Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: EMI Records
Released: 2011
Running time: 42:57
Rating: 5/5
It’s exactly forty years this year since the release of one of the greatest studio masterpieces in the history of progressive rock, the one that catapulted Jethro Tull among the immortals of music. We’re talking about “Aqualung”, of course. It may not be the best album of their career, but it’s certainly the most important, and when it came out it was little short of a revolution in modern music. Plenty of in-depth analyses have been written about it over four decades, and one of them, a review of the original 1971 album, is right here on our pages, but this crown jewel of the golden age of progressive and classic rock, with its musical and lyrical message, still stirs things up.
Contrary to popular belief, “Aqualung” was never a concept album, even though the lyrics are tied together by bitter satire of the class divisions in modern British society and the missteps of organized religion, led by the Church of England. The title ‘hero’ is, first and foremost, an allusion to the pang of guilt that grips the heart of anyone with even a shred of awareness and feeling for their fellow man when they spot a beggar/tramp in the street, with some fat cat, plump as a capon, pressing the butt of a smoldering cigar into his outstretched hand and bursting into booming laughter as he knocks over the half-empty bottles of booze the poor wretch uses to soothe his physical, mental and spiritual wounds.
Other lyrics on the album, meanwhile, go after the hypocrisy of organized religion, where spirituality is a mere side issue while the faithful are fleeced and fattened ever further. Sadly, the pictures painted in the lyrics of several Tull evergreens, like the title classic (social stratification and indifference), “Cross-Eyed mary” (teenage prostitution), “Cheap Day Return” (the endlessly repeating, empty everyday grind), “Mother Goose” (the ossified education system), “Up To Me” (the unfulfilling leisure pursuits of the working class) and “My God” (the commercialization of religion), are still damn relevant today thanks to resurgent capitalism, maybe even more so than when the album first came out.
The lineup that recorded “Aqualung” was among the most beloved in the band’s history, as most longtime fans will confirm. Led by the charismatic singer/flutist/multi-instrumentalist/lyricist Ian Anderson, who by then had long been the alpha and omega of the band, by far its most recognizable member and practically a brand of his own, that Tull lineup contained some exceptional musical talents and equally charismatic characters, who would later meet quite different fates. With his original riffs, Martin ‘Lancelot’ Barre firmly established himself right here as the ‘eternal’ Tull guitarist, and apart from Ian he’s still the only member of this version of the band today.
“Aqualung” was the last album for original drummer Clive Bunker, who delivered the best drumming performance of his career on it. Meanwhile bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, who made his debut for the band’s fans here, and all-round keyboardist John Evans, Ian’s longtime friends from the days of The John Evan Band, played the eternal jokers and kept the humor going. With their scruffy look, a cross between country bumpkins, farmhands and Irish leprechauns, Jethro Tull had been ‘famous’ as a ‘notorious’ band among the self-appointed guardians of public morals and order since the very start.
The musical character of most of the album reflected the ‘hard rock’ phase of the progressive rock legends at the time, with a strong emphasis on Barre’s punchy guitar riffs. In this period Jethro Tull were still experimenting heavily with different musical influences and gradually developed their recognizable style, which took clear shape right on “Aqualung”. It was precisely then that they finally shook off all the blues rock influences that dominated the early part of their career and developed their own fusion of hard rock, symphonic, folk and jazz elements, while turning up the gloomy ambience they’d planted on the previous album, “Benefit” (1970). Besides the classics already mentioned, “Locomotive Breath” (a metaphor for the constant rush and the speed of everyday life) deserves a special mention. It’s not only the best-known song on the album but also the best-known classic in the band’s history, and it can’t be missing from any live show.
One of the most interesting anecdotes about the making of “Aqualung” is the one about its iconic cover. Ian still isn’t too fond of it, because after posing in the studio in a worn-out coat, he never expected the final image of a frozen tramp standing in front of a tattered poster for a holiday ski trip to turn out to be a self-portrait. The same goes for the second image, caught on the back cover, where the same tramp sits in the company of a dog and again looks uncannily like the chief of the cult progressive rock band. An equals sign was thus drawn between the album’s central ‘hero’ and Ian, which only added to the folkloric mythology that had followed the band practically from the beginning. In later years, Burton Silverman, who painted both oil paintings, even demanded (unsuccessfully) his slice of the pie for the use of the “Aqualung” cover imagery. Another anecdote concerns the album’s title, since there were quite a few copyright problems because an American underwater apparatus, a piece of diving gear, had the same name.
