Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1971
Rating: 5/5
What do the pedophilic tramp Aqualung, the underage prostitute Cross-eyed Mary, and the frigid, notorious village schoolteacher her pupils nicknamed Mother Goose have in common? They’re not characters out of Kersnik’s Village Sketches or Cankar’s The Serfs, but the main figures of one of the best albums in Jethro Tull’s history. “Aqualung” is a half-concept album. Officially it has no concept, and yet you can feel one the whole time you’re listening, in both the first and second half of the record. The charismatic flutist/vocalist and driving force of the band, Ian Anderson, had already started to establish himself on the previous album “Benefit” (1970) not just as a top-class musician but also as an outstanding socially critical storyteller. His razor-sharp black humor, which describes the everyday life of ossified British class society without any sugarcoating, lifted the band to a higher intellectual level in an instant. On “Aqualung” he treated himself, for the first time, to an openly brilliant, vivid cross-section of British society, from the lowest social stratum all the way up to the fat-cat clergy. In the first half of the album the band mostly uses the lyrics to describe the misery and apathy of those at the bottom of society, while the second half is a frontal attack on the delusions of organized religion, in this case mainly the Church of England. The album’s cover art stirred up plenty of controversy when it came out, too: is Ian Anderson Jethro Tull, is Aqualung Ian Anderson, or vice versa? With this album the band almost took on mythological proportions.
Musically, most of the tracks on the album still count among the best in the band’s history and are a regular part of their live sets. A major novelty in the band’s sound was surely brought by bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, who replaced original bassist Glenn Cornick after he left at the end of the previous tour. The album also gives keyboardist John Evans, who had already been an unofficial member on the previous record, his first real chance to shine. “Aqualung” is stylistically heavier than all the band’s albums before it, packed with classic Barre riffs and plenty of punchy transitions, with lots of variation in both style and tempo from track to track. By this album, almost all the blues influences that had clearly dominated their music until then had practically vanished. Hard rockers had no trouble embracing this album when it came out, since it’s loaded with hard-hitting guitar riffs, the hallmark of most hard rock. Of course, the listener once again gets big doses of Ian’s flute, which had long since become the band’s trademark and the main carrier of the Jethro Tull sound. The mood on the album is wildly varied, which matches the stylistic variety of the individual pieces.
“Aqualung”, one of the biggest classics in the band’s history, opens with a recognizable Barre hard rock riff. Right away the picture of the ragged tramp from the front and back cover of the album forms in the listener’s mind: he’s seeking shelter from the first snow while watching little girls at play with one eye, on the sly. Part of the lyrics for this masterpiece came from Ian’s wife at the time, Jenny. At its core “Aqualung” is a relatively accessible piece with recognizable hard rock guitar riffs, backed by drums, a unique vocal line, and acoustic guitar in the role of rhythm section. I’m especially struck by the originality of the idea of Ian’s “distant” vocal (pushed slightly into the background in the production) at the moment of the chorus, when the acoustic guitar rhythm joins in. The song is extremely dynamic overall and has all the hallmarks of progressive rock, with plenty of tempo and style changes throughout. Its classic status came naturally. At the same time, it’s ironic in its own way that one of the band’s best-known pieces is played without flute (which makes it one of their rare tracks that doesn’t feature the instrument). On “Cross-eyed Mary” Ian’s vocal is almost completely unrecognizable, because it sounds like a raspy, congested screech. The song is about an underage prostitute secretly watched by the tramp Aqualung, who thus reappears in the lyrics, which brings the album much closer to a concept. It’s another great piece and a classic, with an intense flute and piano intro followed by a hugely energetic section where Ian’s raspy screech and Barre’s punchy guitar riffs shine. The autobiographical “Cheap Day Return” is a shorter piece, a gorgeous folk ballad describing the apathy of everyday life, where every day is the same as the one before. It’s yet another stunning piece, and it slides in perfectly