Ian Anderson to release sequel to TAAB, April 2012

Whatever the point of view of the soothsayers and detractors of the concept album and of Progressive Rock in particular, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull not only manages to come up with an album of pure quality that will no doubt be idolised by those whose attention span goes past the three minute single but also delivers quite possibly the finest sequel in its truest unifying sense.
Read more: http://liverpoolstudentmedia.com/2012/04/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-thick-as-a-brick-2-album-review/

L.S. Media Rating *****

 

2 things:

- To listen and then review the album as its own

- To compare the album with the original TAAB

In first case, it's a really good album
second case, :thumbsdn:

 

Again. An invalid comparison considering 40 years have elapsed since the original recording AND it's a completely different band aside from Ian.

Judge the album by it's own merits, instead of pretending that Ian is somehow still in his 20s and the world is the same as it was in 1972.

 

Yeah, that's the point I'm trying to make

There're basically 2 ways to view the album in general. I'm not saying I'm from one or another (though I go with the first one)

 

Understood & comments appreciated.

Oh what a pleasant surprise, Kismet in Suburbia. A highlight for sure.
Banker Bets, Banker Wins or this for the #1 prize? Time will tell...

 

picked up the cd/dvd at Best Buy today...almost done with the first run through. Listening to the DTS 5.1 surround.

I like it so far, much better than his last few records. It will take another listen or so to give it a rating.

 

G'day,

I'm streaming TAAB2 via MOG now ... I like it more on a second listen.

There's a few wee references to the original in the opening track, and Wootten Bassett Town seems quite similar in places to Farm On A Freeway to me. I do think that some of the narration gets a bit Hare Who Lost His Spectacles in places, though.

Overall, not bad on its own terms, and I might pick it up. I'm not into surround sound, but I'm interested in comparisons of the CD layer and the 24/48 stereo layer on the DVD (assuming I can rip that easily).

--Geoff

 

Just got it today...yeah, I kinda agree, but I expect it to be a grower. One thing that struck me immediately was the fidelity...simply sublime. But so far...all the narrations are the deal breaker for me.

JQ

 

I'm on the third listen and this album kicks @ss.

Has anyone besides me caught the Green Day 21st Century Breakdown vibe on track 6? I don't know of it was intentional but it sounds very similar, especially with the vocal distortion effects.

Overall, there's a few weak spots on the album but I don't think the narration is as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I think it slows the album down, yes, but the music more than makes up for the narrated parts.

I notice the drumming is really tight too, I like it a lot. Some of the album has an Ian Anderson solo vibe to it from the later years but overall it sounds like a Jethro Tull album to me.

 

After one listen I find it to be an ok album but far from great. Hopefully like a few others it will grow on me with time, maybe it was just the hype that let me down as Thick As A Brick was an amazing piece of work.

 

I remeber an interview with Ian where he made a joke about listening to Green Day to learn how to sing with an English accent.

 

Yeah, I think he was influenced by 21st Century Breakdown, it's too similar and the fact that he is at the very least familiar with Green Day would back that up.

 

I don't think that comparison to TAAB is invalidated by a span of 40 years, especially considering the album is named "Thick as a Brick 2." I agree with the assessment that this is a very good album (with some cringe-worthy cheesy moments), but fares poorly when compared to the original. I realize Ian has changed, and we have changed, and the world has changed, but I too thought "well... this is kind of a downer, compared to the original. Much less poppy."

 

I never thought TAAB was poppy. I really liked it and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think Ian had another album in him. Two thumbs up from me.

 

Well comparing this release 40 years after the original is setting the bar rather high. I mean, TAAB1 is only my favorite prog record of all time.

After my 2nd listen and taking this work on its own merits, I'm pleasantly surprised. I think the compositions are interesting, musical, and overall a strong prog rock release. I'm still digesting these lyrics. TAAB1 it is not, but the musicianship is pretty strong throughout and reminds me more of the Minstrel of the Gallery era band. Anderson and Barre are both in terrific form, and I love the addition of the accordion in the mix. If I had to criticize anything, I'd say Anderson's voice has gotten a samey quality throughout, where as in TAAB1 he's putting more emotion and feeling into his singing.

And yes, the CD recording sounds dynamic, smooth, not compressed - well done. Haven't listened to the DVD yet.

 

Actually, Barre doesn't play on this album. The electric guitar is Florian Opahle.

 

Wow, just reading the liner credits and finding out myself. Opahle sure does one hell of an impersonation of Barre, I'll say that.

 

In the absence of a 5.1 set-up, is there any compelling reason to get the 2-disc version instead of the single-disc?

Thanks!

 

I was floored by how much bass I was feeling (I have a subwoofer in my car) and how well the drums were produced. It's almost TOO natural.

 

Very nice!

 

Been a rabid Tull fan since 1971. I've heard most of TAAB2 on the web. I'm not buying it. There are some good/great aspects to the release. I just can't handle the vocals anymore. Plus, I think it's unfortunate that Ian felt a need to regurgitate past glories from 40 years ago. I hope it's not part of a trend (for Ian and others).

 

The bass is really punchy. I had the same reaction on my stereo.

 

Pure genius!

 

Sure, there's also some video content on the DVD but I haven't watched any of it yet.

 

DVD - Studio recording, interviews and more should/could help to enjoy the album. Helped me to appreciate Wootton Bassett Town.
also contains The Lyric Reading Video
Multilingual Lyric Translations PDF files
www.StCleve.com Web Pages PDF files
Super Quality 24-bit stereo
A real grower...that TAAB2