Review Summary: The weakest of their 70’s works. Still, it’s an honest one.
“Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!” is the ninth studio album of Jethro Tull and was released in 1976. The line up on the album is Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evans, John Glascock and Barriemore Barlow. The album also had the participation of David Palmer, Angela Allen and Maddy Prior.
Jethro Tull is a progressive folk/rock band which was formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, England in 1967. Their music is marked initially by the soulful and bluesy, and a later expressively idiosyncratic vocal style and unique lead flute work of frontman Ian Anderson, and their notable guitarist Martin Barre. Their songs feature unusual and often complex construction, incorporating elements of the classic and celtic folk music, as well as art rock and alternative rock. While some other bands influenced them in their early years, they quickly developed a unique, instantly recognizable sound.
“Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!” is another conceptual album by Jethro Tull. The original concept of the album was about an old fashioned rock music star that was retired because no one in the society liked his music anymore. So, due to that, he decided to commit suicide, but failed. Because of that he was in a hospital in coma for several years. But when he awakened, he discovered that the society had changed and his music was popular again.
Relative to the line up on “Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!”, it’s the same of their last four studio albums with the exception of their bassist. After their album “Minstrel In The Gallery”, the bassist Jeffrey Hammon, who was a member of the band since “Aqualung”, quit. He was replaced by John Glascock. But unfortunately, he had a short life in the band. Glascock only performed on four studio albums of them. When the band was recording their twelfth studio album “Stormwatch”, the bassist suffered from the effects of a cardiac infection that unfortunately led him to death.
“Too Old Too Rock’N’Roll Too Young To Die!” was arguably Jethro Tull's weakest album in the 70’s. It was originally intended to be a stage musical, starring a certain Adam Faith. The underlying premise of a stage play/musical is certainly also due to the extensive and at times quite lovely orchestral arrangements of some songs. In this light, it’s less surprising that there are hardly any comparisons to previous Jethro Tull albums. Contrary to what the subject matter and the rather aggressive cover might suggest, “Too Old Too Rock’N’Roll Too Young To Die!” is an extremely tranquil, very acoustic album that clearly anticipates Jethro Tull’s coming, the more heavily folk-influenced phase. The guitarist Martin Barre is relatively unused and keyboardist John Evan restricts himself to the electric piano throughout.
“Quizz Kid” is a good opener. As a conceptual album, it begins in a rock rhythm, with the theme that will come back later, on the title track. It’s one of the best tracks on the album. “Crazed Institution” is perfect to continue the album. It’s more in the style of a folk acoustic ballad, equally similar to some other good ballads of the band. “Salamander” is another good track, short and simple. It’s an equally good folk acoustic fast ballad. “Taxi Grab” is more oriented to the blues and rock styles. It keeps the good quality of the album. “From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser” is a calm and peaceful ballad, full of emotion. It’s a romantic piece with a beautiful violin and nice saxophone. It brings relaxation and tranquility. “Bad-Eyed And Loveless” is in the blues style. It’s uninspired and vulgar. It’s the weakest song on the album. “Big Dipper” is a good song. It’s a Jethro Tull’s more classic rock number with good musical rhythm and tempo changes. The title track is the best and most known song on the album. It’s a stunning and memorable rock song. It deserves special mention of Palmer’s arrangements, soft and solid. It brings to the song some elegance. “Pied Piper” is a typical Jethro Tull song. It’s a nice combination of acoustic folk and rock with a nice touch of Celtic music. It shows the typical Jethro Tull folk medieval magic sound. “The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)” is a calm and nice acoustic folk ballad with a beautiful melody and a nice violin sound. It’s well orchestrated. It gives a nice way to close the album.
Conclusion: As happened with “War Child”, I never paid much attention to “Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!”. I think it was due because it was released in the middle of two of my favourite albums, “Minstrel In The Gallery” and “Songs From The Wood”. Now, I know that I was right and wrong. I was right because compared with those masterpieces it’s a weak album. I was wrong because it isn’t as weak as I thought. Of their first twelve studio albums, I’ve no hesitation in saying that “Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!” is the weakest of all. However, “Too Old To Rock’N’Roll: Too Young To Die!” isn’t a bad album. It’s a very acoustic album with good electric parts and is well orchestrated. It’s a uniform and consistent album where the songs are all well balanced. The main problem with this album is that this is a less inspired work and all the songs are weaker than usual, with the exception of the title track.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
