That's my favorite from them too... heavy, proggy and with all the folky elements, it might be their most balanced album, with some of Martin's best guitar playing... Black Satin Dancer is definitely my favorite Jethro Tull song...
True, I hate when people call Songs From The Wood a "folk" album, yeah the folk element is definitely there but you wouldn't hear songs like Velvet Green, Pibroch (Cap In Hand), Hunting Girl, The Whistler, or the title track on a true folk album. Only the two shortest tracks are purely folk, Jack-In-The-Green and Fire At Midnight. To me the album is progressive rock but with a heavy folk flavor to it (same thing for Heavy Horses).
@@Nemesis7475 good list. I think Heavy Horses is very underrated. Would be surprised if any Tull fan never had Songs From The Woods at least in the top five. I like the first half of Thick As A Brick much more than the second half. Minstrel In The Gallery and Benefit are also good. Tull never made many mediocre albums, not up to Stormwatch anyway. A was a bit so so as was Too Old To Rock N Roll.
Hi Barry, I just watched your top 10 tull songs followed by Petes worst to best albums. What a great afternoon. "If you wear a warmer sporran, you can keep the foe at bay. You can pop those pills and visit some psychiatrist who'll say There's nothing I can do for you, everywhere's a danger zone. I'd love to help get rid of it, but I've got one of my own. Beastie. Only Ian could write these sublime lyrics". Andy H
That should make it easier, because some albums should hit the spot more than others, if they truly are diverse enough. This is exactly the case. Unless one uses another argument, that of "quality" and/or personality. Then I guess it becomes more even (understandable to a fan, but less relevant to any random listener).
I have not heard all their albums. Aqualung will always be my number one. Every song is great. Too old to rock and roll is the worst I've heard so far. Ian Anderson's lyrics were great, as most of his lyrics usually were, but the execution in this album was bad.
My top 5: 1. Thick as a Brick Such an amazing album, and my 2nd favourite album of all time. Everything flows together so well and it’s just an absolute masterpiece. 2. Songs From The Wood I absolutely love this album, and the genre is something I’ve never seen done anywhere else. This album cemented Jethro Tull as a band that is truly one of a kind. 3. Aqualung An absolute classic. Almost every song in this is a masterpiece and an absolute bop. The guitar work in this is amazing and Jethro Tull dominated the hard rock genre. 4. A Passion Play This felt like a jazzier twist on TAAB, and I absolutely loved it. It’ll obviously never compete with the masterpiece that is Thick as a Brick, but I still love it as both a piece of music, and as a concept. 5. Stand Up Jethro Tull can truly dominate any genre, and they totally dominated the blues genre. So many songs in this albums are absolute classics.
Pretty much agree with your top 5 but I'd put in Stormwatch at #5 and no Songs From The Wood and bump the other albums up a notch with TAAB still at #1.
So many styles explored by Ian and the boys over time. 1. Passion Play 2. Stand Up 3. Benefit 4. Songs From the Wood 5. Minstrel in the Gallery 6. Heavy Horses 7. Thick as a Brick 8. Aqualung 9. Living in the Past 10. Crest of a Knave
Great that Pete explains the Superbowl to those of us who are not American and wouldn't necessarily know what the hell it exactly is. Great channel Pete and peace from Glasgow 🏴 Scotland.
check out tull miming to 'the mouse police never sleeps' and a great live version of 'minstrel in the gallery'. Love their 'rural rock' songs from the wood / horses / stormwatch period the most.
It has a special place in mine too. Great to see a lot of love for this record in the comments as it largely seems quite ignored in their catalog. It's such a transitional work coming off of Stand Up. IIRC Ian said something to the effect that because of some of the experimental sounds on the record, people thought of it as a "drug" record. And while he didn't do drugs, he did concede that Benefit could be considered a Lowenbrau record.
Hard to rank these records, but I agree when it comes to "Benefit". Great album with no weak spots in my opinion. My own top 5 would probably look like this : 1. Benefit 2. Aqualung 3. Thick as a brick 4. Minstrel 5. Stand up Well, at least these are the albums i keep going back to when i get an urge for Tull :)
You nailed it today!!! Benefit is one of the great albums of all time. That was the best cup of coffee I have ever had. The wonderful Martin Barre. Great job.
I put TAAB first but I find myself going back to listen to Benefit more often than any other Tull album. Right up there with Disraeli Gears and LZ 4 for greatest hard rock lp of all time
Growing up the the late 70s, I never really "got" Tull. It wasn't until I hit 50 years old that it dawned on me. Incredible music and they have at least 7 albums that are fantastic. Everything they produced from '69 to '79 in particular. Hard to pick a favorite.
