JETHRO TULL
This Was (Remastered) (Chrysalis/Emi)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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The very first Jethro Tull album was not at all like the 428 British Isles folk-rock platters that followed. It was an electric blues album that is sadly and unfairly overlooked when people list the great white blues bands of the late 60s. Mick Abrahams' guitar work alone should qualify the album for inclusion on your list. He was an instinctual guitarist who played with imagination and a full range of emotions, sometimes taking the subtle approach while Ian Anderson vocalized or put down his first flute tracks, and sometimes stepping out very suddenly with finger picked chords just odd enough to keep everything slightly askew. The real story is the sound the whole band made at this early point in their career. The atmosphere was dreamy without draping a wimpy sound. In fact, if you listen closely you may just agree that there are moments when they nearly out-bluesed Cream and on "Cat's Squirrel" they all but out-heavied Sabbath (yes, the bluesy first Black Sabbath album, of course). This remastered version sounds spectacular and wide open, and three bonus tracks have been added (including "Christmas Story") to sweeten the pot, so you Tull completists have to buy it again. The uninitiated who are Tull-Curious should consider this a very fine blues album that is in no way representative of Jethro Tull's traditional style of music. If you make your decisions from that viewpoint you should be fine.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson