Jethro Tull was a band that took me a while to get into. I bought nearly all of their early albums during my various crappy vinyl binges, but never really listened to them until I went backpacking around Europe in the summer of '87, with a collection of Tull tapes to keep me company. Nowadays I would consider them to be my second favorite band of all time, only topped by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Musically diverse, the band has gone through several changes over the years, its sole mainstay being lead singer/acoustic guitarist/one-legged flutist Ian Anderson, who basically IS Jethro Tull, for all intensive purposes.

There is a "real" Jethro Tull, a 19th-century English horticulturalist (an interesting surprise when that came up in history class!) That has nothing to do with why they chose the name, of course. In the beginning, they weren't very good, and had to change their name every week to keep getting gigs. (Some would say they haven't improved...why I oughta...) "Jethro" just happened to be their name when they finally got a residency at the Marquee.

"This Was"

1. "My Sunday Feeling" (3:38)
2. "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" (2:42)
3. "Beggar's Farm" (4:19)
4. "Move on Alone" (2:00)
5. "Serenade to a Cuckoo"--instrumental (6:01)
6. "Dharma for One"--instrumental (4:11)
7. "It's Breaking Me Up" (4:56)
8. "Cat's Squirrel"--instrumental (5:36)
9. "A Song for Jeffrey" (3:18)
10. "Round"--instrumental (0:50)

I didn't get this album until a long time after I was already into the band. The sound here is much more bluesy than their later works.

"Nothing is Easy" (CDR; 1/9/69 [1st show], Konserthusel, Stockholm)

1. "My Sunday Feeling" (5:48)
2. "Martin's Tune"--instrumental (10:47)
3. "To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be" (4:39)
4. "Back to the Family" (4:18)
5. "Dharma for One"--instrumental (9:09)
6. "Nothing is Easy" (14:13)
7. "Song for Jeffrey" (3:33)

Well it's about bloody time that I started collecting Tull bootlegs. And what a place to start! This is a crystal-clear, soundboard recording from a 1969 Stockholm gig, featuring their brand new guitarist Martin Barre. Of course, the band hadn't quite mastered their instruments yet (remember what I said about changing their name each gig because they weren't any good??) and on "My Sunday Feeling", Glen Cornick fucks up the bass line so badly, it sounds like they had to cut the song short. However, this disc contains a very special gem, a totally unreleased instrumental jam called "Martin's Tune"!! Also, "To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be" is another rare song that was never made available until the monstrously expensive 25th Anniversary box set. (Which took that song directly from this concert -- and "Back to the Family" as well, for good measure.)

"Stand Up"

1. "A New Day Yesterday" (4:08)
2. "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" (2:03)
3. "Bouree"--instrumental (3:45)
4. "Back to the Family" (3:45)
5. "Look into the Sun" (4:18)
6. "Nothing is Easy" (4:20)
7. "Fat Man" (2:48)
8. "We Used to Know" (3:55)
9. "Reasons for Waiting" (4:00)
10. "For a Thousand Mothers" (4:12)

This was the last Tull album that I upgraded from crappy vinyl, which I bought brand new after the CD mysteriously disappeared from their catalog. (In fact, fully HALF of Tull's albums are currently out of print, what's up with that shit?) "Bouree" is a trademark instrumental based on a tune by J.S. Bach, and bluesy songs such as "New Day Yesterday" and "Nothing is Easy" still predominate, but Ian Anderson's versatile musicality is starting to take shape in the other songs. This was also the first album to feature guitarist Martin Barre, who's ego was modest enough to survive in Ian's shadow up to this very day.

"Benefit"

1. "With You There to Help Me" (6:15)
2. "Nothing to Say" (5:10)
3. "Inside" (3:46)
4. "Son" (2:48)
5. "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" (3:47)
6. "To Cry You a Song" (6:09)
7. "A Time for Everything?" (2:42)
8. "Teacher" (3:57)
9. "Play in Time" (3:44)
10. "Sossity; You're a Woman" (4:31)

Another fine blues album. By the way...who the hell is Jeffrey?

"Aqualung" (25th Anniversary remastered edition)

1. "Aqualung" (6:37)
2. "Cross-Eyed Mary" (4:09)
3. "Cheap Day Return" (1:23)
4. "Mother Goose" (3:53)
5. "Wond'ring Aloud" (1:55)
6. "Up to Me" (3:14)
7. "My God" (7:12)
8. "Hymn 43" (3:19)
9. "Slipstream" (1:13)
10. "Locomotive Breath" (4:26)
11. "Wind Up" (6:07)
12. "Lick Your Fingers Clean" (2:46)
13. "Wind Up"--quad version (5:23)
14. "Excerpts from the Ian Anderson Interview" (13:58)
15. "Song for Jeffrey"--live for BBC radio (2:51)
16. "Fat Man"--live for BBC radio (2:56)
17. "Bouree"--live for BBC radio, instrumental (3:58)

This album needs no introduction--it's a classic, and the one that people most think of when they think of Jethro Tull. It's also the closest they get to true hard rock (especially on the title track). "My God" is a scathing put-down of the Church of England, and caused a lot of people to associate Jethro Tull as devil-worshippers. Not true! Oh yes...did you know that "Aqualung", Tull's most famous song, is one of the only Tull songs NOT written by Ian Anderson? His ex-wife Jennie wrote most of the lyrics, and Ian mentioned (somewhat bitterly) in an interview how she still gets half the royalties (damn women!!)

LOTS of these tunes have been covered by other artists: "Cross-Eyed Mary" by Iron Maiden, "Hymn 43" by Overkill, and "Locomotive Breath", their signature hit, by W.A.S.P. (yes, W.A.S.P.!!), Helloween, and a band called Wrabbit (Trevor Rabin's band before he joined Yes.) Sadly, I haven't been able to track down that last one....

At first I ignored the 25th Anniversary release, since most of the songs ("Lick" and the 3 BBC tracks) are on box set #1, and who cares about some dumb interview? Well, over on Power Zone I got into an argument with my arch-nemesis "Sentinel" about whether Helloween's "Locomotive Breath" cover was any good or not, and when I learned he never even heard the original song, I decided to give him the CD, IF and ONLY IF he could find 10 errors on my webpage (he was always complaining about inaccuracies and stuff -- sheeya, like his crappy site is any better!!!) The contest is archived here and here. Anyways, Sentinel gave up before reaching 10 errors, and another guy named Mitch G won the CD (and I think he forwarded to Sentinel, because I know he's heard the song by now, but I'm not sure if that really happened.) Then, I lost my job.

With CD purchases all pushed to the back burner, I went eight months with this hole in my collection, and during that time I realized, shit, if I'm gonna upgrade to the remaster I might as well find the original "mini-box set" that was released as the 25th Anniversary Edition. So I picked one up on eBay for a fairly cheap $10. All you really get, beyond the extra songs, is an oversized booklet with pictures and lyrics written in that Olde Englishe font, a solid grey jewelcase, and a nifty box with the cover art on it. Nothing special, really, but as a Jethro Tull connoisseur, it's worth having.

"Living in the Past"

1. "A Song for Jeffrey" (3:18)
2. "Love Story" (3:01)
3. "Christmas Song" (3:03)
4. "Living in the Past" (3:19)
5. "Driving Song" (2:38)
6. "Sweet Dream" (4:01)
7. "Singing All Day" (3:02)
8. "Witch's Promise" (3:50)
9. "Inside" (3:46)
10. "Alive and Well and Living In" (2:45)
11. "Just Trying to Be" (1:35)
12. "By Kind Permission Of"--instrumental, live at Carnegie Hall (10:10)
13. "Dharma for One"--live at Carnegie Hall (9:56)
14. "Wond'ring Again" (4:10)
15. "Hymn 43" (3:15)
16. "Life's a Long Song" (3:17)
17. "Up the 'Pool" (3:09)
18. "Dr. Bogenbroom" (2:58)
19. "For Later"--instrumental (2:06)
20. "Nursie" (1:32)

Sort of a collection of rare & unreleased songs. The CD omits two songs from the original crappy vinyl, "Bouree" and "Teacher", which doesn't matter since they're available on earlier albums. (The "25th Anniversary" edition restores the full track listing as a 2-CD set, but why even bother?) The title track has been covered by Midge Ure (that Ultravox guy); I *know* I've got a tape of it somewhere around here, but can't seem to find it...

"Thick as a Brick" (remastered)

1. "Thick as a Brick (part 1)" (22:45)
2. "Thick as a Brick (part 2)" (21:05)
3. "Thick as a Brick"--live at Madison Square Garden 1978 (11:48)
4. "Interview with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Jeffrey Hammond" (16:28)

This concept album was based on a poem supposedly written by an 8-year-old prodigy named Gerald Bostock. Of course, Gerald is REALLY Ian Anderson, even though the songs are credited to them both! A pretty fine piece of work, musically diverse and epic in scope. The crappy vinyl was packaged with a large fold-out newspaper, something which I wish I'd held on to...

I traded away the original CD around the same time as the Aqualung contest above, and believe it or not, this one left a much bigger hole in my collection. For some dumb reason I thought the bonus live track was the full-length version of TAAB (or at least all of part one), but nooo...it's the same recording as on the "20 Years" videotape, and virtually identical to the Bursting Out 12-minute edit. The interview is nutty as always but I keep wanting to scream at Jeffrey to CHEW WITH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH CLOSED, DAMMIT!!! On the bright side, the booklet faithfully restores the original newspaper packaging.

