Thick as a Brick 2
| Thick as a Brick 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Ian Anderson | ||||
|
Publication |
April 2, 2012 |
|||
|
admission |
March / November 2011 |
|||
| Label (s) | EMI | |||
|
Format (s) |
CD |
|||
|
Title (number) |
17th |
|||
|
running time |
53:45 |
|||
| occupation |
|
|||
|
Ian Anderson |
||||
|
||||
Thick as a Brick 2 (also TAAB 2 ) is the sixth solo album by Ian Anderson , the former front man of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull . It's a concept album .
content
The album was released exactly 40 years after the concept album Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull. It ties in with the plot centered on the fictional, now around 50-year-old “Gerald Bostock”, from Thick as a Brick . In the first part, under the topic of Divergence (Divergence), five possible life situations are described after three introductory pieces in two songs each: Bostock as a greedy investment banker, homosexual homeless man, soldier on a war mission, sanctimonious pastor and as an ordinary, childless married shopkeeper who goes with his model railway plays. The last four tracks on the album are grouped under the theme of Convergence and in part also refer to the five possible fates of Bostock, which seem to merge in the track Mulberry Walk in streets with the name Mulberry… .
In March 2012, the fictional newspaper St Cleve (www.stcleve.com) was published on the Internet. It follows on from the printed newspaper St. Cleve Chronicle & Linwell Advertiser , which served as the cover of Thick as a Brick and parodies the local news of a rural area.
Anderson recorded the album with musicians from his Ian Anderson Touring Band, including Rosenheim- born guitarist Florian Opahle , and guest musicians Ryan O'Donnell (additional vocals) and Pete Judge (brass instruments).
Like the lyrics, the music is based on the album Thick as a Brick . The introductory theme is identical to the musical transition from A to B side on the 1972 album. The ending is a verse from the previous album; the closing words Thick as a Brick are supplemented by a two . There are also quotes and echoes of the Jethro Tull songs Locomotive Breath and Heavy Horses as well as the concept album A Passion Play .
In contrast to Thick as a Brick , the album does not contain a long piece, but 17 tracks. These include progressive rock tracks in which electric guitar and flute dominate, acoustically played pieces and spoken words. There are no pauses between the pieces, giving the impression of a continuous work.
tour
Together with the Touring Band , Anderson began the Thick as a Brick Tour in April 2012 , which began in the United Kingdom and continued to Europe, North America, Latin America and Japan until June 2013. At the concerts, the two concept albums were played one after the other in full length.
reception
“Jethro Tull's audaciously ambitious 1972 concept album, Thick As a Brick, made prog-rock history. For the album's 40th anniversary, frontman Ian Anderson - sans Tull - has crafted a sequel that's just as ambitious as its predecessor. Like the original, Thick As a Brick 2 comprises one continuous, album-length suite with a linear lyrical narrative but multiple shifts in feel. […] Trying to follow in the footsteps of such a classic-rock staple could easily have been disastrous, but Anderson triumphs against the odds. Even without his Tull mates, he convincingly picks up where he left off four decades earlier, proving that there are still vital sonic statements to be made within the old-school prog-rock realm. "
“Jethro Tull's boldly ambitious 1972 concept album Thick as a Brick made prog rock history. For the 40th anniversary of the album, Ian Anderson - without Tull - created a sequel that is just as ambitious as its predecessor. Like the original, Thick as a Brick 2 consists of a continuous, album-length suite with a linear plot, but multiple changes of feeling. […] Trying to follow in the footsteps of such a classic rock album could easily have been a disaster, but Anderson triumphs contrary to expectations. Even without his Tull colleagues, he convincingly collects what he left over four decades ago, and proves that in the old school prog rock realm there are still lively musical statements to be made. "
- Prog Archives listed several positive reviews of the album and gave it four out of five stars. The conclusion was: Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection .
- Grande Rock wrote that Thick as a Brick 2 was a good album that would bring back the good memories of the old Jethro Tull era.
Charts
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
13 (6 weeks) | 6th |
 Austria (Ö3)
|
19th (2 weeks) | 2 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
31 (4 weeks) | 4th |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
35 (2 weeks) | 2 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
55 (2 weeks) | 2 |
Track list
Divergence: intervention, parallel possibilities
Pebbles Thrown
- From a Pebble Thrown (3:06)
- Pebbles Instrumental (3:30)
- Might-have-beens (0:50)
Gerald the Banker
- Upper Sixth Loan Shark (1:13)
- Banker Bets, Banker Wins (4:28)
Gerald Goes Homeless
- Swing It Far (3:28)
- Adrift and Dumfounded (4:25)
Gerald the Military Man
- Old School Song (3:07)
- Wootton Bassett Town (3:44)
Gerald the Chorister
- Power and Spirit (1:59)
- Give Till It Hurts (1:12)
Gerald: A Most Ordinary Man
- Cozy Corner (1:25)
- Shunt and Shuffle (2:12)
Convergence: destiny, fate, karma, kismet
A change of horses
- A Change of Horses (8:04)
22 Mulberry Walk
- Confessional (3:09)
- Kismet In Suburbia (4:17)
What-ifs, Maybes, Might-have-beens
- What-ifs, Maybes and Might-have-beens (3:36)
Special edition
The Special Edition also contains this material:
- 5.1 mix of Steven Wilson's album
- Making-of (approx. 25 minutes)
- Interviews by Ian Anderson, Steven Wilson and the Ian Anderson Touring Band (approx. 16 minutes)
- Readings of the lyrics by Ian Anderson (approx. 25 minutes)
- Translations of the lyrics into several languages, including German
MP3 download
The CD version is also available as an MP3 download.
Web links
- The newspaper St Cleve (English)
- Ian Anderson on TAAB 2 ( Memento from May 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English; archive version)
- Reviews of Thick as a Brick 2 on the baby blue pages
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description at akroncivic.com ( memento from July 20, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English), accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ billboard.com , accessed April 30, 2012
- ↑ Thick as a Brick 2 review by Prog Archives (English); Retrieved April 30, 2012
- ↑ TAAB 2 review on grande-rock.com (English); Retrieved April 28, 2008
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US