919 Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave (1987)

919 Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave (1987)

Studio Album - Heavy Rock




About the Act:

Jethro Tull have been in existence since 1967, with a 5-year break recently. They were named after an 18th Century agriculturalist. They are a British band, and could be thought of as a curiosity, had they not been so successful.

Folk in Britain comes in two main varieties, English Folk and Celtic Folk (mostly from Scotland and Ireland, but Northumberland and other places also join in). English Folk has developed a distinctive nasal style of singing. Jethro Tull have managed to successfully merge English Folk, Heavy Rock, and at times Classical and Progressive elements. They have managed to change styles with the times, while maintaining their Folk-Rock core sound.

Their frontman, Ian Anderson is a charismatic, mad wizard, who sings lead vocals and plays the flute (famously on one leg). He took flute playing into some quite inventive sounds, and with Heavy Rock (and sometimes otherwise) backing, writes and sings observational songs about life and people, in good Folk tradition, delivered in a heavily Folk vocal style. The result is instantly recognisable, iconic, and unique. The whole thing is delivered with humour, admittedly sometimes quite dark humour. To be honest, they probably would be thought of as a curiosity, if not for the consummate skill and musicianship of the whole band.

They have released 21 studio albums, have had a good deal of success, and have gone through musicians at quite a rate.


About the Album:

This was Jethro Tull's 16th studio album, and comes after a 3-year hiatus, and after surgery to Ian Anderson's throat, changing his vocal timbre. It won a grammy for best heavy metal album, despite not being heavy metal.


My History with this Album:

I have had a copy of this for a long time, and have listened to it reasonably often. There are some songs I know fairly well as a result. In fact it is probably the Jethro Tull album I know best.


Review:

This album is less like the earlier 1970s Jethro Tull albums, in that it is less folky, mostly less complex, and more rocky. The opener "Steel Monkey" has a kind of Jan Hammer Miami Vice theme feel to it. There is a lot of guitar in general, and less flute than normal, but there is still flute. Musically, it's mostly rock, some lighter parts, and very accessible and listenable. Vocally, it's easier to hear the words than some previous albums, which is nice, especially as there are some good words here. "Budapest" in particular has some good turns of phrase, my favourite being "she wouldn't make love but she made a good sandwich". The songs are about real things, real life, real experiences, some of members of the band, and some more general, and it is "folk" in the sense that it is about working people - farmers, welders etc.

It's a strong album, it holds together well thematically, and reasonably well musically. It's one to chuck on while driving, or doing something else, not completely background, but not intensively attention-grabbing either. I like it.


7.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7alK1pZj8wz5sg2Wm0nIYG

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiRoPIsKLQTfOD_7L_wdWor9T8224GqKV

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest_of_a_Knave


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