Artists | Issues | CD Reviews | Interviews | Concert Reviews | DVD/Video Reviews | Book Reviews | Who We Are | Staff | Home
 

Jethro Tull

Repeat – The Best of Jethro Tull – Vol II (vinyl record)

Review by Gary Hill

This compilation album offers some things of interest for completists. For one thing, it includes some edits of longer pieces. For another there is a previously (at the time) unreleased cut. Everything here works well. A lot of it has trademark Tull sounds, while at times they really manage to stretch out beyond expectations.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review
Side 1
                     
Minstrel in the Gallery (Edited version)

Coming in rocking, this works through an extended introduction based around guitar and flute. It gets into the song proper from there, and it's classic Tull.

Cross-Eyed Mary

Flute starts off and leads this into a cool prog rock jam. They take it out from there into a harder-edged jam, and I swear there’s a bit of “Day Tripper” in the music to this song. This is a great piece of music. They take us through a number of cool changes and alterations in this great journey.

A New Day Yesterday

A bluesy rock number, "A New Day..." is delivered with Tull's trademark type of progressive rock mayhem.

Bourée

A flute dominated ballad, this instrumental is a mellow classic that dances around an intricate melody line.

Thick as a Brick (Edit #4)

The opening section of this makes me think of early Yes, but with some flute added to the mix. Once it works to the vocal section that kind of angle is altered to be more in keeping with the sound we expect from Tull. They take it out into some killer prog rock instrumental jamming for an extended movement. Then we get a return to the vocal section before we get more of that Yesish stuff.

Side 2
                  
War Child

Warfare sound effects start this. Eventually piano joins and we're taken into something that feels like a 1930s kind of thing. From there, it works to more typical Tull rocking sound. There are some jazzy vibes as this shifts to proggier zones. This is dynamic and quite proggy. It's also cool as it works its way through the various sections.

A Passion Play (Edit #9)

This edit is intriguing. It has a lot of trademark Tull sounds. There are some odd blasts of sound effects like keyboards. There is also a movement out into a full on prog rock jam that is so cool and diverse, yet still uniquely branded as Tull. This keeps reinventing itself in different ways as it drives onward. The one complaint is that it ends abruptly.

To Cry You a Song

This is definitely a Jethro Tull classic. The riff that opens it is trademark Tull and yet it reminds me a bit of something from the first Hawkwind disc, too. The vocal line feels like it could have been lifted from the Aqualung album. This is a killer prog rock jam.

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die

Starting with a mellower Tull mode, this starts to build outward after a time. It's trademark JT. It has a good balance between harder rocking and mellower. It also has some cool hooks and works really well. There are some intriguing twists and turns, and it includes some symphonic strings at times. There is a movement later that seems a nod to 50s rock and roll, but done in Tull style.

Glory Row

When originally included on this album, this track was previously unreleased. There are some jazzy things at times in the number. Overall, though it's more trademark Tull. It's a solid rocker.

You'll find concert pics of this artist in the Music Street Journal members area.
You'll find an audio interview of this artist in the Music Street Journal members area.
 
Return
 
Google

   Creative Commons License
   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

    © 2024 Music Street Journal                                                                           Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com