Songs from the Wood is a masterpiece! It’s such an uplifting album and Barriemore Barlow kills it on this Tull classic. Aqualung and Minstrel in the Gallery are a close second favorite for me. Again the drumming is incredible! Clive and Barriemore are legends!!
Songs From The Wood has been my absolute favorite album of all time, since I first heard it in '77. Phenomenal songwriting, instrumentation, and some wicked vocal harmony. I'm norrnally a minor key guy, but this album stays in the major key from start to finish, and does it masterfully. I listen to this on special occasions only.
I was slightly disappointed with it when it was released because I thought it didn't have enough hard rock on it, Hunting Girl being the exception. Since then, I have changed my opinion about it. It is a great album with great songs and much underrated.
Tull is easily one of the best bands of all time, and Anderson is something of a genius, musically. He taught himself to play the flute and just one year later Tull release their first album! His guitar work isn't too shabby also, and plays some fairly complex acoustic work whilst singing. I've been playing the superb live album 'Bursting Out' a great deal of late - what a band and John Glascock's bass playing is top-notch! My favourite studio album is 'Songs From The Wood,' but there are so many great ones to choose from. I agree with Pete on 'Under Wraps, it's an execrable album! It's a shame Ian had such voice problems, he really struggles with the singing these days. It always amazes me how many superb bands have come out of such a small country like the UK; of course America has produced some equally stunning bands etc, but there's just something a bit special with Britain: Tull, Purple, Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Who, Uriah Heep, Lizzy, Queen, Floyd, The Stones, The Beatles, Maiden, Priest, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Cream, Rainbow, Bad Company, T.Rex, Whitesnake, UFO, Blind Faith, Mott The Hoople, ELP, Yes, Ten Years After, Small Faces, Quo, Wishbone Ash, and loads I've probably left off, incredible!
Yes , like it is The Wellspring , the very Fountainhead of the Mystic Vapors of the Creativity Muses and Gods of Rock , and flows outwards from there , diluting as it covers the earth . So there is some everywhere , but right there , in that beautiful land , must be it's purest , undistilled source ! Or something else . Yeah , PROBABLY something else that doesn't sound near as cool as this explanation .
I learned to really appreciate B&B by just cranking it up in the car. Plus hearing all the outtakes and realizing all the work and writing that goes into making these albums. Broadsword turned into one of my faves.
Some great songs. Pussy Willow is very catchy and Beastie is good played loud. Always a favourite of mine. Maybe because it was the Broadsword tour when I first saw them.
@@mrgrey361 or for that matter, anything they did after A Passion Play for me. I saw them in 1970, 1972, 1973, and 1976. The first two were by far the best followed by 1976 and that horrid PP tour in 1973. The '76 show was better than '73. They actually played a lot of their older stuff cause Ian figured out that the audience didn't want to hear APP anymore. Good call Ian
Saw this video when you released it a few years ago and I come back to it from time to time. I love Tull and I really appreciate this list. Actually fun to agree and disagree with the rankings to make me think where I might rank them and also it gets me to go "Hey, I missed that deep cut (Occasional Demons)" or "I forgot all about that song, I have to go back to it (Dark Ages)". Thanks man!
Have loved Tull for years. My top cd for many of those was Broadsword & The Beast ... mainly because that was the one that introduced me to the band. That said, my top 10 now are: 1. Songs From The Wood 2. Broadsword 3. Stormwatch 4. Heavy Horses 5. Passion Play 6. Thick As A Brick 7. Catfish Rising 8. Under Wraps 9. Benefit 10. Walk Into Light ... I know, it's an Ian solo record but I really love it.
I unapologetically agree!! It is a complete work of genius. I was disappointed to hear Ian Anderson himself discounts his own work in this case. He seems to think he "took it too far", but as far as I am concerned there is not one wasted note on it. I enjoy Mr. Pardo's description of it here!
Fall of 73 I was a sophomore, and in our school library/media center were private rooms with glass doors, the rooms used for listening to record albums with library provided record players and albums. One day I walked past a room with two guys in my class I didn't really know, listening to a Mozart classical album propped up against the wall. For whatever reason I stopped and took in the scene, thinking one day I would do what they were doing. Surprisingly, they smiled and waved me inside. "Hey, you like classical music, right?" one of them asked. "Yeah, it's fine, I suppose, depending on what it is," I probably said. The truth is that at that point in my life, classical would have been the LAST music I wanted to hear. The great sounds of all that incredible 60's and early 70's classic rock was my passion. It was everywhere, on radio, TV, juke boxes, car 8-track players. FM rock out of Cleveland was especially dynamic, and with me still a few months away from buying my first decent turntable and the beginnings of my record collecting, radio was all I listened to. My favorite bands at the time were Deep Purple and Grand Funk. "You gotta hear this incredible Mozart composition," one of them said. They handed me the headphones plugged into the record player, and dropped the tonearm at the start of the album. Instead of Mozart, I heard the opening riff to Aqualung! I hadn't heard it before, and my eyes went wide. They laughed, then opened up the Mozart album sleeve to reveal the Tull album hidden inside. They obviously planned that ruse, signing out a record player and an "approved" album as a cover to listen to their rock and prog albums. The three of us became fast friends from that day forward, our friendship based around music.
"My God" is a electrified, progged up version of "God Bless The Child" By Blood Sweat & Tears (originally by Billie Holliday). Listen and you'll hear the clear connection
Pete you are amazing. Thanks for taking the time to dedicate an episode to one of the world's best and most under appreciated bands. They are unique in sound, look and stage performance (totally outrageous). Great job ranking the music. Thanks again.
BRAVO, sir! What a marvelous dissertation on the music of Jethro Tull. Whether you and I agree on our rankings is irrelevant; it is obvious you have great respect, admiration, passion, and love for the music. And - for me - you have put into words the emotions I have carried through my life for this music. For that alone I am deeply grateful.
My top three: "Songs from the wood", "Heavy horses" and "Stormwatch" from their 77-79 period. Love these trilogy , also the band lineup. There are so many great Tull albums, no "mistake" is possible. ☺
There is no such thing as a bad Jethro Tull album (there . . . . . . I said it!), which makes them extremely difficult to rank. Half are excellent to some degree, and the other half are very good to some degree. Unlike many folks, I love Under Wraps . . . . . . but it would go in that second half rather than the first. To me it's just a measure of how great Tull is.
Well done sir! Just found your channel and enjoyed this a lot. Been rediscovering Tull ever since TAAB2, as I had become disenchanted with them (and busy with life) after Walk Into Light and Under Wraps (excepting, of course, their return to “commercial greatness” with Crest of a Knave). Saw TAAB 1 & 2, two nights apart (Vienna, VA, then Philly) and have ever since and again been proud of my love of Anderson/Tull music and admiration for Ian himself. What a great musical journey we’ve been taken on, courtesy of IA.
Bonus points for the great mention of Dark Ages. One of my favourite Tull tracks from a personal favourite record. A criminally overlooked song. Nice video, enjoyed your views on this
I agree re: Dark Ages being a great song. The problem with some Tull albums is". The Mix. They could never decide whether to be heavier (and they SHOULD have)
Doing this list before watching the video. 1) Benefit. My first Tull Album. Not a single weak moment on this album. 2) Broadsword and the Beast. I'm a Scot and this is a Scottish album. Broadsword, The Clasp and Beastie. Watching you, Watching me is so much fun. I saw them in Montpellier, France when they toured this. 3) Every other album they ever made. Ian Anderson is from the same town as me as are Nazareth (I lived opposite Pete Agnew) and the Skids/Big Country. Proud to be Scottish and proud to be european!
Only ever heard Living in the Past Pete, but never listened to anything else. Now I've seen this I will have to check them out. Most definitely thanks Pete for the heads up much appreciated. Great Show, Great Channel 🎶🎶🎶👍👍👍🍻🍻🍻.
Recently listened to the entirety of Thick As A Birck. Absolutely amazing album and it was a blast from start to finish. As for my favourite Jethro Tull album, mine is probably Songs From The Woods purely because it's a very nostalgic album for me as, it was not only the first Jethro Tull album I listened to, but it was my introduction to the progressive rock genre, so for that it has a very special place in my heart.
First album that got my interest was Bursting Out. Seeing them live in '78 made me a fan ! It was the second concert I ever went to, & still remains in my top 10 shows I've ever been to. Just got introduced to this channel. Very good !!!
My top Tull list changes with my mood but Benefit, Aqualung, Thick, Stand Up, and Minstrel always are in the mix along with War Child and Living. What I always found interesting, and probably why I like them so much, are the sometimes weird and unusual time signatures Anderson uses. That and the fact that through all the line-up changes the musicianship has been incredible. My favorite Anderson story is that when his daughter took up the flute he realized he's been playing it 'wrong' all those years. He relearned how to play it 'properly'.
Benefit is my favorite as well. Nothing To Say is Tull at their most psychedelic. Passion Play is definitely close to the top for me. The last 10 minutes is incredibly powerful and has brought me to tears.
