THICK AS A BRICK

Another one that goes without saying, but of course I have to say something. Basically what we have here is a very well-weaved piece that takes up both sides of a vinyl record. One can only assume that this hadn't been done yet (at the time). While such a bold move can be quite risky, Jethro Tull execute this piece with considerable ease, both in comosition and performance. It is unbelievably fluent, and very tight. While I can get really frustrated with King Crimson, as an example, among other important 70s prog bands, for sounding sloppy or too raw on some of their important records, it is not true of Jethro Tull, and they're the ones playing 40+ minute pieces! So, in short, as far as the musical material goes, it is filled with wonderful melodies, some catchy, some mildly funny, some serious, etc, awesome instrumental passages including some great flute work by Ian, and some very solid lyrics. I also think the packaging with great, what with the newspaper theme throughout the liner notes.

Thick as a Brick is one of the greatest records of all-time, and as far as Tull's releases go, its only rival is its successor, A Passion Play, though that one still is not quite as good. I own more Tull records than the two I have mentioned, but I will admit I never listen to any of the other ones. Every time I'm in the mood for Tull, I look at my collection: I see Aqualung, and I see Minstrel in the Gallery, but why would I pick one of those, when I also see those two masterpieces in between? That would be like eating Qdoba when I could go an extra block or two or three (I could go on...) down the road to eat Chipotle. Not everyone will know what I mean when I say that, but I like to promote the glory of Chipotle when I have the opportunity.