co. for being bold enough to try to incorporate some new elements into their sound.

I'm afraid much of what they're doing is simply lost on me. It's hard to stomach A PASSION PLAY in one go when the only musical movements that really perked my interest (save one that I'll go over later) are the very beginning and very end of the entire album. The middle is plagued by too many ideas coming and going without making their mark on the listener. What made the length of THICK AS A BRICK work was the proper development of a few themes and exploiting them well. A PASSION PLAY seems to meander too much, suffering from various transition issues. Plus, many of the themes are simply unmemorable.

As perverse as this sounds, the only real reason I have for dragging this thing out every so often is that ''Hare That Lost His Spectacles'' section. I am dead serious, kids. Probably because it's the only thing on the album that doesn't take itself seriously without going overboard goofy. I imagine this paragraph is going to make progsters everywhere give me that dirty look that says, ''What is wrong with you?''

It certainly is controversial. It's an album that could get progsters excited on first listen only for the dragging nature to slowly bring the overall approval down.

Another album length piece by the mad flutist Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. Although nowhere near as good as its predeccessor Thick as a Brick, A Passion Play is very very good. Very much darker in mood than Thick as a Brick and not containing as many folk elements it has even harder lyrics to understand than Thick as a Brick, "The ice cream lady wet her drawers to see you in the passion play,"? But look at the positives, to me it is more symphonic prog than other Tull albums making it stand out in a good way and the spoken word nursery rhymes are just plain clever, "This is the story of the hair who lost its spectacles." Not as good as others but definately still a solid release.

So much for controversity... I really don´t understand what all the fuss was all about... Certainly A Passion Play is a pretentious album, specially lyrically, but so what? so many were at the time. If you stick to the music and you´rea prog fan you´ll probably like it. Ok, this CD is less accessible than their previous (and later) works. It demands atention to be appreciated. But the same can be appplied to so many great prog albums. Certainly I wouldn´t call it a masterpiece in the same league as JT´s previous release, the brilliant Thick As A Brick, but is still excellent.

I loved specially the instrumental passages: Jethro Tull never sounded so progressive! Those guys outdid themselves musically. John Evans keyboards soar and Ian Anderson never sang so beautifully. Only Martin Barre´s electric guitars parts are a bit subdue, yet when they appear they are very good.. There are some stylistic departitures here and there, when they do produce some more jazzy sounds (pehaps due to Anderson´s much use of the saxophones). This may have annoyed some radical fans.

The only real fault on this album is The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. This silly story may be funny (an inside joke pehaps?) but has nothing to do with the album´s concept. Its placement in the end of the part one spoils the musical flow of the work. But I can live with that.

In the end I found this CD to be maybe JT´s most complex work to date. A real challeging album for a band that was at its peak. And a very good one, by the way. Four stars.

It would be impossible to describe the richness of this bizarre tapestry of an album. All the old familiar elements of Jethro Tull come crowding in a different...way. This is one of the hardest albums to follow. I literally fell asleep the first few times I heard it. I was prepared to give up on it. I was ready to say, "I don't get what others see in this." Then, with no small measure of courage and persistence, I held onto the few places in the music that held onto me, and my investment paid rich dividends. Each section contains amazingly memorable melodies that just beg to be heard again and again. Plus, for some weird reason, this album became my favorite to play while I was in the cups, and to this day, I like to play it around four in the afternoon after I've had a few. In fact, I play this album far more often than I do their previous record, but that could be due to the beer I consume and the fact that I purchased Thick as a Brick the exact same day I lost both of my cats. Oh well. Whether Jethro Tull was trying to bank off the ironic success of Thick as a Brick or not, I don't care. Nor do I care what the critics said about it. This is the ultimate comeback album for me as a listener, as a record I once regarded as the lamest of lames is now shoulder to shoulder with the grandest of grands. And if the ice cream lady wets her drawers to see me at all, well, who am I to complain?

"A Passion Play, Pt. 1" The opening instrumentation introduces the main vocal theme of the piece until the rest of the band enters in with their jaunty rhythm and main instrumental motif. Eventually a gentle acoustic guitar and whistle come in, bringing the listener to the vocals of maestro Ian Anderson. The acoustic guitar is brilliant with Anderson's vocals, and eventually gives away to some great organ and electric guitar music. The music is varied and yet united. Each section contains amazingly memorable melodies that just beg to be heard again and again.

"A Passion Play, Pt. 2" The children's story about the hare who lost his spectacles always made me cringe. The first time I heard it, I felt cheated. I wanted to haul the album back to the store from whence it came and get my money. Now that I am a father, and have come to enjoy this for everything it is, I find this narrative to be just a natural part of the album- I can no longer imagine it without it. The swirling segment, the one that came at the end of the first part, returns after the silly little tale, and is brilliant- one of the best things Jethro Tull ever did. And so much happens thereafter. My shoulders can't help but move in rhythm with the section just over fourteen minutes in. The following acoustic part is lovely and something one may wish to dance to, but, as with "Minstrel in the Gallery," the acoustic grandeur is broken up by a gritty wakeup call from the electric guitar. This lively segment is a punchy one that always dismissed my interest quickly, but my patience with going through with the album made this part just as enjoyable as the rest. Have I mentioned that each section contains amazingly memorable melodies that just beg to be heard again and again?

I've always got something of an undecided opinion about Jethro Tull's second progressive rock masterwork. While it has certainly grown on me and appeals a lot to me on a rational level, I never played it nearly as much as its obvious touchstone for comparisons: Thick As A Brick.

It sure is quite astonishing Jethro Tull managed to create a second 45 minute opus in 2 consecutive years. The inspiration must have run very high to say the least. Especially since this isn't just a TaaB rehash. No, I'd rather say it is adds a lot of stylistic differences. Especially the addition of saxophone and the more humorous and playful attitude give it a kind of circus music feel. It's less folksy and more cabaret like. Well as the album title indicates, this is a theatrical adventure and it works quite well as such.

My only issue with the album is that is sounds less vigorous then TaaB. That album just flashed with energy; here I sometimes miss that intensity and creative spark. It has moments where it sounds studied and slightly overworked when compared to the spontaneity of most of their earlier work. Not a love or hate album as far as I'm concerned. Just very good but not exceptional.

This album seems to cause the most distress among fans and, as you can see from other reviews, led to incredibly varying opinions. I personally think that A Passion Play is one of Tull''s best, in no way inferior to their universally declared masterpiece Thick as a Brick.

Everyone knows that TAAB was Tull''s mockery of concept albums (after Aqualung being mislabeled, according to Anderson) by presenting and absolutely ridiculous concept; the entire lyric of the 40+ minute song was an epic poem written by an 8 year old boy. For APP, Ian Anderson decided to take the concept album idea seriously, crafting an incredibly deep and well-written story of a man''s journey from death to limbo, heaven to hell, and the afterlife back into the "passion play" of mortal life. (I don't have the time or patience to outline the entire story for you, but there are plenty of resources on the web, such as an article at "the ministry of information" website). They even had time to write the short parable in the form of the interesting, humorous "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles."

Although this album took a few listens to grow on me, it is now my favorite Jethro Tull album. The music in APP is quite possibly even more intricate and complex than on TAAB. It lacks the flow of TAAB and has less repeated musical themes, but i personally don''t think the album suffers from it (although it makes calling APP a single song a bit unnecessary). Ian Anderson seems to put his flute aside for most of the album, filling the void with the saxophone. This at first disappointed me, but the different sound grew on me and helps make this album stand out as a unique work, especially compared to TAAB.

Because it happens to be one of the most coherent, interesting, and deep concept albums I''ve heard, A Passion Play deserves no less than 5 stars. A must have for any Tull fan and highly recommended for all prog fans.

It is hard to imagine that the planet we currently live on once tightly embraced Jethro Tull's sixth studio LP, warmly receiving it and anticipating the rapture of rock musicians who had gone completely off the deep end, way past the line of reasonable behavior. But people loved it. At least for awhile. The overindulgence, ambition for ambition's sake, limitless opportunities, all part of what modern rock had become. A Passion Play reached #1 in the U.S. in 1973. Let me say that again: number one on the charts. The Billboard charts. In America.

It's almost beyond belief. Okay maybe the record was feeding on the fresh and beloved coattails of its famous predecessor. Maybe the time was perfect to sell a new Jethro Tull album, and perhaps people were just too stoned to notice anything wrong. But the funny thing is, Passion Play is extraordinary. The people who bought it were right. They realized what a wonderful offering it really was, and what a wonderful time it represented. You'll forgive me if I romanticize things a bit-- at the time this was simply Jethro Tull's new record. But in hindsight it is much more. It is, in a way, progressive rock's greatest love letter, and also it's saddest Dear John.

Ian Anderson has expressed his misgivings about the release - indeed approaching it as a spoof, a tongue-in-cheek response to the concept album - and his desire to oblige naysayers by stripping down the material on subsequent Tull issues, breaking apart his music into more digestible pieces as evidenced on the next, the great but conspicuously abbreviated Warchild. It all worked out for the best, I suppose, with a slew of topnotch things to follow including bonafide Prog classics as Minstrel in the Gallery, Songs From the Wood, and Heavy Horses. But it all just makes this one that much more special, and an important if ironic marker for the movement. If you liked Passion Play you were pretty much ready for anything. Cardiographic noises and a din of instruments overtures as the sprawl gradually unfolds, Anderson establishing the 'story' here of a man recently deceased. There are few landmarks to grasp hold of. As much an assortment of interconnected themes as one long two-part opus, the disparate parts ingeniously sewn together so that things shift too frequently to bore and if you don't like what you're hearing, wait 30 seconds. What we got with A Passion Play was the glory of the unintended; a joke turned darkly and brilliantly serious by the end; a band fooled by its own muses into doing God's work, giving the world a piece of music so great it was hard to see. John Evan's organ and synth grind the mulch, Barriemore Barlow's drums work warmly and unobtrusively with Jeffrey Hammond's bass (who also lends his voice to the histrionic and pouffy 'The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles'). Musical quotes from previous Thick as a Brick appear, Anderson's sax as delightful a lead instrument as his lithe baroque guitar, and tasty riffs from Marty Barre throughout.

