Aqualung (album)
| Aqualung | ||||
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| Studio album by Jethro Tull | ||||
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Publication |
April 1971 |
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| Label (s) | Chrysalis Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
43:33 |
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Studio (s) |
Island Studios, London |
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Aqualung is the fourth album by the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull , recorded and released in 1971 (Chrysalis ILPS 9145). The album, characterized by consistently compositional class, increased the band's popularity enormously and represents their first musical-creative climax. Critics still refer to this album as an essential milestone in rock music.
occupation
Besides Ian Anderson and Martin Barre acts Clive Bunker with, for it was his last Jethro Tull album, and John Evan , the first permanent member of the band was, and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond , for it is the first album of Jethro Tull was. David Palmer , who later also became a member of Jethro Tull, was responsible for the orchestral arrangements .
The texts and compositions are by Ian Anderson. It is controversial that, as noted on the album itself, Anderson's then wife Jennie Anderson contributed the lyrics to the title song. Anderson later stated in interviews that he was inspired by her photographs and her description of homeless people in south London to the person of the sung homeless person Aqualung and ultimately to the entire lyrics.
style
Different styles of music are combined on the album. Rudolf Öller sees "sound myths from earlier epochs [...] built into a framework of blues-rock and classic quotations". The musical styles range from folk and classical music to hard rock. The intro of Locomotive Breath for example, begins as a romantic piano piece, which passes by some jazz chords in a blues improvisation by piano and guitar and a catchy hard rock - reef ends. The many instruments are perceived as "interesting but not annoying".
content
The presumption often expressed by critics and fans that Aqualung was a concept album was rejected by Ian Anderson. In contrast to the two later concept albums Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play , on which the songs merge, on this album they are separated from each other by pauses.
The lyrics primarily criticize the inability of established religions to establish contact between an individual and God through the institutionalization of faith . Social grievances and the problems of the British school system are also discussed. The title song tells of the old, neglected man “Aqualung”, who looks after little girls in the park and approaches his end. Spring breaks out during his last breaths. The rocky piece contains a striking guitar solo by Martin Barre. Cross-Eyed Mary tells of the cross-eyed Mary , who gets involved with “porous, gray” gentlemen - she also sees “Aqualung”. The piece begins with a Mellotron solo, but is also rocky and is characterized by distinctive riffs on the electric guitar and flute. Cheap Day Return is one of three short, acoustic pieces. Anderson ponders his father's hospitalization and says that the nurse asked for an autograph. The folky Mother Goose is dominated by acoustic instruments. The text is about a walk through the London borough of Hampstead and describes bizarre occurrences. The love song Wond'ring Aloud is one of the short acoustic pieces on the album. The original version was longer and was released on later albums. The piece Up to Me is a humorous piece, mainly played with acoustic instruments. The title is interpreted in different ways in the song, as "up to me" and as "my cause".
The longer piece My God is about the relationship between God and Jesus and the church, which is harshly criticized. The piece is very dynamic and contains a long flute solo. Hymn 43 is characterized by rock instrumentation with hard rock riffs. The text is addressed to God and Jesus. Jesus' role as Savior is countered by the advice that he should allow himself to be redeemed by his church. Slipstream is another short piece with sparse instrumentation. The poetic text describes a person who gives their last money to a church representative, but who presents an invoice for it. Locomotive Breath is considered the most popular piece by Jethro Tull. After a jazzy introduction by Evans playing the piano, it turns into a hard rock song with a pounding rhythm, a distinctive guitar riff and the rocking blown flute. It is about a man who drives unchecked towards his doom on a steam locomotive - symbolic of a loser. The last title is Wind Up, which takes up the topic of "God and Church". Anderson sings that as a student he was pressured to obey Church rules. But God told him that he (God) does not have to be wound like a clock every Sunday. The piece that begins like a song becomes a hard rock piece in the middle and becomes song-like again at the end. The text is a sharp criticism of the church.
Cover
The cover picture shows the watercolor of a long-haired, bearded man standing bent over in a long coat in front of a shabby background. He has the features of Ian Anderson. Brown, green and yellow colors predominate, the broken lettering of the album title and band name is white. On the inside there is another watercolor depicting the band in medieval costumes in a Gothic-looking building. On the back of the album you can see the man at the front sitting on a sidewalk; next to him is a dog. All watercolors were created by Burton Silverman.
