TULL IT LIKE IT IS
Back in the early 70s I went to a Jethro Tull concert in Kilburn, North London. I’d picked up the first three Tull albums and the singles and liked them a lot so was keen to see them live. I clearly
recall looking down on the stage as Ian Anderson emerged into a pool of light with an acoustic guitar. I’d only been able to attend a handful of rock gigs by then and was used to a straightforward band on stage with lots of instruments. Wot, no flute? Where’s the rest of the band? He kicked off into the intro to My God, which I hadn’t yet heard. A reasonable tune, but a bit bland – a new direction? As he got into the second verse I was feeling let down, but then suddenly, at a beautifully unpredictable point in the song, the lights came up and the band, who had crept on stage unnoticed by me up in the circle, smashed in on perfect cue. Wonderful! It turned into an epic performance and I got the album as soon as I could (although I was disappointed My God wasn’t as dynamic on vinyl).
Then, for some reason, I missed out on the release of Thick As A Brick, so when
A Passion Play came out I assumed that was the follow-up to Aqualung and I loved it even more. I regarded this as the time that rock music ‘grew up’ – it was so much more sophisticated, with themes and motifs revisited during a continuous piece that was full of energy and great tunes. So when it was panned universally I was shocked and disgusted. In a way, I see it as a precursor to the punk explosion a few years later. It was as though people were saying ‘intelligence has no place in rock music’. I lost all faith in the music press and I was sympathetic to the suggestion that the band would split in reaction. However, when I then heard Thick As A Brick I assumed it had been produced as a reaction. I thought it was a weak-kneed effort and I couldn’t understand why it seemed to be liked: it had a similar structure but seemed unformed and with fewer strong themes – and I didn’t get the idea of building an album about a small boy’s poem. The newspaper idea was over-elaborate and not particularly funny. I still don’t much like it, although I can see how ideas were shaping up that would lead to the next album!
Anyway, of course, this is all about personal taste. I’ve been enjoying reading all about Tull’s exploits in the Prog 100 supplement and Ian Anderson is definitely one of rock’s greatest ambassadors. But A Passion Play gets barely passing reference, even in such an extensive work, which goes into all the other albums, even ones rated as ‘poor’. I can understand that there might not have been many articles written at the time, but has it really not been re-evaluated since then? Doesn’t it deserve better than this?