|
Post by steelmonkey on Apr 14, 2017 15:31:21 GMT
A Passion Play is Tull's best album. The peak of their music and lyrics and ambition and performance. But for me, in my humble little, grain-of-sand life, Thick as a Brick is the soundtrack. It describes what really happened. The generation gap had become wider than it had ever been and it left us wondering if, maybe, we hated our dads or maybe if our dads hated us? Ian wrote how it felt to navigate that gap, with confused righteousness and guilt....fear and confidence....looking at a mixed up world and believing for a millisecond we could set it right.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 16:03:00 GMT
A Passion Play is Tull's best album. The peak of their music and lyrics and ambition and performance. But for me, in my humble little, grain-of-sand life, Thick as a Brick is the soundtrack. It describes what really happened. The generation gap had become wider than it had ever been and it left us wondering if, maybe, we hated our dads or maybe if our dads hated us? Ian wrote how it felt to navigate that gap, with confused righteousness and guilt....fear and confidence....looking at a mixed up world and believing for a millisecond we could set it right. little, grain-of-sand = Really glad to know that you exist. Perfect words for me. Really glad to read this, identify.
|
|
|
Post by futureshock on Apr 14, 2017 17:07:54 GMT
A Passion Play is Tull's best album. The peak of their music and lyrics and ambition and performance. But for me, in my humble little, grain-of-sand life, Thick as a Brick is the soundtrack. It describes what really happened. The generation gap had become wider than it had ever been and it left us wondering if, maybe, we hated our dads or maybe if our dads hated us? Ian wrote how it felt to navigate that gap, with confused righteousness and guilt....fear and confidence....looking at a mixed up world and believing for a millisecond we could set it right. Two different musical approaches. Passion Play seemed to have a different approach in the studio touch applied (more HD clarity, sense of spaciousness, more bass, more reverb, more focus on making each instrument a unique tone standing in isolation?). Passion Play was a convergence, an emergence of the isolated parts working together, very episodic, where Thick As A Brick felt more unified throughout, each section more of a full band effort united to blast out the rhythm and melody. TAAB seemed like a great band performance by and for a live band, where Passion Play was a finely polished studio album. TAAB being a great three-course blend of stews and beers, like a sampler at a capable port-city restaurant, while Passion Play being more of a 5-course blend of appetizers, Italian and tropical nation main courses, chocolates and liquors, served on a repertoire theatre balcony over-looking a cultural festival at about 7:45pm exactly, 25 Celcius, humidity 45%. Other "peak" Tull albums for those same reasons, I suggest, are: Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses, Roots To Branches, Minstrel In The Gallery and one carabiner relay below the peak, Crest Of A Knave.
|
|
|
Post by steelmonkey on Apr 15, 2017 16:57:28 GMT
Great meal analogies. Accurate to the last bite, in fact. TAAB2 and HE a happy re-opening of a long closed 5 star bistro.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 21:44:34 GMT
Great meal analogies. Accurate to the last bite, in fact. TAAB2 and HE a happy re-opening of a long closed 5 star bistro.
|
|
cecil
Journeyman
Posts: 162
|
Post by cecil on Apr 22, 2017 1:51:10 GMT
It has always been TAAB. But when the APP remix came out with the extra minute on side 2, I've been listening to side 2 a lot now. APP has caught up but TAAB still has the edge.
|
|
|
Post by maddogfagin on Apr 22, 2017 8:12:57 GMT
It has always been TAAB. But when the APP remix came out with the extra minute on side 2, I've been listening to side 2 a lot now. APP has caught up but TAAB still has the edge. For me APP has the edge but as I've said before I can't listen to TAAB1 without listening to TAAB2 - in my own view both TAABs require back-to-back listening for a complete appreciation of the project, preferably in a darkened room with headphones of your choice
|
|
|
Post by steelmonkey on Apr 22, 2017 15:59:43 GMT
I don't spend that much time watching Tull concerts on You Tube...but the Iceland DVD fits well within my attention span and makes me happy every time. TAAB and TAAB 2 together was a great era. So lucky to have seen it thrice...spread out over about 18 months...each time better than the time before.
|
|
|
Post by jethrotull on Apr 23, 2017 1:55:31 GMT
I tend to rate Tull's music by their performance of it live, which is where I've always enjoyed it the most, because the band could never quite be captured on tape - to truly experience Tull you had to attend their concerts. I remember well the TAAB and APP concerts in the summers of 1972 and 1973. Thick as a Brick was the best - incredible musicianship, hilarious gags based around the newspaper, energy like I've never seen. It was fresh, clever and in my opinion, Tull at the peak of their zany powers. No other concert before or since kept me as entertained as that one. I feel that a Passion Play may be the finest music by the band, but not their finest live performance. It seemed a bit contrived, or forced to me, as if Ian and company felt the need to outdo the TAAB stage act, and the freshness and humor of TAAB just wasn't there. It was an amazing show but a bit of a letdown for me after what I had seen the year before.
