hello all! this week, we’re starting a new discography review – this time we’re going back to 1968 for the debut record from Jethro Tull, a rock band from Liverpool, in Britain. let’s dig into This Was!
i gotta say, theres some weird and fun instrumentation on this record – Ian Anderson, whose presence will be the core of Jethro Tull’s discography through different lineup changes, learned the flute as a way to, by the sounds of it, avoid being relegated to rhythm guitar, and it lends an interesting sound to their tracks. Mick Abraham, the lead guitarist on this record, also contributed heavily to the songwriting on the record, and based on what ive read he’s where the jazzier and bluesier sounds on the record come from.
i like a lot of whats here, even if im not crazy in love with it. the opener, My Sunday Feeling, is a lot of fun, Beggar’s Farm has some excellent passages and segments, Serenade to a Cuckoo is a loungey, laid back instrumental track thats a very pleasant listen. i like the long, slow strides that It’s Breaking Me Up takes (plus the harmonica, lol), and its fun that Cat’s Squirrel is such a jammy track.
so yeah! neat sound – i kept thinking of like, Paper Mache Dream Balloon listening to this record, in a very fond and positive way. fun listen!
faves – My Sunday Feeling, A Song for Jeffrey
dislikes –
This Was – 6/10
next week, we’re checking out their album from the next year, Stand Up
first is the first Jethro Tull release | next: Stand Up
all my reviews for Jethro Tull