YES!!! Was waiting in suspense by #5 to see if Benefit was going to be your #1 pic.. Benefit I absolutely love it always been my #1 favorite Tull album What a massive discography this band has
For me, I might sound weird with this ranking, and it's really hard for me to choose between Tull's albums between 1968 and 1977, but for now it's: 20- Under Wraps 19- Rock Island 18- Jethro-Tull Dot Com 17- A 16- Catfish Rising 15- Stormwatch 14- The Broadsword And the Beast 13- Roots To Branches 12- Crest Of Knave 11- Too Old To Rock N' Roll; Too Young To Die 10- A Passion Play 09- This Was 08- Heavy Horses 07- Stand Up 06- Benefit 05- Minstrel In the Gallery 04- War Child 03- Aqualung 02- Songs From the Wood 01- This As A Brick
Found your channel just recently and a big thumbs up from across the [pond in the U.K! I would have to say that for me personally Benefit is one of my favourites as it has a certain vibe to it that gives it real charm. Always an album I like to go back to every so often and enjoy listening to. As they say class always lasts!
My first Rock-Concert in my life was during the "Heavy Horses-Tour". I love this album and until this very day I am very, very impressed of Barrymore Barlows Drum Solo! Regard "Bursting out - J.T. live" - "Conundrum"! Milestone!
Just a couple of friendly corrections: It was "A", not Under Wraps which was originally to be an Anderson solo album. TAAB2 is very definitely Anderson solo. Ian ended Tull in 2011 and performed under his own name until very recently. He now appears to be using the Tull name again.
That's right.. I wasn't watching this, only listening and I was assuming he was talking about "A" until he mentioned Under Wraps. I did hear the the "A" stood for Anderson as it was going to be a solo effort. As an aside; Crossfire from the A album was about the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. Under Wraps isn't a bad album. I do like lots of the tracks on there, although performing it live did a lot of damage to Ian's voice at the time.
@Martin Hayward Ian is Jethro Tull just like fogery is CCR and mark Knopfler is dire straits and ELO is jeff lynne. Anyone who they hire makes up the rest of the band but without those guys you don't have those bands
I know it goes without saying - when buying a Tull album, try and find a version with bonus tracks, even if you have to pay a few more pennies for it: Pan Dance Kelpie Broadford Bazaar Jack-A-Lynn Summerday Sands Living in these Hard Times King Henry's Madrigal Lick your Fingers Clean March the Mad Scientist Why the likes of these songs were never included on the original albums, I'll never know.
Agree!!! I recently rediscovered Jack-A-Lynn (quiet version) and am blown away by what a wonderful piece of music it is, and marvel that it was not an A-side track for one of the albums.
1. A 2. Thick As a Brick 3. Songs from the Wood 4. Under Wraps 5. Heavy Horses 6. War Child 7. Stand Up 8. A Passion Play 9. Benefit 10. Aqualung 11. Stormwatch 12. Broadsword and the Beast No particular order after that.
Under Wraps is not crap...when you ever saw Tull LIVE is when you jumped in and followed that album. Uneducated trolls criticize the albums and wish that Catfish Rising was their favorite album. Why is 'A' your favorite???? [I love 'A' but it's not my fav]
Great Taste in Music Pete. I admire and respect you. Jethro Tull is in My Top 10 Favorite Rock Acts of All Time !! ( nnio ) : - Jethro Tull - KISS - The Rolling Stones - RUSH - ZZ Top - Van Hagaroth - Lynryd Skynyrd - Billy Joel - JC Mellencamp - The Beatles
I agree with most of it. But my favourite Album is Stormwatch. For some reasons. I think Flying Dutchman and Dark Ages are Epic Songs. Elegy is absolutly Wonderful. Dun Ringill is one of the best acoustic pieces and stunningly produced. Home was the song I sang to my newborn son everytime he couldn´t Sleep. And the rest is way more than average. My view to "Black Sunday" from "A" is similar to yours btw. Looking Forward to your other Videos.
Nightcap is amazing, Anderson's flute paying on this album to me, is his best ever! I love all of your hard work, and commitment, you put into your channel Pete. Thanks!
@@joebloggs4754 For non-European countries that was all new fresh stuff though at the time, and the original packaging was so damn good, Ian put some effort into that one
I completely agree. NOT a compilation - mostly new material, with a handful of old songs. Remember, it was a double album, so there was enough new material for 1 full-length album, plus 2 long live numbers.
