Under wraps
| Under wraps | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Jethro Tull | ||||
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Publication |
1984 |
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admission |
1984 |
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| Label (s) | Chrysalis | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
11 + 4 |
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running time |
43:13 (LP), 60:33 (CD from 2005) |
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| occupation |
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Ian Anderson |
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Studio (s) |
Farmyard Studios |
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Under Wraps is the fifteenth studio album by the progressive rock band Jethro Tull . It is considered the band's most controversial album.
occupation
Jethro Tull recorded the album with Ian Anderson , Martin Barre , Peter-John Vettese and Dave Pegg . Under Wraps is the only Jethro Tull album without a drummer. Most of the compositions come, unlike Jethro Tull's usual, by Ian Anderson and Vettese, partly also by Anderson, Vettese and Barre ( Nobody's Car and Paparazzi ) or - like all texts - solely by Anderson ( Lap of Luxury , Under Wraps # 1 , European Legacy and Under Wraps # 2. )
history
The band recorded the album in the spring of 1984. As early as 1983 Anderson had recorded his solo album Walk Into Light with Vettese , which was also characterized by the use of synthesizers . The album was released as a long-playing record with eleven songs; the compact cassette version contained four more pieces. The CD released in 2005 contains all 15 tracks in a new arrangement.
At the concerts of the Under Wraps tour, musicians and instruments were covered with white towels, which Anderson removed at the beginning of the concert. Doane Perry was hired as drummer, who stayed with the band until Jethro Tull broke up.
After Under Wraps , Jethro Tull did not record a studio album for three years. Anderson's voice had suffered so much from the vocal demanding pieces during the tour that he had permanent problems with his larynx .
In 1990 the live album Live at Hammersmith '84 was released, which was created during the Under Wraps tour, but contains only two of the pieces from the studio album.
album
Under Wraps is characterized by the extensive use of synthesizers and the lack of - physical - drums. Several of the lyrics deal with espionage stories during the Cold War .
LP version
Lap of Luxury is a rock piece in which the electric guitar and synthesizer stand out. The narrator lives in simple circumstances, but dreams of a life in luxury. Under Wraps # 1 is a fast, rocking piece with synthesizer, flute and background vocals. It can be interpreted as a love song or as a song about a spy. The singer feels - according to the title - wrapped up by a mysterious woman; in the end, however, it is she who is "wrapped up" in the sheets. In European Legacy , the flute dominates from the start; the synthesizer is also used. The four stanzas are about the "European legacy" of Northern Scotland; in the last stanza it is a woman who, like the narrator before, takes on the role of the legacy guardian.
The piece Later, That Same Evening has a complex rhythm. The use of synthesizers is once again defining. Anderson sings of a spy he longs for; however, she continues with a submarine. Saboteur is fast and rocky, but sometimes also close to the disco sound ; Synthesizer and flute take center stage, and Barre plays an electric guitar solo. The play is about a contract killer who pretends not to want to be a "saboteur". Radio Free Moscow is a pop music track with a synthesizer. The title ironically refers to the broadcasters Radio Free Europe and Radio Moscow at the time of the “Cold War”, the text criticizes the propaganda role of the broadcasters.
Nobody's Car begins with a flute solo. Synthesizer and flute can also be heard as solo instruments in the course of the pop piece, in addition it contains passages with typical car noises. The car that is sung about is a Volga by KGB officials (see also: Black Volga ) that chases the singer in the Soviet Union until he submits to the agent. The phrase “Intourist city” at the end of each stanza alludes to the Soviet travel agency Intourist . Heat is another rocking piece in which the flute is initially in the foreground and is later used together with the synthesizer. A wanted person is asked to escape the "heat" as quickly as possible.
Under Wraps # 2 is an acoustic version of Under Wraps # 1 and therefore has a unique selling point on this album. Paparazzi is a pop piece with a synthesizer that describes the work of paparazzi at an airport. Apogee is the longest track on the album, but shorter than many Jethro Tull tracks on other albums. The synthesizer dominates again; the song is not very melodic. It is about an astronaut who is in apogee and wants to leave Earth. At the beginning and further on you can hear radio conversations. Heavenly bodies are compared to daffodils - an allusion to a poem by William Wordsworth .
Extra title
Astronomy is a fast, rocking piece that is dominated by the synthesizer. It is about an astronomer who feels that he can control the entire universe. In the mid-tempo song Tundra , synthesizers are also in the foreground, and the flute is also used as a solo instrument. The singer describes his abandoned snowshoes and his departure.
Automotive Engineering is a little melodic, rocking piece that is dominated by flute and synthesizer and describes new techniques in automotive engineering. The designer Ferdinand Porsche and the role of cars from a Freudian point of view are also discussed. General Crossing is a pop-rock piece with a synthesizer, in which the rhythm is also in the foreground. A general is facing a "transition" - it turns out in the course of the song that he is overflowing to the Soviets.
Cover
John Pasche designed the cover. It shows a slim, naked woman under a white sheet and a stylized representation of the capital letters T, U, L and L in white on a blue background. The band name and album title are also in capital letters at the top of the cover.
On the back you can see the sheet, in the middle, enlarged, the TULL emblem. Song titles are at the top of the page, credits at the bottom.
On the inner shell of the LP version, the TULL emblem is located on both sides in the middle, and the individual song texts of the respective titles on the LP side are printed all around.
The TULL emblem was otherwise only used on the cover of the 1990 album Live at Hammersmith '84 .
effect
The album peaked at number 18 in the UK and number 76 in the US. At Allmusic , the original edition received one of five possible points.
The single Lap of Luxury reached number 30 in the British charts, Under Wraps # 1 could not be placed.
Track list
page 1
- Lap of Luxury (3:35)
- Under Wraps # 1 (3:59)
- European Legacy (3:23)
- Later, That Same Evening (3:51)
- Saboteur (3:31)
- Radio Free Moscow (3401)
Page 2
- Nobody's Car (4:08)
- Heat (5:37)
- Under Wraps # 2 (2:14)
- Paparazzi (3:47)
- Apogee (5:28)
CD from 2005
- Lap of Luxury (3:35)
- Under Wraps # 1 (3:59)
- European Legacy (3:23)
- Later That Same Evening (3:51)
- Saboteur (3:31)
- Radio Free Moscow (3:40)
- Astronomy (3:38)
- Tundra (3:41)
- Nobody's Car (4:08)
- Heat (5:37)
- Under Wraps # 2 (2:14)
- Paparazzi (3:47)
- Apogee (5:28)
- Automotive Engineering (4:05)
- General Crossing (4:02)
Web links
- Reviews of Under Wraps on the baby blue pages
- Under Wraps at Allmusic (English)
- Detailed information about the individual versions of the sound carriers at musik-sammler.de
- Lyrics at cupofwonder.com
- Information about the lyrics at cupofwonder.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Scott Allen Nollen: Jethro Tull: a history of the band 1968-2001. McFarland, Jefferson NC 2001, ISBN 0-7864-1101-5 , p. 176. Excerpts from books.google.de
- ^ A b Scott Allen Nollen: Jethro Tull: a history of the band 1968-2001. McFarland, Jefferson NC 2001, ISBN 0-7864-1101-5 , p. 179. Excerpts from books.google.de
- ^ Scott Allen Nollen: Jethro Tull: a history of the band 1968-2001. McFarland, Jefferson NC 2001, ISBN 0-7864-1101-5 , p. 177. Excerpts from books.google.de
- ↑ Under Wraps in the UK Charts , accessed on May 5, 2015.
- ↑ Under Wraps at Allmusic (English), accessed on May 5, 2015. Description of the album at allmusic.com (English), accessed on May 5, 2015.