Original Masters
- Living in the Past
- Aqualung
- Too Old to Rock N Roll: Too Young to Die
- Locomotive Breath
- Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day
- Bungle in the Jungle
- Sweet Dream
- Songs from the Wood
- Witch s Promise
- Thick as a Brick
- Minstrel in the Gallery
- Life Is a Long Song
A taste of the best of Jethro Tull, circa 1969-1976 - Jethro Tull is one of those groups for whom I resist the notion of a greatest hits collection, probably because they had two albums (Thick as a Brick and Passion Play) which were created as unfieid works. Even on Aqualung there is more thematic unit than you usually find on Rock albums, even when you are dealing with Progressive Rock, so Original Masters strikes me as strange as listening to one movement from a Mozart symphony. This collection covers some of Jethro Tull s best work from 1969-1975, and I would certainly agree with everybody else who has commented that the lineup could certainly be better given what is available. I would have gone for Bouree, Wondering Aloud and the Marcus Purdy sequence from Passion Play instead of Sweet Dream, Witches Promise and Life s A Long Song. Ask me again tomorrow and I will probably have a different answer. So if you are already an Ian Anderson enthusiast, then Original Masters will give you an urge to go listen to your favorite Jethro Tull albums again. If you are familiar with Jethro Tull mainly from what few songs received heavy AM radio play, then these songs may well whet your appetite for the group s more ambitious music. Now, if somebody could just explain to me how we come to live in a world where the music from Thick As A Brick is used to sell cars? Apparently the executives who Okayed that ad do not remember what is in the gutter when your love is in the sink. Amazing. Just remember to go check out the albums.
Jethro Tull Showcase album - Indeed, this isn t just any veteran rock group compilation. Original Masters is ideal for converting anybody interested to being a Tully. It includes old favourites, differing in style and sound. Although I had most of the tracks on other CD s, it still proved a special programme and therefore convenient having the Masters all on one album. Truly my money s worth!
My late adolescence on CD - I bought Original Masters in 1988, in the Woolworths sale, purely because a hip friend had a copy. I guessed that if she liked them they had to be okay, and being born rather too late to be aware of Tull in their heyday I had only her recommendation to go on. She had fine taste - Original Masters is everything I wanted to hear at 18 - mysterious, ingenious, even a little romantic. It can easily be said to be a definitive guide.