"A Passion Play"

1. "A Passion Play" (45:11)

Another single-track concept album, this time about some dude who dies and must choose between heaven and hell, or something like that -- the story is so obscure, I don't think even the band knew what it was about! Not my favorite, but good nonetheless. The CD actually tracks the album in two parts (sides one and two on the crappy vinyl) but I'm too lazy to look up the time lengths. A lot of music here was taken from their infamous "Chateau D'Isaster Tapes", another concept album which was never completed and only recently released on Nightcap and also the 20 Years of Jethro Tull box set.

"War Child"

1. "WarChild" (4:33)
2. "Queen and Country" (2:59)
3. "Ladies" (3:16)
4. "Back-Door Angels" (5:30)
5. "Sea Lion" (3:35)
6. "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" (4:02)
7. "Bungle in the Jungle" (3:34)
8. "Only Solitaire" (1:29)
9. "The Third Hurrah" (4:47)
10. "Two Fingers" (5:07)

This album gets more into folksy tunes and the like, with lots of acoustic guitar and flute predominating. "Two Fingers" was originally recorded as "Lick Your Fingers Clean" during the Aqualung sessions, but never made it onto the album (though it's included on the 25th Anniversary rerelease, as well as the 20 Years of Jethro Tull box set.) "Skating Away..." is a very nice song, and the first time I saw Jethro Tull in concert, they invited the opening band on stage to play along, which made it kinda trippy when they sung the line, "Everybody's on the stage, and you're only person sitting in the audience."

"M.U.: The Best of Jethro Tull"

1. "Teacher" (4:07)
2. "Aqualung" (6:34)
3. "Thick as a Brick Edit #1" (3:01)
4. "Bungle in the Jungle" (3:34)
5. "Locomotive Breath" (4:23)
6. "Fat Man" (2:50)
7. "Living in the Past" (3:18)
8. "A Passion Play Edit #8" (3:28)
9. "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" (4:02)
10. "Rainbow Blues" (3:37)
11. "Nothing is Easy" (4:23)

Only reason I bought this greatest hits collection was for the song "Rainbow Blues", which was never released anywhere else.

"Minstrel in the Gallery"

1. "Minstrel in the Gallery" (8:09)
2. "Cold Wind to Valhalla" (4:17)
3. "Black Satin Dancer" (6:51)
4. "Requiem" (3:41)
5. "One White Duck/0^10=Nothing at All" (4:35)
6. "Baker St. Muse" (16:40)
7. "Grace" (0:37)

This is one of my favorite Tull albums. "Minstrel" is a fine song with a hard-rocking second half, "Cold Wind" contains a blistering acoustic guitar riff, and "Baker St. Muse" is simply, purely, epic.

"Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young to Die"

1. "Quizz Kid" (5:07)
2. "Crazed Institution" (4:45)
3. "Salamander" (2:49)
4. "Taxi Grab" (3:51)
5. "From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser" (4:07)
6. "Bad-Eyed and Loveless" (2:11)
7. "Big Dipper" (3:32)
8. "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young to Die" (5:39)
9. "Pied Piper" (4:29)
10. "The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive)" (5:25)

The title of this album came about after many people complained that Jethro Tull was getting old & crotchity. That was in 1976...they should see 'em now!! The music here never thrilled me, although "Crazed Institution" is a cool song.

"Repeat: The Best of Jethro Tull Vol. II"

1. "Minstrel in the Gallery" (4:12)
2. "Cross-Eyed Mary" (4:06)
3. "A New Day Yesterday" (4:08)
4. "Bouree"--instrumental (3:40)
5. "Thick as a Brick Edit #4" (3:25)
6. "Warchild" (4:33)
7. "A Passion Play Edit #9" (3:29)
8. "To Cry You a Song" (6:09)
9. "Too Old to Rock N' Roll; Too Young to Die" (5:39)
10. "Glory Row" (3:34)

"Glory Row" was never released anywhere else, which necessitated the purchase of this CD...I should mention, when I found this used copy, I could not remember if I already had it or not! Took a chance and bought it anyway...luckily, I didn't have it. :-)

"Songs from the Wood"

1. "Songs from the Wood" (4:52)
2. "Jack-in-the-Green" (2:27)
3. "Cup of Wonder" (4:30)
4. "Hunting Girl" (5:11)
5. "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" (3:46)
6. "Velvet Green" (6:03)
7. "The Whistler" (3:30)
8. "Pibroch (Cap in Hand)" (8:37)
9. "Fire at Midnight" (2:26)

The first of two super-folksy albums. Excellent music throughout.

"Reflections Through the Glass Chandelier" (2CDR; 1/16/77, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles)

Hey, what's with the long-ass bootleg titles?!? It's messing up my formatting! Especially when the venue name itself is so damn long...anyhow, this came as a gift from a kind trader, and boy is it a good one. They launch into the set with "Quartet", of all things...followed by a number of acoustic songs, which gradually build intensity as the set moves along. Lots of overlap with Bursting Out, which is to be expected, but as for unique tracks we've got "Velvet Green", "Wind Up", "Back Door Angels", and two unique instrumental jams. (A bit of confusion about disc 2, though. The liner notes list 11 tracks, with "Beethoven's 9th" preceding "Minstrel", with the follow-up jam shown as "Hunting Girl Part 2"...except there's NOTHING before "Minstrel", and the instrumental certainly doesn't sound anything like "Hunting Girl". Dunno if it's really Beethoven, as the only section I recognize is "Ode to Joy" and it's not that part -- hope I got it right.) Ian's stage banter is a hoot, as always -- he chats up "the" Dorothy Chandler, who was in attendance for this show (and is introduced by Terry Ellis in the opening) and calls her "Dotty-Baby! Do you mind if I call you Dotty-Baby?" I sure hope she's a Monty Python fan! Ian also lashes into L.A. Times rock critic Robert Hilburn (who's locally infamous for worshipping artists like Bruce Springsteen but HATES prog with a passion): "But that's okay, the man's only doing his job...BADLY!" Heh, I love it when performers do their homework. :) Excellent audience recording, a little high on the bass end but thoroughly listenable and with no major defects.

"Heavy Horses"

1. "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" (3:11)
2. "Acres Wild" (3:22)
3. "No Lullaby" (7:54)
4. "Moths" (3:24)
5. "Journey Man" (3:55)
6. "Rover" (4:59)
7. "One Brown Mouse" (3:21)
8. "Heavy Horses" (8:57)
9. "Weathercock" (4:02)

Another offering of folksy music, although "No Lullaby" is more of a rocker. "Heavy Horses" is my ALL-TIME favorite Tull song! "Journeyman" is about Steve Perry...no, just kidding!

"Bursting Out: Jethro Tull Live" (import 2CD set)

disc one:
1. "No Lullaby" (5:54)
2. "Sweet Dream" (4:27)
3. "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" (5:02)
4. "Jack-in-the-Green" (3:36)
5. "One Brown Mouse" (4:07)
6. "A New Day Yesterday" (3:07)
7. "Flute Solo Improvisation/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Bouree"--instrumental (5:41)
8. "Songs from the Wood" (2:31)
9. "Thick as a Brick" (12:31)

disc two:
1. "Hunting Girl" (6:00)
2. "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young to Die" (4:19)
3. "Conundrum"--instrumental (6:54)
4. "Minstrel in the Gallery" (5:47)
5. "Cross-Eyed Mary" (3:39)
6. "Quatrain"--instrumental (1:50)
7. "Aqualung" (8:34)
8. "Locomotive Breath" (5:31)
9. "The Dambusters March"--instrumental (3:27)

Best line: "And on the far right, from the Royal College of Music, London, Mr. David Palm--err, he's gone for a piss but he'll be right back..." (after the song): "Ah, David's back! Give it a good shake, did you?"

The domestic release of this live CD is a travesty, since it omits "Conundrum" and "Quatrain", two instrumentals that were released only on this album! So when I found that a 2-CD import was available with the full track listing, I quickly ordered it. Well, guess what--whoever mastered the fucking CD, screwed up and mis-tracked "Quatrain", which is supposed to lead directly into "Aqualung", but instead stops suddenly w/ Ian saying, "So long people, bye bye! Bye bye!" DAMMIT!!! You CAN'T win, you CAN'T!!

"Stormwatch"

1. "North Sea Oil" (3:08)
2. "Orion" (3:55)
3. "Home" (2:44)
4. "Dark Ages" (9:07)
5. "Warm Sporran"--instrumental (3:31)
6. "Something's on the Move" (4:24)
7. "Old Ghosts" (4:20)
8. "Dun Ringill" (2:37)
9. "Flying Dutchman" (7:42)
10. "Elegy"--instrumental (3:30)

"Something's on the Move" was actually the first Jethro Tull song I ever heard, which was on an old K-Tel record I bought when I was first getting into music. Of course, I'd heard tales on how evil and satanic Jethro Tull was, how they were even worse than Black Sabbath, etc., so I remember getting chills as the needle reached the track...well, enough of that nostalgic crap. This is something of a quirky album, hard to describe, kinda like Jethro Tull as a whole. Hahaha. Ian Anderson plays bass on this album, since their bassist John Glascock (what an unfortunate name!) was seriously ill, and eventually died (John, not Ian).

'"'A'"

1. "Crossfire" (3:51)
2. "Flyingdale Flyer" (4:27)
3. "Working John -- Working Joe" (5:01)
4. "Black Sunday" (6:33)
5. "Protect and Survive" (3:32)
6. "Batteries Not Included" (3:47)
7. "Uniform" (3:30)
8. "4.W.D. (Low Ratio)" (3:37)
9. "The Pine Marten's Jig"--instrumental (3:23)
10. "And Further On" (4:19)

This started out as an Ian Anderson solo project, but wound up being released as a regular Tull album. As a result, the entire band, save Ian and Martin Barre, got their pink slips. (A few ex-Tullers did show up on Magna Carta's Jethro Tull tribute CD many years later.) The music here is kinda strange, and except for "Black Sunday", I don't like it at all. Eddie Jobson from the band UK does the keyboard work here.

"The Broadsword and the Beast"

1. "Beastie" (3:55)
2. "Clasp" (4:16)
3. "Fallen on Hard Times" (3:12)
4. "Flying Colours" (4:37)
5. "Slow Marching Band" (3:38)
6. "Broadsword" (5:01)
7. "Pussy Willow" (3:53)
8. "Watching Me, Watching You" (3:38)
9. "Seal Driver" (5:09)
10. "Cheerio" (1:10)

One of the better mid-career Tull albums, sort of a throwback to their Aqualung days.

"Under Wraps"

1. "Lap of Luxury" (3:35)
2. "Under Wraps #1" (3:59)
3. "European Legacy" (3:23)
4. "Later, that Same Evening" (3:51)
5. "Saboteur" (3:31)
6. "Radio Free Moscow" (3:40)
7. "Astronomy" (3:37)
8. "Tundra" (3:39)
9. "Nobody's Car" (4:08)
10. "Heat" (5:36)
11. "Under Wraps #2" (2:14)
12. "Paparazzi" (3:47)
13. "Apogee" (5:28)
14. "Automotive Engineering" (4:05)
15. "General Crossing" (4:02)

This album was heavily laden with synthesizers and other electronic crap, and isn't very good overall. The CD includes four extra songs that weren't on the crappy vinyl version.

"Live at Hammersmith '84"

1. "Locomotive Breath"--instrumental (2:36)
2. "Hunting Girl" (4:56)
3. "Under Wraps" (4:30)
4. "Later, That Same Evening" (4:03)
5. "Pussy Willow" (4:44)
6. "Living in the Past" (4:29)
7. "Locomotive Breath" (7:43)
8. "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll" (9:08)

A live radio broadcast from their Under Wraps tour -- interestingly, the songs from that album sound a lot better here than the studio versions. (Sometimes I laugh at how many versions of "Locomotive Breath" I have!)

"A Classic Case: The London Symphony Orchestra Plays the Music of Jethro Tull"

1. "Locomotive Breath" (4:24)
2. "Thick as a Brick" (4:29)
3. "Elegy" (3:48)
4. "Bouree" (3:13)
5. "Fly by Night" (4:17)
6. "Aqualung" (6:25)
7. "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll; Too Young to Die" (3:32)
8. "Medley: Teacher/Bungle in the Jungle/Rainbow Blues/Locomotive Breath" (4:04)
9. "Living in the Past" (3:38)
10. "War Child" (5:00)

Not really a Tull CD, but since Ian plays flute on every song, and David Palmer conducts the orchestra, and 3 other Tull guys help out, I'd say it counts. :) Out of print but not especially rare (since it always ends up in the classical bin, and who the hell looks there??) A cute diversion.

"Crest of a Knave"

1. "Steel Monkey" (3:36)
2. "Farm on the Freeway" (6:29)
3. "Jump Start" (4:52)
4. "Said She Was a Dancer" (3:39)
5. "Dogs in the Midwinter" (4:32)
6. "Budapest" (10:00)
7. "Mountain Men" (6:19)
8. "The Waking Edge" (4:46)
9. "Raising Steam" (4:06)

This album came out after I was already a big Tull fan, and it was a pleasant surprise! It certainly tops everything they've done since. The CD containd 2 extra songs not on the LP, which was a major impetus in my eventual abandoning of all things related to crappy vinyl. Also I caught the band live for the first time on this tour, and they were utterly amazing. What was funniest though was when everyone was leaving, cramming through the narrow Universal Ampitheatre walkway, and everyone started MOOING! People are so fucking strange!

"King Biscuit Flower Hour - 11/25/87" (CDR; Upper Darby, PA)

1. KBFH intro (1:25)
2. "Songs from the Wood" (5:24)
3. "Living in the Past" (4:12)
4. "Serenade for a Cuckoo"--instrumental (4:41)
5. commercials (2:11)
6. "Thick as a Brick" (6:34)
7. "Farm on the Freeway" (6:42)
8. commercials (2:01)
9. "Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die" (5:56)
10. "Aqualung" (8:08)
11. "Locomotive Breath" (5:05)
12. "Thick as a Brick (reprise)" (0:59)
13. commercials (2:59)

When I saw this one listed on someone's trade list, I jumped at the chance. After all, it's from the Crest of a Knave tour, the first time I'd ever seen Tull live. Except...I should have asked more questions, because it's nothing but the KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR radio broadcast of that show, and fully HALF the show was cut. And, of course, the ones they kept were just the "hits", which I have a thousand other live versions of already. They didn't even bother cutting out the commercials!!!!! So in order to get the actual GOOD songs from this concert (including "Jump Start", "Skating Away", and "Wind Up") I'll have to track down the full Upper Darby show from another source. Hate it when I have to do that.

"20 Years of Jethro Tull" (3CD box set)

Disc One "The Radio Archives & Rare Tracks":
1. "A Song for Jeffrey"--live for BBC radio (2:47)
2. "Love Story"--live for BBC radio (2:43)
3. "Fat Man"--live for BBC radio (2:55)
4. "Bouree"--instrumental, live for BBC radio (4:04)
5. "Stormy Monday Blues"--live for BBC radio (4:05)
6. "A New Day Yesterday"--live for BBC radio (4:19)
7. "Cold Wind to Valhalla"--live for BBC radio (1:32)
8. "Minstrel in the Gallery"--live for BBC radio (2:08)
9. "Velvet Green"--live for BBC radio (5:52)
10. "Grace"--live for BBC radio (0:33)
11. "Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow" (3:20)
12. "I'm Your Gun" (3:18)
13. "Down at the End of Your Road" (3:30)
14. "Coronach" (3:52)
15. "Summerday Sands" (3:45)
16. "Too Many Too" (3:27)
17. "March the Mad Scientist" (1:47)
18. "Pan Dance"--instrumental (3:24)
19. "Strip Cartoon" (3:16)
20. "King Henry's Madrigal"--instrumental (2:58)
21. "A Stitch in Time" (3:38)
22. "17" (3:07)
23. "One for John Gee"--instrumental (2:04)
24. "Aeroplane" (2:16)
25. "Sunshine Day" (2:26)

Disc Two "Flawed Gems Dusted Down & The Other Sides of Tull":
1. "Lick Your Fingers Clean" (2:47)
2. "The Chateau D'Isaster Tapes": (11:09)
   • i. Scenario
   • ii. Audition
   • iii. No Rehearsal
3. "Beltane" (5:17)
4. "Crossword" (3:34)
5. "Saturation" (4:23)
6. "Jack-a-Lynn" (4:41)
7. "Motoreyes" (3:39)
8. "Blues Instrumental (untitled)"--instrumental (5:15)
9. "Rhythm in Gold" (3:04)
10. "Part of the Machine" (6:54)
11. "Mayhem, Maybe" (3:04)
12. "Overhang" (4:27)
13. "Kelpie" (3:32)
14. "Living in These Hard Times" (3:09)
15. "Under Wraps #2" (2:14)
16. "Only Solitaire" (1:28)
17. "Salamander" (2:49)
18. "Moths" (3:24)
19. "Nursie" (1:32)

Disc Three "The Essential Tull":
1. "Witch's Promise" (3:50)
2. "Bungle in the Jungle" (3:33)
3. "Farm on the Freeway"--live (6:33)
4. "Thick as a Brick"--live (6:32)
5. "Sweet Dream"--live (4:32)
6. "The Clasp"--live (3:30)
7. "Pibroch (Pee-Break)/Black Satin Dancer"--instrumental, live (4:00)
8. "Fallen on Hard Times"--live (3:59)
9. "Cheap Day Return" (1:22)
10. "Wond'ring Aloud"--live (1:58)
11. "Dun Ringill"--live (3:00)
12. "Life's a Long Song" (3:17)
13. "One White Duck/0^10=Nothing at All" (4:37)
14. "Songs from the Wood"--live (4:29)
15. "Living in the Past"--live (4:07)
16. "Teacher"--UK version (4:43)
17. "Aqualung"--live (7:43)
18. "Locomotive Breath--live (6:00)

Normally, "anniversary" box sets are travesty, because they always just contain prereleased material, with maybe one or two new songs thrown in to entice you. Yet this set is a major triumph -- fully HALF of the 60+ songs here are previously unreleased material or ultra-rare tracks! Out of the rest, most are live tracks or remixes, and all in all only 10 songs here are duplicates of previously existing versions. An amazing collection! Although I wish they'd included the full, 6-minute version of "17", but luckily I own that one on a crappy vinyl single.

"Rock Island"

1. "Kissing Willie" (3:32)
2. "The Rattlesnake Trail" (3:59)
3. "Ears of Tin" (4:53)
4. "Undressed to Kill" (5:24)
5. "Rock Island" (6:52)
6. "Heavy Water" (4:12)
7. "Another Christmas Song" (3:30)
8. "The Whaler's Dues" (7:53)
9. "Big Riff and Mando" (5:57)
10. "Strange Avenues" (4:09)

This album was somewhat of a disappointment after the awesome Crest of a Knave. I took my girlfriend to see their concert, and her review was: "If he plays that flute one more time, I'm gonna cram it up his ass!" Needless to say, I dumped the bitch. :)

"Catfish Rising"

1. "This is Not Love" (3:56)
2. "Occasional Demons" (3:48)
3. "Roll Yer Own" (4:25)
4. "Rocks on the Road" (5:30)
5. "Sparrow on the Schoolyard Wall" (5:21)
6. "Thinking Round Corners" (3:31)
7. "Still Loving You Tonight" (4:30)
8. "Doctor to My Disease" (4:34)
9. "Like a Tall Thin Girl" (3:36)
10. "White Innocence" (7:43)
11. "Sleeping with the Dog" (4:25)
12. "Gold-Tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie" (3:39)
13. "When Jesus Came to Play" (5:04)

This album came out four years after Rock Island, and the band is really starting to show their age here. Lots of quiet, nonagressive songs, kinda pretty but not at all exciting.

"Rocks on the Road" (single)

1. "Rocks on the Road"--radio edit (3:50)
2. "Rocks on the Road"--live (5:38)
3. "Bouree"--instrumental, live (3:15)
4. "Jack-a-Lynn"--home demo, recorded 1981 (4:12)
5. "Night in the Wilderness" (4:03)
6. "Jump Start"--live (7:48)

Just a CD single from Catfish, with a few rare tracks, including "Night in the Wilderness" which oddly enough never made it onto any of the band's rare-tracks compilations.

"A Little Light Music" (live album)

1. "Someday the Sun Won't Shine for You" (3:59)
2. "Living in the Past"--instrumental (5:07)
3. "Life is a Long Song" (3:36)
4. "Under Wraps"--instrumental (2:29)
5. "Rocks on the Road" (7:04)
6. "Nursie" (2:27)
7. "Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die" (4:43)
8. "One White Duck" (3:15)
9. "A New Day Yesterday" (7:33)
10. "John Barleycorn" (6:33)
11. "Look into the Sun"--instrumental (3:45)
12. "A Christmas Song" (3:46)
13. "From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser" (3:50)
14. "This is Not Love" (3:52)
15. "Bouree"--instrumental (6:05)
16. "Pussy Willow"--instrumental (3:31)
17. "Locomotive Breath" (5:51)

A bunch of acoustic songs culled from various live concerts around the world, including many done without the vocals. And yes, there's yet ANOTHER version of "Locomotive Breath" here!

"BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert"

1. "Minstrel in the Gallery/Cross-Eyed Mary" (4:08)
2. "This is Not Love" (4:21)
3. "Rocks on the Road" (7:23)
4. "Heavy Horses" (7:43)
5. "Tall Thin Girl" (5:15)
6. "Still Loving You" (4:42)
7. "Thick as a Brick" (7:48)
8. "A New Day Yesterday" (5:49)
9. "Blues Jam"--instrumental (3:15)
10. "Jump Start" (6:56)

A live session from the Catfish Rising tour that wasn't released until several years later. Doesn't exactly feature the band in top form, although there are some nice gems here--"Heavy Horses" and "Jump Start" especially, since they never made it onto any other live album. Kinda weird that there's no "Locomotive Breath", though...

Guess I might as well admit that I found this CD used for $7.99, but passed on buying it...well, after a few years went by, I finally gave in and bought a brand new import copy for $18.99. And then, of course, discovered there was a domestic release available for half the price!!!!!!! Ack, it's things like this that can drive one crazy...

"25th Anniversary Box Set"

Tull box set #2 isn't as fabulous as their 20 Years collection, so I didn't buy it when it originally came out...bad mistake, because this sucker goes for up to ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS at auction nowadays!!! I finally managed to get just the CDs & booklet for $53, minus the cigar box it originally came with (which technically means I shouldn't use the picture for it, but hey, sue me ok?) Well, let's see what we got here:

Disc #1 is purely comprised of remixed songs, and is therefore worthless. Disc #2 contains their live show at Carnegie Hall in 1970, minus the two songs that previously appeared on Living in the Past; a nice show, albeit a bit short at only 60 minutes.

Disc #3 is a curiosity, containing songs re-recorded by Tull around 1992 or so. Man, do they sound tired and worn out in parts! (especially "Thick as a Brick") But there are a few interesting tracks here, in particular the instrumental versions of "Cheerio", "Protect & Survive", and "The Whistler", all of which sound COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the originals! Plus, there's one new song here, "So Much Trouble".

Disc #4 is just a collection of live tracks from '69 to '93, featuring a few rare gems such as "To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be", "Beggar's Farm", "Seal Driver", and the oh-so-short extract from "A Passion Play". (Dammit, why couldn't they release THAT song in its entire live form???) So there you have it. Only 2 new songs (3 if you count the instrumental jam "Passion Jig"), with THREE versions of "Living in the Past" and "A Song for Jeffrey", and TWO versions of "My God", "Nothing is Easy", "With You There to Help Me" and "My Sunday Feeling". Well, at least they avoided padding it up with tracks from previous CDs (remixes aside), which is more than I can say for other progressive rock acts...

