REPEAT - THE BEST OF JETHRO TULL - VOL. II

Alright Mr. I Hate Compilations, what do you think of this one? Well, I still find it to be an unessential album when compared to its competition. However, I've got to admit, Repeat, the second volume of white-covered "best ofs," impresses me more than M.U. ever could.

First off, a more interesting selection. That is, there are less singles and unreleased stuff, but there's more diversity. We kick off with a "Minstrel in the Gallery" edit. Arguably the best part of the best Tull song, but still, I'd rather hear the whole thing. "Cross Eyed Mary" gives another Aqualung standard, but it's cool.

"A New Day Yesterday" and "Bouree" give us a refreshing look at the bloozy/jazzy side of Tull. The representative from Thick this time is the "I've Come Down From the Upper Class" movement, I've no qualms with that. We follow with the orchestral "Warchild," and "Passion Play #9," the "Flee the Icy Lucifer" bit. That's okay, I guess.

"To Cry You a Song" is here, this compilation's "Fat Man." A shame it's been forgotten. "Too Old to Rock 'n Roll" is represented in its entirety, and "Glory Row" is our unreleased Passion Play/Warchild fodder. It's a somewhat folksy rocker with groovy guitar noises and decent sax and mandolin. I guess you could call it the best, if you're not in for "Minstrel" edits.

So, there's less bonus stuff, singles et al, but there's more variety. Think, every album that was represented on M.U. is here, but so are Too Old, Minstrel (the most recent albums) AND Benefit, which wasn't here at all before. Plus, some blues Tull style are here, and that was truly missed on the first.

Beyond that, I actually approve of the flow of the songs on this album, which go together much better than M.U. Obviously I'm not going to call it an essential (or better than "good") album, but it's definitely more accomplished than M.U. It's also easier to find (for whatever reason), not that you'd want it.

Huh. A compilation I can actually listen to. Hmm. Better not think about that...

'Repeat ' The Best Of Jethro Tull ' Vol. II' is a compilation of Jethro Tull and was released in 1977. It was, in reality, the second proper greatest hits album of Jethro Tull, the other was their second and previous compilation 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull', and like it, it spans songs from 1969 to 1975. This compilation only features one previously unreleased song 'Glory Row'. It became the perfect pair to its twin brother previous compilation 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull'.

Like 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull', 'Repeat ' The Best Of Jethro Tull ' Vol. II' is a compilation that deals with the several musicians from the several different line ups of the band, being virtually together only on this compilation album. So, the musicians on this compilation are Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, saxophone, acoustic guitar, mouth organ and mandolin), Martin Barre (electric guitar and acoustic guitar), John Evan (organ, piano, synthesizer mellotron and piano accordion), Glenn Cornick (bass), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (bass), John Glascock (bass), Clive Bunker (drums and percussion) and Barriemore Barlow (drums and percussion). The compilation has also the participation of two guest musicians, David Palmer on orchestration and conducting and Maddy Prior on backing vocals.

'Repeat ' The Best Of Jethro Tull ' Vol. II' has ten tracks. The first track 'Minstrel In The Gallery' is from 'Minstrel In The Gallery'. It's a very beautiful composition which combines acoustic and hard rock music in a very balanced way. This is one of the two stronger and most energetic songs on 'Minstrel In The Gallery'. The second track 'Cross-Eyed Mary' is from 'Aqualung'. It's one of the greatest songs on 'Aqualung'. This is a classic Jethro Tull's piece of music with a strong classic rock vein. The third track 'A New Day Yesterday' is from 'Stand Up'. It's a classic song of the band with a heavy blues influence. It isn't a song with a very complex arrangement, but it results so well that it became a great track. It has a fantastic instrumental performance, especially the Glen Cornick's aggressive bass line work. The fourth track 'Bour'e' is from 'Stand Up'. It's one of the most recognisable Jethro Tull's tracks and it's based on a piece of music of J. S. Bach. This is a very interesting instrumental piece with some jazz influence, with a great solo of flute and a fantastic bass line. This Jethro Tull's adaptation of the classical Bach's piece perhaps became one of the most popular adaptations of classical pieces for the masses. The fifth track 'Thick As A Brick' is from 'Thick As A Brick'. The version on this compilation is a very short edited version. It consists of the section with only three minutes of 'Thick As A Brick, Part One', which begins with 'I've come down from the upper class''. 'Thick As A Brick' is simply their greatest opus with more than 40 minutes. So, is absolutely ridiculous to reduce it to 3 minutes. The sixth track 'War Child' is from 'War Child'. It starts with some strange sounds of an aerial bombardment. This is a very interesting song with the use of some weird instrumentation, very classic and with some good piano and saxophone works. The seventh track 'A Passion Play' is from 'A Passion Play'. The version on this compilation is a very short edited version. It consists of a section of 'A Passion Play, Part Two' identified as the segment 'Flight From Lucifer'. As happened with 'Thick As A Brick', 'Living In The Past' which has also more than 40 minutes, was also cut to a bit more than 3 minutes. Once more this option remains incomprehensible and inexcusable. The eighth track 'To Cry You A Song' is from 'Benefit'. It's one the best known songs from this musical period and became a classic on Jethro Tull's live shows. It's an excellent rock song with a great guitar work. The ninth track 'Too Old To Rock'N'Roll: Too Young To Die!' is from 'Too Old To Rock'N'Roll: Too Young To Die!'. This is the best and most known song on that album. It's really a stunning and memorable song. It deserves special mention the wonderful David Palmer's arrangements, very soft and solid, which brings to the song certain elegance. The tenth track 'Glory Row' was never released on any of their studio albums. It was a left over from 'War Child' recording sessions. It was issued for the first time on this compilation. It was also issued as a bonus track on the remastered edition of 'War Child', in 2002. 'Glory Row' had been previously made available in the Spanish LP edition of 'Aqualung', which wasn't released up until 1975, in place of 'Locomotive Breath'. It was already available in the UK CD version of their compilation 'Living In The Past'.

Conclusion: What all I wrote when I reviewed 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull', is also valid for this compilation. So, 'Repeat ' The Best Of Jethro Tull ' Vol. II' is a compilation with a very good selection of tracks such as 'Minstrel In The Gallery', 'Cross-Eyed Mary', 'Bour'e', 'War Child', 'To Cry You A Song' and 'Too Old To Rock'N'Roll: Too Young To Die!'. But, the the rest of the tracks are also good. However, it suffers from the same problems of 'M.U. ' The Best Of Jethro Tull'. Once more, incomprehensible and unjustifiable, their record label decided to cut their two greatest masterpieces 'Thick As A Brick' and 'A Passion Play' and reduce them to two very short extracts. So, despite some excellent tracks on it, I'm going to give it the same 2 stars. There are other better compilations from the band than this.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)