Jethro Tull Heavy Horses

Jethro Tull's 11th studio album, Heavy Horses, is one of their prettier records, a veritable celebration of English folk music chock-full of gorgeous melodies, briskly played acoustic guitars and mandolins, and Ian Anderson's lilting flute backed by the group in top form. This record is a fairly close cousin to 1977's Songs from the Wood – and was ultimately the hinge-piece and first of an ecologically themed trilogy which concluded with 1979's Stormwatch – except that its songs are decidedly more passionate, delivered with a rough, robust energy that much of Tull's work since Thick as a Brick had been missing. In its lustiness it arguably surpasses even Aqualung. "No Lullaby" is the signature heavy riff song, a concert version of which opened Bursting Out: Jethro Tull Live recorded that same year. Anderson sings it – and everything else here – with tremendous intensity, as though these might be the last lines he ever gets to voice.

Jethro Tull's 11th studio album, Heavy Horses, is one of their prettier records, a veritable celebration of English folk music chock-full of gorgeous melodies, briskly played acoustic guitars and mandolins, and Ian Anderson's flute lilting in the background, backed by the group in top form…

Jethro Tull's 11th studio album, Heavy Horses, is one of their prettier records, a veritable celebration of English folk music chock-full of gorgeous melodies, briskly played acoustic guitars and mandolins, and Ian Anderson's lilting flute backed by the group in top form. This record is a fairly close cousin to 1977's Songs from the Wood – and was ultimately the hinge-piece and first of an ecologically themed trilogy which concluded with 1979's Stormwatch – except that its songs are decidedly more passionate, delivered with a rough, robust energy that much of Tull's work since Thick as a Brick had been missing. In its lustiness it arguably surpasses even Aqualung.

Heavy Horses is the eleventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1978. It is considered the second album in a trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull, although folk music's influence is evident on a great number of Jethro Tull releases. The album abandons much of the folk lyrical content typical of the previous studio album, Songs from the Wood, in exchange for a more realist perspective on the changing world. Likewise, the band sound is harder and tighter. The album reached #19 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Essential: A masterpiece of progressive rock music.
1978's HEAVY HORSES, as many fans will agree, was the last truly great album from Ian Anderson and company, and remains one that I play more often than many other Tull efforts.

Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses (1978) {Japan Mini LP Edition 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 340 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
Full Artwork @ 400 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb
© 2003 Toshiba-EMI / Chrysalis | TOCP-67186
Rock / Prog Rock / Art Rock / Folk Rock

HEAVY HORSES brings together the best elements of Jethro Tull's sonic arsenal: heavy guitars, intricate, evolving song structures, folk tendencies, and Ian Anderson's inimitable growl. The album opens with the bouncy "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps," a fairy tale-like song about the adventures of a group of forest animals. "Acres Wild" features a disco-esque groove held down by funky drums and bass.

Jethro Tull - 17 Chrysalis Album Collection (1968-87) [19CD+DVD] {2001-2005 Japan Mini LP Remaster} [combined repost]
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC(tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 6.36 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 2.39 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 336 Mb
© 2001-2005 Toshiba-EMI / Chrysalis | TOCP-65879~67682
Rock / Prog Rock / Art Rock

Jethro Tull's first album, THIS WAS, recorded and released in 1968, shows a band that is a far cry from their better-known incarnation as a prog rock outfit in the late 1970s. Instead, Tull come across here as a solid and talented blues band with elements of jazz, folk, and psychedelia thrown in. The band's sound was heavily influenced by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Mick Abrahams, whose bluesy singing and leads distinguish this disc in Tull's discography. Frontman Ian Anderson also shines with tunes like "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" and the excellent cover of Rashaan Roland Kirk's "Serenade to a Cuckoo."