768 Jethro Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery (1975)

Studio Album - Prog Folk 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 their 8th studio album, it was recorded in a hotel in Monte Carlo using a mobile recording studio, created by Ian Anderson, so the band could stay in tax exile.

My History with this Album:

I believe I have heard it before.

Review:

My exposure to Jethro Tull have been increased significantly in the last couple of years, doing these reviews, and before this a similar prog-focused set of reviews. I am trying to put out of my mind this context so I can review the album in isolation. It is a struggle worth happening.

The music is a mix of rock and folk, with acoustic bits and rockier bits. The rhythms, structures and some of the harmonies are quite complex and dense, and it definitely feels like prog as a result. The flute is a feature, played well and nice and twiddly. There is not a lot in the way of hook lines or hummable tunes, it feels more like complex baroque music than pop.

The singing is equally complex, fast-moving lines that would be hard to follow or sing along to, that don't have the repetitive nature of stuff you could sing along to. The vocal delivery is distinctly folk, nasal and slightly affected, and as such it is quite hard to follow the words at times (one syllable can be stretched out to several notes at times, especially at the ends of lines).

The subject matter is a mixture of observational stuff about real life, and fantasy. I wouldn't claim it is a concept album, nor even a themed album, but rather that there is a "conceit" - an idea that this is being played from a minstrel's gallery, and what might be played, updating that to more modern music. The first track introduces this idea, and it is referred back to a few times through the songs. It definitely works as an album.

Did I like it? Some. It might reward more listens to dig deeper. Bringing it back into context, it is densely Jethro Tull in nature, and one of their less accessible albums to my mind. I think, if you were a Tull fan, you might consider this to be one of their best, (and if you were, then you would not need this review). If you were not, then there are easier entry points to Tull than this album, I would say.

7/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/35eKQzddf5pcCQN6laEHEc (with extra tracks)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiN-7mukU_RFcbuFpOY-DEelLsj6Vgjcg

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