Living in The Psat Jethro Tull

Despite its age, this collection remains the best introduction to the wonderfully bizarre sounds of Jethro Tull – a unique combination of folk music, progressive rock, heavy metal, and of course, Ian Anderson's ubiquitous flute. Drawing exclusively from the band's '70s heyday, opener "Living in the Past" sets the retrospective tone, leading the way into the signature guitar riff of "Aqualung," the band's multifaceted pièce de résistance. Though lyrically indecipherable, "Locomotive Breath" is equally timeless, and the moment when John Evan's fanciful piano intro gives way to Martin Barre's guitar feedback remains thrilling. With his acoustic guitar in hand, Ian Anderson becomes a medieval bard, drawing the listener into worlds of legend both threatening ("Sweet Dream," "Witches Promise") and joyously carefree ("Thick as a Brick," "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day"). The unbelievable kaleidoscope of sound which makes up "Songs from the Wood" is simply too original and intricate for words to describe.

Where the first Jethro Tull box five years earlier, 20 Years of Jethro Tull, mostly traded on radio broadcast performances and rarities, a few outtakes, and a remastered collection of key songs, 25th Anniversary Boxed Set benefits from a more thorough raid on the vaults that has yielded up one essential addition to any Jethro Tull collection. Disc two is the centerpiece of the set, containing an additional hour of the group's November 4, 1970 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York (two pieces were previously issued on Living in the Past). Preserved on a 16-track master tape, this benefit show for the drug rehabilitation program Phoenix House was the group's most prominent American gig up to that time. It's a good representation of what the band sounded like in its second incarnation, when they were still establishing themselves outside of England…

The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull, on September 30, 2003. In 2009, the live album Christmas at St Bride's 2008 was included with the original album on CD.
For a band that remained relatively consistent (with a few minor exceptions) in their approach to rock & roll since 1968, Jethro Tull also possessed a sound that was uniquely '70s-oriented during their most successful period between 1971-1978. Avid fans have been yearning for the group's return to the style which made them one of the most successful of the guitar-based, mainstream prog outfits - albums like Broadsword and the Beast and J-Tull.Com touched on their former glory, but they didn't fully satisfy. Christmas Album could be the recording that those fans have been waiting for…

As with all of the releases in the Extended Versions series, the 2006 Jethro Tull edition is a set of latter-day live renditions of some of the group's best-known classics – which have all been previously released. And as with most Tull releases after, say, 1980, the performances and production here are exceedingly clean-sounding – in other words, the bite of their classic early-'70s period is nowhere to be found. What you get instead are pretty blah versions of such classics as "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," and "Living in the Past." But it's always a gas to hear such lesser-known Tull tunes as "Fat Man" and "Nothing Is Easy," both of which are included here, while a truncated version of "Thick as a Brick" (which still clocks in at over nine minutes) is a rare point where the group truly sounds inspired.

There are numerous "best of Jethro Tull" albums on the market, and too many of them feature virtually the same songs that have been endlessly played on the radio for the last thirty years. Jethro Tull are a group that are so much more multi-faceted and unique than many of those "hits" would suggest. Kudos then, to those who assembled this collection, which delves deeper into Tull's enormous catalogue of compositions and comes up with a greater, more accurate perspective of the band's history.

There are numerous "best of Jethro Tull" albums on the market, and too many of them feature virtually the same songs that have been endlessly played on the radio for the last thirty years. Jethro Tull are a group that are so much more multi-faceted and unique than many of those "hits" would suggest. Kudos then, to those who assembled this collection, which delves deeper into Tull's enormous catalogue of compositions and comes up with a greater, more accurate perspective of the band's history.

This celebration of Jethro Tull’s tenth album follows a similar pattern to previous reissues, with the first disc containing a Steven Wilson remix followed by some ‘associated recordings’ including the previously unreleased Old Aces Die Hard and Working John, Working Joe. CDs two and three offer 22 track live tracks, recorded on the Songs From The Wood Tour across two American dates, (Boston on 6 December 1977 and Maryland on 21 November 1977). These unheard tracks have been remixed to stereo by Jakko Jakszyk and are completely unheard. There are two DVDs in this set. The first contains a 5.1 surround sound mix (DTS and Dolby 5.1) and 96/24 LPCM stereo versions of the both the original and Steven Wilson remixed version of Songs From The Wood. This DVD also features selected associated tracks, as well as various quad mixes and flat transfers. The other DVD contains video footage from that Maryland gig of 21 November 1977. The audio has been mixed to stereo and 5.1.