Make no mistake, the record is full of terrific music as good as anything they'd ever done. But here you have to sit down and listen. You have to listen carefully, or it'll all be over before you realize what's happening. Too long and involved? No I don't think so. You can say that about Tales From Topographic Oceans if you want, but not this. A Passion Play was a creative triumph if a public relations nightmare, and we are truly lucky to have it.

Jethro Tull: A Passion Play Well, after listening to Thick as a Brick a million times and really enjoying it, I can not say the say for A Passion Play. It has basically the same concept- a long song-theme roughly divided into "movement". However, I found TAAB to be full of great riffs, memorable lyrics and themes, and "hummable" parts. I can't say the same about Passion Play. It just has never really clicked with me after many tries to get into it. It just doesn't "grab" me with anything. Is it just too prog for my tastes. Maybe. I love almost everything else that Tull have done. This album just leaves me cold. It is, without a doubt, an eclectic prog album with tons of nuaces and variables, but I just can't seem to appreciate it. I put the CD on every now and then but it seems to slip by without really registering with me in any way. The the Owl spectacle story just plain ANNOYS the heck out of me!!!!! Sorry, Tull, only 2 stars on this one. 1 for musicianship and one for the cojones it took to make this thing.

This could have been a much better album if they just kept to playing music, and omitted the dreadful "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" section. Without this overly long, and embarrassingly silly interlude, the music is very good. And very progressive. I wouldn't say it would rate as highly as Thick As A Brick. But how many albums do? While there are sections that are every bit a good as some of the parts of TAAB, the flow between them just doesn't seem natural, as it does in the aforementioned album. And since that wascally wabbit is stuck right in the middle of the CD's single track, or the LP's 2 sides, it is very difficult to skip over it.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Coulda been a solid 4.

This is another one of those classic albums that has split the fans in two groups. Just like Tales From Topographic Oceans, King Crimson's Islands and a few others, A Passion Play is a debatable classic to anyone who wasn't introduced to this material at the time of its release.

My theory is that the already existing fan base was eagerly awaiting another great Jethro Tull album after a streak that began with the release of Stand Up. Since there was no point of reference to compare A Passion Play to at the time of its release the fans played their vinyl records like crazy just to get the feel for the material. Guess what thought? Judging from the current status of this album, they did manage to get something interesting out of all their hard work. Unfortunately this only proves to me that any half-decent release can get into your head if you really want it to. My question is--do I really want it to?

After being convinced to give A Passion Play a chance, almost ten years ago, I played it a few times only to rarely pick it up since. Every time I actually give it a shot it only brings me closer to one and same conclusion regarding its quality. Namely, the band seemed to be content with the response that they received after Thick As A Brick and therefore began to work on an even more ambitious recording. The myopic hope of seeing the lightning strike twice made Jethro Tull do minimal enhancements to the winning formula. Those enhancements and the overall lack of any worth a while material made A Passion Play seem as only a weak half-sibling overshadowed by the greatness that was depicted on Thick As A Brick.

The biggest differences this time around were the lack of continuity, that made this recording a very bumpy ride, and the addition of a sketch titled The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles which seemed completely out of place with the rest of the album. The material and all of the revisited themes that bind the album together are just not that great. This just screams for a fans only labeling if there ever came such an occasion!

**** star songs: A Passion Play (Part 1) (21:36)

*** star songs: A Passion Play (Part 2) (23:32)

I guess you could compare this to "Tales From Topographic Oceans" in the way that there's so much controversy about it. Both are very over the top, so there's this love / hate thing going on from TULL fans. Critics were very hard on this album, so hard that Anderson announced he would stop touring. He would tour again of course (about a year later) but it showed how much Ian disagreed with their assessment. He must have felt some sort of retribution by the fact it went number one in the USA. Like "Thick As A Brick" this is a concept album only this one deals with a man after he has died. We get two side long suites.

"A Passion Play (Part 1)" has sort of a strange intro until it kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. It settles with whistling after 3 minutes, vocals follow. Acoustic guitar then piano join in. A change before 6 minutes as it builds. Great section ! Unfortunately we're back to the previous soundscape too soon. It picks up around 9 1/2 minutes then flute leads around 12 minutes as the bass throbs.Vocals are back. Another great section after 14 minutes until before 18 minutes. It ends in a laid back manner.

"A Passion Play (Part 2)" opens with spoken words as a story is told to light classical music for over 4 long minutes. A calm after 5 1/2 minutes with reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. Organ and drums join in. Excellent sound 7 1/2 minutes in with sax then electric guitar. It then sort of meanders along.The organ 14 minutes in is good then the song picks up with vocals. It settles 18 minutes in with strummed guitar. A fuller sound 19 1/2 minutes in which is much better. It ends with reserved vocals and piano.

Very much hit and miss with more misses.The laid back sections feel uninspired to me. Maybe if I was into concept albums my feelings would be different, but to rate this just on the music alone it's barely 3 stars.

A Passion Play is a great album, a good concept and entirely progressive. Bombastic in terms of the poetical meanderings and lyrics but hey this was 1973. Ian Anderson had license to thrill and be as creative as he wanted. Chrysalis did not mind either. It is made up of two parts and is largely keyboard driven, Guitars not as prominent. Whilst there was a certain amount of negative criticism from the press regarding A Passion Play, it's still defied the critics and did well, especially in USA.

Nothing earth shattering here but most Tull fans will give this a favourable nod. The late seventies was a true return to form for JT before the challenging 80's. A good album. Three stars.

First: Don't compare this album to "Thick As A Brick" or "Aqualung". "A Passion Play" is darker, more complex and stranger than any other Jethro Tull - album.

"APP" was the second album after "Aqualung" I listened to. I didn't heard many prog-albums, just the albums from "Pink Floyd", "Aqualung" and a little bit from "The Who". So it was a totally new experience for me when I listen to "APP". It was exciting, extraordinary and just unbelievable for me.

No, after a long time, I heard many porg-albums and I would say from me that I'm a prog-expert ;-) . And "APP" is still the same for me.

This album has very complex lyrics and song-structures. The instrumentation based on flute (of course), synthesizers and saxophons which gives the album a gloomy, obscure and strange sound. But it's also very interesting and one of the fascinating albums in history of music.

With one sentence: This album is a door to a totally new world.

One of the best albums ever made, in my eyes it should be in the top 15 of prog-albums on PA.

For me, the ultimate prog masterpiece, a voyage through life and death for ever. This song was the first prog song I ever heard when I was not feeling very well, I came to see my father who was listening to this song and I listened to it all and really loved it. I always wanteds to find something better but I never had found something to replace it. It is true that this song is not for everybody. It's not because you liked Thick as A Brick that you'll like A Passion Play. It's not usual Jthro Tull, it's like something different from everything made but it still got some things in common with a lot of albums.

while many had expectations surrounding this album that may not have materialized, listening to the chateau d'isaster tapes shows that mr anderson did too. thankfully, he aborted his initial attempts, based on some sort of animal themed album, (bungle in the jungle i think ended up being a by-product), and set out with some salvaged material to produce a truly progressive album. i am reminded of genesis opting for the lamb over the little prince idea somewhere suggested. the old trodden path being discarded for something new and atypical. substituting sax for the flute in many places, and copping some gentle giant sounding (another of the more medieval sounding groups) contrapuntal arrangements, mr anderson brings his most cynical reading of his irreligious posturings to date, restricting his usual python-esque humor to intermission status and bringing a new truly electric attitude. full of moods, textures, ideas, and music, definitely one of their best.

Tull was all the rage at the high school I started attending in 1972. Stand Up. "Living in the Past." Benefit. And, then, of course, Thick as a Brick. I never felt the pull. But I did allow myself to try their next new release. That was A Passion Play.

I played it to death for a week, start to finish, Side One and Side Two. I don't remember any song titles--to me it was all one song. But I do remember that after a while I found one "song" that kept drawing me back--and I was able to find those wide grooves that allowed me to cue in for direct access. That was, as it turns out, "Magus Perde." I also like "Best Friends" and "The Foot of Our Stairs" as well as the two Forest Dances.

After a month or two I think A Passion Play went from my 'regular play' pile next to my turntable onto my shelf from where it has rarely been pulled again. Being no fan of lyrics (except those of Jon Anderson), a big chunk of the Tull magic was lost on me.

Then, again, four years later, as a freshman in college I became surrounded by Tull worshippers--especially as Ian and Company were coming to our college town for a show! Still I resisted.

To this day I remain pretty much unimpressed with the compositions or instrumental prowess of any of the J Tull members. Ian Anderson's flute playing left a lasting impression and is very much appreciated but compared to the work and stylistic approach of Thijs Van Leer, I always find/found myself choosing the Dutchman. A good ensemble group, the individuals never stood out to me like Akkerman, McLaughlin, DiMeola, or Albrighton (guitar), Van der Linden, Bonham, White, Walden, or Collins (drums), Clarke, Ruiter, Gomez, Squire or Lynott (bass). And I was never much of an organ fan at this time. However, as I revisit the Tull catalogue 40 years later I find that I am very impressed with their collective sound and discipline. This one's worth four stars.

