Jethro Tull - A (A La Mode edition) - Next boxset in 2021

[Simplepast Presentperfect]

The album's name! It's rumoured that this record was going to be Ian Anderson's solo, but in the end Martin and him from the original Tull participated and decided to use the band's name instead. "A" was supposedly to refer to Anderson.
Not their best album, but there are some worse

This the explanation that IA anderson offered multiple times, that it was intended as a solo album. According to David Palmer half of the band (Evans, Barlow & Palmer) even received a letter explaining that Chrysalis decided to market it as a Jethro Tull album. All of this is stated in the book "The ballad of Jethro Tull".
Here is IA take on it: "... We finished the album and it was going to be called A - for Anderson. We played it to the record company and predictably they said, "This should be a Jethro Tull album." I said, "But this is a solo record." They then said, "We don't know if we could market it as a solo record." That tricked me into thinking that they must like it, when in fact probably they didn't, and thought a solo Ian Anderson album would be a total stiff but a Jethro Tull album might cover the costs of marketing. I paid for it all, but they had to commit top marketing and promotion. I agreed to have it released as a Jethro Tull album, which was bad judgement on my part..."
As for the musical qualities of the album, I am looking forward to IA comments to each track in the release. I would be surprised if he rates this album highly: the songs quickly disappeared from the setlists right after Broadsword, only Black Sunday survived for a while, typically within a medley. Working John, working Joe was re-recorded for A, the 1977 track (included in the Country Set) sounds to me quite good but I dislike the A version. This is what IA has to say about WJWJ: "...it was a bit of an odd one out and didn't fit in the nature of the [Songs from the Wood] album...".
I have all these set box releases and Stormwatch was for me already a stretch, but I was positively suprised by many unearthed bonus tracks which for me totally justified the purchase. Not sure about this one...

 

[JohnN]

I saw what you edited there.......I will be picking this up when orders open.

New day, thank you for the confidence vote.
tea cheers!

 

[JohnN]

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...en-wilson-remix.1052301/page-13#post-26042792The answers lie within

 

[JohnN]

All impressively mixed to 5.1 by Steven Wilson.

 

[ssully]

The claim that A is not a Jethro Tull album, not Jethro Tull *music*, that it is somehow a 'solo' Anderson album compared to the JT albums preceding it, is farcical.

Ian likes to indulge in dubious self-serving/revisionist talk about his catalog, has anyone else noticed?

 

[Marplot]

I am not really in a position to second guess the artist but I do know in 1998 it was described as such in a book about Tull not written by Ian.

 

[JohnN]

http://jethrotull.com/a/

 

[ssully]

According to 'progatron' on Hoffman's site, the bonuses are these

I believe the 'associated tracks' this time around are on disc 1: Crossfire (Extended Version), Working John, Working Joe ( Take 4), Cheerio (Early Version), Coruisk ( unreleased instrumental), Slipstream introduction.

Discs 2 & 3 are Live at L.A.

Disc 4 is DVD audio of the Wilson mixes including 5.1 and the original mix

Disc 5 is Slipstream DVD with audio remixed by Wilson

The Slipstream video has always been frustrating....it's a highly truncated version of the 1980 show. But at least the audio will be freshened up. Hopefully the video source is master quality.

Flat transfer of the original mix?

 

[JohnN]

Clear water. Slipstream, Steven Wilson stereo & 5.1 remix.

 

[JohnN]

Loch Coruisk
Loch Coruisk is a freshwater loch that can be found on the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands, which sits at the base of the Black Cuillin mountain range. It is a popular destination for visitors looking for the most spectacular Scottish scenery and has been the inspiration for many Scottish writers and painters. If you have ever seen the famous Kelpie statues in Falkirk, you will be interested to know that Loch Coruisk is rumoured to be the home of these legendary shape-shifting water spirits.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

The Slipstream video has always been frustrating....it's a highly truncated version of the 1980 show. But at least the audio will be freshened up. Hopefully the video source is master quality.

What show are you referring to? A live show, a broadcast? I know there are snippets of the live show in it with other footage around it trying to set up a storyline (poorly).

 

[JohnN]

Crossfire (Extended Version), Working John, Working Joe (Take 4), looks like 96/24 stereo only.

 

[ssully]

What show are you referring to? A live show, a broadcast? I know there are snippets of the live show in it with other footage around it trying to set up a storyline (poorly).

Slipstream is a Tull video with excerpts from a 1980 show for 'A'. And other stuff . 4 songs are music videos, 6 songs are concert footage.

"... the main concert footage was actually from an American performance in Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena (as heard on the Magic Piper ROIO), filmed in November 1980. "

1. "Introduction" 3:27
2. "Black Sunday" 6:23
3. "Dun Ringill" (music video) 2:37
4. "Fylingdale Flyer" (music video) 4:03
5. "Songs from the Wood" 3:35
6. "Heavy Horses" 7:25
7. "Sweet Dream" (music video) 4:04
8. "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll" (music video) 5:37
9. "Skating Away" 3:36
10. "Aqualung" 8:57
11. "Locomotive Breath-Black Sunday (reprise)" 6:25
12. "Credits"

 

[splinter7]

Me too, though Crest Of A Knave is pretty good

Due to my luck:
Wilson will probably not get that far since the only Tull album I love is Crest Of A Knave.
Therefore assuring that it will not come to pass.

