Ian Anderson to release sequel to TAAB, April 2012

A blessing I would have thought...

 

I've just been skimming it, and I love it. Its great to hear a Hammond organ and dulcimers, and all sorts of old school instruments rocking out. The sound quality is great: I love the way the kick drum sounds coming out of my sub woofer. I have only listened to the DTS surround, haven't heard the ac3 surround yet.

You can tell Steve Wilson mixed it...like the King Crimson mixes, its like you are in the middle of the band playing in your room. Nothing gimmicky, not that I ever have a problem with gimmicky surround (I love Pink Floyd, after all!).

Ian has quite a bit to say on the financial scandals of the last decade.

I find it fantastic that within the past 12 months we have had a sequel to Thick As A Brick, a new Yes album, and a King Crimson Projekct. As I can't really get into neo-prog or prog metal all that much, I'd love more new material from the old guys. the new material is not as good as the old, but I am enjoying them more than I thought I would. If only ELP could write new material this impressive...

 

Best Buy in my area (Chicago suburbs) has both versions in stock. I picked
them up yesterday. As a major Tull fanatic from before they hit the US, I'm
not the one to give an objective review. My son and I listened to it twice
last night, we both love it. Sound quality is top notch as well.....

 

Full dynamic range - CD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR Peak RMS Filename
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR15 -0.01 dB -18.86 dB 01 From A Pebble Thrown.wav
DR15 -0.05 dB -17.70 dB 02 Pebbles Instrumental.wav
DR16 -9.49 dB -29.18 dB 03 Might-have-beens.wav
DR14 -7.12 dB -25.90 dB 04 Upper Sixth Loan Shark.wav
DR13 over -14.85 dB 05 Banker Bets, Banker Wins.wav
DR14 -0.01 dB -19.37 dB 06 Swing It Far.wav
DR14 -0.01 dB -17.50 dB 07 Adrift And Dumfounded.wav
DR15 -0.05 dB -16.37 dB 08 Old School Song.wav
DR15 -0.03 dB -18.15 dB 09 Wootton Bassett Town.wav
DR14 -0.03 dB -17.58 dB 10 Power And Spirit.wav
DR14 -4.86 dB -23.20 dB 11 Give Till It Hurts.wav
DR15 -6.00 dB -23.44 dB 12 Cosy Corner.wav
DR14 -0.01 dB -15.13 dB 13 Shunt And Shuffle.wav
DR16 -0.02 dB -18.37 dB 14 A Change Of Horses.wav
DR14 over -18.28 dB 15 Confessional.wav
DR13 over -16.00 dB 16 Kismet In Suburbia.wav
DR13 over -16.73 dB 17 What-ifs, Maybes, Might-have-beens.wav
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of files: 17
Official DR value: DR14

==============================================================================================

 

Hmm.... now for the DVD

Can anyone advise how to rip the PCM 24/96 from the DVD (so I can play on my MacBook Pro through Audirvana into external DACMagic)?

 

Gave this a couple of listens yesterday & am enjoying it. But I have to say the electric guitar parts really make me miss Martin. Obviously imitating his style, but so obviously not him.

As an Ian solo project, it's great. His acoustic guitar & songwriting are as good as anything in the past few decades IMHO.

 

I'm listening to the DTS version as I write this. Not terribly overwhelmed by this so far. It sounds like another late-era Tull album ...

 

It sounds like a late era Tull album because that is what it is, regardless of it being credited to "Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson". It sounds far more like Tull than any of Ian's solo albums. And I am convinced this was envisoned as a Tull album through most of the writing process.

My early impressions include the good with the bad:

The good: great musicianship, I was really surprised how much I liked the guitarist, and the rythym section is tight too. The concept takes some chances and trys some new things (some work, some not so well). The themes and melodies are pretty cool throughout (including those nipped from Tull's past). The vintage instruments work very well throughout. The stereo mix is really nice (love the bass presence) and the mastering seems fine to my ears.

The Bad: Too much dialog, both narration and "singing", and Ian's voice is thin and should be used as little as possible. When Ian's voice is changed for effect the results are pretty good though. A couple of short songs reminded me of the song "Hot Mango Flush" -which is not good.

