Quad LP/Tape Poll Jethro Tull: Aqualung [CD-4/Q8/QR]

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Rate "Aqualung"


  • Total voters
    20

EMB

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
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The Top 40 Radio of My Mind
Ian Anderson's upbeat, buoyant concept album from 1971...:D ;)

Side 1:

1. Aqualung
2. Cross-Eyed Mary
3. Cheap Day Return
4. Mother Goose
5. Wond'ring Aloud
6. Up To Me

Side 2:

1. My God
2. Hymn 43
3. Slipstream
4. Locomotive Breath
5. Wind Up
 

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One of my older brother's favorite albums. I like the mix of classic elements and rock elements in many selections. My brother thought quad was rather gimmick-y. Never had this Q8 while he was still alive, this tape probably would've made him a quaddie. :sun
 
This came from a Portland Oregon radio station today.

The Day I Played Drums for Jethro Tull(y)
by Dave Scott
Radio is a haven for frustrated musicians. Even though I may not make a living at it, I can at least enjoy the lifestyle vicariously. One night Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull took that a step further.
The Jethro Tull tour had come to Portland. It was a unique show that relied heavily on audience participation and improvisation. Inessa and I were recruited to sit on stage during the set, on a very comfortable couch, to spice things up and give Ian someone to play off.
It was thrilling watching the band perform from that perspective. Although the stage lights keep you from seeing anything beyond the first few rows, the energy from the audience is palpable. Ian's hairline had receded but his famous one-legged flute playing was as frantic as ever.
Suddenly he stopped the show and turned his attention to Inessa and me. The lead singer from Jethro Tull was asking us about our lives in front of a packed house right there in the Newmark Theatre! It is a lot easier ASKING the questions than it is answering them. In the course of the conversation Inessa mentioned that I was a drummer.
You would assume that a nationally touring, veteran rock act like Jethro Tull would take that information with a grain of salt. Imagine my complete surprise when I was suddenly invited to join the band in a song. It's hard to describe the feeling having your teenage fantasies come to life in front of 3,500 people. As a roadie ushered me to the drum riser, my mind was a blur. "What song were they going to have me play? "What if it was one of those complicated passages from Thick As A Brick?" The trepidation in the guitarist’s eyes didn't make me feel any better. As I settled in behind the drum kit, Ian leaned over the floor tom and asked if I knew "All Right Now" by Free.
Every once in a while the stars align and things just fall your way. Luckily, All Right Now was a part of every sock hop, kegger and bar gig I've ever played. Without answering, I counted it down and the band kicked in behind me. The audience burst into applause, perhaps out of relief I didn't make a fool of myself, as I led the same group I used to watch from the nose bleed section as a kid. It was mind-boggling.
As the final chords rang out, Ian gave me a quick thumbs up along with a great story to tell next time I get together with the neighborhood garage band.
Hey, does anyone know Bungle in the Jungle?:smokin
 
I've always liked Tull's FM hits, but was never much of an album fan. Yes, I've got all the MoFi issues (but that's another obsession), but always fall back to "M.U." when I want to hear Tull.

Hearing this album in Quad made a difference. The 4-channel mix really opens up the music, where the stereo just made it heavy. Not that it's not still heavy, man :smokin

Can't argue that it's classic content, in every sense of the word. Good mix too. I gave it a 7.
 
I got back into Quad this way: I wanted an ambiance recreation setup and realized that it was easy to make it a Quad setup too. The first album that popped into my mind that I wanted to listen was Aqualung.

A solid 10, musically and also the mix. Those extreme flutes in the back by themselves are worth a 10 too.
 
I started listening to Jethro Tull when my uncle put Thick as a Brick in his turntable (I think it was 1985). At that time I was learning to play bass guitar with a discrete success (modestly :D )
I never ever thought it was mind blowing, and every note came out made me feel in love with JT.
Once I learned every note of TAAB I started searching for other JT albums but I was not impressed as much.
Nowadays I collect quad, and got both Aqualung and the-never-heard-before-by-me War Child.

I'd give Aqualung a 8 due to the early prog and the very good mix, but to me War Child is the best
 
AQUALUNG is a rather depressing beast of an album, though certainly impressive in places. WAR CHILD is more enjoyable, and more varied...if not nearly as ambitious(sometimes that is a good thing).

As a quad, you want AQUALUNG not only for the alternate mixes, but for alternate takes. Can't remember at the moment which these are, but probably parts of different takes wound up on the quad master for this one, as the stereo edition probably had edits not utilized from the MC parts for the quad remix. I'm no expert on Tull, but I'm sure there's some site out there with detailed info(one hopes).

As for a rating, it gets a '7' from me...pretty good, but the recording itself is not as hi-fi as it could have been(on purpose, perhaps?), which is true of many early Tull albums.

ED :)
 
As a quad, you want AQUALUNG not only for the alternate mixes, but for alternate takes. Can't remember at the moment which these are, but probably parts of different takes wound up on the quad master for this one, as the stereo edition probably had edits not utilized from the MC parts for the quad remix. I'm no expert on Tull, but I'm sure there's some site out there with detailed info(one hopes).
Agree, it's a very collectable item for alternates which shows that sometimes a song or an entire record could be created in studio, experimenting and doing different things we probably missed if we didn't get it in quad (another example is Machine Head from DP, where USA and UK quad have different takes and edits)
 
I happened across this forum while looking around at other topics. War Child (and Aqualung) always rated among my highest JT creations. I had no idea they were done in quad formats. Have any of them been converted over to SACD or DVD-A surround mixes?
 
I Have any of them been converted over to SACD or DVD-A surround mixes?

So far, only by fans...:cool: A few of the AQUALUNG mixes were folded to stereo as bonus tracks on at least one CD reissue, but most quad mixes in general have never been reissued.

ED :)
 
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