Minstrel in The Gallery - last really great Jethro Tull album ?

i'm of the early tull school. i liked aqualung when it came out but was burnt out from radio play. everything previous to that is my era. i saw them in the summer of 1970 and again in the spring of 1971. after that only a couple more times although we have tickets to see ian this fall.

 

I've found that Stormwatch is fungal. I didn't initially enjoy it and it still doesn't rank as high as the previous two in that trifecta but it has merit for sure and more than the first casual listenings would suggest.

 

I like everything they ever did - something must be wrong with me I suppose

 

I love them all, even Under Wraps.
Minstrel in The Gallery - last really great Jethro Tull album ? No, though Minstrel In The Gallery is above all for me.
At the very least please think of Songs From The Wood or Heavy Horses as great.

For the record, today I would like my Tull served in this order:
1. Minstrel In The Gallery
2. Thick As A Brick
3. A Passion Play
4. WarChild
5. The Broadsword & The Beast (with bonus tracks)
6. Stand Up
7. Catfish Rising
8. Benefit
9. Heavy Horses
10. Songs From The Wood
11. Stormwatch
12. Roots To Branches
13. Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die
14. A
15. Under Wraps
16. Rock Island
17. Crest Of A Knave
18. Dot Com
19. This Was (mono)
20. Aqualung

Ian Anderson solo:
1. Walk Into Light
2. SLOB
3. Rupi's Dance
4. Divinities

...then after a rest, Living In The Past & Nightcap.

 

What about the ones you missed? No serving?

Christmas Album?

 

no love for A Little Light Music then? and wow Passion Play as third? A most interesting placement for that, and I'm a fan of it, thanks for sharing your list order.

 

A Christmas album in August?

 

I avoided the the live albums today. A Little Light Music = wonderful performances that's for sure.

Some days A Passion Play is at the top of my list.

 

Why not? It has some nice music on it

Of course you didn't include any of the live recordings... which are great fun as well, not to mention the numerous DVDs.... Tull is a great source of music... that never ends.

 

Yes. Good music.

Check this thread where I listed the Christmas album - I can get in trouble with any Tull list.
http://jethrotull.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=who&action=display&thread=457

 

Maybe I should have asked "The end of the 'classic' Jethro Tull era", or "the last of the real heavyweights" whatever.. - you guys are free to say No. That is what the discussion is about..

Regarding which version of the Remastered CD I am talking about - the Chrysalis 2002 european version - sometimes also referred to as the Definitive Version - catalogue no...7243 5 41572 2 6
I am not sure if there are many different versions of that remaster, I bet there are many more well informed Tull heads around.
So maybe we could investigate this in this thread ?

I realized that the CD sounded much better than the old german (or dutch ?) pressing I got 34 years ago - and that the bonus trax really make that CD more rewarding than ever...

 

I found this AMG review on the 2002 remaster to be quite interesting http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jekzikmsbb19

 

Tull

the OP said,

"A Passion Play left me a bit colder already and I passed on Living In The Past."

+++++++++++++++++++

How can any Tull fan pass on Living in the Past? It has many, many great non-LP songs that I can't live without.

I like pretty much all JT up through Heavy Horses and Songs from the Wood. Unlike some of you I really enjoy Too Old To Rock...

While Mintrel is a great album Heavy Horses and Songs from the Wood are favorites. After those I started to fade away from JT.

Scott

 

Let me tackle this for good or bad.

Technically speaking Songs From The Wood is the last great Tull album from the classic period.

Minstrel In The Gallery on CD
I listen to the first Japan for UK the most. Sometimes I like to listen to the remaster which reveals more detail in the recording but Mew has pushed the bright a bit too much. Some on this forum have posted that they like the remaster.
*I've always found this recording to be on the bright side, vinyl too.

The bonus tracks on the Broadsword and the Beast remaster are some of the greatest tracks by Tull.

 

I have NO clue! LITP is probably a desert island album for me. I can do without the live side but the rest of it... The mixture of hit singles some album tracks and b-sides...oh man it's a tough one to beat.

Although Stormwatch is a bit weak comparatively, it is the last of the Tull classic period. Heavy Horses is the last GREAT from the classic period

But, you have already shown your superiority...you truly are tootull for me so you mayhap be right

 

Last great album being Songs From the Wood.
Stormwatch is good but not totally great.

Heavy Horses is the last GREAT from the classic period - that's my wife's fave song/album. That and Ian Anderson Divinities.

 

I know I'm in quite the minority on this, but I would almost rate Minstrel as Tull's FIRST truly great album. While I enjoy their earlier work quite a bit, I feel it to be somewhat overrated in comparison to later efforts (especially Minstrel, which I feel to be their crowning achievement--both "Requiem" and "One White Duck" are truly sublime for me!).

For me, their best albums after Minstrel are Heavy Horses, Stormwatch (I really don't get why this seems to be so underrated!), Crest of a Knave, and A Little Light Music. I like all of these better than TAAB and Aqualung, although the latter are very good nonetheless.

Still, in the spirit of the original post, Minstrel is a gorgeous, evocative, and all-around astounding album. I'm not quite so taken by the latest remaster, though--it sounds artificially bright to my ears. I'd like to track down copies of earlier CD masterings, which hopefully might be less muddy than the LP the original poster describes, but more "organic" sounding than the remaster.

 

nope. they have yet to release their last great album.

 

Sorry, while I appreciate Minstrel more than I used to, I think Songs From the Woods and Heavy Horses are definitely better albums, and I personally prefer Catfish Rising and even Crest of a Knave to Minstrel.

 

How I did that ?
I simply didn't buy it, settled on the 4 song 7" EP instead with dr. Bogenbroom, Up The Pool etc. (I had 5 DM a week allowance back then and was very picky where i did spend my 20 DM a month on) - 1 album per month wasn't much - in 1972 / 1973 there was always at least one great album per month out ( not to mention all the back catalogue - a never ending treasure isle) . So as a a rule of thumb = if there was stuff I already had in one form or another on the record it was a no no automatically.

 

That's the ticket.

 

My wife agrees.

 

Some of you refer to the remastered CD as being on the bright side.

Believe it or not, I have never heard this disc and am practically raised - AFA CDs go - on the old Japanese version!!

Now talk about brightness... Not that it is an unpleasant listen - this Japan CD for this title has many other qualities! But would you say that the remastered one is in that league (brightness) too?

In the meantime that I happen on a super NM UK original vinyl, I wish I could upgrade from the Japanese CD...

 

howz about some old footage. tanglewood 70.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar3NV5lp-74&feature=related