I think the good outweighs the bad and can recommend it to Tull fans. It is very electric and nothing like Secret Language of Birds or Rupi's Dance. This is a Tull album and seems like a cross between Dot Com and, well, Thick as a Brick. I will try to listen to the DVD tonight and give my impressions on the multi channel mix later this week. Enjoy

 

Thanks for the review. Any "Mango" tune is bad news. Lyric jamming is my only complaint with TAAB 2. Less would be more. Keyboards in surround, yeah! Excellent 5.1.

 

A thread to watch;
DVD-DTS/Dolby
http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/for...rson-TAAB2-(Thick-As-A-Brick-2)-DVD-DTS-Dolby

 

Just got done ripping the 24/48 Stereo tracks which I then upsampled to 24/96 for loading onto my computer. Still haven't had a chance to play the surround mix, I was all ready to last night when a round of thunderstorms came through my area.

 

#1 Amazon Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/music/ref=sv_m_3?tag=vig07-20

 

Ian Anderson: A conversation with the Scottish Gent we attest as Jethro Tull
http://www.examiner.com/classic-roc...th-the-scottish-gent-we-attest-as-jethro-tull

 

I had no expectations whatsoever with this as the only Jethro Tull track I'd heard until Aqualung Blu-ray came out was Living In The Past.

Suffice to say I am more than pleased with it.

The DTS 5.1 mix is excellent, the sound quality is lovely, the music is pretty good too.

Another stellar surround sound mastering job by Peter Mew.

 

I've been listening to the DTS 5.1 mix and it really rocks. Another great job by Steve Wilson. The music is wonderful. It's like finding a lost Tull record from the 70's. I'm very impressed. I didn't think Ian had another great album in him after all these years. I was sure proven wrong.

 

What the hell is supposed to be wrong with "Hot Mango Flush"?

Ian may not be the best rapper in the world, but I find this is one of the most intricately written/arranged late Tull pieces... I like the lyrics too.

 

vive la différence

The song gos wrong at the title...and just keeps going wrong for me.

 

Something about Hot Mango Flush reminds me of Richard Thompson's Psycho Street. Can anyone confirm the similarity I hear.

 

It's been said that this album is a grower, I couldn't agree more.



Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson to host new Planet Rock show
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-04-04/jethro-tull's-ian-anderson-to-host-new-planet-rock-show
http://radiotoday.co.uk/2012/04/jethro-tull-leader-returns-to-planet-rock/

 

Picked up the CD today. Just finished listening, and already like it a lot. The first song that grabbed me was A Change Of Horses.

 

Ha! I seem to remember him completely poo pooing digital in the early days of compact discs. Grumble, spit, snarl kind of reaction to the new medium... wish I could find the quote...

 

Favourites From TAAB2 ? Winners ?

My favourites to date; Winners:

Tracks:
Beginning nod to TAAB1
5. "Banker Bets, Banker Wins" 4:28 best?
7. "Adrift and Dumfounded" 4:25
8. "Old School Song" 3:07
9. "Wootton Bassett Town" 3:44
10. "Power and Spirit" 1:59
11. "Give Till It Hurts" 1:12
14. "A Change of Horses" 8:04
16. "Kismet in Suburbia" 4:17 best?
Ending nod to TAAB1 & 2

 

I dunno ... THICK AS A BRICK it ain't. Not by a long shot.

Yes, the album is recorded well and the surround mixes are very well executed. But the material is weak and Ian Anderson's performance is so-so. Nothing grabs me, I'm sad to say.

I wanted to like this project.

Maybe it'll grow on me.

 

I agree. It's not really similar to TAAB except for a few passages. It's a concept for sure, but the lyrics are stretched around the music, and the music is nowhere near as catchy and upbeat as TAAB.

To be fair, IA himself has said it's not supposed to be like TAAB musically, it's a different project with the same character.

There have been a few moments I've liked, but so far it's going to be a grower.

 

I think it's a fantastic album, my favorite Tull-related recording since "Roots To Branches". I see no need to get into pointless nit-picking and invalid comparisons to a recording from 1972. Ian is older, WE are older, times change.

There are some truly great "sections/songs" on this album.

"Adrift & Dumbfounded", "Kismet in Suburbia", "A Change of Horses", "Upper Sixth Loan Shark/Banker Bets, Banker Wins". Killer tunes!