JETHRO TULL
War Child (Chrysalis)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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This, Jethro Tull's seventh album, is not their best, but it's been unfairly slagged by critics for years. In fact, the same critics who bashed the band for being excessive with side-long songs on their previous few releases turned right around and bashed them again for returning to a short(er) song format, as if they'd abandoned their principles. In truth, War Child was the album Ian Anderson had in him at that moment, and it produced two of Tull's all-time classics ("Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day" and "Bungle In The Jungle"), as well as lesser known rockers that true Tull fans value, such as "Sealion" and "Back Door Angels," the latter of which pointed both the bluesy style of their past and, in places, a balanced amalgam of folk and continually refined hard rock that would be the hallmark sound of their future. Pieces of Heavy Horses can be heard here, five years ahead of schedule. The now defunct Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab 24 karat gold release improved the sound and added seven tracks from the same sessions. This release keeps that track list intact - a good thing since some of the bonus tracks are absolute gems no true Tull fan should miss - and has sound that is a definite improvement over the original CD release, and though it may or may not be the same remaster that MOFI created, when I did an A/B listening test, my impression was that the gold disc was slightly warmer. However, good freakin' luck finding it, as it often goes for around sixty bucks on E-Bay. This one is so close in sound quality it makes sense to add it to your Tull collection and toss the aging copy.

© 2003 - DJ Johnson