|
|
|
Post by maddogfagin on Apr 23, 2017 8:06:11 GMT
I tend to rate Tull's music by their performance of it live, which is where I've always enjoyed it the most, because the band could never quite be captured on tape - to truly experience Tull you had to attend their concerts. I remember well the TAAB and APP concerts in the summers of 1972 and 1973. Thick as a Brick was the best - incredible musicianship, hilarious gags based around the newspaper, energy like I've never seen. It was fresh, clever and in my opinion, Tull at the peak of their zany powers. No other concert before or since kept me as entertained as that one. I feel that a Passion Play may be the finest music by the band, but not their finest live performance. It seemed a bit contrived, or forced to me, as if Ian and company felt the need to outdo the TAAB stage act, and the freshness and humor of TAAB just wasn't there. It was an amazing show but a bit of a letdown for me after what I had seen the year before. A further interesting and rewarding musical treat is to play the Chateau D'Isaster album in all its glory back to back with APP. It's a nuance of Jethro Tull that back to back listens of albums tend to throw up certain similarities and connections. Obvious ones to my ears are HH & SFTW and The String Quartets & A Classic Case.
|
|
|
Post by bunkerfan on Apr 23, 2017 9:36:18 GMT
I tend to rate Tull's music by their performance of it live, which is where I've always enjoyed it the most, because the band could never quite be captured on tape - to truly experience Tull you had to attend their concerts. I remember well the TAAB and APP concerts in the summers of 1972 and 1973. Thick as a Brick was the best - incredible musicianship, hilarious gags based around the newspaper, energy like I've never seen. It was fresh, clever and in my opinion, Tull at the peak of their zany powers. No other concert before or since kept me as entertained as that one. I feel that a Passion Play may be the finest music by the band, but not their finest live performance. It seemed a bit contrived, or forced to me, as if Ian and company felt the need to outdo the TAAB stage act, and the freshness and humor of TAAB just wasn't there. It was an amazing show but a bit of a letdown for me after what I had seen the year before. TAAB live will always hold a special memory for me as it was my first Tull concert and the thing I remember most is how blooming good they were live.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 13:51:03 GMT
I tend to rate Tull's music by their performance of it live, which is where I've always enjoyed it the most, because the band could never quite be captured on tape - to truly experience Tull you had to attend their concerts. I remember well the TAAB and APP concerts in the summers of 1972 and 1973. Thick as a Brick was the best - incredible musicianship, hilarious gags based around the newspaper, energy like I've never seen. It was fresh, clever and in my opinion, Tull at the peak of their zany powers. No other concert before or since kept me as entertained as that one. I feel that a Passion Play may be the finest music by the band, but not their finest live performance. It seemed a bit contrived, or forced to me, as if Ian and company felt the need to outdo the TAAB stage act, and the freshness and humor of TAAB just wasn't there. It was an amazing show but a bit of a letdown for me after what I had seen the year before. TAAB live will always hold a special memory for me as it was my first Tull concert and the thing I remember most is how blooming good they were live. TAAB live will always hold a special memory for me as it was my first Tull concert and the thing I remember most is how blooming good they were live. - SAME Here - MATCHing you, matching me.
|
|
|
Post by smint100 on Nov 14, 2021 19:37:44 GMT
Bumping this discussion up as I've been playing both these albums a lot recently to try and answer this question. Both have their highlights, and, overall, I think TAAB is the most consistent of the two and deserves to be recognised as one of their best. The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles I'm sure worked brilliantly in the live show and is playful whimsy for the first couple of listenings, but I pretty much always skip over it now. But if I had to decide based on which one I'd fight to the death for, then purely for Overseer Overture and Flight From Lucifer - which I think are not only the finest 8 minutes of Tull, but the finest 8 minutes of music that exists. So it's A Passion Play that you'd have to drag from my cold, dead hands if you defeat me, which I think is worthy of the album title
|
|
|
Post by steelmonkey on Nov 15, 2021 0:55:08 GMT
I agree so heartily with last post...1000% agree...but would add that the five minutes before Overseer Overture, especially with the added minute on box set, are not too shabby.
|
|
|
Post by smint100 on Nov 15, 2021 19:49:35 GMT
I agree so heartily with last post...1000% agree...but would add that the five minutes before Overseer Overture, especially with the added minute on box set, are not too shabby. “Jack rabbit mister spawn a new breed” is where it gets going for me, but I see that as the aperitif winding up to the totally rocking Overseer Overture main course. The quality of his voice is startlingly crystal clear. Strangely, I’ve always felt the “pick up your bed” as where the Overseer Overture starts for me, even though that’s not technically correct. But, hey, this is Tull, so why not start an edit part way through a line? 😊 I also love the way he sings the (clearly) bracketed words, but my favourite part is the phrasing in, “I would gladly be a dog – barking up the wrong tree”. Even the instrumental following is lovely, and I’ll even admit to liking Magus Perde – like a delicious dessert and then a strong cheese course. With port, of course 😊
|
|
|
Post by steelmonkey on Nov 16, 2021 1:24:53 GMT
I would bid two or three....for! Peak, peak Tull
|
|