Divaman: My Favorite 10 Jethro Tull Albums

Divaman 10.26.16	I know some people will be disappointed I left out Crest of a Knave, but there's only a couple of songs I love on there. ("Budapest" is a winner though). Parts of Stormwatch are beautiful, but again, it's inconsistent. Passion Play is another album, like Yes's Tales of Topogrphic Oceans, that just went too far. And a lot of Minstrel in the Gallery bores me.
Jethro42 10.27.16	Nice list dude. Your 1 is an original choice. Not a perfect album, but its strenghts can make a difference. I prefer 2, 3 and 4 though, and Songs from the Wood is just before Minstrel to me, so you get my top 5. A Passion Play is a good follow up to TAAB imo. I'd have to revisit couple of these albums on here, but I think I prefer Stand Up over Benefit. Nice to see some love for A and its ''Black Sunday'', and I'm not a fan of War Child (have to relisten). If you haven't yet, try Roots to Branches asap
Divaman 10.27.16	Roots is OK, but I don't love it. I do like Anderson's last 2 solo albums though.
wham49 10.27.16	wow very interesting, no this was, which I love and stand up so low
SandwichBubble 10.27.16	Yeeeeaaahh~ 4 deserves to be up there with their best.
Divaman 10.27.16	Yeah, I've never been a big This Was guy. Too bluesy for my tastes. But one of the things I love about Tull is they've been around so long, and worked in so many genres, that different people can love different periods of the band. I actually have quite a bit of affection for Under Wraps, which most people hate. It's flawed, but there are few tracks like "Later That Same Evening" that I really like. (I also saw the live tour that year, and it was the best Tull show I ever saw).
TwigTW 10.27.16	1 and 4 are my favorites (along with Busting Out, but that's a live album). Not sure War Child would make my list, even if I do love Skating Away...
Friday13th 10.27.16	Stand Up is top 5 minimum. I do miss Minstrel especially, but good top 4. I just realized while jamming Tull this week that they released exactly one studio album per year from 1968-1980. Truly amazing!
Divaman 10.27.16	Yeah, there aren't a whole lot of bands you can do a Favorite 10 list for without really scraping the bottom of the barrel when you get to 9 and 10. With Tull, they put out so many albums that you still wind out leaving off some decent choices.
Storm In A Teacup 10.27.16	list is m/
Jethro42 10.27.16	As for Roots to Branches, if you get over ''Out of the Noise'', ''Valley'' and ''Another Harry's Bar'', you get an outstanding album with songs such as ''This Free Will'', ''Dangerous Vails'', ''Beside Myself'' and ''At Last Forever''
smaugman 10.27.16	Disappointed that a passion play and minstrel ain't here
Jethro42 10.27.16	Specially Minstrel yeah. A Passion Play needs more patience...but it's rewarding. I could go without its spoken words obviously.
smaugman 10.27.16	yea i skip that part
Divaman 10.28.16	I like about half of Minstrel, but I liked these albums better. As for Passion Play, while there are some great parts, it's a step too far for me. Honestly, I was expecting more disagreement about leaving out Crest of a Knave. That's probably my number 11.
bentheREDfan 10.28.16	You know.... you can only listen to this... sitting on a park bench
Divaman 10.28.16	You can do that RED, but it's the next line that will get you in real trouble.
Jethro42 10.28.16	I remember how ''Farm on the Freeway'', ''Said she was a Dancer'' and ''Budapest'' from Crest of a Knave are great tracks. Will relisten to the entire album.
Divaman 10.28.16	It was considered by a lot of people to be a comeback from their synthesizer period. But since I actually liked their synthesizer period, I think it had less impact for me.
Jethro42 10.28.16	I don't know if album is a part of their synth period or not, but I know that starting with this album, Ian Anderson suffered from vocal problems resulting in throat surgery; That explains why his voice got softer with less range. Since then, his voice started to sound like Dire Straits quite a bit.
Divaman 10.29.16	I never noticed it until after the Rock Island tour. That's the last time I ever heard them where he didn't have the vocal problems. (I saw them in Jersey on the night the Berlin Wall came down).
Jethro42 10.29.16	Ah really? You attended a show that relates to history ;) I've seen them twice somewhere in the 2000's, while they were touring worldwide without releasing albums. They were fabulous nights. Flawless setlists.
Divaman 10.31.16	Ian's such a good showman, and the band is so good musically that they get away with Ian's vocal problems.
Jethro42 10.31.16	Yes, it's a pleasure to see him moving everywhere on stage. He's acting like a chef d'orchestre with his flute serving as a stick...
Thalassic 10.31.16	Great top 4, I do miss Minstrel as well but hey, to each their own.
JamieTwort 10.31.16	For me it goes something like: Heavy Horses Thick as a Brick Aqualung Minstrel in the Gallery Songs From the Wood A Passion Play Stand Up Warchild Benefit Stormwatch
Jethro42 10.31.16	Thick as a Brick Aqualung Heavy Horses Songs From the Wood Minstrel in the Gallery Roots to Branches Stand Up A Passion Play Benefit ''A''
JamieTwort 11.01.16	Nice top 5, Jethro. I'll never hold Roots to Branches and 'A' in as high regard as you, as for me all of their classic era albums ('68-'79) are better than anything that came after. However I would say that Roots and 'A', along with Broadsword, are probably the best of their post-Stormwatch material.
Divaman 11.01.16	Wow, again I'm surprised (not that I disagree) that nobody has Crest of a Knave in their Top 10. That album was loved by the critics, and of course, it laughably won a Grammy as a "heavy metal" album (something Ian has always been suitably amused by).