This might be the proggiest album Tull ever made, but that in and of itself does not make it a great album. Any serious prog fan realizes that some of the best and worst music ever made is in the realm of prog. A Passion Play is Thick As A Brick's ugly little brother. All the pretty girls at school want to date Thick As A Brick, but since TAAB is taken, they will settle for APP. This album, like it's predecessor, went to #1 on the Billboard charts. It should come as no surprise that this was also the last #1 album Tull would have on the Billboard charts.

TAAB was a joke that became a masterpiece; APP was intended to be a masterpiece but ended up being a joke. On paper, I should love this. For the first time, Tull is using synthesizers. It's much darker than TAAB. In addition to flute, there is also saxophone. But ultimately, the results do not add up to a great or memorable album. One of the things that sticks out the most is that the guitar takes a backseat here. This works for other groups, but not Tull. Basically, Anderson & co. are just being experimental for the sake of being experimental. If TAAB hadn't been such a massive success, I highly doubt they would have made an album like this. All the people who made this a #1 album were expecting TAAB part 2; what they got instead was an album as directionless and self-indulgent as Tales Fom Topographic Oceans.

The first minute of this album is probably Tull at their most spacey and avant. The first half is not as interesting as the second half. I've always liked the line: "the only way to skin the cat". Generally, I like the synth work here. Sometimes the sax sounds like another synth. Little bit of marimba on this album too. "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" is not quite as bad as some make it out to be. It's still nothing essential to the album overall. The last 15 minutes is the best part of the whole album. Check out the Steve Howe-like guitar playing in the final 5 minutes. The last 20 seconds are some of the best moments on the album; I wish that part didn't fade out.

This is typically seen as one of those love-it-or-hate-it albums. I generally neither love nor hate those kind of albums. You could take the best 20 minutes here and make a really good epic out of it. When it comes to JT I only really like Aqualung, TAAB and MInstrel. Don't care for this album too much but it's still a lot better than the majority of their post-70s albums. 3 stars.

"A Passion Play" is an intriguing concept album and perhaps the most disputed and misunderstood of Jethro Tull's works. The theme concerns the spiritual journey of a man in the afterlife while the music follows the same format as "Thick as a Brick" . It's equally very progressive with many more tempo and rhythm changes. This time though, the music was actually a medley made up of shorter songs rather than one long piece split into two halves.

Ian Anderson added variety using saxophones for the first time on a JT album. His usual flute touches are there too. There are a few acoustic guitar moments as well but the album is mostly driven by some nice piano, organ and synthesizer work throughout.

The lyrics are complex and mostly of wordplay and allegory which can be quite amusing but often confusing too. The odd spoken-word piece "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" isn't the best moment but it's a thoroughly enjoyable and artistic record overall. Most Jethro Tull fans would at least regard this as a good album. I personally think so, but it takes a bit of work to get into. Repeated listens are required. 3 stars.

Review #13 Jethro Tull's 1973 album "A Passion Play"

I suppose the only problem with "A Passion Play" is that Anderson went with the same "One Song/Piece" as it's predecessor "Thick As A Brick". It was revealed many years later, he needn't have kept the "One Song" formula as he did in fact have song titles for each individual fused song/instrumental within "A Passion Play" as was revealed in the Mobile Fidelity 24 kt Gold CD 2000s release that lists all the song titles.

"A Passion Play" is Tull's most progressive rock album. It is definitely *the* most progressive rock album, that has ever made it to No. 1 in the US. And unlike Thick As A Brick it is serious, very serious, gloomy stuff (apart from the "intermission" narrative "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles").

I do however believe it is a masterpiece. It took me a very, very long time to come to this conclusion. But after a dozen or so plays; it got me. Oh it is sooooooooo good.

Anderson and Co had 2 tries at making "A Passion Play"; one at the aborted recording sessions in France in 1972 and finally the finished product back in England in 1973. I suppose they got it right from all those previous sessions in France.

The sax is very prominent and really this album and Warchild is the only time Anderson dabbles in this instrument.

Please take some time and listen as many times as you can to "A Passion Play". It will eventually win you over.

A Passion Play ? 1973 (3.4/5) 11 ? Best Song: You tell me. Ugh, not the middle section, though. Fuck spectacles And, of course if you're going to write a masterpiece or two, you might as well destroy your legacy by going totally overboard immediately after; go hog wild, man! Oh, how some folks will praise Thick, then lament over the languid existence of A Passion Play. I don't fully agree with their enmity toward the album, but I can see the massive drop in quality, too. In fact, we're back to what was wrong with the 1960's releases ? taking an old, already established genre and adding flutes to it but not doing anything original. They practically sway their fine hand over prog rock and help in making and establishing it, then immediately forget what taste is. Oh, I certainly dig the album. Ian only grows more defined as a vocalist, and even if the lyrics are so heinously over the top they lose all applicable meaning, it doesn't stop them from still retaining the strong glue that binds together a group of miscreants such as this. Again it's one mammoth tune broken into side 1 and side 2. The music takes a minor hit but it's on the more lush side of things. What is the primary difference? Well, the musical ideas are more barren. It's the same symphonic pomp rocking thing as last year, only less defined. I will grant them that the primary acoustic folk melody they present throughout the course of the first ten minutes or so is solid stuff. They jam heavily when they want to, still, even if it's a case of 'going through the motions'. In fact, I don't see the real reason to rate the album much lower than Thick as a Brick, except for one minor mishap smack in the middle of the album. This ain't no half minute drum doodle, either. It's a fully fledged short story entitled 'The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles'. If that makes you cringe, you should. The whole affair has this obnoxious accent. Makes me almost hate the whole damn record, but once it's over (it ain't that bad, I guess) the rest of the album rides as smoothly as the first part. Passion Play is fun, entertaining, well performed, unoriginal, and frustrating. Take that for what you will.

This was the piece by Jethro Tull I tried to avoid for a long time. Having heard this was the album that made one of my favourite rock groups venture into years and years of musical inconsistence scared me away for a good number of years. Finally, last year I accidentally came across a bootleg tape of a Passion Play concert (Oakland, I believe), listened to the piece and was blown away. The performance was so intense that the humorous pause with the 'Hare Who Lost His Spectacles' story and film came like a perfect relief, only to prepare the listener for the cathartic finale. Roaring guitar, a stampede-like rhythm section, delicate piano playing countered with eerie organ and (surprisingly) tasteful synthesizer work, unorthodox soprano sax lines and a great (at times almost demonic) sounding bass-baritone of Ian Anderson. Compositionally speaking, this seemed to be one of the most accomplished magnum opuses of rock, with dark, hermetic lyrics almost brilliantly put to music. Without a second thought I picked up my father's copy of the record the next day.

I was... disappointed.

While I'm aware that studio recordings can't really sound as 'intense' as live ones, this wasn't the only problem with the album. The only parts that didn't sound shockingly uninspired and boring were the acoustic sections (the sole reason being that they sounded exactly like on the live tape) and the only 'upgrade' from the live version was Jethro Tull's already characteristic use of studio trickery to emphasize lyrical content (especially noticeable on Side 2, during the 'Overseer' section). The other huge problem I have with the studio recording are endless overdubs, resulting in cheesy over-arrangement (a problem which was to continue throughout the band's career). A good motif or a theme won't sound better if you have a sax (or any other instrument) playing over it in parallel intervals (as can be heard in the opening, or the irrelevant piano octaves in Critique Oblique, for example). 'The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles' is as enjoyable to hear as it is to see on film, as it is a sweet, non-pretentious fable with a simple message, narrated by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond in a ridiculously exaggerated Northern English accent. Also, it is (apart from the lyric sheet, which you will most certainly need if you are to figure out the words from the live tapes) one of the main reasons to buy the record.

This album should be viewed only as a document of a really good piece of music and isn't an essential addition to your collection. On the other hand, I strongly recommend getting a good quality bootleg from the 1973 tour to fully experience Tull's A Passion Play.

Purely on a whim, I put this on today for the first time in an age, and, on even more of a whim, decided to write down a few thoughts. This is, more than any other, the one Tull album which divides fans of the band between exceptional and god-awful.

In truth, I think that it falls somewhere in between. It's an important part of the band's extensive canon, but, by Anderson's own admission, does not stand up as amongst the best. However, one thing that does rather amuse me is that whilst albums of the time such as Tales From Topographic Oceans are (still) regularly slated by the music press as heralding the fall from grace of prog as a commercial art form (too pretentious and all that), this album, released in the same year, never gets such a mention, something which I find somewhat strange, to say the least.

For this was Ian Anderson's "proper" concept album. By that, I mean that Thick As A Brick was deliberately conceived as a mickey take by its author, as a riposte to all those who saw the "deep meaning and concept" in Aqualung which was never there in the first place. This, however, was done in deadly earnest, and is Anderson'e extremely irreverent take on the afterlife.

Musically, it is very mixed, and, ironically, whereas Thick stood together extremely well as a concept both lyrically and musically as a whole, this one still feels as "bitty" as it did the first time I listened to it all those years ago. Of course, many of the musical themes are very similar to Thick, and I do especially love the sax to the fore, and wish it was an instrument that Anderson had allowed on more of his work. Further, this is the finest keyboard led album the band did, without a shadow of a doubt. John Evans shines here, and is very ably supported by Barriemore Barlow on drums and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond on bass. The only real disappointment is the near total absence of a meaningful contribution by Martin Barre on guitar - he makes himself heard about 19 minutes in to side two in marvellous form, almost as if someone had woken him up and asked him to do something. It is also, in my opinion, the best part of the album, the best saved until the end, so to speak.