The key novelty of the “Aqualung” special edition is a thoroughly improved sound remix. Longtime fans know well that Ian was never satisfied with the production of this album. The awkward conditions of being a pioneering project in an obscure recording studio owned by Island Records, a former church, left a heavy mark on the production, handled by Ian and the band’s manager at the time, Terry Ellis. To everyone’s great delight, the sound remix for this double special edition was done by none other than Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man), in recent years a great patron of progressive rock and a keeper of the legacy of its most important giants. In the remix, Wilson kept the production qualities that marked the original version while improving the overall quality, above all the tonal clarity, so that every single instrument can now be clearly heard for the first time. Ian couldn’t stop praising Steven’s remix. By his own account, he’d love to hire him as a full-time sound engineer, but alas, besides his work for Porcupine Tree, Steven is up to his neck as a musician and producer in other side projects.
The bonus disc contains quite a few goodies from the period between 1970 and 1971, which will delight longtime fans and collectors the most, even though they’ve already heard and collected most of them on various earlier releases. That goes for “Life Is a Long Song” and “Up the ‘Pool”, which became Tull classics over the years, as well as “Dr. Bogenbroom”, “From Later” and “Nursie”. All of these tracks, recorded on May 17, 1971, already appeared on the cult compilation “Living in the Past” (1972), only this time with noticeably improved production. “Lick Your Fingers Clean” was already released as a bonus track on the 1998 CD version of “Aqualung”.
Considerably bigger rarities are “Just Trying To Be” (previously released as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of “Benefit”), the first version of “My God” and “Wond’ring Aloud”, which were recorded on June 21, 1970 by the lineup that still featured original bassist Glenn Cornick. No less interesting are the early version of “Wind-Up”, the second version of “Slipstream”, the early version of “Up the Pool” and “Wond’ring Aloud, Again”. Most of these appear on an official CD release for the first time. Last up is an American radio spot, under a minute long, with Ian in the starring role. It’s a fun extra, especially for all the nostalgics who remember the days when new albums weren’t promoted over the internet, and for the slightly younger fans who hadn’t yet arrived on this earth.
The definitive “Aqualung” reissue is a reward for every longtime fan who patiently waited for the sound quality the album should have had when it first came out in 1971. Another nice extra with the double reissue is the hefty booklet, packed with interesting information, including an interview with Ian, who was actively involved in putting together this version of the legendary album. The fact that he thanked Martin Barre and all the former Jethro Tull members who played on the album and toured behind it is an exceptionally positive gesture, proof that despite the years gone by and some disagreements in the past, they’ve still kept their friendly ties.
Lineup
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Martin Barre – electric guitar, descant recorder
Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond – bass guitar, alto recorder, backing vocals
Clive Bunker – drums, percussion
John Evans – piano, organ, mellotron
Glenn Cornick – bass guitar (CD #2 only)
Production
Ian Anderson & Terry Ellis
Tracklist
CD 1.
1. Aqualung (6:31)
2. Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09)
3. Cheap Day Return (1:23)
4. Mother Goose (3:52)
5. Wond’ring Aloud (1:56)
6. Up To Me (3:18)
7. My God (7:10)
8. Hymn 43 (3:18)
9. Slipstream (1:13)
10. Locomotive Breath (4:25)
11. Wind-Up (5:42)
CD 2.:
1. Lick Your Fingers Clean* (2:49)
2. Just Trying To Be* (1:37)
3. My God**(9:42)
4. Wond’ring Aloud (13th December 1970) (1:51)
5. Wind-Up (Early Version – New Mix)(5:21)
6. Slipstream (Take 2) (0:54)
7. Up The ‘Pool** (1:12)
8. Wond’ring Aloud, Again (Full Morgan Version) (7:07)
9. Life Is A Long Song* (3:19)
10. Up The ‘Pool* (3:12)
11. Dr Bogenbroom***(3:00)
12. From Later***(2:08)
13. Nursie***(1:37)
14. US Radio Spot (0:52)
* new mix
** early version
*** remaster 2011
