Record Reviews

JETHRO TULL ~ THICK AS A BRICK (40TH ANNIVERSARY SET) CHRYSALIS 5099970461923 (Barcode: 5099970461923) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1971 Released: 2012 This is a reissue of the fifth album by the British Prog Masters Jethro TullFind albums by this artist and another chapter in the series of reissues of their seminal albums which are being remixed to new stereo and 5.1 surround sound versions by Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist, who is doing similar projects with classic Rock / Prog albums by other artists as well. It follows a similar treatment that Wilson applied to the reissues of all Jethro Tull albums starting with their third album "BenefitFind albums with this title". The reissue consists of a CD and a DVD. The CD contains the new stereo mix of the original album with no bonus tracks. The DVD contains the album in 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound formats, the new stereo mix in High-Resolution 96/24 PCM format and a flat transfer of the original stereo mix with one bonus track in High-Resolution 96/24 PCM format. If you are confused by all these technical terms, don´t be – it is all complete bullshit piece of hype! Basically you don´t even get a copy of the original album, which you can listen to on conventional hi-fi equipment and the only bonus track is a radio ad. The entire set is lavishly packaged in a digibook format, with great photos of the band, background material, the song lyrics and other goodies, which are all beyond reproach. Of course the album itself is a timeless masterpiece and in many respects is the epitome of the Progressive Rock genre, both musically and conceptually. Ian AndersonFind albums by this artist takes the concept album idiom to its furthermost boundaries, creating an album which contains just one piece of music, spread over the two sides of the LP, which was at the time only familiar on albums with Classical Music recordings. The boldest Rock and Prog creations before "Thick As A BrickFind albums with this title" proposed extended songs stretching to one side of an LP, but both sides was definitely a new summit. In Rock / Prog history Jethro Tull definitely remains as a group that managed to produce consistently excellent output, mainly of course due to the charismatic leadership of Ian Anderson and his abilities as a songwriter. The other members of the group on this album were guitarist Martin BarreFind albums by this artist, keyboardist John EvanFind albums by this artist, bassist Jeffrey Hammond-HammondFind albums by this artist and drummer Barriemore BarlowFind albums by this artist, a lineup that was about to produce a series of albums, which in retrospect are amongst the most cherished and astute albums in Prog history. This stable lineup lasted for four years, between 1972 and 1975, and produced four albums, starting with this album and ending with "Minstrel In The GalleryFind albums with this title". The string arrangements, which are very modest on this album but which were to become increasingly more significant on the forthcoming albums, were arranged by David PalmerFind albums by this artist, who was the band´s loyal collaborator for years. As usually this album was savagely criticized by music critics at the time of its release, using terms that are still affronting today. But the hordes of Jethro Tull fans loved the idea, the music and the unique novel packaging. In retrospect it defeats short-sighted critics and proves to be definitely one of their most coherent, elegant and aesthetically pleasing ventures. Side Note As for the Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist contributions, I´m perplexed time after time why anybody being of sound mind would allow him to butcher the original material and then hype the results as spectacular. These original mixes are untouchable and anybody trying to change them is more or less re-painting Van Gogh, re-sculpturing Michelangelo or re-writing the Bible, all truly barbaric acts of disrespect. Additionally I find his stereo mixes to be dry, artificial and deviant, badly damaging the original ambience of the recordings. Perhaps for people who are not familiar with the original sound this sounds fine, but for me it´s unbearable and sacrilegious. In addition I find the surround sound completely redundant, hoping for years that it will go away as did quad and other industry inventions meant to earn some more money from the suckers following the trends. The whole high resolution hype is so ridiculous; in reality most people are deaf anyway and can´t tell one note from another even if it bites them in the ass and use ridiculously lo-fi equipment. In short Emperor´s new clothes, as usual, and no shame whatsoever.

Updated: 25/05/2018Posted: 08/04/2016

CD+DVD 2 Digibook Box Set Oversampling DVD-A Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend