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Jethro Tull: The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull
ByEven at its most electric, Tull has always reflected an allegiance to the British folk tradition. Once founding member/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/songwriter Ian Anderson emerged as the group's clear leader following its more blues-oriented debut, This Was (Chrysalis, 1968), the group immediately began integrating traditional elements. The image of Anderson as the flautist who plays on one leg may be his most enduring, but Tull in performance makes it clear that acoustic guitar is an equal companion to the singer.
The majority of the songs have been available, albeit in some cases only in expensive box sets or as bonus tracks on remastered/expanded editions of Tull's discography. Two previously unreleased songsan alternate version "One Brown Mouse, from Heavy Horses (Chrysalis, 1978), and the Renaissance-like "Pastime With Good Company might be reason enough for the completist to check this compilation out. Collector pathology aside, The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, even if the lion's share of the material is familiar. Hearing this more finessed material grouped together paints an entirely different picture of Tull, even for its most committed fans.
The highlights are manyincluding the poignant "Life Is a Long Song, pastoral "Jack in the Green, Baroque-ish "Velvet Green and rhythmically charged "Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow but there are a couple of missteps. While Thick as a Brick has to be represented, the shortened edit of its first few minutes suffers from a forced fade out coming at an admittedly necessary point, given the electric jolt about to come. The inclusion of just over a minute of "Cold Wind to Valhalla, from Minstrel in the Gallery (Chrysalis, 1975), makes no senseover before it's begun and unnecessary, given the inclusion of that album's "One White Duck/010=Nothing at All.
One might also question the inclusion of two tracks from Anderson's The Secret Language of Birds (Fuel, 2000) and Rupi's Dance (Fuel, 2003), since they're not strictly Tull tunes. Still, with the exception of longstanding guitarist Martin Barre, the group's revolving door of personnel has always suggested that Ian Anderson is Jethro Tull. Historical inaccuracy and a couple of questionable edits do nothing to take away from The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tulla compelling collection that rightly focuses on a side of the group that many mistakenly consider to be secondary to its real mission statement.
Track Listing
Fat Man; Life Is a Long Song; Cheap Day Return; Mother Goose; Wond
Personnel
Ian Anderson: flute, acoustic guitars, mandolin, percussion; Martin Barre: acoustic guitar, electric guitar; Clive Bunker: percussion; Jeffrey Hammond: bass guitar; John Evans: piano, accordion; Barriemore Barlow: drums, glockenspiel, percussion; John Glascock: bass guitar; David Palmer: keyboards, portative organ; Dave Pegg: bass guitar, double bass, mandolin; Peter Vettese: keyboards; Gerry Conway: drums; Doane Perry: drums; Andrew Giddings: keyboards; Jonathan Noyce: bass guitar; David Goodier: bass guitar, double bass; James Duncan: drums, percussion; John O
Album information
Title: The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Capitol Records
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