Record Reviews
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  | JETHRO TULL ~ HEAVY HORSES (NEW SHOES EDITION)
CHRYSALIS 190295757915 (Barcode: 190295757915) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1977 - 1978 Released: 2018
This is a 40th Anniversary Edition reissue of the eleventh album by the British Prog Masters Jethro TullFind albums by this artist and another chapter in the series of reissues of their seminal albums which are being remixed to new stereo and 5.1 surround sound versions by Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist, who is doing similar projects with classic Rock / Prog albums by other artists as well. It follows a similar treatment that Wilson applied to the reissues of all (except the debut as of now) early Jethro Tull releases.
The reissue consists of three CDs and two DVDs. The first CD contains the new stereo mix of the original album (nine tracks) and nine "associate recordings", seven of which are previously unreleased. The second and third CDs include live performances recorded in Berne, Switzerland in May 1978 (twenty two tracks), some of which were used for the "Bursting OutFind albums with this title" double LP released in September 1978. These tracks were remixed to stereo by Jakko JakszykFind albums by this artist. The first DVD contains the album and eight of the "associate recordings" remixed in two High-Resolution formats (5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM). Also included are the original stereo mixes of the album and four additional "associate recordings" in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM. The second DVD includes the tracks of the live Berne concert remixed by Jakko Jakszyk in two High-Resolution formats (5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM) and promotional short videos. If you are confused by all these technical terms, donīt be it is all complete bullshit piece of hype! Basically you donīt even get the original stereo mix of the album in a CD form, but you get almost two hours of a live concert on DVD, remixed versions of the album, and a few bonus tracks, which honestly contribute very little, if anything at all.
The entire set is lavishly packaged in a digibook format, with great photos of the band, background material, the song lyrics and other goodies, which are all beyond reproach.
The groupīs lineup on this album is the same as on its predecessor "Songs From The WoodFind albums with this title"; Ian AndersonFind albums by this artist as usual handles most of the vocals and plays the flute parts and acoustic guitar / mandolin. The lead guitar is magnificently handled by Martin BarreFind albums by this artist, the keyboards by John EvanFind albums by this artist and David PalmerFind albums by this artist, the bass by John GlascockFind albums by this artist and the drums by Barriemore BarlowFind albums by this artist. Anderson gets credit for all the music and lyrics, but Palmer and Barre get credit for contributing some of the instrumental themes.
Musically the album continues the new stylistic approach, emphasizing the Folk-Rock direction and British Folkloristic references. It is also considered as the second album in the trinity of albums formed by "Songs From The Wood" this album and the forthcoming album "StormwatchFind albums with this title". Of course the album still firmly and consistently continues the Progressive Rock elements, which the band masterly develops regardless of the current stylistic aesthetic the specific albums deal with.
For many Jethro Tull fans this albums marks one the definitive highlights of the groupīs long and flourishing career, but personally I believe everything the group created over the years was top notch and it was the listeners following fads and fashions who could not always follow the intricacies and complexity of the music Anderson whimsically weaved. A classic by any standard!
Side Note
As for the Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist contributions, Iīm perplexed time after time why anybody being of sound mind would allow him to butcher the original material and then hype the results as spectacular. These original mixes are untouchable and anybody trying to change them is more or less re-painting Van Gogh, re-sculpturing Michelangelo or re-writing the Bible, all truly barbaric acts of disrespect.
Additionally I find his stereo mixes to be dry, artificial and deviant, badly damaging the original ambience of the recordings. Perhaps for people who are not familiar with the original sound this sounds fine, but for me itīs unbearable and sacrilegious.
