After falling in love with and cuddling the 1987 "Crest Of A Knave" (see earlier post) I soon started to long for a follow-up made in the same vein. And when this showed up two years later I wasn't disappointed. Maybe not as evenly strong as its predecessor, but with enough good moments to dig in to and certainly enough to satisfy this old Tull fan. Hard rock without actually being in the "hard rock" genre, garnished with gripping melodies and an abundance of good guitars from Martin Barre. Ian Andersson's vocals sounds a little older and less flexible than before, but that's expected after twenty successful years of performing and actually adds genuineness to the picture. As with most Tull albums I got many favorite tracks. "Undressed To Kill" so elegant with a simple yet odd melodic pattern nailing me to the listening chair. "Kissing Willie" uptempo with saucy lyrics carried by a unison guitar/flute riff. "Another Christmas Song" a moving piece well fitting the season. "Heavy Water" just plain catchy. I've heard old Jethro Tull fans claiming this was way beyond the band's expiration date and all they did here was reusing old tricks. That may be part true, but so what? I still hear very good Tull and if something in it remind me of earlier days it'll just make me feel more at home. Issued and reissued on vinyl, CD and cassette all over the world through the years. First US on Chrysalis (F1 21708). UK 2006 CD (EMI 0946 3 70976 2 5) came with three live bonus tracks. Premiere UK vinyl had label as shown here in a fully laminated cover with glossy lyric/credit/picture inner. (YÖHT*)
Thanks a lot!
SvaraRaderaYou're welcome. Late Tull efforts are often underrated by critics and fans. Don't know why cause it's still very good.
Radera