Aqualung (Jethro Tull album)
Occupation
- Ian Anderson - flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Clive Bunker - drums, percussion
- Martin Barre - electric guitar, descant recorder
- John Evan - piano, Hammond organ, Mellotron
- Jeffrey Hammond - Hammond - bass, alto recorder, vocals
Aqualung is the fourth album by the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull recorded and released in 1971. The album marked by continuous compositional class increased awareness of the band's enormous and represents the first musical- creative peak dar. As before, denote critics this album as a significant milestone in rock music.
Occupation
In addition to Ian Anderson and Martin Barre, Clive Bunker works with, for it was his last Tull album, and John Evan, who was the first permanent member of the band, as well as Jeffrey Hammond - Hammond, for whom it was the first album with Jethro Tull. For the orchestral arrangements David Palmer was responsible, who later became a member of Jethro Tull.
The lyrics and compositions are by Ian Anderson. The text of the title song was written by his then-wife Jennie Anderson.
Style
On the album different styles of music are combined. Rudolf Öller sees " sound myths from earlier eras [ ... ] installed in a framework of blues-rock and classical quotations ". The music styles range to folk and classical music to hard rock. Locomotive Breath, for example, begins with a jazz piano solo and ends with a catchy hard rock riff. The many instruments are perceived as " interesting, but not distracting ."
Content
The critics and fans often voiced suspicion, Aqualung was a concept album, was rejected by Ian Anderson. Unlike the two later concept albums Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play, where the songs blend into each other, they are separated on this album one another by pauses.
The lyrics criticize above all the lack of ability of established religions to establish contact an individual to God through the institutionalization of faith. In addition, social injustice and the problems of the British education system are also discussed. The title track is reported from the old, decaying man " Aqualung ", which after looking girl in the park and its winds down. During his last breaths of spring breaks out. The rocking piece includes a striking guitar solo by Martin Barre. Cross - Eyed Mary tells of the cross-eyed Mary, who gets involved with " porous, gray" men - she also sees " Aqualung ". The piece begins with a mellotron solo, but also rock and roll is characterized by distinctive riffs of electric guitar and flute. Cheap Day Return ( " day return " ) is one of three short acoustic pieces. Anderson muses on the placement of his father in the hospital and told that the nurse has asked for an autograph. The folky Mother Goose is dominated by acoustic instruments. The text is about a visit to an agricultural exhibition and describes bizarre events. The love song Wond'ring Aloud is one of the short acoustic songs on the album. The original version was longer and was released on later albums. The play Up to Me is a humorous piece, played mostly with acoustic instruments. The title is interpreted in the song in different ways, as "high to me " and " my thing ".
The longer piece My God is about the relationship between God and Jesus to the church, which is harshly criticized. The piece has a highly dynamic and contains a long flute solo. Hymn 43 is characterized by rock instrumentation with hard rock riffs. The text is addressed to God and Jesus. Jesus ' role as Savior is counteracted with the advice that he should allow himself to redeem his Church. Slipstream is another short piece with sparse instrumentation. In the poetic text, a person is described that gives all their money to a church representative, but it presents a bill. Locomotive Breath is considered the most popular piece of Jethro Tull. After a jazzy introduction by Evans piano playing it with a pounding rhythm, a distinctive guitar riff and rock -blown flute with a hard rock song. It's about a man who goes against unrestrained on a steam locomotive his downfall - emblematic of a loser. Last track is wind up, which takes the theme of "God and the Church." Anderson sings that he was urged as a student to follow the rules of the church. God but I told him that he (God) not every Sunday should be brought up as a clock. The play, which begins -song, song-like is back in the middle part to the Hard Rock piece and the end. The text is a scathing criticism of the Church.
Cover
The cover picture shows the watercolor of a bent standing long-haired, bearded man in a long coat in front of a shabby background. He has the traits of Ian Anderson. Brown, green and yellow colors predominate, the lettering of the album title and band name is white. On the inside there is another watercolor depicting the band in medieval costume in a gothic -style building. On the album back you can see the man face down on a sidewalk sitting; beside him is a dog. All watercolors were created by Burton Silverman.
In the song Strange Avenues published in 1989 on the album rock Iceland Anderson sings of an alcoholic on the road, " as the cover of a plate from 1971 " looks like.
Reception
The album received mostly good reviews, for example, by Bruce Eder, who rated the album four and a half stars out of five. A review on the website of Rolling Stone is Aqualung too serious and too much " misplaced emotion," though the reviewer likes the music itself. In a later edition of the album, however, was chosen to place the 337 " greatest albums of all time".
The most successful piece of Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, which is also present on numerous live and best-of albums, achieved great popularity. It is considered a " classic". Furthermore reached songs like My God Aqualung and worldwide popularity.
Martin Barre's guitar solo in Aqualung was elected by the journal Guitar Player on place 25 of the best guitar solos in history.
With around seven million records sold, Aqualung Jethro Tull is the most successful album. It reached number 4 in the UK charts and # 7 in the U.S. Billboard charts.
More versions
The entire album was released as a quadraphonic album. The songs were completely re-mixed by the possibility for four channels, some of them published with other titles lengths. The Track Wind Up in the Quadrofonieversion was for the 25th Anniversary Special Edition 1996 - through the publication of mixed down to two channels CD - re-released.
In 1998 the CD with bonus tracks was released for the first time. In 2005, the album Aqualung Live, on which all the tracks on the album and six other titles will be presented live appeared. 2011, a double CD with new mixes appeared at Chrysalis ( by Steven Wilson) and additional recordings from the time of first publication.
Title list
Original edition
Side A:
Side B: