Locomotive Breath

I was slightly obsessed with Jethro Tull singles earlier this year. Initially, I was interested in the exclusive songs that never appeared on the regular studio albums, but soon I became fascinated with the picture sleeves. I loved the old photos and sleeve designs...it felt like a true piece of music history. Once I started chasing them, I just wanted more and more of them, so I set a quick goal to keep going until I had nine of them...you know, for that perfect Instagram photo. Once I hit my goal, I pumped the brakes and moved on and started focusing on other records.

After picking up a few recent New Wave Of British Heavy Metal singles, it got me thinking about that obsession with Tull singles, and it rekindled that desire to collect them...so I grabbed another one from Discogs.

Locomotive Breath is one of my top Jethro Tull songs, so I kind of had my sights set on getting the 7 inch single for that one. As luck would have it, I found a US seller with an available copy...and since the price was right, I quickly added it to my cart.

Once again, I love that picture sleeve photo. Shame that someone felt the need to write their initials on the front and back.

I've got a few of these French pressings from the Serie Parade collection for Tull singles, so it feels cool to add one more.

Tull Obsession - Part 6: Songs From The Wood

While I was putting a hold on chasing more Jethro Tull singles, I still wanted to add another full length album to the collection. I've got the band covered for their first five albums...from This Was in '68 to Thick As A Brick in '72..but I've been hesitant to explore much beyond that. Diving into the world of Tull singles, exposed me to some stuff outside of my comfort zone, and I was ready to go a little deeper into their catalog.

I've been slowly checking out the next handful of Jethro Tull albums, and while they don't completely have me losing my shit over them, they are still quite good. One of the albums that I spent a bit of time with was Songs From The Wood from '77. I had that album queued up to listen to while on a few of my 5:00am runs in January, and those songs really hooked me while I was out there under the stars.

The Steve Wilson remixes for the Jethro Tull reissues have been great, so I was happy when my local record store had a copy of Songs From The Wood in stock.

Other than how great these sound, my favorite thing about these reissues is the huge booklet that comes with the record. I love the packaging for these things, and it is one of the few times that I'll skip the original pressing to get the reissue instead.

Twenty three pages of photos and history of the album. Perfect for just putting the album on, and flipping through the booklet to totally immerse yourself into it.

Tull Obsession - Part 5: Minstrel In The Gallery

I was still on my Jethro Tull kick with eight singles under my belt, and an easy goal seemed to be to aim for nine...you know, to get the perfect three by three photo for Instagram. Got to have symmetry.

So I wanted to get one more, and I hit up Discogs to see what opportunities there were. I really like the cover art for the Thick As A Brick single, but I couldn't seem to find one that was a decent price. Then I heard the title track for the Minstrel In The Gallery album, and I loved it...and was able to track down a German pressing with this cool looking cover. The exclusive b-side track of Summer Day Sand is a nice touch as well.

Nine Jethro Tull singles. I still get excited over these things, but it is time to take a break from this obsession, as I have a few other things rattling around in my record collector head, and I want to start filling some bigger holes. I'll definitely have to get back to this one somewhere down the line. This was fun.

Tull Obsession - Part 4: Sweet Dream

I was six records into my obsession over Jethro Tull picture sleeve singles, and what started as a casual pursuit, suddenly got really fucking serious. Initially, I told myself that I was only going to pick up cheap singles from US sellers, but as I got deeper into this game, those rules went out the window, and this time out I was hitting up a seller out of France. I didn't care about the higher shipping fees, I just wanted to grow the collection.

The Sweet Dream single was out of 1969, and while the a-side made it on to the Living In The Past comp, the b-side song, 17, did not, so I was especially excited to get my hands on this one. This might be my favorite cover of all the singles that I have at this point. The shaggy, long hair and beard...plus the cigarette smoke...captured in black and white...goddamn, it just looks so bad ass.

Two great classic Jethro Tull songs that should not be missed!

The Stand Up album is probably my favorite Jethro Tull album...basically for the same reason that Fireball is my favorite Deep Purple album...both of them just have this perfect flow and texture. So while both songs on the Bouree single are from the Stand Up LP, and there is nothing new that is offered here, I still wanted a copy of this single.

Another French pressing, and a great addition to the collection.

Tull Obsession - Part 3: Living In The Past

Things were starting to snowball with my obsession over Jethro Tull singles. I needed more, and I kept searching Discogs for US sellers that had multiple Tull singles for sale. Things were getting a bit more serious now, and I wasn't too concerned with paying only a few dollars for these things...suddenly, this casual chase for singles was getting a bit more urgent, and when I found a US seller with a bunch of records available, I didn't bat an eye at the higher price tags.

I really wanted to cover all the single captured on the Living In The Past compilation album, so I had my sights set on the single that shared the same name. The Living In The Past single, with the Driving Song b-side was released 50 years ago. These songs come from my favorite Jethro Tull period, and are absolutely essential.

Each single was usually released with multiple covers, depending on the country of release. This is the cover for the French release.

There is something cool about those pink Island labels. Too bad the original owner had to make sure his friends didn't steal his copy by writing his name all over it.

A couple years back, the Ring Out, Solstice Bells single was reissued from Record Store Day. I wasn't interested in Jethro Tull at the time, so I let it pass me by without any interest. That reissue probably had a $15 price tag. This original UK pressing from 1976 was $3.

I generally dislike any songs that could be considered Christmas songs, but this single is an exception.

One of the albums that I haven't really taken the time to check out is the 1973 release, Passion Play. This album is supposed to be just one long song, split across the a and b side of the record, and it has seemed overwhelming when I think about checking it out. I figured that this single would give me a solid snapshot of what the album had to offer, so I grabbed it.

Just like that, my collection doubles from three records to six. I still can't get over how great these picture sleeves look, and it feels like I'm collecting history. I'm not done yet.

Tull Obsession - Part 2: Life Is A Long Song

Getting my hands on the Jethro Tull single for The Witch's Promise really had an impact on me. For some reason, I've recently found myself interested in old picture sleeve singles, and shortly after picking up that old one from Tull, I was jonesin' to get my hands on more of them.

The Witch's Promise single had me checking out the Living In The Past compilation, and since that record collects some early non-LP tracks, I used that as my starting point when I was wondering what should be my next move in the 7 inch singles game. All five songs from the Life Is A Long Song single also appear on the Living In The Past comp, and all songs are great, but fighting the convenience of compilation, I decided to chase the original single from 1971.

I was pretty casual with this mission, and figured that if I could find a copy for cheap from a US seller, I'd grab it. As luck would have it, there was one available from a seller in New York, with a reasonable six dollar price tag, and I quickly added it to my cart.

Before checking out, I decided to search the other records that the seller had available...specifically looking for more Jethro Tull. I was happy to find that they also had the single for The Whistler available, and only for a few dollars. Now, I'd never heard this song before, as it falls outside my Jethro Tull comfort zone, but for that price...and I just thought the photo of Ian Anderson with his flute, looked cool as hell...I grabbed that one as well.

When I received this single, I wasn't too excited over the song, or the b-side Strip Cartoon, but with repeat spins, I'm liking this more and more. Maybe it is time to expand my Jethro Tull experience out to '77 or '78, and see what's up.

Tull Obsession - Part 1: The Witch's Promise

It was about three years ago that I was first introduced to Jethro Tull, and it seems that after I took that first taste, I've been obsessing about the band at some level ever since. Hell, checking my listening stats on last.fm for last year, I listened to Jethro Tull at the same level as Dio and Iron Maiden, so yeah, Tull got a lot of playing time. My fascination with the band ebbs and flows, but when the obsession starts to fade, it is just an easy push to get me back down that rabbit hole.

After picking up, and posting about, the first Jethro Tull album last Fall, I got sucked into watching a bunch of live Tull videos on youtube. Man, watching those bearded, long haired ruffians playing live, just made me love them even more. During this live video binge, I discovered a performance of the song, The Witch's Promise. What the hell is this? Where did this song come from? Some quick research on Discogs revealed that this song was released as a single back in 1969...and then was included on the Living In The Past compilation LP a few years later.

As it never ended up a regular full length album, I felt like I'd found some kind of hidden treasure. I needed this song...and I needed the original single for it...desperately.

I found a seller in the US that had a copy of the UK single, with the picture sleeve, and with a price tag of only six dollars, I didn't hesitate to make it mine.

This single is 50 fucking years old this year. It is older than I am, and given my age, that is saying something. Holding this record in my hand feels important, and given the reasonable sale price, I imagine that not many people really care about this, and that just makes me love it even more.

This Was Jethro Tull

In the Spring of last year, I caught a live show of Martin Barre here in Portland. As Martin was the guitar player for Jethro Tull, the set was packed full of those old Tull songs, and I absolutely loved it. I had just discovered and was obsessing about Jethro Tull at the time, and that live set did not disappoint. When it was announced that Martin was bringing the band back through town again this October, I was eagerly looking forward to the chance to catch them again.

Before the show, and before I met my friend Jeff for dinner, I hit up a couple record stores to flip through the used bins and kill some time. Seeing the first Jethro Tull record, in amazing condition, and with a $7.00 price tag...well, of course I had to add it to the collection.

The This Was album were the first tentative steps of Jethro Tull, and they didn't fully start to really come into their sound until the following album, Stand Up. While not my favorite of the early Tull stuff, this album has more of a bluesy sound to it, and is still a fun listen.

Once again, Martin Barre and his band delivered for the live show, and I think that the setlist was even stronger this year...I mean, they included Back To The Family, which is one of my favorite Jethro Tull songs (in a long list of favorite Tull songs), so that is hard to top. Goddamn, what a great show.

Stand Up With Jethro Tull

For a band that I never gave a shit about, this past year has seen me do a complete 180 in my opinion. Where I once would have laughed you out of the room for suggesting Jethro Tull to me, now I can't get enough, and their early albums are getting multiple spins any given week.

Initially, I was simply only obsessing over Aqualung. That album consumed me, and I could not get enough of it. It was getting repeat spins for a good portion of the summer last year. When I started to grow accustomed to the songs, and needed to regain my Tull high, I turned to the other early albums in their catalog.