VaxXi 11.01.16	my favorite is the jethro tull christmas album
Totengott 11.01.16	Great top 4 and interesting to see Songs from the Wood as 1.
Jethro42 11.01.16	@Jamie, Roots to Branches is a happy mix of progressive rock, classical, folk and Arabic music. Songwriting is neat, compositions are ALL ace to me and my only gripe has to be the vocals that are limited due to his throat surgery. Album rocks, and I'd put it into my top 5 if I could. Now, for ''A'', more than half of the band were missing, but Anderson add to the fore keyboardist and violonist Eddie Jobson who is the main reason why the album sounds unique. It was their starting to their synth period. It's not that much progressive rock but it has complexity and depth. Album is really a threat for my ears. While Stormwatch contains some great songs, I find it less immediate, less memorable than both Roots or ''A''. @Divaman, Crest of a Knave is not bad, but there are only few great songs. I think the band were not certain on which path to take with this one.
sonictheplumber 11.01.16	i prefer heavy tull over 1800s tull
Jethro42 11.01.16	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJNuTJi1SyE
Jethro42 11.02.16	^^ I meant --treat-- for my ears...Sorry for my broken English :/
JamieTwort 11.04.16	@Jethro: I find the songwriting on Stormwatch a lot stronger and more memorable than on 'A' and Roots to Branches. I don't find the fact that 'A' isn't prog a problem as that goes for a lot of/most of Tull's albums, it's just a bit too inconsistent in the songwriting department for me. Roots to Branches is relatively consistent but it never reaches the same level as their classic material for me.
Jethro42 11.05.16	I find nothing too special in Stormwatch. I mean nothing stands out for me. The closer is sweet. Couple other songs have their moments. Sometimes I think that Tull should have done more downright progressive rock music (and both classical or Celtic tinged music). They proved they're good at it after all. Stormwatch is more folk rock than anything. They barely flirt with prog instead of being two feet in. It's like they keep themselves volontary away from progressive rock whereas they should be naturally leaning towards a minimum of prog if they want to be true to themselves.
JamieTwort 11.05.16	The closer is probably my least favourite on Stormwatch, along with the other instrumental Warm Sporran. Dun Ringill and Flying Dutchman are two of my favourite Tull songs, especially the former, thanks to Anderson's superb songwriting and lyricism. Simpler songs, especially of the folk [rock] variety, such as Dun Ringill, were where Anderson's songwriting really shone. "they should be naturally leaning towards a minimum of prog if they want to be true to themselves." I completely disagree with this. Tull have always been progressive in nature (thanks to their ever changing stylistic approach and originality) but they've rarely fit with the sound of prog rock as a genre besides when they were effectively parodying it. If Tull were trying to sound progressive and incorporate elements of prog rock in every album that for me would be the complete opposite of being true to themselves.
JamieTwort 11.05.16	I think our differences when it comes to our appreciation of 'A' might be in part down to the importance I place on Anderson's lyrics and songwriting, which for me will always be the most important part of Tull. Bar a few exceptions I find the lyrics/basic songwriting on 'A' to be pretty poor in comparison to that of Stormwatch and everything that came before. Having said that, And Further On has great lyrics, I'd say that they sound more in line with the lyricism of Stormwatch than the rest of 'A' though and I wouldn't be surprised if that song was originally written during the Stormwatch sessions. Don't get me wrong though, as you know I like 'A' more than most and my opinions on that album are probably closer to yours than they are to that of most Tull fans.
Jethro42 11.05.16	Yeah I totally understand you when you say the lyrics/song writing are important for you. When the two are in harmony, it enhances the quality of the songs, and it gives more shivers. I experiment that when I listen to French songs. But for English songs, and it represents the big majority of my listenings, I'm not inclined to pay attention to the lyrics, so my judgement is limited to the instrumental song writing. I know I'm missing something (mostly with Tull) but at least, I can get the emotion of the vocals. As for the prog rock music vs Tull, I consider that there most appealing material is the one that explores the genre. While TAAB is a prog parody, it remains that they showed they have the knack to prog hard, as seen in many of their albums. It's prog folk in my book, even if folk predominates.
Jethro42 11.05.16	Finally, for 'A', it's a very different album. Having lost half of the band on the way, Ian Anderson had the intention to release a solo album, but his record company preferred to keep it under the name Jethro Tull. They experimented synth rock for the first time (followed by Broadsword). For 'A', Ian added to the fore the keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson (U.K., Roxy Music) which brought a prog vibe to the album. It also has an enthusiastic atmosphere, and the arrangements are deep and complex. While non perfect, album is consistent and the songs are in harmony one into another. I could say the same things about Roots to Branches which contains solid compositions from start to finish. The only negative point is the vocals that are weak and we know why. I even ask myself if they toned down the instruments to give a chance to Ian. I feel alone with my love for Roots, but I'll keep on promoting that fabulous album.
JamieTwort 11.05.16	Yeah I definitely understand that English not being your first language would mean lyrics are less important for you with English-speaking bands/artists. Of course there's still plenty to enjoy with Tull outside of the lyrics. I've always felt that Anderson had a knack for coming up with extremely memorable vocal melodies and [pre-throat surgery] he's one of my favourite vocalists. You shouldn't feel too alone with your love for Roots, I at least agree that it's the best thing Anderson has released since his throat surgery. It's among the best Tull albums since Stormwatch for me, along with Broadsword, with 'A' and Crest of a Knave just behind.