@@joethomas1146 yeah, that stuff had been released in the UK as singles but the audience in America had no idea because the singles weren't included on the albums, so it was a collection of their UK singles plus an album track per side/time period and the live side. :)
Actually "A" is supposed to be a solo Anderson album and A stands for Anderson, but Chrysalis forced him to release it as a JT album My top 5 1. APP 2. TAAB 3. SFTW 4. Heavy Horses 5. Minstrel in the Gallery
Great reviews! JT have been my favorite group my entire life, and I appreciate your balanced and reasonable approach. Quite often critics tear the albums they dislike to shreds while praising their favorites, but you offer a fair and balanced viewpoint throughout. I love Stormwatch, Roots to Branches, Songs From the Wood...etc. so it was great to hear your opinion on those. Fantastic job!
And a major THANK YOU for the heads up about Ian Anderson's Thick As A Brick 2. I did not know that it even existed and after watching your show, I immediately found it. On my third listen of the night already!! Thanks again Pete!!
You have no idea what you did to me. I am now devouring all my Tull albums and I’m in Tull musical heaven! Great ranking as always. And about shout outs, Rainbow Blues from MU1 was one of my favorite one offs!
@@danohstoolbox Farm on the Freeway might be an even more meaningful song now. I was a teen when it came out and knew it was great then but now it's epic. But sad also.
The first 7 LPs are the cream of the crop for me.. but I’m old and started listening to Tull on this was!! It should be in the top five!! Great job Pete
I bet most of us came to know and love Tull just as the 70s started. We gave them our hearts as young people so the albums from those early years are what helped shape our musical appreciation. Thank goodness for Ian and all the JT members over 55 years.
Funny how everyone develops special bonds with different albums. I got Under Wraps in early 1986 and it was the “current” Jethro Tull album at the time. I felt really proud of its modern sound and listened to it constantly! Still one of my favorites.
Benefit was the first album that my sister bought. She was 5 years older than me, but didn't mind that I played it as well. It was on an old stereogram. It really shaped what I thought about music. Martins guitar on 'Teacher' was so dynamic, and the band was as one unit. Thanks Gina!
Pete , Jethro Tull, my favorite band of all time , but to me Passion Play is the best above Thick as a Brick , because more complex musically a genius.
Complexity was mostly much how I based my JT rankings. My top 10 were as follows: 1. APP 2.TaaB 3. SftW 4. HH 5. MitG 6. RtB 7. Stormwatch 8. A 9. Aqualung 10. WC
One of your best videos, Pete! Tull has long been my favorite band and I have every album of theirs (plus all of Ian's and Martin's solo work) so I consider myself a bit of a Tull expert. I can't argue with your thoughtful list as it's very sound. For me, the "folk" trilogy of SFTW, HH, and SW make my top 3. I agree with you on SW--that album is an absolute underrated gem in the discography. I always saw SFTW as the autumn album, SW as the winter album, and HH as the spring album. All 3 albums are must-haves. At #4 is TAAB. #5 is Minstrel. #6 is Stand Up. #7 is Aqualung. #8 is A Passion Play. #9 is Benefit. And #10 is Broadsword and the Beast (narrowly edging out Crest). Also great to see love for Nightcap and the Christmas Album...fantastic albums! Under Wraps has some great melodies on it but they're overshadowed by the dated 80's production. If that record were re-released without the drum machine and synths, many of us Tull fans would discover it's actually pretty good. You are also correct that Roots to Branches is a very fine late career gem. Finally, although the album is not one of their best, the SONG "Rock Island" is terrific. Long live the Tull!
Awesome video, Pete, can't wait to dive in on the others in this series. As for my favorite Tull albums, Aqualung as TAAB will always sit atop, but Minstrel and the trio of Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch are close by. From the early stuff, Benefit is the best and it rocks! I have to give 'A' a try. I like some early 80's new wave stuff synth-y like Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, etc.
It’s super hard for me to rank the Tull discography, they made like 10 albums that all could shuffle around in my top ten on any given day. My top 5 in order as of right now would be 1. Songs from the Wood, 2. Thick as a Brick, 3. Aqualung, 4. Broadsword and then maybe a tie between Heavy Horses and Stormwatch. I do agree that Benefit is a great one, super underrated and still in my top ten. I also have a huge soft spot for Under Wraps.
Thank you for doing this!!!!…. Been a Tull fan a looooong time good to know there's more still out there! Never missed a tour since 77....Songs from the wood at MSG was amazing!! Respect your list choices so easy to flip/flop many of these so great job....Stand Up, Songs From the Wood, Aqualung, PP, TAAB my top 5....Yeah Under Wraps is at the bottom for me too....I'd have Crest a little higher too...