In addition I find the surround sound completely redundant, hoping for years that it will go away as did quad and other industry inventions meant to earn some more money from the suckers following the trends. The whole high resolution hype is so ridiculous; in reality most people are deaf anyway and canīt tell one note from another even if it bites them in the ass and use ridiculously lo-fi equipment. In short Emperorīs new clothes, as usual, and no shame whatsoever.
| | Updated: 15/03/2020Posted: 25/05/2018 | 3CD+2DVD 5 Digibook Box Set Oversampling DVD-A Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend |
  | JETHRO TULL ~ MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY (40TH ANNIVERSARY: LA GRANDE EDITION)
CHRYSALIS 825646157204 (Barcode: 825646157204) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1975 Released: 2015
This is a reissue of the eighth album by the British Prog Masters Jethro TullFind albums by this artist and another chapter in the series of reissues of their seminal albums which are being remixed to new stereo and 5.1 surround sound versions by Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist, who is doing similar projects with classic Rock / Prog albums by other artists as well. It follows a similar treatment that Wilson applied to the reissues of all Jethro Tull albums starting with their third album "BenefitFind albums with this title".
The reissue consists of two CDs and two DVDs. The first CD contains the new stereo mix of the original album and seven bonus tracks. The second CD contains a new stereo mix by Jakko JakszykFind albums by this artist of the groupīs live performance at the Palais Des Sports, 5th July 1975. The first DVD contains the original album and two bonus tracks remixed in High-Resolution 96/24 LPCM stereo and 5.1 surround sound in High-Resolution DTS 96/24 format and AC3 Dolby Digital format, a flat transfer of the original mix with one bonus track in High-Resolution 96/24 LPCM stereo and a flat transfer of the original Quadraphonic version with one bonus track in two High-Resolution formats. The second DVD contains the live performance at the Palais Des Sports in two surround sound and one stereo High-Resolution formats and a promotional video clip of the album, filmed at this concert, again remixed into two surround sound and one stereo format. If you are confused by all these technical terms, donīt be it is all complete bullshit piece of hype! Basically you donīt even get a copy of the original album, which you can listen to on conventional hi-fi equipment, but you get seven bonus tracks and a whole live concert.
The entire set is lavishly packaged in a digibook format, with great photos of the band, background material, the song lyrics and other goodies, which are all beyond reproach.
This album carries the orchestration aspect of its predecessor, scaled down to a string quartet. It returns to the earlier format of mixing English Folk motifs and almost acoustic instrumentation with heavier parts dominated by the guitar. As usually this album was savagely criticized by the critics at the time of its release. In retrospect it defeats short-sighted critics and proves to be definitely as good as all other Jethro Tull albums and perhaps even one of their most coherent, elegant and aesthetically pleasing ventures. In Rock / Prog history Jethro Tull definitely remains as a group that managed to produce consistently excellent output, mainly of course due to the charismatic leadership of Ian AndersonFind albums by this artist. The other members of the group on this album were guitarist Martin BarreFind albums by this artist, keyboardist John EvanFind albums by this artist, bassist Jeffrey Hammond-HammondFind albums by this artist and drummer Barriemore BarlowFind albums by this artist.
Incidentally the Paris concert has almost nothing to do with this album, as it was at the time still in the recording stage. Only the title song is performed during the concert and the rest is the usual "best off" collection of the bandīs favorites. But of course, Jethro Tull always was a superb live band, so this is a great addition to their recording legacy. Jakszykīs mix is perfect.
Side Note
As for the Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist contributions, Iīm perplexed time after time why anybody being of sound mind would allow him to butcher the original material and then hype the results as spectacular. These original mixes are untouchable and anybody trying to change them is more or less re-painting Van Gogh, re-sculpturing Michelangelo or re-writing the Bible, all truly barbaric acts of disrespect.
Additionally I find his stereo mixes to be dry, artificial and deviant, badly damaging the original ambience of the recordings. Perhaps for people who are not familiar with the original sound this sounds fine, but for me itīs unbearable and sacrilegious.
In addition I find the surround sound completely redundant, hoping for years that it will go away as did quad and other industry inventions meant to earn some more money from the suckers following the trends. The whole high resolution hype is so ridiculous; in reality most people are deaf anyway and canīt tell one note from another even if it bites them in the ass and use ridiculously lo-fi equipment. In short Emperorīs new clothes, as usual, and no shame whatsoever.
| | Updated: 25/05/2018Posted: 16/01/2016 | 2CD+2DVD 4 Digibook Box Set Oversampling DVD-A Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | JETHRO TULL ~ SONGS FROM THE WOOD (THE COUNTRY SET)
CHRYSALIS 190295847876 (Barcode: 190295847876) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1976 - 1977 Released: 2017
This is a 40th Anniversary Edition reissue of the tenth album by the British Prog Masters Jethro TullFind albums by this artist and another chapter in the series of reissues of their seminal albums which are being remixed to new stereo and 5.1 surround sound versions by Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist, who is doing similar projects with classic Rock / Prog albums by other artists as well. It follows a similar treatment that Wilson applied to the reissues of all (except the debut as of now) early Jethro Tull releases.