As has been said by many reviewers before me, side one of the old LP is generally, the close apart, superior to side two, and it is on the latter side that matters fall apart for me. As with many of the albums released by classic prog bands of the time, in hindsight a bit less would have been far more. Having said that, with both sides, when it is good, it is very good.

Also, a brief word about The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. This is, to blokes of a certain generation who worshipped and recited all things Python, brilliant nonsense. To most others, I suspect an awful amount of head scratching would be undertaken. You had to be there, I suppose.

1973 to 1976 was not my favourite Tull period. That would come later with the superlative Songs From The Wood, and this album is, for me, the start of a rather indifferent period, peppered by flashes of genius, and, of course, the work is not bad, given that Anderson and the band were simply incapable of releasing an album with that description.

However, a rating of three stars for this. Good, and certainly recommended for those who wish to complete or expand their Tull collection. It might be, though, perhaps best to start looking elsewhere first!

Jethro Tull were under enormous pressure when it came to cooking up the follow-up to Thick as a Brick, not least because early sessions aimed at producing a new album fell to pieces (but, thankfully, the highlights are available on the excellent Nightcap collection). In the end, they produced yet another album around the concept of one long song, and unfortunately this time around it feels rather forced - what was a good idea to do once as a joke seems to have been unsustainable as a model for continued releases.

In addition, this album has the infamous tale of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, an incredibly irritating and - to me, at least - not very funny story which robs the album of all its momentum. Apparently it was usual in medieval passion plays to have a comical interlude between acts, so fair enough, Tull get points for accuracy. But they lose more points for cleaving to a vision of accuracy which ends up wrecking my enjoyment of the album.

It's by no means terrible, but there are severe structural and compositional issues with the album - there just don't seem to be as many ideas on display as on Thick as a Brick - and aside from the Hare it's a bit more po-faced than Tull's typical fare. For hardcore Tull fans only.

I've heard this through four times, so I'm going to work on letting it grow on me. Like Thick as a Brick for me, it has those sections (or section, you may know which one I mean) which seem awkward and out of place - and I'm trying really hard to get to the stage where I can appriechiate it for being what it is. For what I've heard, it's definitely a good album, and a lot darker then Thick as a Brick - the instrumentation is all good from what I've heard, it's just that it needs a bit more time to grow on me I think, I can't go mad and give it a five even if it is even more ambitious then TaaB, but still - time may change my review.

I would like firstly, to clear up hopefully a few things about "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles". Unlike many reviewers who believe it does not have a place on this album and is an attempt at monty pythonish humour, I believe have missed a crucial clue to it's possible meaning. The Hare in ancient pagan belief is a persons representative in the underworld, and having lost his spectacles, means he has lost his way in the afterlife. Through all the attempts to help him and subsequent failures. The meaning being that you have to make your way on your own. Make your own choices. Finding his spare pair he continues on his journey. Told in the style of a fable. The other characters probably represent specific figures in the afterlife, but I can't say who they would be maybe someone could help me with that.

On to the album I find this work a perfect blending of music and theme. Starting with the medieval street fair music to the closing of the door severing the silver cord "umbilical" of life. The music immediately gets heavier in a compressed stifling way, like your underground. There follows burst of energy like attempts at escape, diabolical strains of music and more. Then having braved all this He emerges safe on the other side.

It is really too bad this album got such a critical panning. I would have wished that Tull had followed this path a while longer, I feel cheated.

It's easy to see why this album presents so many difficulties to so many listeners, particularly among Tull's faithful. But, as I do not consider myself a real Tull fan--this and TAAB are the only JT albums I own--I am in no way troubled by APP's lack of folksy melody and abundance of jagged arrangements. In fact, I find it exhilarating to hear the band running itself in knots as the piece tumbles forward. Where Brick is a swim in a public pool, Play is a jet-ski across an ocean of sharks and oil slicks. It is frequently a downright *ugly* album, but the harmonic density and its more through-composed structure evoke a wider and more subtle range of emotions in this listener, compared to the smoother, more direct Brick. There is an awful lot to digest here, but it's worth it for those who are up for the challenge. 

Most prefer Thick as a Brick, but this one feels much more cohesive and emotionally involving to me. As far as I know, it's the only album on which Ian Anderson plays soprano sax, and he does it all over this record. As with Thick as a Brick, this is one song spread over two sides, with the "main theme" serving as both an opening and a closing, bringing the concept full circle. The lyrical concept is even harder to understand than Thick's, but that makes it all the more appealing. The left-field inclusion of the children's story of "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" right in the middle of the piece is absolutely hilarious, and gives the whole piece a few extra points as a result. All the musical themes are compelling, the weird atmospheric parts more daring, and the emotional impact of the thematic development especially convincing. They caught a lot of flak for this album, and moved towards a more folk-rock oriented direction afterwards, making a few more good albums, but this one has a magic that I haven't heard from them before or since.

so, this is somewhat embarrassing, but I'm just now getting around to listening to Jethro Tull's much-maligned (and much-loved) "A Passion Play".

I've been a Tull fan since the 70s but somehow never bought or heard this album.

well, after a day and morning of listening, here are my impressions:

First listen: wtf??????

Second listen: wtf?

Third listen: I think I'm starting to like this. I think. But what's up with that Hare piece?

Fourth listen: OK. yeah, its schizophrenic, it has that irritating Hare piece, but man, there sure are some really cool parts. Some very Tull sections, some sections that sound like classic Genesis, some parts that sound like Gentle Giant, and even some parts that sound like VdGG. How cool is that? A bunch of my favorite prog bands all hanging out together!

Fifth listen: Enough! I used an editing program to edit out that Hare piece. With all due respect, and despite my love for British humour, it harshes my buzz. So its gone. Ahh, now I can sit back with the headphones on and prog out.

SIxth listen: I really dig this album and I can't stop listening to it! Its perfect for a prog fan with attention-deficit disorder. I mean, it is Prog with a capital "P". Bombastic, self-indulgent, overly- complex, silly and yet, I am falling in love.

(The edition I'm reviewing is the one where track two starts off with the story about the hare who lost his spectacles. I've heard weird editions where this is not the case.)

Personally, I love all six of Tull's first albums. From "This was" through to "A passion play". These are truly magnificent albums but for me it has to be "A passion play" that really hits the spot. I know it's quite a debatable album. I heard the expression Marmite- album, meaning you either love it or hate it. I hate Marmite but love "A Passion play".

When I came across it back in the late 80's at a sale, I only knew the band by name. Thinking it was a hardrock band I bought itand to my amazement it was something completely different, yet not totally. Two long tracks, circa 20 minutes each, flowed through my ears, body and mind telling me I was in the presence of greatness.

Both tracks are flowing to the brim with imaginative music, ranging from folk to hardrock and encased in brilliant prog. The ability to make tracks of that length feel so natural and ever intriguing is hard, so this has to be the work of genius. Some might think that that story of the hare is boring, being recited in a typical, over the top, quirky british way but I have always found it to be an integral part of the whole experience. For me this is Tull more than ever. Amazing stuff thorugh out!

A Passion Play was a very difficult album for me to listen. It all started when I discovered Jethro Tull, on a DVD (file) recorded by a friend, which contained This Was, Stand Up, Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and Songs From the Wood. When I heard these albums I was absolutely amazed with the band. I decided to go after the other works I found that there were but I had not heard. For me, the expectation was A Passion Play. Obviously after the masterpieces Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, APP should be their best album.

It was one of the most confusing moments of my life. The band was the same, the musicians were the same... What was it that I just heard? There were changes, repeats, stories about hares ... I was, like Lester Bangs "totally bamboozled!"

There was only one part that satisfied me: Magus Perdè! What a sensational guitar riff, otherworldly, mysterious, but totally rational within that album. Magus Perdè made me believe that I would be able to understand APP.

Indeed, the years went by and I was reading the lyrics, learning more about the history of the band, the recording problems that interrupted a double album, the concerts extremely elaborated, etc. I often say that APP is a puzzle: you should try to complete it every day. Fits some parts, come back years later, fit a few more. The messages are there, everything is there.

That is something I never understand when people came to rate APP so low. What do you prefer? A album that gives away everything it is in the first listen or a album that you have to construct your own understanding and meaning to it? A album that gives you the oportunity to do so... its a masterpiece.

I could go no, and on, and on... but I have lost my spectacles.

Another giant of an album released by Jethro Tull following the great "Thick as a Brick" album with another one track wonder concept album. This is the first work of Tull to incorporate a synthesiser into the music. Some solid sax work as well on this effort. It is not as playful as "Thick as a Brick" was - in many ways it is a much darker album. Whereas I thought that the lyrics on the previous album were a work of genius the lyrics here aren't as profound but the music kind of makes up for that. This work was a little harder for me to get into than the previous album however when I did it was a very rewarding experience. This is by far the more serious of the two single track albums. Unlike many I do like the "Hare" section and it also serves to break the track as a sort of fun intermission - probably saving the main parts of the music from become a single tedious work. The reason I use the term tedious is that this work takes a lot more from the listener to get into - it is quite a bit more demanding than "Thick as a Brick" was. There are many rewards to be found in seriously sitting back and absorbing this album. From me a hesitance in my rating but after a lot of though a solid 5 stars - it isn't "Thick as a Brick" however when I compare it to what else was available up until 1973 then it becomes clearer to me and I believe 5 stars fits.

What do you prefer: a joke playing with serious elements or a serious theme including some dark jokes? Because these guys were good enough for both. After the satiric "concept album" (according to Ian Anderson) Thick As A Brick, Tull came with the real concept album: A Passion Play. Talking about afterlife with a fake cast of an imaginary movie, this album reaches the complexity that even some of the Jethro Tull diehard fans could not comprehend. Musically, A Passion Play is their best effort, and it would easily replace TAAB in the top prog albums list in my opinion. One song, divided into two parts (once again), featuring The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles as an interlude: it was the only weak moment of the album, until the day I bought the enhanced cd, with the video of this narration. It's pretty cool.

