Casa do Progressivo - Progressive House: Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)

Postado por CesinhaBiker às 17:31

Aqualung é o quarto e mais bem sucedido álbum do Jethro Tull. A banda foi a principal divulgadora do estilo prog-folk rock e esse álbum traz muitas características desse estilo. Por ironia, um dos maiores flautistas do mundo teve seu maior sucesso numa música que não tem flauta. Ian Anderson toca apenas o violão em "Aqualung". O álbum marca a estréia de Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond nos baixos, um amigo muito querido do Ian Anderson. Tão querido que teve algumas músicas da banda em sua homenagem. Martin Barre que entrou no segundo álbum mantém a excelente performace na guitarra e o John Evans faz um bom trabalho nos teclados. Essa é tida como a melhor formação do Jethro Tull por alguns fãs.

Anything that can make a flute sound this good has to be a great album. "Aqualung" is truly a masterpiece, and an essencial in every prog collection. Let's start at the foundation of the band. Ian Anderson is one of the most underrated people in the history of music. His vocals are venemous and harsh, as well as calm and heartfelt when they need to be. Age did them no good unfortunately, but on here he gives a very memorable vocal performance, one that he would never top. What's as impressive as his singing is WHAT he's singing. His lyrics were among the first to question religion in front of a mainstream audience, and while they would get even better on "Thick as a Brick", they were still fantastic on here, and were a large part of what made the album such a success. And last but certainly not least, there's his flute playing. I'm not a fan of the flute, but Ian plays it with such agression that you can't help but love it. "My God" has an amazing flute solo that will leave you in awe. His playing is impressive throughout the album though, and it's so good that even if you generally don't like the flute, you'll be enjoying it. What made the album popular to a mainstream audience was the guitar though. Martin Barre is a criminally underrated guitar player, and never has there been better evidence of that than on here. Every solo he plays on here is stunning, although my personal favourite is probably on the title track. Plus the hard rocking riffs will get anyone's attention, and they're great ones. The title track probably has the most memorable riff, although "Cross-Eyed Mary", "My God", "Hymn 43" and "Locomotive Breath" contain great ones as well. The folkier side of Jethro Tull is present here as well, on songs like "Cheap Day Return", "Mother Goose", "Wond'ring Aloud" and "Slipstream". This isn't as progressive as some of the band's work, so if that's a criteria for you, you'll be turned off by that. Otherwise, get this album no matter what. It's one of the essencial rock albums, and a great addition to anyone's collection.

Track Listings

1. Aqualung (6:31)
2. Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09)
3. Cheap Day Return (1:23)
4. Mother Goose (3:52)
5. Wond'ring Aloud (1:56)
6. Up To Me (3:18)
7. My God (7:10)
8. Hymn 43 (3:18)
9. Slipstream (1:13)
10. Locomotive Breath (4:25)
11. Wind-Up (5:42)

Total Time: 42:57

Bonus tracks on 25th Anniversary edition (1998):

12. Lick Your Fingers Clean (2:46)
13. Wind Up [Quad Version] (5:23)
14. Excerpts from the Ian Anderson Interview (13:58)
15. Songs for Jeffrey (2:51)
16. Fat Man (2:56)
17. Bouree (3:57)

Line-up/Musicians

- Ian Anderson / flute,acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, descant recorder
- Clive Bunker /drums, percussion
- John Evans / piano, organ, mellotron
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass, alto recorder, backing vocals