Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

This could be the shortest album review I ever write because there's only one song on Thick As A Brick, and that's the title track.

I know what you are thinking. "Why would you write a review for a single?" Well the answer is very simple, if you don't already know. It's a really good song. In fact the song is so good that Jethro Tull Prog Rock'd it to an unimaginable 43:36. A song so long that when it was originally released on vinyl it had to be split in half, and was listed on the album as Part 1 and Part 2. The CD plays the song in it's full uncut glory.

Let me start with the concept behind this album. It is a concept album, based on the idea of a fictional character "Little Milton" writing an epic poem that causes a major uproar amongst the religious, politicians and socialites. In fact you can read all about it on the front album cover. The fake newspaper explains it all. Including why Jethro Tull decided to turn the Poem into and album. It's a concept album, purely because the band made it into a concept album to make fun of concept albums. It doesn't get any more Prog than that. Also interesting since there weren't that many concept Rock albums by 1972. As far as I know of The Who's Tommy (1969) was one of the few true concept albums. Other's would be considered more obscure, or came out later.

Now, for those that don't know what Prog means let me clear it up just a little. A single song has to be written with a minimum of twenty different time signature changes, must contain thirteen different tempos, six different keys and can be no shorter than ten minutes. Thick As A Brick has four times those numbers. I should also point out that those numbers are not factual. Prog is like freeform Jazz, and Thick As A Brick is a giant fully functioning experiment in that.

Also if you don't know what a concept album is, it's basically an album that follows a story line. The Who's Tommy is the perfect, and most known version of a concept album. (I'm well aware of the fact that The Who call it a Rock Opera.) It has a very clear linear story. Another favourite concept album of mine is Welcome To My Nightmare. The in depth story isn't there, like Tommy, but it has a story all the same.

Thick As A Brick would never see the light of day in today's music enviroment, unless the band ponied up the money out of pocket, and that's a real shame. Sure it's not radio friendly, and radio edits do it no justice, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be released. Not releasing music like this should be a sin.

I do love this song. Forget all the musicianship. Forget the fact that the lyrics contain nine pages of double spaced lines. This album is pure art, chaulked full of meaning and talent.

For the album, the band line-up was; Ian Anderson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, violin, trumpet, saxophone; Martin Barre – electric guitar, lute; John Evan – piano, organ, harpsichord; Jeffrey Hammond (as "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond"): Bass guitar, Vocals; Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion, timpani, David Palmer – Brass and string arrangements. As you can see it's an impressive list of instruments, and they are just so tightly wound together.

This album just works for me on a multitude of levels. It's light and whimsical like a Sunday afternoon prancing around the prairie, but easily snakes in and out of desperation and despair. The intricate fantastical dancing instrument could easily be from a lost video from Fantasia, and the vocals are just so mystical.

Just go out and buy the album and listen to it. Don't be a cheap ass and download it either. Go drop a few bucks and get a nice solid copy in your hands. Then play the shit out of it. Also the louder you play it, the better it gets. I also think for optimum listening enjoyment the album should be cranked up in the woods through two massive P.A. speakers. It would sound perfect for miles.

The only reason I will not rate this album/song a perfect ten is that a 43:36 long song is not for everyone, no matter how good it is.

9/10 - content

10/10 - production

10/10 - personal bias