Not reccomended to light-hearted Jethro Tull fans.

A decent album, but it unfortunately had to follow right after the legendary Thick as a Brick. This album still has many great moments, and also some hints of heavy metal leanings that would take more fruition as we get into albums like Minstrel in the Gallery (though the band still remains more of a pioneer to heavy metal than actually being heavy metal).

The playing-yer-ass-off aspect seems to lack a little bit, but then again, I only feel that when comparing this album to Thick as a Brick, which isn't right (completely). The ability shown by the band is either a bit less or seems to be a different brand. The material is good overall, but it is my opinion that the band didn't have quite enough to last for 45 minutes of time. I like that they were willing to cover more humorous ground ("the hare.. has lost his SPECtacles?").

It can be a fun album, but it feels a bit more scatterbrained. When such a long song is made, we need to maintain our sense of direction. That or have more clear divides, like we could safely say "This could easily be cut in four different pieces" or something along those lines. Sometimes the ideas just keep going, and I wonder where we are going. For the potential the album had, it would've easily been 4 stars. It's not bad, but it is a 3-star album.

I have no idea why this album has generated so much controversy. It may seem to have been a formulaic follow-up to TAAB, but only for the fact that it was another concept album. Ian Anderson did an amazing job composing a second concept album that was not simply a clone of their 1972 masterpiece, but rather a work of a completely different atmosphere, feeling, and concept. A Passion Play is certainty also the darkest Tull got, musically and lyrically. I hate to say it, because I do like a good deal of Tull's 1974-1979 work (and even some 80s albums!), but it seems to be the truth that A Passion Play is the band's musical and creative peak, in my opinion standing with Aqualung and TAAB as showing the best the band could do.

The album is much more atmospheric than previous Tull albums; for the heartbeat intro and some of the otherworldly instrumental sections of the album show this. Yet the melodies and individual compositions that Anderson composes for the album are top-notch. I understand people dislike the dense, confusing lyrics and the almost impossible to understand plot of the album's "story" (something to do with the afterlife, I think that is the easiest thing to agree upon). But in my opinion, the lyrics are no harder to understand (or to ignore) than TAAB's lyrics. But it's clear that Ian's lyric writing ability is not as strong as it was on albums such as, say, Aqualung or Stand Up, which I think have brilliant lyrics. "The Story of the Hare who Lost his Spectacles", I have to admit, is kind of funny but mostly something I have to sit through to get to the good music on part 2. Still, it's not exactly bad, or uninteresting, but kind of unnecessary. Jeffrey Hammond- Hammond has a greatly entertaining narrator voice, nonetheless.

Musically, as stated before, this is top notch. The first side is definitely the stronger one in terms of harder riffs and energy, but the second side offers up a fantastic blend of folk, harder rock, and purely great prog rock jamming, sounding very free and natural, yet structured at the same time. I can't think of a Tull album after this one where the band had such a good sense of playing instrumentally. This is music that is complex, genre-blending, yet utterly entertaining and affective, which for me is the best prog rock can offer. Along with TAAB, Close to the Edge, and a number of other albums, I can see APP as being one of the true "definitions" of the best progressive rock, if there can be such a thing. Additionally, I've read criticism of Ian Anderson's saxophone playing in this album and in general. While it's not exactly virtuosic or groundbreaking, it adds a new dimension to the music, and he is by no means a bad player. It's a shame he didn't continue with it further on than Warchild; he may have developed even further with it.

If Ian Anderson and the members of the 1973 Tull lineup feel at all discouraged by the division this album has caused, I would tell them to forget the criticism. I think this album is going to be around for a very long time, and I see (and hear) no reason at all for the bashing it gets. Without a doubt a true masterpiece, and one of the "defining albums" of progressive rock.

So here it is. The Jethro Tull album everybody loves to hate.

It's a shame this album followed the ground-breaking Thick As A Brick. I think everyone knew at the time that TAAB was a great record, but I don't think they realized what a masterpiece it was. It takes time for that sort of thing to sink in.

So here comes A Passion Play. Unquestionably weaker than TAAB, and with a very similar structure. Plus it had that "stupid" story right in the middle. It was even split between sides of the LP, so you couldn't avoid it very easily. So, the critics lambasted the record, and it became the laughing stock of the Tull catalog.

What a shame. The record is really quite good.

It's not as good as Thick as a Brick. But, come on, people, look at the ProgArchives chart of the all-time greatest prog recordings. Nothing is.

Here are the arguments against A Passion Play: No direction - I agree, but only partially. The music is pieced together and doesn't flow well - Agreed, but much of the music is excellent. And there are plenty of prog albums with poor transitions. The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is a detraction - Strongly agree.

But I find a lot to like in this album. The concept is unassailable, even if it was only partially realized. Even if the album has more than its share of filler, the remaining tunes are outstanding! There is some of the best stuff Jethro Tull ever recorded on this album. And you get Ian Anderson's lyrics.

If this album was released by anyone else other than JT after TAAB, it would have been received much more warmly. It's no masterpiece, but IMHO a very fine example of early 70s prog.

Rating: 4.15, rounded down to 4.

''Thick as a brick'' became an instant seller for Jethro Tull, even reaching the number 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.It was a great chance for the band to attract the US audience and later in the year the compilation album ''Living in the past'' was released, containing remixed singles, B-sides and outtakes from the band's old repertoire.Jethro Tull moved to France to avoid the increased taxes in the islands and started working on their next album at the Chateau d'Herouville Studios near Paris.They were so dissapointed by the upcoming result, that they decided to relocate in UK and start the whole thing over, visiting the Morgan Studios in London in December 1972.The album was recorded in two different periods and in July 1973 Chrysalis released it under the title ''A passion play''.This work dealt with afterlife through a character named Ronnie Pilgrim and starts with the man attending his own funeral as a ghost-like shade.

Jethro Tull used the same receipt as on the very succesful ''Thick as a brick'', two sidelong pieces, completing one long suite, clocking at over 45 minutes.The first act is definitely one of the most stunning epics in the history of Progressive Rock.While the folky touches are still among the lines of the band, this piece shows Jethro Tull at their very best and most progressive form, reminiscent of the British Symphonic Rock bands of the 70's.Not loosing their strong identity even by an inch, they proposed a complex Progressive Rock with symphonic structures and countless tempo changes, propelled by Anderson's poetic and emphatic voice and his fantastic performance on sax and flute with a tireless John Evan alternating between jazzy piano moves and elaborate organ washes.Their sound was now reminiscent of YES and GENTLE GIANT, containing Classical interludes, symphonic instrumental parts and superb interplays between flute, guitar and keyboards.What more can I say, this is a flawless gem by any means.The second act deals with Ronnie Pilgrim's adventures, after visiting Heaven and Hell, and borrowed elements from Theater Music, Comedy and musicals.With narrations and story-telling lines among the usual instrumental density, this is a bit different from the opening piece, recalling more of a show than a piece recorded for a regular album, more particularly at the opening minutes.The rest is solid Progressive Rock with lots of flute, organ and sharp guitar, sounding a bit jazzier than the introductive act, but offering plenty of intricate moments, filled with interactions, solos and atmospheric themes.Moreover it appears to be more of a vocal-driven structure, but the musical background is always strong and professional, now Evan adds some great synths in the process and the result remains consistent and pompous.

A highlight in Jethro Tull's discography.People were not used to this side of Jethro Tull, but the result is an almost masterful album with superb arrangements, complex ideas and still some incredibly polished melodies and moods.Highly recommended.

Review Nº 20

Jethro Tull is a progressive folk rock group formed in 1967, and their music is characterized by the lyrics, the vocals and the flute of Ian Anderson, which has leaded the band, since their foundation.

'A Passion Play' is one more studio concept album by Jethro Tull, after their previous concept studio album 'Thick As A Brick' released in 1972. It's their sixth studio album and was released in 1973. Once more, the album has only one long track, split across the both sides, on the vinyl LP version, interrupted on the end of the side one, by the reading of a strange but funny tale, 'The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles'. The story is about a man's spiritual journey in the afterlife and is narrated by their bass player, Jeffrey Hammond- Hammond. Unfortunately, the album had to be interrupted in the middle, as with 'Thick As A Brick'. It was a shame, but as all we know, in those times of the vinyl music, the records were unable to store more information than 30 to 35 minutes, on each side of the disc.

The line up on the album is Ian Anderson (lead vocals, flute, acoustic guitar and saxophones), Martin Barre (electric guitar), John Evan (backing vocals, piano, organ and synthesizers), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (bass guitar) and Barriemore Barlow (drums and percussion).

'A Passion Play' like 'Thick As A Brick', is another very ambitious album. Lyrically, as it title suggests, it seems to be a truly passion played, depicting death, ascension to heaven and reincarnation. The lyrics are, as is to be expected of Anderson, impossible, excessive and theatrical, but, surprisingly, rarely come across as being too pretentious. Musically, we can listen on it soft acoustic guitars, playful pianos, jovial keyboards, frantic flutes and the usual passionate vocal work by Anderson. Here we have some of the Jethro Tull's greatest melodies ever made. Anderson and his band mates choose to make the tone a bit more gloomy and dark, while still maintaining their typical light heartedness, but behind this, the song writing remains largely unchanged.

'A Passion Play' received very hostile critics, attacking the album for its obscure lyrical references and excessive length. However, the album sold well enough to reach number one on the US charts, although, in UK, it reached only the number thirteen. After years of growing popularity for the band given by critics and fans, 'A Passion Play' eventually, marks a transition to Jethro Tull's musical career. It also divides opinions on Progarchives, as well as it also divided, at the time it was released, between the critics and the fans.

This is my second review of a Jethro Tull's album, after 'Thick As A Brick'. It was also my second contact with the band, in the 70's. My first contact was 'Thick As A Brick'. This is also the second time I review a controversial album on Progarchives. The first was 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' of Yes. And, once again, I'm with those who think 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' and 'A Passion Play' are two great musical works. The main critics of the album are that it has some obscure religious lyrics, is something dense and impenetrable, something boring and too lengthy to a Jethro Tull's album. Sincerely, I cannot disagree more. Although I agree that after Jethro Tull make an album like 'Thick As A Brick', their great masterpiece, it would be very hard their next studio album, might have the same quality level. However, I also agree with those who say, that 'A Passion Play' could have been a better album, if the band had only played music, like on 'Thick As A Brick', instead of introducing a story in the middle of it. It's true that it's a nice story, especially because it's narrated with a very funny English accent. Jeffrey's pompous accent is absolutely wonderful, emphasizing ever word on the story. However and in my humble opinion, it was not needed on the album.

Conclusion: 'A Passion Play' is a great album and one of the three or four best albums of the band. It's much darker than 'Thick As A Brick' is, and the sound of the saxophone played by Anderson is surprisingly enjoyable. As with their previous album, 'A Passion Play' is also, for me, one of the most progressive albums of them. However, I'm afraid that this album may be considered a shadow of 'Thick As A Brick', and for this reason be so misunderstood. I sincerely think that this is a great injustice to it. It doesn't deserve to be treated as a clone. With 'A Passion Play', Jethro Tull, very bravely, decided to devote their fans and critics with another concept album. While mainstream rock critics may have been scratching their heads over the group's motivation for recording a lyrically so oblique, but musically, they made a very dynamic album full of English humour that possibly only the band members could full appreciate. Being 'A Passion Play' a Jethro Tull album, certainly it deserves the properly attention of all fans of the progressive rock world. They should give to it, at least, one very good listening, because it's the minimum it deserves.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

I was surprised to find "A Passion Play" currently rating lower than "Thick As A Brick" and "Aqualung". I was in the (fortuitous?) situation of hearing PP first among JETHRO TULL's albums, in the year of its release. So I have tended to measure their other albums - and in fact all prog rock albums - against this one. For me, ever since, and despite Ian Anderson's embarrassment about it, this has simply stood out as a masterpiece of music.

It is less folky than TAB, less rocky than "Aqualung", with a richer and more varied sonic language than any of JT's other albums. I believe part of this is due to a fortuitous mix of band-members, with the humor of Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond and John Evan, and the bewildering inventiveness of Barriemore Barlow. In addition, I believe that Ian Anderson was more experimental, less inhibited and inhibiting, more concerned with making a parody of "art rock", all the while (perhaps unwittingly) guiding the work to an apotheosis of the same.

One thing which struck me was the oddly operatic, absurd-dramatic sense pervading the "scenes". I admire the way the lyrics don't quite describe anything directly, but still convey curious vignettes. This was true of TAB as well, but in PP I feel more a sense of the archetypal and mythical. But then tinged with the class-system gutter V courtyard style of many of Anderson's lyrics. I find many prog epics in the list are way too pedestrian in their texts, let alone subtexts, by comparison.

Of course there are stunning instrumental passages and interesting changes of flavor throughout the two-sided epic. And I really enjoy the Interlude story, a brilliantly scored musical cartoon. But, being a drummer myself, what struck me most among the good performances on this album was Barlow's contribution. His drum parts on this album are among the most "musical" applications of a drum kit I have ever come across (his work on the shorter tracks for "Minstrel In The Gallery" is also excellent).

After many years of listening to this record, I still find it enthralling. It may lose a half-star for a slight lack of momentum in the final scenes, but I found that lack was even more noticeable in its popular sibling "Thick As A Brick". In any case, this for me has everything I seek in prog rock - or "art rock" as it was once called.

"Ambitious Concept Albums 2: Electric Boogaloo"

After the smash mega-hit "Thick As A Brick", I suppose that, in an almost Hollywood-like fashion, Ian Anderson was just seeking to one up himself. And, in much the same way that many a blockbuster sequel bombs in comparison to the source material, "A Passion Play" has certainly not maintained nearly as much respect as its predecessor. However, unlike many a b-movie flopper, Jethro Tull's most notorious work isn't quite so crippled in awfulness, and does still have some redeeming features. As with "Thick As A Brick", though, it suffers from many of the same plights.

After "Thick As A Brick" firmly established Tull as a band capable of competing in the world of progressive rock, "A Passion Play" took this prowess a step further. The typical folk influences in Jethro Tull's music are toned down, and the album seems to be the nearest to symphonic prog as they ever got. The playing on here is even more complex and technical than on "Thick As A Brick", and the arrangements even more erratic. However, it seems that, being swept up in chart success, the band didn't think critically on how they could move forward and improve what they did the first time around. Indeed, the technicality is usual for nought. As I've always maintained, technique and virtuosity should only serve to augment already strong music; it should never serve as the be-all, end-all. And just like in "Thick As A Brick", if you look past the concept, the abrupt and erratic musical changes seem to be done more as a sleight of hand, to distract from the fact that the music has no emotional grounding.

Speaking of the concept, "A Passion Play" is a definite step down from "Thick As A Brick". While the latter was actually quite clever, I'm honestly not even sure what this one is supposed to be about. The lyrics are utter nonsense. Normally I don't have any problem with that. Take Yes for instance: Jon Anderson's lyrics may be cryptic and have no literal meaning, but it's very clear how his words and phrases augment the sentiments and mood of the song, and his angelic voice blends with and even carries the music. The same can be said for many other prog bands where the voice serves as just another instrument. This is problematic for Tull, though, because frankly, Ian Anderson just isn't a good singer. In addition to having no charisma in his voice, it sounds like he's straining (even suffering) to sing even the simplest of phrases. As a result, the vocal-driven sections of the album are plain unenjoyable, just as they were on "Thick As A Brick", and virtually all Tull material for that matter.

In all, it's easy to see why prog gets attacked as pretentious when albums like this are being put out. Unnecessarily over-the-top arrangements, with little more charm to go by than flipping through the dictionary to see the longest words they could find (e.g. surreptitiously) and assaulting the listener with unrelenting English-ness. If you're into prog just to appreciate technical performances, or to sit in the den, stroking your chin while admiring how smart you are, then this should be right up your alley. But if you actually enjoy mood, atmosphere, or genuine pathos, then look anywhere else but here. If you're a Jethro Tull fan and loved "Thick As a Brick", you might enjoy this one as the endearing sequel, but there are no guarantees. While the intricate performances on the album demand so much more, I find this one straddling the line between 2 and 3 stars for a rating. I'll be conservative and err towards the lower end of that. There are many Tull fans who consider this work near and dear to their hearts, but this certainly isn't something anyone should go out of their way to get into.

A controversial work in the TULL gallery?

Probably, but it shouldn't be. The controversy turns almost exclusively on how many times the album has been listened to before the audient decides, "WOW, Great!" or "Ugh, total rubbish...." Those who purchase it on the heels of falling in love with its considerably more celebrated predecessor, Thick As A Brick (TAAB) , may be disappointed upon hearing it the first time; this is an almost universal reaction, and yet there are many out there who have moved past that first listening because of some kernel of value they heard, despite their shocked first impressions. So it was with me - JETHRO TULL fan boy that I am - I must admit to having hated the record on first hearing. IAN ANDERSON's creative output is incredibly varied, and I was used to that, but A PASSION PLAY's histrionic vocal delivery, abstract lyrics, and near tunelessness (as I perceived it at the time) made me think I'd never learn to like it. And what were they thinking with that story interlude about the Hare and his Spectacles, anyway?

A PASSION PLAY (APP)'s instrumental parts definitely avoid giving a cohesive, or even pleasant, impression, at first. The music is as esoteric and hyperactive as the vocals are manic, and it never stays in one place for very long. Though it takes a page from TAAB's playbook in terms of setting up an album-long song in a stunning symphonic web of sound, using an array of different instruments many of us have probably never heard (never mind heard of !), it is really a work of astonishing complexity that puts it beyond TAAB, if not at the absolute pinnacle of Mr. ANDERSON's musical achievements. The flute is given a lesser role than in most other TULL albums - I guess Ian wanted to try his hand at sax a bit instead - and many more rules are broken than would be typical in the cycle of presenting a work of rock music to the listener. Is this really rock'n'roll? No, in fact: We have left that world almost totally behind, and we're coming pretty close to a jazz structure here, even if played with predominantly rock instruments -- in a similar vein to how TAAB appropriates the structural and stylistic attributes of traditional English folk .

APP offers many rewards for a dedicated listener, but those rewards only are yielded with time and attention, so ... there you are. In this day and age how many people entering the fold as newbie prog fans (or fans from other prog lands just giving Tull a try because they've heard it's good) are going to give the time and attention that such a work demands? I write this in 2017, and much of the new work out there that passes for 'progressive' seems to take more cues from the accessible works of Genesis, Yes, and Rush -- the more accessible and pop-oriented bands of the 70's prog scene -- than from anything ambitious like this. And I suspect that the disease of our age, namely the rampant ADHD fuelled by action movies and ultraviolent video games, is driving us away from our ability to appreciate a sublime piece of music that develops itself across a span of 50 minutes. All I can say is this: if one reads reviews that throw shade at A PASSION PLAY, one might be inclined to give up on it immediately, but a better idea would be to play it in the background while reading a good book (oh wait, do we still have those?). Having taken this advice, by time you get done with it I will guarantee you will find its appeal has matured a bit. Or maybe it will have become more selective ... or at least you will have earned the right to pawn the record off on a friend!