after the first two rather hard-hitting tracks. With its nostalgic folk atmosphere, carried by acoustic guitar, flute, and Ian’s clean vocal, it wins you over again and again. The excellent acoustic guitar fills and the central melody are particularly delightful. Next comes “Mother Goose”, another great piece, where you can easily picture the old, nasty schoolteacher tormenting her pupils. The track is distinguished by superb flute arrangements as well as acoustic guitar and flute transitions. Besides the outstanding melody, some of the folk elements are thrilling too. The piece also contains a brilliant acoustic guitar passage that blends flawlessly with the main vocal line. It’s one of the album’s many masterpieces. “Wond’ring Aloud” is another lovely, short ballad built on acoustic guitar and vocals. The vocal line, the good acoustic guitar passages, and some of the orchestral arrangements stand out here. “Up To Me” is also one of the best pieces on the album, even though it never became a classic. It’s an exceptionally interesting piece that opens and closes with the laughter of drunks in a smoky dive. At its core it’s almost pure folk rock with Celtic motifs, brilliant riffs, flute, and great choruses. Another excellent piece that reflects the music of Jethro Tull in the best possible way. Then comes the second half of the album, a kind of half-concept called “My God”, which is a critique of organized religion that tries in every way to push the individual away from God instead of bringing them closer. “My God” is, as mentioned, dedicated to the delusions of the Church of England, which worships a “plastic god”. The piece has a mighty melody and brilliant acoustic guitar passages in the intro. After the intro, with Ian’s thoroughly mocking vocal, it shifts into an energetic rhythm with plenty of drum hits and guitar riffs. The combination of Ian’s flute and Martin’s electric guitar is truly thrilling, especially Ian’s flute solo in the middle of the track. “Hymn 43” is another excellent hard rocker with mighty riffs and a great mix of Evans’ piano and Ian’s flute. “Slipstream” is another short, pleasant acoustic ballad. “Locomotive Breath” is a legendary classic and the best-known piece on the album (maybe even of their entire career), where after a quiet piano intro the rhythm backing and electric guitar create the feeling of a locomotive picking up speed. Barre’s hard rock riffs truly generate incredible dynamics. The closing piece “Wind Up” is another energetic track with strong hard rock touches, where the band shows off its outstanding blend of folk and hard rock, and a fine finish to this masterful album.
The 1998 reissue of the album comes with plenty of bonus goodies that will satisfy all true fans of their music. First there’s the brilliant and wickedly funny “Lick Your Fingers Clean”, which hits at full steam with hard rock riffs, tasty flute solos, and special sound effects. It’s a great piece that doesn’t lag behind most of the other tracks on the album in any way. Next is an alternate version of “Wind Up”, which is every bit as good as the original. Then there’s an interesting interview with Ian Anderson, in which he comments on the background of the album’s creation and shares quite a few interesting tidbits. Finally, there are three tracks from their early days, recorded live for the BBC radio station: “Song For Jeffrey” (This Was, 1968), “Fat Man” and “Bouree” (both Stand Up, 1969).
“Aqualung” is a key album in the band’s history and one of the greatest works in the story of rock music, one that finally wrote Jethro Tull into the ranks of rock’s immortal giants. At the same time it moved the band up to a higher level of creativity, which later contributed to the realization of some of their works that sit at the very top of progressive rock. After this album, Jethro Tull set off into the exciting, unpredictable world of progressive rock. The album will easily win over and unite fans of progressive rock as well as classic rock and hard rock. “Aqualung” is also one of the first progressive rock albums to go “gold” on the charts, and it earned numerous awards from both their fans and music critics. This is a timeless masterpiece that every lover of quality rock music should own. There’s really no excuse not to.
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
Production
Ian Anderson and Terry Ellis
Track list
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)
Album length: 42:57
Bonus tracks on the 1998 reissue:
12. Lick Your Fingers Clean (2:46)
13. Wind Up (Quad Version) (5:24)
14. Excerpts From The Ian Anderson Interview” [Mojo Magazine] (13:59)
15. Song For Jeffrey (BBC) (2:51)
16. Fat Man (BBC) (2:57)
17. Bourée (BBC) (3:58)