In the 1989 song Strange Avenues on the album Rock Island , Anderson sings about an alcoholic on the street who looks "like the cover of a 1971 record".
The original record release has a folding cardboard cover with linen embossing that gives the impression of a painting.
reception
The album received mostly good reviews, for example from Bruce Eder, who rated the album four and a half stars out of five. A review on the Rolling Stone website finds Aqualung too serious and with too much “misplaced emotion”, even though the reviewer likes the music itself. In a later edition, however, the album was voted # 337 of the "greatest albums of all time".
Aqualung's most successful track , Locomotive Breath, which is also featured on numerous live and best-of albums , achieved great popularity. It is considered a "classic". Furthermore, songs like My God and Aqualung achieved worldwide popularity.
Martin Barres guitar solo in Aqualung was voted 25th of the best guitar solos in history by the journal Guitar Player .
With around seven million records sold, Aqualung is the most successful Jethro Tull album. It reached number 4 on the UK charts and number 7 on the US Billboard charts.
Other versions
The complete album was also released as a Quadrofonie album. The songs were completely remixed thanks to the option for four channels; some of them also appeared with different track lengths. For the 25th Anniversary Special Edition 1996 the track Wind Up was re-released in the quadrofonie version - mixed down on two channels due to the release on CD .
In 1998 the CD with bonus tracks was released for the first time. In 2005 the album Aqualung Live was released, on which all tracks of the album as well as six other tracks are presented live. In 2011 Chrysalis released a double CD with new mixes (by Steven Wilson ) and additional recordings from the time of the first release.
Track list
Original edition
Page one - Aqualung
- Aqualung (6:34)
- Cross-Eyed Mary (4:06)
- Cheap Day Return (1:21)
- Mother Goose (3:51)
- Wond'ring Aloud (1:53)
- Up To Me (3:14)
Page Two - My God
- My God (7:08)
- Hymn 43 (3:15)
- Slipstream (1:12)
- Locomotive Breath (4:23)
- Wind-Up (6:01)
25th Anniversary Special Edition
- Aqualung (6:37)
- Cross-Eyed Mary (4:09)
- Cheap Day Return (1:23)
- Mother Goose (3:53)
- Wond'ring Aloud (1:55)
- Up To Me (3:14)
- My God (7:12)
- Hymn 43 (3:19)
- Slipstream (1:13)
- Locomotive Breath (4:26)
- Wind-Up (6:07)
- Lick Your Fingers Clean (2:46)
- Wind-Up (Quad Version) (5:23)
- Excerpt from the Ian Anderson Interview (13:58)
- A Song For Jeffrey (2:51)
- Fat Man (2:56)
- Bourée (3:58)
Web links
- Reviews of Aqualung on the baby blue pages
- All texts at cupofwonder.com (archive version )
Individual evidence
- ↑ according to Ian Anderson in an interview in the broadcast Ö1 Radiokolg on September 10, 2014: http://oe1.orf.at/programm/382009 , title of the broadcast: Jethro Tull - A portrait of band leader Ian Anderson, part 3
- ↑ Scientific.at: Jethro Tull ( Memento from January 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Retrieved March 7, 2010)
- ↑ Locomotive Breath at songlexikon.de , accessed on April 15, 2014
- ^ Jethro Tull Press: Sounds, April 10, 1971 ( Memento of May 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Retrieved March 7, 2010)
- ↑ a b Rolling Stone: Aqualung ( Memento of April 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on August 11, 2012)
- ↑ a b Review at rezensator.de (accessed on March 7, 2010)
- ↑ Aqualung on the official website (accessed March 7, 2010)
- ↑ Review in the Allmusic Guide (accessed on March 7, 2010)
- ↑ a b examiner.com , accessed February 17, 2012
- ^ Guitar World ( Memento of May 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 17, 2012
- ^ Allmusic.com , accessed February 17, 2012
- ^ Information from discogs.com , accessed February 17, 2012