The first album that I branched out to was Jethro Tull's third album, their 1970 release, Benefit.

Initially, Benefit failed to really grab me. It lacked that intense punch that I'd found with Aqualung, and it took some time for these songs to sink in. After about six months of giving these songs the occasional spin, they really started to capture my attention. Suddenly, I couldn't get enough of Benefit, and as the Tull obsession grew, it was time to find another album to add to the rotation.

I was already three albums deep into Jethro Tull by the time that I picked up their 1969 release, Stand Up. By this time I had grown comfortable with the band's style, and unlike my initial experience with Benefit, with this one, the hooks were immediately set. Man, everything about these songs absolutely captivate me. No other band sounds like this...they are something truly unique.

As with most of these Jethro Tull reissues, the packaging is excellent...even down to replicating the pop-up gatefold from the original release.

Unlike the reissue for Benefit, Stand Up includes an amazing 23 page, 12 x 12 booklet, which is full of pictures and written history of the band at this time. Seriously, this thing is amazing. So much great information, including some detail and a photo of when Tony Iommi was in the band prior to the release of Stand Up!

As fate would have it, just as I was peaking with my Jethro Tull obsession, it was announced that their guitarist, Martin Barre, was going to be coming through town and playing a bunch of Tull songs. Of course I jumped to secure my tickets. Here is a musician that was playing huge shows at Madison Square Garden through the 70's, and now he is touring, playing for a hundred or so people at an intimate show in a small city like Portland, Maine. Much respect for musicians that still play simply for the love of the music, regardless of the size of the crowd. Martin and his band played for over two hours, and while I didn't know many of the songs they played, it was still a great show.

Thick As A Brick

I've never really given a shit about Jethro Tull. They were always just "that band from the 70's that had a flute". Nothing really appealing there for me, so I've avoided them.

Three years ago, Ian Anderson from Tull was coming through town and playing the Thick As A Brick album in it's entirety, and my friend, Jeff, wanted to go. I had zero interest, but it was a free ticket and an excuse to hang out, so I said I'd go with him. Ten minutes before he picked me up, I decided to get a preview of what I was in for, and I checked out some of the album on youtube. Much to my surprise, it was pretty good. It didn't knock my socks off, but I did grab a free download through soulseek.

After that show, I never really went back to spend much time with the album...and I generally forgot all about Jethro Tull. Earlier this year, I discovered the Aqualung album, and since I can basically listen to this album every day, and not get tired of it, I figured that it might be time to start spending a little time with Thick As A Brick as well.

Since I had grabbed the recent Steven Wilson remix pressing for Aqualung, i did the same here with Thick As A Brick.

Originally released in 1972, Thick As A Brick was Jethro Tull's response to the critics calling Aqualung a concept album. Ian Anderson decided to give everyone the mother of all concept albums, and take a playful swipe at the prog rock bands of the time as well, with TAAB comprising of one single 40 minute song...split between the two sides of vinyl of course. Given it's immense weight, I suppose that I can be forgiven for not picking up on how great this record was when I first heard it. There is a lot to take in, but once I committed to it, I found that I'd started giving it repeat listens on any given day.

The original packaging for Thick As A Brick came with an elaborate newspaper print cover, and this 2015 reissue, does a great job adapting that into the 12x12 booklet, which includes bonus interviews and photos from those days. Well done.

Locomotive Breath

Season 2: Episode 7 of Fargo has a pretty strong opening, and through it all is a rumbling of an amazing song that perfectly sets the tension and atmosphere. As soon as the scene was done, I was immediately hitting the internet, scrambling to find out what song it was. Locomotive Breath from Jethro Tull's Aqualung album.

To me, Tull have always kind of been nothing more than a joke footnote to the '89 Grammy Award Ceremony, where they beat Metallica for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance...oh yeah, and they also played a flute. Despite my history of writing them off, with this introduction of Locomotive Breath, I was suddenly very interested to see if Jethro Tull was something that I'd been missing out on due to my own close minded musical ignorance.

Look, I know that it seems like each week I throw around claims of "this is my new favorite album", well, here I go again. This album surprised the hell out of me, and it is in heavy rotation lately. It is rare for me to spin an album more than once in a day, but Aqualung has hooked me so deep that when as Wind Up winds down, I immediately want to start the album over again.

Lately, I've been looking down on vinyl reissues, and my appetite has been more in collecting original pressings of vinyl. Yeah, I was one of those pretentious record collectors, vinyl-shaming people that were too lazy to dig through the internet vinyl bins for first pressings, and instead took the easy way out and bought the latest vinyl repress. That shit was for the common man, and only the truly dedicated put in the work, and put up the cash, for the originals...and then there I was...a hypocrite, buying the latest pressing of Aqualung.

What can I say...I'm a sucker for great packaging, and this release looks amazing. My audiophile friend, Jeff, says that the mastering for this vinyl releases gives the album the best sound, but I'm more of a visual person, and went for it because of the giant booklet that came with it.

The booklet is full of stories on the recording of the album, explanations on songs, and bits of history. Very well done, and well worth the price of admission for this 40+ year old classic.