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Post by unomusette on May 3, 2015 22:32:05 GMT
Blimey, just returned from sunning myself on the Cote d'Azur and it's straight back to work bringing you the kind of music you always thought you could avoid. Been wondering whether to treat you to a bit of Jethro Tull and I think the time is right. Heavy Horses is one of the first non ELO albums I ever bought, mainly because I used to keep horses and I liked the cover, but it does have some gorgeous tunes on it and it's always been one of my favourites. I will give you a Prog Alert though, two of the songs are a bit long. In the case of Heavy Horses I feel it's justified but No Lullaby might go on a bit. You can also skip the freaky ending of The Mouse Police Never Sleeps if necessary,it is a bit boggling. Here goes then, a bit of classic folk rock to start the merry month of May 1.And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps (anyone who has a cat will appreciate the lyrics here, just perfect, eg "muscled, black, with steel-green eye") 2. Acres Wild 3. No Lullaby (interesting idea, to frighten the life out of a kiddie at bedtime instead of soothing) 4. Moths 5. Journeyman 6. Rover 7. One Brown Mouse (based on a Robert Burns poem to his pet mouse apparently - the idea of a mouse having a little smile always appealed to me) 8. Heavy Horses 9. Weathercock
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Post by 88keys on May 4, 2015 5:41:18 GMT
I've never dug too deeply into the Tull songbook. I'll get on this and get my review out this week.
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Post by jrmugz on May 4, 2015 15:21:47 GMT
Blimey, just returned from sunning myself on the Cote d'Azur and it's straight back to work bringing you the kind of music you always thought you could avoid. Been wondering whether to treat you to a bit of Jethro Tull and I think the time is right. Heavy Horses is one of the first non ELO albums I ever bought, mainly because I used to keep horses and I liked the cover, but it does have some gorgeous tunes on it and it's always been one of my favourites. I will give you a Prog Alert though, two of the songs are a bit long. In the case of Heavy Horses I feel it's justified but No Lullaby might go on a bit. You can also skip the freaky ending of The Mouse Police Never Sleeps if necessary,it is a bit boggling. Here goes then, a bit of classic folk rock to start the merry month of May 1.And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps (anyone who has a cat will appreciate the lyrics here, just perfect, eg "muscled, black, with steel-green eye") 2. Acres Wild 3. No Lullaby (interesting idea, to frighten the life out of a kiddie at bedtime instead of soothing) 4. Moths 5. Journeyman 6. Rover 7. One Brown Mouse (based on a Robert Burns poem to his pet mouse apparently - the idea of a mouse having a little smile always appealed to me) 8. Heavy Horses 9. Weathercock Cool, looking very forward to it Uno! Is this one pre or post Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, War Child? Those are the three I'm familiar with, oh, and "Stand Up" as well, which I believe preceded all of those. Look for my feedback within the next couple days or so! Jim
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Post by unomusette on May 4, 2015 21:05:34 GMT
It came out in about 1978 I think, so well after Stand Up and after Aqualung and Thick as a Brick but maybe before War Child? It's not so concept-y as Aqualung and Thick etc
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Post by queenofthehours on May 5, 2015 14:14:40 GMT
Oo-er. I've never been keen on the idea of Jethro Tull. I've never heard anything I liked so far and a few things put me off - especially the flute. But I'm always open to having my mind changed!
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Post by Helmut83 on May 5, 2015 19:09:41 GMT
Oo-er. I've never been keen on the idea of Jethro Tull. I've never heard anything I liked so far and a few things put me off - especially the flute. But I'm always open to having my mind changed! Very much my opinion so far, but let's see what's this about.
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Post by unomusette on May 5, 2015 19:40:07 GMT
Liking your have-a-go attitude, queenofthehours and Helmut83 It is a bit flute-heavy in parts Just whizz over those bits, I won't mind. Hoping you might find at least one nice tune in there though.
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Post by jrmugz on May 5, 2015 21:23:45 GMT
I've played it through and jotted down thoughts where I could while working. I should have my review put here by tomorrow or Thursday!
Very good JT album, very aggressive and confident, trying to think of the word for the quirky arrangements.
Jim
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Post by Chippa on May 6, 2015 16:27:44 GMT
I enjoy some flute-driven rock, so I'll give this one a go.
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Post by jrmugz on May 7, 2015 21:25:24 GMT
Hi Uno,
OK, here is my review of Jethro Tull's "Heavy Horses" CD.
01. "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" - Immediately like the engaging nature of this. Nice song. 02. "Acres Wild" - Ian Anderson heads to the Wild West. Very nice! Wish the lyrics were slightly less forward. 03. "No Lullaby" - Very tripped out, like it. 04. "Moths" - Like the aggressive flute work. 05. "Journeyman" - Nice aggressive vocal. I wish he would preclude every song with. This is about this...; that said I do like this one! 06. "Rover" - I really like the quirky arrangement. 07. "One Brown Mouse" - Pretty intersting. Is this a concept album about a mouse? 08. "Heavy Horses" - Very beautiful and quirky title track. 09. "Weathercock" - A really good one, I like about asking for giving us direction, etc. Never thought much about the deep poetry behind a weather vane. Great idea for a song, and Ian Anderson nailed it pretty good here!
Definitley very prog-rock, should not have been described as the second of a folk trilogy, as some have billed it.
Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Prime Cuts: "No Lullaby", "Weathercock", "Journeyman", "Heavy Horse" Bottom Line: A very confident and aggressive prog-rock Jethro Tull CD, with some very good songs most rock fans have probably never heard before.
Thanks for sharing Uno, I really enjoyed it; and appreciate you making me familiar with it.
I've always said about a lot of Jethro Tull's work, he should really get some guests singers to sing some of his great songs!
Have you marked down for two months from now, and will send you a reminder as the day approaches, lest you forget. :-)
Jim
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Post by unomusette on May 7, 2015 21:50:46 GMT
Wow, thanks for this very generous review, Jim, I'm chuffed at how much you enjoyed it I don't think it's meant to be a concept album but I've also seen it described as part of a trilogy which doesn't make much sense to me either. As for the stories behind the songs, I've heard Ian Anderson say One Brown Mouse is based on a Robert Burns poem about his own pet mouse, and that Heavy Horses is as it appears, a lament for the passing of horse power with all its dignity and tradition and a wish to see its triumphant return. And you even enjoyed the flute! Hope this encourages queenofthehours and Helmut83
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Post by Chippa on May 7, 2015 22:11:36 GMT
...And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps – It takes a minute to catch on, but it’s not bad. Always kinda loved the “rippling” (for lack of a better term) flute sound that Ian Anderson uses. Best part was the creepy chanting at the end. Acres Wild- Sort of has a Keith Emerson-like keyboard thing going on. Nice prog-folk stomper. No Lullaby – Very cool percussion throughout. I think Spinal Tap could have covered this one… Moths – Very medieval sounding track. Probably something you’d play after a long day of slaying dragons. Journeyman – Jazzy arrangement, with some typically obscure lyrics. Good bass, though. Rover – Interesting. Like most 70’s prog-rock, a bit redundant. Not great, but not awful. One Brown Mouse – Ian’s “sneering” vocals work well, here. I just wish there was more of a melody going on. Heavy Horses – This is the only one I’ve heard before. Way too long, but still enjoyable. Nice changes through the song save it from being boring. Weathercock – Not great, but at least there’s a decent melody. Overall, I’d give this a 4/10. And that’s being generous. I like Tull, but this isn’t one of their more memorable efforts.
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Post by Helmut83 on May 7, 2015 23:54:32 GMT
Uno, I already gave it a full listen and a half of a second one. The funny thing is that I did it while I was making choucroute (yeah, chopping 4 cabbages very finely can take you a long, long while), so I wasn't able to write down my conclussions while I listened to it, which I hope I'll do later tonight. What I can say in advance is that it was a bit less weird and more "digestible" than what I expected it to be.
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Post by vlogdance on May 8, 2015 6:53:45 GMT
What I can say in advance is that it was a bit less weird and more "digestible" than what I expected it to be. Glad your choucroute was digestible, Helmut... but is it normally that weird?!
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Post by jrmugz on May 8, 2015 13:17:12 GMT
Wow, thanks for this very generous review, Jim, I'm chuffed at how much you enjoyed it I don't think it's meant to be a concept album but I've also seen it described as part of a trilogy which doesn't make much sense to me either. As for the stories behind the songs, I've heard Ian Anderson say One Brown Mouse is based on a Robert Burns poem about his own pet mouse, and that Heavy Horses is as it appears, a lament for the passing of horse power with all its dignity and tradition and a wish to see its triumphant return. And you even enjoyed the flute! Hope this encourages queenofthehours and Helmut83 Thanks for the scoop on "One Brown Mouse" and "Heavy Horses"! Jim
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