"Nightcap" (2CD set)

This double CD import was quite a find. The first CD contains the COMPLETE "Chateau D'Isaster Tapes", a concept album the band never completed. It's an interesting listen, definitely has the "work-in-progress" feel, and many riffs are identifiable from Passion Play and other albums that came later. The second CD is a bunch of unreleased tracks mostly from the 80's and early 90's, although a couple pre-1980 gems do exist. (At this point, the only songs missing are "Night in the Wilderness"...which I have on CD single above...and another ultra-rare song called "Blues for the 18th", which I don't think anyone knew about until years later, when it appeared on a compilation called 25 Very Rare Songs from the Sixties. There's also the J-Tull Dot Com b-side called "It All Trickles Down", which I got on mp3 and burned to the Digital Puppy #6 collection, along with the "long version" of "17".) Apparently, Ian worried that people would think he's just scalping more money off the populace here, so in the liner notes he announces he's donating all the proceeds to charity...a pointless gesture, coz *I* sure ain't complaining, and I'm sure most other Tull fans aren't either!

"Roots to Branches"

1. "Roots to Branches" (5:12)
2. "Rare and Precious Chain" (3:34)
3. "Out of the Noise" (3:24)
4. "This Free Will" (4:04)
5. "Valley" (6:08)
6. "Dangerous Veils" (5:33)
7. "Beside Myself" (5:49)
8. "Wounded, Old and Treacherous" (7:50)
9. "At Last, Forever" (7:55)
10. "Stuck in the August Rain" (4:06)
11. "Another Harry's Bar" (6:22)

The band's second most recent studio album, and boy do they sound old here. It's nice and folksy but totally lacks the energy of their earlier works. I caught the band live for this tour, third time I've seen 'em, and man oh man were they disappointing...Ian's onstage energy was all but depleted. I hate to say it, but now they really ARE too old to rock'n'roll!

"J-Tull Dot Com"

1. "Spiral" (3:53)
2. "Dot Com" (4:26)
3. "Awol" (5:21)
4. "Nothing @ All"--instrumental (0:56)
5. "Wicked Windows" (4:42)
6. "Hunt by Numbers" (4:02)
7. "Hot Mango Flush" (3:51)
8. "El Nino" (4:43)
9. "Black Mamba" (4:59)
10. "Mango Surprise" (1:16)
11. "Bends Like a Willow" (4:54)
12. "Far Alaska" (4:08)
13. "The Dog-Ear Years" (3:34)
14. "A Gift of Roses" (3:54)
15. "The Secret Language of Birds"--unlisted, end of track #14 (4:17)

Hmm, it's 1999 and these boys haven't given up the ghost yet...well, "Spiral" starts off as a promising rocker, but everything else continues the easy-listening mood of Roots to Branches. Dunno, maybe I need to listen to it more...

Now, let me rant about the "hidden" track. First of all, the CD sleeve has a sticker that proudly announces, "CONTAINS HIDDEN BONUS TRACK!" -- well jeez, if it's HIDDEN, why are you TELLING EVERYONE?!? Well, that answer is quickly answered when it turns out to be a track from Ian's simultaneously released solo album, complete with a plug with Ian himself! Normally I'd be royally pissed, but since Ian's speeches are always so damn funny, I'll let it slide this time. :) (And for that matter, the solo track is VERY good...)

"Living with the Past" (live album)

Hammersmith Apollo, 11/25/01:
1. "Intro" (0:24)
2. "My Sunday Feeling" (3:59)
3. "Roots to Branches" (5:33)
4. "Jack in the Green" (2:40)
5. "The Habanero Reel" (4:04)
6. "Sweet Dream" (4:54)
7. "In the Grip of Stronger Stuff"--instrumental (2:56)
8. "Aqualung" (8:19)
9. "Locomotive Breath" (5:26)
10. "Living in the Past" (3:27)
11. "Protect and Survive"--instrumental (1:02)
    Paris, 10/22/99:
12. "Nothing is Easy" (5:14)
    Acoustic Session in a Stately Home, January 2002
13. "Wond'ring Aloud" (1:53)
14. "Life is a Long Song" (3:31)
    The Zurich Dressing Room Tapes, 10/13/89:
15. "A Christmas Song" (3:04)
16. "Cheap Day Return" (1:13)
17. "Mother Goose" (1:57)
    2 Meter TV session, Holland, 10/19/99:
18. "Dot Com" (4:27)
19. "Fat Man" (5:06)
    Class of '68 Reunion, January 2002
20. "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" (4:11)
    Apollo, 2001
21. "Cheerio" (1:37)

Yet another live album. Ian's voice sure ain't what it used to be, but he can still play that flute like a master. The setlist features two songs ("Habanero Reel", "In the Grip of Stronger Stuff") which I think are from Ian's solo work. There's a lot of "bonus" tracks from alternate live sources, the most appealing being the "Zurich Dressing Room Tapes", previously available only on the ultra-rare "Another Christmas Song" CD single! "Some Day..." is from a reunion show featuring Clive Bunker, Glenn Cornick and Mick Abrahms, sure would like to hear more from THAT show, indeed!

on crappy vinyl:
• "Sweet Dream" -- 7" single b/w "17" (long version)
• "Bursting Out: Jethro Tull Live"

videotapes:
• "20 Years of Jethro Tull"

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