Inventive and Original. But takes Effort.

Carrying on with the same 'formula' as Thick as a Brick (ironic and intellectual humourous lyrics, over a longer single-piece prog-rock epic), 'A Passion Play' takes a few more liberties with the music, and adds in a few detours (like the story of the hare who lost his spectacles). This album was panned by many critics as going too far, and even today there are many detractors who point to it (and Thick as a Brick) as an example of the excesses of progressive rock. This is, of course, ironic given that both albums are partly meant as parodies of the excesses of progressive rock. But there a bit more truth to these claims in the case of A Passion Play, not only because the lyrics DO come across as more pretentious, but also because the music does not come as naturally but instead assumes the listener is willing to sit through sections that clearly were not written primarily to be musical but instead to fit the overall story. The result is that it takes a lot more effort to listen to this the whole way through, and it gets more tiring on multiple listens. It is, quite simply, not as musical as Thick as a Brick. Saying this, it is in the same vein, and is like Brick both intellectual and humourous, highly original and inventive. And many of the themes ARE musical. So, while not on the same plain as Brick, I have a lot or respect for this album. I place it in second spot. I give it 8.5 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 4 PA stars.

Six of one. A half dozen of the other.

The trouble I find with APP is not that it is a bad album but simply that's it's only half a good album. After the stunning success of Thick As A Brick, Anderson and co. decided to push the long suite album epic even further. But the first side of APP is a veritable dirge filled with verbose lyrics that narrowly fill every dragged out beat of the depressing narrative in a queasy sing song style with music supported by Anderson's sub par saxophone. A flute, a flute, my Kingdom for a flute! Why Anderson decided to focus on the sax and discard his superlative flute playing is beyond me. When the slow minor key and musically clumsy narrative verses cease, the band lunches into dramatic faux jams with loud drums and bass that never venture past punctuated staggered notes and rhythms. This would normally signify a change to some melodious music that, for whatever reason, never happens, as if Anderson is driving this musical car yelling "Left turn, right turn, left turn" while missing the road to the better more coherent music to follow. It's as if the catchy rhythms and melodies that lie just around the bend are always being bypssed. This is some of the most unappealing prog I've ever encountered but the lyrics that accompany it are no saving grace either.

Lines like "the ice cream lady wet her draws" and "and your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulder of a young horse named George", while unusual and cute, are a far cry from anything that would be considered poetry and offer no deeper meanings, metaphorical or otherwise, and are certainly not close to any type of deep theological thought or comment. No great loss really as prog was never known for great lyrics but any help that they could have given to the music would have been welcome.

The mock theatrical debacle that is The Story Of The Hare That Lost His Spectacles is so poor and appalling that least said about it, the better. An unfunny story with garish acting by sidemen Evan and Hammond-Hammond. In fact, it makes the myriad of ELP's "humorous songs" like Benny The Bouncer seem almost Shakespearian.

Luckily, good songwriting and musical sense return for the album's concluding 18 minutes. We are returned the APP narrative which now boasts deft melodies and more syncopated rhythms, particularly on the driving "Lucifer" section which boasts some very modern, for the time, sounding sythn accompaniment from Evan. This much needed bombast is too short but following suites offer beautiful near Flamenco type acoustic guitar from Anderson (or from Barre perhaps), as well as the return of his wonderful concert flute, which signals the feeling that one is back on safe and familiar Tull musical ground. Right after, Martin Barre interjects some of the most jarring and brash sounding guitar chords he's ever played (or that I've ever heard!) but the dramatic shift in the music is welcome and enjoyable until Old Ian ends this epic with slow acoustic strums and a plaintive last verse. The last 18 minutes of APP contains some of the best prog that Tull ever put on tape. But at what cost to the listener?

No one would be expected to consume a burnt entree in order to get to a fantastic dessert. The same standard holds true for music. The last half of APP is quite a musical dessert, but no one should suffer through the main course in order to get to it. 3 stars.

Progressive rock as an art form had only gotten its true recognition as a bona fide rock genre in 1969 but in a mere four years the unstoppable forces that pushed artists to up the game at breakneck speed found the style reaching its logical end game as early as 1973, a year which saw 60s rock bands that were based in blues and heavy psych releasing some of the most demanding and complex expressions of music in the overarching rock paradigm. Pink Floyd evolved into a major concept album powerhouse with "The Dark Side Of The Moon," Genesis had completely morphed into a fairly bland 60s pop band into the prog majesty exhibited on "Selling England By The Pound" and Yes had all but shed its heavy psych art rock clothing and created on of the most complex and sprawling albums in all of prog history with "Tales From Topographic Oceans."

While some of these have gone down in history as the ultimate classics, others simply took things way too far for the non-musicians in the audience to keep up with. Amongst the early popular prog players, JETHRO TULL hit the scene with extremely popular albums such as "Stand Up," "Benefit," "Aqualung" and the Billboard chart topper "Thick As A Brick" making JT one of the most popular bands much less prog bands in the entire rock history book. However, despite the band's popularity, even these guys took things further than their audience was comfortable with when they followed up "Thick As A Brick" with an even more ambitious and unrelenting prog behemoth in the form of A PASSION PLAY which emerged in July 1973 to mostly negative reviews and despite the album having been redeemed in the ensuing decades, still remains the great divide in the fanbase showcasing how a great number of prog fans are only willing to take things so far before it strays outside the comfort zone.

At this point in prog history, it was all about taking things to the next level exponentially as bands strived to outdo the competition which took prog to its logical conclusion peaking in 73 when several albums like A PASSION PLAY unapologetically took things as far as humanly possible. And in the process this all conspired to create a backlash that would ultimately result in the easier to digest punk and new wave scenes to come to fruition a few years down the road. A PASSION PLAY was a major departure from JETHRO TULL's signature progressive folk rock sounds that preceded. While the traditional flute driven jigs and earnest vocal expressions of lead singer Ian Anderson's lyrical content were still present, A PASSION PLAY delved much deeper into the world of hardcore progressive rock with a sprawling album that contained a series of shorter tracks fused into one epic behemoth. Coming across as some sort of Shakespearean play in musical form, A PASSION PLAY despite its pompous presentation was initially designed to be a sprawling triple album but was scrapped and truncated into a single album's playing time.

A PASSION PLAY pulls no punches as it takes all the prog attributes of the day and puts them on steroids. A veritable sampling of the sounds and styles that could be experienced on all past and present JT albums, this sixth installment in the JT universe tackled an overarching concept about the spiritual journey of a man named Ronnie Pilgrim who embarks on a totally new adventure after his death where in the afterlife attends his own funeral and traverses a series of destinations before contacting his angel guide in Act 1 and going through the process of being judged by a jury in order to determine exactly where Ronnie will ultimately end up. After a strange process of musical meanderings that correspond to the jury's ultimate conclusions, the lengthy prog workouts that often take the band completely out of the JT playbook results in a verdict that Ronnie Pilgrim was a decent bloke and is indeed allowed into the pearly gates of heaven above.

With the jubilant celebratory news at hand, "Act II" erupts into a silly rejoicing and festive mood which begins with the most recognizable aspect of the album, the make or break (for your sensibilities) part called "Interlude - The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles," a rather quirky and comedic interlude narrated by Jeffrey Hammond in an exaggerated Lancashire accent which is presented as an absurd fable that was inspired musical by Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." Once the silliness is presented, "Act II" delves into a never-ending display of progressive rock workouts punctuated by interludes of the more familiar Anderson sung prog folk styles of previous album only augmented with a tremendous focus heavy keyboard use. The album also demanded that the five musicians Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Jeffrey Hammond and Barriemore Barlow essentially became multi-instrumentalists as the added saxophone, synthesizers and various percussive instruments put them in the same camp as the more eclectic bands like Gentle Giant and Gnidrolog.

One of the biggest mistakes one can make is to compare this prog behemoth with "Thick As A Brick" which is derived from a completely different space. That album was essentially carved out of a few intricately designed melodies and then teased out into an infinite number of variations but still maintained a vital thread of continuity that made the album flow so beautifully from start to finish. A PASSION PLAY is a completely different beast and designed to exhibit more of the "Frankenstein effect," that meaning that the album is a concatenation of various disparate shorter songs and melodies that alternate with some recurring and some existing for a brief moment before fizzling out. While "Thick As A Brick" was more about a single idea exhibiting various moods that determined the changes, A PASSION PLAY was designed to be a huge magnanimous expression of the concept which narrates an unorthodox tale of the afterlife which by nature exists in an astral plane disconnected from the physical and therefore alienating, which by the way was the whole point of the experience, namely to take the listener to a musical place and time that had never been heard before.

Despite the negative reviews upon release, A PASSION PLAY still hit the #1 spot on the Billboard charts and has been a fan favorite for many including myself. This album is utterly unique in all of JT's vast and interesting canon as it is by far the pinnacle of the band's expression of progressive rock run amok, a feat they would quickly backtrack upon starting with the rather unremarkable followup "War Child" which took the back to basics approach. The album also marked the peak of JETHRO TULL's stage productions which found elaborate stage sets matching the ambitiousness of the music and lyrical content. Unfortunately A PASSION PLAY was too much prog for the comfort zone of the majority of proggers during the day and has gone relatively underappreicated ever since due to the extra attention this album needs to be understood. This is unlike anything else JT has released and unlike the other albums that are instantly accessible and easily understood, this one is rather dark and elusive in the beginning and is one of those hard to crack nuts that needs quite a few spins to fully comprehend. This was hardly my favorite for the longest time either but ultimately it clicked and now ranks high in my world of crazy complex prog. This one is a true 10 on my prog-o-meter scale and not recommended as the place to start for JT abecedarians. For me, a true masterpiece.

