Jethru Tull - Thick As A Brick 2 5.1 on April 2

Just got a notice from Burning Shed that on April 2012 Thick As A Brick will be released in a CD/DVD package. Amazon has it listed for April 3, 2021 for $28

Ian Anderson's ambitious follow-up to his seminal 1972 opus, Thick As A Brick.

Special edition with CD, audio-visual DVD and 16-page booklet.

The DVD contains 5.1 surround mixes, 24-bit stereo mix, videos covering the making of the album, interviews with the musicians and a lyric reading where Ian Anderson reads the lyrics in various settings.

Preorder now for 2nd of April 2012 release date

 

That's certainly news. When was the last time we got a NEW 5.1 mix of any major release?

 

Excellent news. Did Steve Wilson do it?

 

Great news. Add also the E.L.O. "The Electric Light Orchestra" Deluxe Edition to your wishlist. Including quad to 4.1 Mix + high resolution stereo mix.

 

Here is the earlier thread regarding the Thick As A Brick sequel.

 

Lest one think this refers to the original TAAB, it is not. TAAB2 is what is coming out April 2.

http://www.jethrotull.com/

 

Still just a new release of what was made 40 years ago. When we start getting NEW surround mixes normally, that will be exciting. I would totally buy Out Of The Blue in Blu-ray 5.1.

 

Is this the Wilson remix or the sequel? My Amazon page only shows the sequel due for release on that particular day.

 

According to the info on Amazon the 5.1 is 'mixed by Steve Wilson'. It doesn't say what format the 5.1 is in.

It's going to be a good year for music releases!

 

April 3, 2021? Great, same day as Neil Young's Archives Volume 2.

 

For clarification, Wilson has remixed the original and mixed the new TAAB 2.
He talks about it in this recent interview.

http://www.innerviews.org/inner/wilson.html

 

Wilson has a lot of interesting insights here, not just about JT but the whole reevaluation of prog that's happened over the last several years:

Q: Another recent surprise is the news that you've mixed Ian Anderson's Thick as a Brick 2, the sequel to the famous Jethro Tull album. Describe your interest in participating in that project.

A: It was a natural development after having mixed the original Thick as a Brick album into surround, as well as doing a new stereo mix. While we were working on that for EMI, Ian said to me "I've written Thick as a Brick 2." I said "That's interesting." He told me about this very interesting concept of what would have happened to Gerald Bostock, the eight-year-old kid that supposedly wrote the lyrics, originally. He said it looks at what path his life would have taken. It sounded like a really interesting concept. But I'll be perfectly honest, part of me also was very skeptical that he could pull it off. There's always a danger in doing a sequel and it doesn't just apply to music but to movies and books—it can never live up to the expectation if the original is an established classic, as Thick as a Brick is. I talked with Ian about it and said "If you're going to do it, you have to do it with the original musical palette. You have to go back and use acoustic guitar, flutes, harpsichords, glockenspiels, and all the things that made the original special. You have to keep it a very organic record and almost go back to the spirit of 1972." He seemed totally onboard with that and the record is good. I'm not going to say it's as good as the original, but it's a very strong piece of work and a credible attempt by one of the legends of '70s progressive music to recapture the zeitgeist and feeling of their greatest work.

We're living in a time when a lot of bands are looking around and seeing that the climate has changed so much over the last 20 years. Many feel the right thing to do is perhaps go back and revisit what made their reputation. Yes famously did a return to that last year. For 20-30 years, classic progressive music was incredibly unpopular and unfashionable. I was talking to Steve Hackett about this. He feels for the first time that people actually appreciate the work he did in the '70s. He feels it's only in the last three or four years that he's begun to feel people value that work as his greatest achievement. For 30 years, he was told it was ****, that he was a dinosaur, and that the music was worthless and no-one was ever going to want to listen to that hippie stuff again. I cannot underestimate how these guys were brainwashed. Robert Fripp and Ian Anderson feel the same. They were brainwashed by the media into thinking everything they did in the '70s was worthless junk. It's almost like abused child syndrome. It took a great amount of reassurance for them to begin to believe that people love that stuff and that it's the work that their reputation will ultimately rest on.

I experienced that with Robert when we worked on the remix of King Crimson's Lizard. He said "Why do you want to do this Steven? No-one likes the record. Everyone hates it, including me." I said "I'm going to change people's minds." I'm so proud to say that happened. One of the greatest moments of my life is when that album was reissued and received astonishing reviews. David Fricke in Rolling Stone said "Lizard is revealed to be the greatest King Crimson album of all." Mojo gave it five out of five stars. Robert was astonished. And I was vindicated because I really believed all those records that had been ignored and sidelined for years, mainly by the media, but also by fans, were really coming of age. In a sense, they were so far ahead of their time, and now is their time. They sound extraordinary. This is really key for me.

Going back to Thick as a Brick 2, now is the time for Ian to go back and do this project. He never would have considered this in a million years even five years ago, and that goes to show you how the mood and climate has changed towards this music. So, finally people like Ian, Robert and Steve feel "You know what? People do really love that work. They really appreciate it. That was my best work and my most creative period. I can still do that music and people still want to hear it." There's now an incredible sense of enthusiasm with regards to Thick as a Brick 2. People have told me they haven't seen Ian this enthusiastic about a new record for a very, very long time.

 

This has all gotten confusing. I am not familiar with the origins of TAAB 2. And this release is strictly TAAB 2?

 

Probably shoulda bolded this in the first post.

 

All together now...
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=7414569&postcount=49
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=267638
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=275572

 

The title of this thread is misleading.

Would a Gort would change it to something like:

Thick as a Brick 2 in 5.1 on April 2 . . . Thank you.

 

Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock? in 5.1 on April 2 UK . . . USA street date of Tuesday April 3
http://www.j-tull.com/discography/taab2/iancomments.html
http://www.stcleve.com/

 

When did the band change their name from Jethro to Jethru?

 

Is there any truth to the rumor that Gerald Bostock grew up to become Andy Partridge?

 

Never made the link. Now I see the resemblance!

 

Not sure why people are confused......Steve Wilson clearly states in the interview that he did his treatment on the original album as well as the new Ian Anderson sequel. Looks like we'll be getting the Aqualung followup everyone hoped for....this is going to be great.

 

That would have been a great way to achieve an overall sound in the sequel that is consistent with the original. By first processing the original it would be all fresh in Steven Wilson's mind when he got to work on the new tracks. I see in another interview that Ian Anderson has tried to retain similar instrumentation: Hammond organs, glockenspiels and such.

 

I will bet TAABII will be available as a single disc, TAAB only in some stupid box set.

 

Yeah, I'm really hoping that the forthcoming TAAB set isn't as exorbitant as the Aqualung box. I really just want to hear the 5.1 mix.

I was pretty dubious about the notion of a sequel here, but after reading Wilson's comments here, I'm rather curious to hear what they come up with. I'm keeping my expectations in check, but it sounds like they're really trying to evoke the mood and feel of the original. I was also pleased to read about how Ian Anderson and Robert Fripp have been able to re-evaluate some of these old works now that some of critical stigma surrounding prog has dissipated.