Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1993
Length: 120:39
Rating: 4/5
“Nightcap” is a double collection of loads of previously unreleased tracks and early versions of some eternal standards, put out at the express request of longtime Jethro Tull devotees. The first CD holds material recorded in mid-August 1972 at the legendary French studio Chateau D’Herouville. Most of these recordings later came out, re-recorded and thoroughly reworked, as the legendary concept album “A Passion Play” (1973), while a few turned up, almost unrecognizable, on the next studio album, “Warchild” (1974). Jethro Tull’s up-and-coming chief Ian Anderson cynically dubbed them the “d’isaster tapes”, since the sessions at that studio, which was rumored to be haunted, were plagued by mishaps, including trouble with the recording gear and some band members getting food poisoning from a bad fish. They were so unhappy with the results that, once back in England, they decided to record the whole thing from scratch.
Disc one features some well-known, mostly instrumental motifs that got their clearer, fully formed shape on “A Passion Play”, along with a few never-used ideas that, frankly, were better off never making it onto any proper release. Most of these pieces are half-baked, but they all radiate the stunning musical brilliance of the classic Tull lineup, the one that cut their two key prog rock masterpieces, “Thick As a Brick” (1972) and “A Passion Play”. While working on their second concept masterpiece, the prog folk rock veterans mostly toyed with elements of jazz rock fusion, folk and classical music, and gleefully built up plenty of acoustic-flavored melodies and grand baroque arrangements, as the two fascinating instrumentals “First Post” and “Animelee” prove with their baroque-madrigal structures.
The pieces where die-hard fans will instantly recognize some of the central motifs from “A Passion Play” are the cheeky instrumental “Tiger Toon” and both parts of the baroque dance ball “Law of the Bungle”, although the second part is a completely rearranged symphonic jigsaw built around the central motif of the unreleased “Look at the Animals”. A hefty chunk of condensed “A Passion Play” motifs also sits on the epic “Critique Oblique” which you could almost call a “passion play” in miniature. “Post Last” contains an instrumental take on the most dramatic section of the whole concept epic. Even the pastoral ballad “Scenario” includes the well-known lyrical reference to the “passion play”.
The unused ideas include the witty folk rocker “Look at the Animals”, the avant-garde cross between folk and hard rock “Left Right” with its compressed buzzing sounds and piercing guitar phrases, the unfinished “Audition” and the promising “No Reherseal”, which with a little polish could’ve fit onto any Tull album. “Solitaire” is also here as an acoustic instrumental, a track that found a place on “Warchild” in a seriously reworked version. Even though most of it is unfinished, it’s still fun to hear most of these tracks in their birth clothes.
The second disc holds more or less finished pieces that, for various reasons, didn’t land on the Tull studio albums released between 1974 and 1991. Some of them, such as “Paradise Steakhouse, “Sealion II”, “A Small Cigar” and “Broadford Bazaar”, thanks to their excellent structures and arrangements tempting enough for your average Tull fat cat, later came out as bonus tracks on the recent EMI reissues of Tull albums. The remaining compositions split into those that are better off never having made it onto any studio release thanks to their general mediocrity (say “Piece of Cake”, “Quartet”, “Crew Nights”, “The Curse” and “Rosa on the Factory Floor”) and, to a lesser extent, those that are a shame never to have gotten a proper chance (say “Silver River Turning”, “Man of Principle”, “Commons Brawl” and “Truck Stop Runner”) You have to accept that they’ll all be interesting only to the most devoted Tull maniacs, who are first and foremost the target audience for this double set of rarities.
“Nightcap” is a collection of some never-before-released goodies and early forms of later standards, but also three decades’ worth of accumulated studio ballast that’s interesting mostly from a historical standpoint, which means no longtime Tull fan can afford to miss this release. Every one of them will find plenty of fascinating “lost” moments from the various creative periods of these legendary prog rock troubadours, while even the “uninitiated” won’t be hurt by learning a bit more about the lesser-known aspects of their magnificent legacy. The album came out in a limited run, so it’s still relatively rare on store shelves today, and the proceeds from its sales went to various charitable causes.
Lineup
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, balalaika, mandolin, Hammond organ, acoustic guitar
Martin Barre – electric guitar, marimba
John Evans – piano
Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond – bass guitar, backing vocals
Barriemore Barlow – drums
David Palmer – keyboards, orchestra conductor
Dave Pegg – bass guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Gerry Conway – drums, percussion
Peter-John Vettese – piano, synthesizer
Doane Perry – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
John Bundrick – piano, Hammond B-3 organ
Scott Hunter – drums
Matthew Pegg – bass guitar
Production
Ian Anderson
Track List
CD1:
1. First Post
2. Animelee
3. Tiger Toon
4. Look At The Animals
5. Law Of The Bungle
6. Law Of The Bungle (2)
7. Left Right
8. Solitaire
9. Critique Oblique
10. Post Last
11. Scenario
12. Audition
13. No Rehearsal
14. Paradise Steakhouse
15. Sealion II
16. Piece Of Cake
17. Quartet
18. Silver River Turning
19. Crew Nights
20. Curse
21. Rosa On The Factory Floor
22. Small Cigar
23. Man Of Principle
24. Commons Brawl
25. No Step
26. Drive On The Young Side Of Life
27. I Don’t Want To Be Me
28. Broadford Bazaar
29. Lights Out
30. Truck Stop Runner
31. Hard Liner
CD2:
1. Paradise Steakhouse
2. Sealion II
3. Piece Of Cake
4. Quartet
5. Silver River Turning
6. Crew Nights
7. Curse
8. Rosa On The Factory Floor
9. Small Cigar
10. Man Of Principle
11. Commons Brawl
12. No Step
13. Drive On The Young Side Of Life
14. I Don’t Want To Be Me
15. Broadford Bazaar
16. Lights Out
17. Truck Stop Runner
18. Hard Liner