Review #63

"A passion play" continued with the formula of "Thick as a brick": a whole song that covers the entire album. With "Thick as a brick" JETHRO TULL demonstrated their geniality: they created what is probably the most amazing Progressive Rock album ever recorded, so it is easy to think that their next one-song-album would be as amazing as the previous one and even when this album is not as popular and does not have the same cult of followers, I truly believe that in some moments it is.

This album was not an obscene copy of "Thick as a brick" but rather a very original record both lyrically and musically; the atmosphere in this album is darker and more eclectic since the rhythm changes much more in this one. The A-side of the song is filled with much stronger riffs and strong bass and drum lines while the B-side is more relaxed and with more presence of the folk-rock that characterized the band in its earlier albums.

Ian ANDERSON made an excellent job playing the soprano saxophone, something that he didn't do in any album before this one, so that was a very interesting innovation to the sound of the band. Martin BARRE's guitar lines are delightful and John EVAN's piano doesn't stop at almost any moment.

This is probably JETHRO TULL's most controversial album since a lot of people find it boring, empty, non-original, and even grotesque in some moments (I got these adjectives reading to several reviews of the album) but to me, this is one of their greatest albums; probably not as memorable and legendary as "Aqualung" or "Thick as a brick" but definitely in the same level of quality of well-played music and original content.

A very underrated album, I'd say.

SONG RATING: Part one, 5 Part two, 4

AVERAGE: 4.5

PERCENTAGE: 90

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

For a long time I was in a camp of JT fans which doesn't appreciate The Passion Play that much. I just considered it ok, but below the usual Jethro level. Liking only bits but couldn't grasp it as a whole. Now I write to you as a complete convert. Now I get it. This album is amazing! Yes, it's a bloody masterpiece. The level of complexity and sudden changes is jaw-dropping and may be compared to Gentle Giant only, except they never produced twosides-long track (what a pitty!). The (in)famous "story of the hare..." interlude only adds to the already exceptionaly wide range of colours and moods on this most adveturous effort. It's origin is connected to the classic passion play format, where there were humoristic interludes to entertain and to ease the heavy main concept for the public. It's actually mindblowing and very brave to include it in the rock album. Very acoustic guitar oriented effort, which shines here at it's best. Keyboards are fabulous too. Not as much flute as usual but it made some room for rather unexpected saxophones put to good use by Anderson. His singing is excellent, I really dig melancholy in his voice here. It feels great to discover the masterpiece hidden in the album rather known quite well before :) I guess that's how it is with prog rock - the most adventurous of genres which sometimes needs some patience and an open mind but rewards you with your mind being blown away. Which is my wish to you all :)

In the late 1960s, Jethro Tull released their first album, 'This Was'. A folk rock album, not in the vain of Progressive Rock, however some of it's songs have a sort of experimental edge that differentiated them from the folk rock bands at the time. 3 years later, Jethro Tull released 'Aqualung'. A star stunning progressive rock record that both shaped the two worlds of folk and Prog. It was a shining hit with critics and both old and new fans of Jethro Tull. But with being called a Prog rock album, Jethro Tull thought that 'Aqualung' wasn't so much Prog, and more traditional folk rock they have done for so long. With this, they began too work on their next LP, a spoof album on the Progressive rock, poking light fun at the genre. With this they gave us 'Thick As A Brick' a giant suite of a song, split into two parts due to how records work. Like Aqualung, it shaped Prog and folk, and was a massive hit with critics and fans a like. Now full on Prog, the band got together to make their 6th next greatest band, and the 3rd and last album in what I like to call their 'Magnum Opus Trilogy'. A Passion Play, released in 1973.

Similar to Thick as a Brick, it is a 40 minute long song, split into two parts. One of the most noticeable things about this album is the more jazz like sounds on the album. This album strayed a bit away from the folk sounds of the past two records. Despite this change, the album still sounds as true as Jethro Tull could get to themselves. The first part of this suite feels like the fanfare before the play. A welcome speech if you will. This part contains glorious acoustics much like Thick as a Brick plus some cool new jazz instruments like trumpets and saxes. Ian's voice is still as good as ever, though I fear it may be a tad samey too the last albums, but if it ain't broke why fix it you know? The first glorious part ends which leads too part 2, which has the rather interesting story of how the rabbit lost his spectacles. While it begins as a normal kids story, it leads into a weird story about reality. The story reminds me of the rabbit and the tortoise in a way that it tells a narrative with a world wide lesson using animals. After this part, we got more of the same good Jethro Tull music. On the last few minutes, the albums comes back around in such a good way.

Overall this album is the perfect close off to this time of Jethro Tull. An amazing suite by the band with beautiful vocals, drumming, guitars, everything. It's as perfect as their previous albums and is a beautiful work of art. A shame that this is under the shadow of Aqualung and Thick as a Brick. I say this album needs far more recognition than ever, and I think it deserves as much love as those two albums as well, because this was a turning point. Whether this turning point was good or not is not for me too decide, but it definitely turned the band around and created a new world for Jethro Tull, and I think that is beautiful, a beautiful and passionate play.

This stunning follow-up to their groundbreaking Thick as a Brick remains a divisive album among fans, many hailing it as a masterpiece while others dismiss it as as a cumbersome and pretentious misstep. Once again, it contains a single album-length song split between the two sides of the album (although subsequent releases have divided the single track into numerous named subtracks). The 2 parts are also separated by the short comedic song The Story of the Hare Who Lost his Spectacles, which has also raised speculation on the value of its inclusion. As a whole composition, APP is also quite brilliant, with many virtuosic sections, but it does not quite reach the heights of Thick as a Brick. It is quite dense and complicated, more of an acquired taste that requires repeated listens to fully appreciate. It is clear that the band was trying to replicate or even surpass what they achieved with TAAB, and sometimes that is to its detriment, as APP is just not as melodic, engaging, or accessible, but is nonetheless a compelling and rewarding experience, and an incredible album. Rating: 4.5

After their d'Isaster-ous attempt to record an album in France, Jethro Tull returned to the UK for their next release. What resulted was another massive, 40+ minute epic: 1973's A Passion Play. Anderson insists this was yet another jab at progressive rock, but when does supposed mockery loop around into sincerity? When is your tongue so firmly in your cheek it bursts through?

I love A Passion Play. It has a somewhat darker overall tone than Thick as a Brick, and saxophone (played by Anderson) is a lead instrument on much of the album, alongside flute and Hammond organ. The darker atmosphere matches the story excellently, which details a journey through the afterlife. There are deft changes between somber and energetic moments, and Anderson's always-dramatic vocal delivery is especially well-suited here.

In the middle of this massive suite dealing with life, death, and reincarnation is a weird, silly interlude. "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" is a baffling piece reminiscent of "Peter and the Wolf" in the way orchestral instrumentation backs a narrator. On the tour supporting this album, there was a bizarre short film played, which depicted the events in the song. I wouldn't necessarily say this adds to the charm of the album, nor does it substantially detract from it, but it's always jarring when Jeffrey Hammond's narration begins.

Despite my personal love of the album, the music press on both sides of the Atlantic savaged A Passion Play upon release. (Nonetheless, it still hit #1 on the US charts.) Taken aback at just how brutal the backlash against A Passion Play was, Anderson and the rest of Jethro Tull reevaluated their songwriting process before commencing work on their next album.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/07/25/deep-dive-jethro-tull/

The road ahead for Jethro Tull, after the consecutive releases of their major works "Aqualung" and, above all, "Thick as a Brick", was more than challenging. In this scenario, the release of "A Passion Play", the band's sixth album, generated controversy due to the theatrical approach of the proposal and the subject matter, dealing with sensitive themes such as life after death, and the eternal dichotomy between good and evil. And the sensation that haunts the album is that it tries to go further in the level of complexity with respect to "Thick as a Brick", resulting in a conceptual work of similar structure, but more intricate and at times of choppy fluidity.

The reflections of the troubled Ronnie Pilgrim, the main character, now out of the animated world and in a flashback of his life confronted with himself and his post-mortem destiny between heaven and hell going through the ordeal of purgatory, serve as an excuse to appreciate how consolidated the band was at that point in their career, separating the story of "A Passion Play" into two parts.

Part 1 describes Pilgrim's funeral and the review of his earthly years, highlighting Anderson's acoustic guitars accompanied by John Evan's classical piano and synthesizers in passages like "The Silver Cord" (including Anderson's sax) or in the brief "Re-Assuring Tune"; and standing out in between the demanding bent flutes of "Memory Bank", the intensity of the changing "Best Friend" and "Critique Oblique", and the closing with the crystalline magic of "Forest Dance #1".

And the amusing fable of the hare who lost his glasses narrated by Jeffrey Hammond's vocals and orchestrated by David Palmer, bridges Part 2 to pick up Pilgrim's story where it left off at the end of Part 1. Tempted into his final judgement by the demon Magus Perdé, Pilgrim begs and is given a new lease of life, with the powerful instrumental backing of the very progressive "The Foot of Our Stairs" featuring Evan in the lead, the melancholic beauty of the brief "10:08 to Paddington" and the distorted guitar riffs of "Magus Perdé", in one of Martin Barre's sporadic appearances on the album, before the work concludes with the circular "Epilogue".

Although its pieces have hardly been part of the band's live repertoire, "A Passion Play" is an excellent album and a must-have reference in Jethro Tull's discography.

4/4,5 stars