Review Summary: Jethro Tull remind us why we listened to them in the first place and, for the first time in ages, create an album worth the listener's time.
In 1993, Michael Jordan decided to quit playing professional basketball. Surprisingly, the famous basketball player would decide to start playing baseball, and, unsurprisingly, the results were absolutely disastrous. In 1995, he returned to the NBA, thus beginning the most fruitful period of his career, for in the next three years, his team would have a record of 203-43 and would win three consecutive NBA titles. This wasn’t the only significant comeback to occur this year, however, as in the same year, Jethro Tull would release
Roots To Branches, an album proving that the aged band was still a force to be reckoned with.
After spending countless years experimenting with new styles and genres, it seems that Jethro Tull started to feel that they’ve already seen everything and tried everything. While occasional songs were still innovative (
Budapest instantly comes to mind), an alarming portion of the band’s catalog began to rely on nostalgia, rather than quality and originality. One had to believe that Anderson and co. finally lost their ability to innovate and invigorate, and so directionless, meandering catastrophes like
Rock Island were created by the once consistent, focused band. And yet, in 1995, the elderly flutist rediscovered Arabic and Indian music, for the second time in a row regained his ability to write original and entertaining music, and so created
Roots To Branches, one of his strongest albums since 1978’s
Heavy Horses.
Roots To Branches sees the band moving back towards folk music, but this time, rather than being infused with English and Celtic motifs, the aforementioned Indian and Arabic themes take the upper hand. Consequentially, there’s a fair amount of unorthodox music on this album, and most songs are indescribably refreshing after over a decade of synth-pop and pseudo-metal. Although, it should be noted, despite Jethro Tull once embracing folk music, Martin Barre is glad to drop a heavy, metallic riff or scorching solo whenever he is given the opportunity to do so. Surprisingly, these heavier touches only improve the album and add variety to some of the admittedly-predictable tunes. Throughout the album, the band consistently writes interesting material, and moments such as the jazzy, lively flute solo in
Dangerous Veils and the soaring, seductive
This Free Will remind us why anyone paid attention to Jethro Tull in the first place, something that the previous few offerings failed to do.
However, the elderly singer’s voice was, by this point, immensely damaged by age, and so the vocal melodies are never given the opportunity to become as interesting (or, at least, powerful) as on classic albums, such as
Thick As A Brick. To hide his ever-weakening voice, Anderson often chooses to add emotive string arrangements, and, although these touches are an obvious crutch for the singer, they work well, and usually hide any vocal imperfections.
The album’s biggest flaw is that a majority of the material is quite monochromatic, and all too many songs resemble each other. As a result, much of the album fades into a blur, and even after repeated listens, one can still occasionally have difficulty differentiating between the many tunes. The only two songs that truly have their own identity amidst the orchestral arrangements and Indian motifs are the kindhearted, nostalgic
Stuck In The August Rain and the phlegmatic
Another Harry’s Bar.
Unfortunately, most of the songs are rather long, and due to this, along with their repetitiveness, many of them overstay their welcome. The most notorious offender is the almost-tedious
Another Harry’s Bar, which, had it been three minutes shorter, would have easily been an album highlight.
And yet, despite these flaws,
Roots To Branches is certainly a strong release. Most of it is consistently interesting (even if it never quite reaches the transcendent level of albums such as
Heavy Horses), and the album is certainly an excellent (and unexpected) return to progressive rock.
3.6/5
Recommended Songs
Stuck In The August Rain
This Free Will
