Jethro Tull, blues band? You mean that flute-wielding,
tights-wearing, concept album-making, prog band? And lets not forget,
winner of the first-ever Grammy for hard rock/metal album (chortle). But
yes, dear reader, this was 1968, and every respectable new band in
England was in blues, whether it was Fleetwood Mac or the New
Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin. So you had Mr. Anderson and crew appearing on
the BBC covering Sonny and Brownie, singing "My baby left me, my mule
got lame/Lost all my money in a poker game." Plus, he was playing blues
harp.
The thing is, they were a very good blues
band, and Anderson did take out the flute and make it sound pretty good
in that style. About half the songs on this debut album are
instrumental, and the fledgling band had a smooth jazz/blues style,
which hinted at interesting things in the future. Vocal numbers such as
My Sunday Feeling were more modern and melancholy. Others, including
Beggar's Farm, had a Mose Allison-meets-Aqualung mix, and allowed for
lots of riffing, from both our favourite flautist and the guitar
stylings of Mick Abrahams.
This 50th
anniversary edition is actually being used to bring This Was in line
with the other reissue boxes in the Tull catalogue. When it was first
expanded, it was a smaller package, but over the last few years all the
'70's records have come out in these excellent small box packages, with
several discs and an excellent on-going book treatment, featuring very
comprehensive notes and interviews, including most group members and the
ever-pithy Anderson. Fans cried for this one to join the club too, and
it's an excellent effort, adding even more bonus material. It's now a
three-CD, one-DVD set, with plenty of previously unreleased out-takes,
versions and BBC sessions, different mono and singles mixes, and a
stereo remix by Steven Wilson, whose work has been featured on all the
Tull reissues. The DVD has all the digital sound, except that it's only a
4.1 mix rather than 5.1, which bothers some people, but hey, there were
only four musicians playing anyway. And purists get the original stereo
and mono album mixes too. Interesting, that Anderson was one heck of a
good harp player. But I'd hate to have had him stick to that course,
and miss out on Thick As A Brick.
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