Sorry

 

[JohnN]

Happy Anniversary: Jethro Tull, A | Rhino Monday, August 29, 2016
36 years ago today, Jethro Tull released their 13th album, but if things had gone in the manner in which they’d been originally planned, then the material contained therein would’ve instead seen release as Ian Anderson’s solo debut.

Album titles don’t get much shorter than A, but the origin of the title is a surprisingly simple one: the “A” is for Anderson – as in Ian Anderson – and it’s how the tapes for the album had been marked, since…well, that’s whose album it was supposed to be. Indeed, the only reason the credit on the album changed was because Chrysalis Records, Jethro Tull’s label, asked Anderson if he’d mind attributing it to the band as a whole because the label’s overall sales were low. After all, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out how many more copies it was likely to sell if it was credited that way.

As those who’ve heard it already know, A sounds way, way different from Jethro Tull’s typical material, but now you know the explanation as to why: it wasn’t supposed to be Tull material. As a result, though, it’s arguably also the point where the lines between the band and its lead singer began to blur in a big way, and although Anderson ultimately did go on to release his first solo album, Walk Into Light, a few years later, Jethro Tull’s sound continued to sound more modern and less folky as the years progressed. Thankfully, things began to shift back over the course of time, but listening back to the band’s catalog, there’s no question that A was – for better or worse –the most modern-sounding Jethro Tull ever got.

 

[JohnN]

Due to my luck:
Wilson will probably not get that far since the only Tull album I love is Crest Of A Knave.
Therefore assuring that it will not come to pass.

Sorry

Grammy winner curse.

Grammy winner must for 5.1.

 

[Patrick Cleasby]

Excited about it. Hope it leads to Broadsword.
After that my interest declines quickly.

In my TFB interview he sounds highly unlikely to do Broadsword which is a pisser. Maybe just an inch of persuadability wiggle room if you watch it...

 

[Simplepast Presentperfect]

The claim that A is not a Jethro Tull album, not Jethro Tull *music*, that it is somehow a 'solo' Anderson album compared to the JT albums preceding it, is farcical.
Ian likes to indulge in dubious self-serving/revisionist talk about his catalog, has anyone else noticed?

But your last sentence would then confirm my suspicion that IA doesn't hold this album in high regard, wouldn't it? But it was not only IA, David Palmer went on record stating that he received a letter explaining that "the record company had decided to release Ian's latest recordings as Jethro Tull."
David Palmer liked The Pine Marten's Jig and And Further On, but thought that Eddie Jobson's contribution was "all style and no substance".
Another qualified opinion about the band back then, Barrie Barlow went to see them at the Royal Albert Hall in 1981: "I thought it was dreadful. I walked out."
Of course it is perfectly OK to like stuff the artist or previous band members regard as inferior. I could give many personal examples.
Anyway, let's wait for IA re-revisionist assessment of A...

 

[JohnN]

WISH

Mettler: Was The Broadsword and the Beast an album that was on your radar?

Wilson: It’s an album I know, and I like it, so that could be something, yeah. And I do love that this stuff comes to me to do, but I’m proactive too. I’ll go out there and I’ll try to talk people into letting me have a go at their catalog.

HRAC Exclusive: Steven Wilson Talks Hi-Res, 'To the Bone' & 5.1 Mixing Aspirations - Hi Res Audio Central

 

[ssully]

But your last sentence would then confirm my suspicion that IA doesn't hold this album in high regard, wouldn't it? But it was not only IA, David Palmer went on record stating that he received a letter explaining that "the record company had decided to release Ian's latest recordings as Jethro Tull."
David Palmer liked The Pine Marten's Jig and And Further On, but thought that Eddie Jobson's contribution was "all style and no substance".
Another qualified opinion about the band back then, Barrie Barlow went to see them at the Royal Albert Hall in 1981: "I thought it was dreadful. I walked out."
Of course it is perfectly OK to like stuff the artist or previous band members regard as inferior. I could give many personal examples.
Anyway, let's wait for IA re-revisionist assessment of A...

You are massively missing my point.

My point is that to assert such things as "As those who’ve heard it already know, A sounds way, way different from Jethro Tull’s typical material" is to court pointing and laughing from 'those who've heard it'. Especially now in retrospect, when we have a whole Tull career to look back on. I doubt few with even a glancing acquaintance with the genre would NOT peg 'A' as a Jethro Tull album. To do so -- whether it's done by record companies, Ian Anderson, or some liner notes writer -- is a laughable example of the 'narcissism of small differences'.

tl;dr : If it quacks like a duck....