The reissue consists of three CDs and two DVDs. The first CD contains the new stereo mix of the original album (nine tracks) and seven "associate recordings", two of which are previously unreleased. Also included is a stereo version of the A side of a US single, which is left untouched. The second and third CDs include live performances recorded in the US, with four tracks originating from the Boston concert in December 1977 and the rest (eighteen tracks) from the Landover, MD concert in November 1977. These tracks were reconstructed and remixed to stereo by Jakko JakszykFind albums by this artist. The first DVD contains the album and five of the "associate recordings" remixed in two High-Resolution formats (5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM). Also included are the two additional "associate recordings" in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM and quad mixes of four tracks in DTS 4.0 and Dolby Digital AC3 4.0 surround sound. The second DVD includes the audio and video of the Landover, MD concert. If you are confused by all these technical terms, donīt be it is all complete bullshit piece of hype! Basically you donīt even get the original stereo mix of the album in a CD form, but you get almost two hours of a live concert on DVD, remixed versions of the album, and a few bonus tracks, which honestly contribute very little, if anything at all.
The entire set is lavishly packaged in a digibook format, with great photos of the band, background material, the song lyrics and other goodies, which are all beyond reproach.
The groupīs lineup on this album is expanded with the addition of the second keyboardist David PalmerFind albums by this artist, which turns Jethro Tull into a sextet. Ian AndersonFind albums by this artist as usual handles most of the vocals and plays the flute parts and acoustic guitar / mandolin. The lead guitar is magnificently handled by Martin BarreFind albums by this artist, the keyboards by John EvanFind albums by this artist, the bass by John GlascockFind albums by this artist and the drums by Barriemore BarlowFind albums by this artist. Anderson gets credit for all the music and lyrics, but Palmer and Barre get credit for contributing some of the instrumental themes.
Musically the album marks a significant change in the overall stylistic approach, emphasizing the Folk-Rock direction and British Folkloristic references. It is also considered the first album in the trinity of albums formed by this and the two forthcoming albums: "Heavy HorsesFind albums with this title" and "StormwatchFind albums with this title". Of course the album still firmly and consistently continues the Progressive Rock elements, which the band masterly develops regardless of the current stylistic aesthetic the specific albums deal with.
For many Jethro Tull fans this albums marks one the definitive highlights of the groupīs long and flourishing career, but personally I believe everything the group created over the years was top notch and it was the listeners following fads and fashions who could not always follow the intricacies and complexity of the music Anderson whimsically weaved. A classic by any standard!
Side Note
As for the Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist contributions, Iīm perplexed time after time why anybody being of sound mind would allow him to butcher the original material and then hype the results as spectacular. These original mixes are untouchable and anybody trying to change them is more or less re-painting Van Gogh, re-sculpturing Michelangelo or re-writing the Bible, all truly barbaric acts of disrespect.
Additionally I find his stereo mixes to be dry, artificial and deviant, badly damaging the original ambience of the recordings. Perhaps for people who are not familiar with the original sound this sounds fine, but for me itīs unbearable and sacrilegious.
In addition I find the surround sound completely redundant, hoping for years that it will go away as did quad and other industry inventions meant to earn some more money from the suckers following the trends. The whole high resolution hype is so ridiculous; in reality most people are deaf anyway and canīt tell one note from another even if it bites them in the ass and use ridiculously lo-fi equipment. In short Emperorīs new clothes, as usual, and no shame whatsoever.
| | Updated: 15/03/2020Posted: 25/05/2018 | 3CD+2DVD 5 Digibook Box Set Oversampling DVD-A Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend |
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