SUNDAY BEST

"Sunday Best" is a compilation of Jethro Tull and was released in 1971. This is a compilation album that comprises tracks from the beginning of the career of Jethro Tull, which means that it comprises only tracks from 1968 to 1971 that belong to their first four studio album, "This Was" from 1968, "Stand Up" from 1969, "Benefit" from 1970 and "Aqualung" from 1971. So, we are in presence of a compilation with tracks from the beginning of Jethro Tull's career.

About the line up, "Sunday Best" deals with the various musicians that belong to the several different line ups of the band, being virtually together only on these kind of compilation albums. So, the musicians on this compilation are Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, harmonica, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and saxophone), Mick Abrahams (lead and backing vocals, guitar and 9 string guitar), Martin Barre (electric guitar), John Evan (Hammond organ, piano, organ, synthesizer. mellotron and keyboards), Glenn Cornick (bass), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (backing vocals and bass), Clive Bunker (drums and percussion) and Barriemore Barlow (drums, percussion and glockenspiel).

"Sunday Best" has nine tracks. The first track "My Sunday Feeling" is from "This Was". It's a fine opener for "This Was", aggressive in the appropriate dosing, just like waking the hearer for the rest of the tracks on that album. This is a song with some influences of blues and a clear influence of jazz. It's a song with good and energetic drumming very well followed by the flute and also by the voice of Ian Anderson used in a very unique style. The second track "It's Breaking Me Up" is from "This Was". It's a traditional and classical blues number with a fantastic riff. It has good harmonica performance and is a real cool song. It has a relaxed atmosphere, quite potent harmonica-guitar duels and groovy drums, all with its charm. But, when we hear the song we remain with the feeling that we had already heard this kind of tune many other times before. The third track "Serenade To A Cuckoo" is from "This Was". It's an instrumental track and is the lengthiest track on "This Was". It represents one of the best moments on that album. This is really a wonderful instrumental song that is more jazz music than blues. It has a great and perfect instrumental performance all over the song, especially performed by the flute and the guitar. The fourth track "Nothing Is Easy" is from "Stand Up". It's another classic Jethro Tull's song. This is a fantastic track with several musical sections and with incredible musical performance. It has fine drumming and the interaction between the flute and the guitar is perfect. The balance between the power and elegance is great. This is a great, fast-pace song. The fifth track "Hymn 43" is from "Aqualung". It's a very powerful rock song with rhythmic piano bass and drum and a fabulous guitar play. This is a typical good rock song with powerful riffs and with good combination of piano and flute too. This stunning electric played track which was also released as a single. Unfortunately, was rarely performed live. The sixth track "A New Day Yesterday" is from "Stand Up". This is a classic song of Jethro Tull with some heavy blues influences. It isn't a song with a very complex arrangement, but it results so well that it became a great track, really. It has a fantastic instrumental performance, especially the Glen Cornick's aggressive bass line work. The seventh track "Cross-Eyed Mary" is from "Aqualung". It's a good hard rock short song with some memorable riffs. This is a classic Jethro Tull's piece in a strong rock vein with soaring flute and piano during opening followed with energetic music. 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 eighth track "Back To The Family" is from "Stand Up". It's a strange song with diverse instrumentation and with rock and folk chords, and several elements at the same time. It seems to be a bit boring on its beginning but it turns progressively in a fast song and remains as one of best musical moments on that album. The ninth track "Aqualung" is from "Aqualung". It's one of the most complex songs to be found here. This is one of the best Jethro Tull's songs. It's a very well known song, very heavy and dark with many acoustic elements. It's a great track that is almost played out as a mini suite with several different parts. It's a timeless composition where changes in time and signature are great. Everything functions perfectly here.

Conclusion: As happened with the previous compilation of Jethro Tull, "Jethro Tull", "Sunday Best" covers the beginning of the career of the group. However, while "Jethro Tull" covers only the first three debut studio albums, "Sunday Best" covers also songs from "Aqualung", the first masterpiece of the band and one of the best, most important and influential prog rock albums ever. Indeed, besides several tracks from their first three studio albums, "Sunday Best" includes three tracks from "Aqualung", "Hymn 43", "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Aqualung". It deserves a spetial mention the track "Aqualung", because it represents the first masterpiece composed by the band and still remains, even today, as one of the best and most important prog tracks ever made. So, we can say that "Sunday Best" is a nice compilation album very representative of those days. However, it can never substitutes the original albums.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)