A very modern, electronic album,The Assassination of Julius Caesar is nothing at all what I expected. First of all, I thought it had something to do with, well, the assassination of Julius Caesar. Interesting concept, I thought. Second, although they're classified as Post Rock here, I had understood Ulver to be a progressive-metal outfit. So you can imagine my surprise when The Assassination of Julius Caesar turned out to be an art-pop (or maybe art-rock?) album on which Julius Caesar is at best a minor character.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar has been referred to as synthpop, and I agree. Among the influences here is Gary Numan: the lyrical mood of The Assassination of Julius Caesar is dark and often introverted, but not quite as robotic as Kraftwerk - - and much more somber than Kraftwerk or Devo. In this respect it reminds me of some Human League songs (e.g., "Seconds").

As to the lyrical content, there is a vague theme, even if it's not the assassination of Julius Caesar. Many of the songs reference dark moments in history, sometimes prosaically: "Nero lights up the night / 18th to 19th of July, AD 64;" "There used to be a house at 6114 California Street / 'Helter Skelter.'" In addition to the Great Fire of Rome and the Manson murders (by way of the Church of Satan), reference is made to the Bubonic Plague, the death of Princess Diana and the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. But there are many less literal lyrics which seem to fit the theme, such as "an army charges upon the land to the sound of retreat." This is all fodder for religious allusions, and the lyrics duly name-check a pair of Catholic saints; cite, but do not name an "ancient goddess of the moon;" and refer to both the Roman persecution of Christians and the Second Coming. And perhaps as an amplification of a Greco-Roman lineage of tyranny, Oedipus makes an oblique appearance in the second of two songs to mention Nero. The title of one of the songs, "Angelus Novus," may hint at the lyrical concept. Angelus Novus is a 1920 graphic-art print about whose subject Walter Benjamin wrote, "where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet." This déjà vu is also represented by repetition: in addition to literal repetition of stanzas, there are other repetitions; two of the eight songs mention the moon, while two other mention the sun, for example.

As well thought-out and economical as the lyrics are, the concept underlying The Assassination of Julius Caesar is more engrossing than the actual product. There are several excellent musical passages, but there are also plenty of mundane melodies and chord progressions.

Nonetheless, I consider The Assassination of Julius Caesar to be a "good" album: imperfect, but better than average. I'd especially recommend it to fans of 1980s synthesizer-based pop or rock music.

Gentle Giant has always been celebrated as one of the more out there classic prog bands, at least out of the fairly widely known ones. They has a consistent track record of putting out album after album of short albums that focus more on dense, ever changing compositions as opposed to longer, more grandiose strectches of music, with a major part of their sound being centred around complex vocal arrangements. This album is the first of the three albums by the band where they took this complexity to another level in certain respects, especially these vocal arrangements, at times being downright labyrinthine. With that said, Octopus is also one of the most accessible ones albums by Gentle Giant, having more melodic moments and embracing a medieval folk sound. Despite all that has so far been said, I can also say with fair certainty that this is my least favourite of the classic era GG albums, as I find a couple of the songs to either be quite dull or at the very least, nothing special. I feel like a lot of this comes down to these extremely short song structures causing there to be very little breathing room, eliminating the expansive nature of many of the prog greats. That said, the album still isn't a bad one, just a less appealing one to me when stacked up against the rest of the band's discography.

The Advent Of Panurge starts off the album in a very strong way, with a quiet, pretty melody that quickly begins the wonderful layering that the band applies, backed up by occasional hints of guitar. The song picks up very quickly however, with a groovy bassline backed up by what almost feels like random piano keys being played, some moments with high energy, others being soft and dreamy, right before kicking back in with another idea, all around very jazzy, never sitting still, but with a great central melody. Raconteur Troubadour is a more conventional song in certain respects, with a more focused central theme and a more beautiful, heavily medieval sound. As with the previous song, this one quickly picks up as well, briefly becoming frantic before settling right back down with its main verse, the chorus being rhythmically interesting as it constantly sounds as if it's lagging slightly behind, before making a quick sprint to catch up, repeating this process many times over. My favourite part of the song is definitely the instrumental section in the middle, softly building up with an increasingly fast drum while violins are played wonderfully, before it briefly bursts into a cheery, almost regal sounding section filled with trumpet. Unfortunately, after these first two amazing songs, the album doesn't leave the listener with too many great tracks, one of the most notable ones being A Cry For Everyone, which is more energetic and more rock oriented, but this energy ends up feeling extremely wasted thanks to the weakness of every part involving vocals, and the keyboard use does come off as very cheesy and underwhelming for the most part.

The album manages to avoid falling flat here by following up this weak track with the absolutely perfect Knots, which is easiy one of my favourite songs by the band, and undoubtedly the highlight of this album. The vocal layering present here is absolutely spot on all the way throughout, sounding so incredibly precise, starting out minimalistic, including literally no instrument other than the voice, before briefly including some quick xylophone, before going back to the minimal amount of instrumental work. the song then takes it to another level when it follows the near non existent rhythm and becomes bouncier and more cold and otherworldly, before gradually singing higher notes until the instrumentation fully comes in, sounding almost apocalyptic in nature. The layering of the vocals all throughout the song are nothing short of mind bending , and become more and more impressive the more you try concentrating on the insane rhythmic interplay going on. The Boys in the Band is a better showcase of the band playing something energetic than the poor Cry For Everyone, still displaying a lot of the intricacies of the slower, more calcukated tracks, but giving it enough of a powerful twist to make it interesting, especially that really great saxophone that appears about midway through.

Dog's Life is a folksy little ditty that really does nothing for me. It has a saccharine quality to it that turns me off immensely, and the overbearing classical sound really doesn't seem to work as well here as it did in Peel The Paint, this one just coming off as cheesy. Think of Me With Kindness is better than Dog's Life, but I'm just not as keen on the ballad type songs that the band puts out, I feel like they're far less adventurous and that the band lacks the ability to make a truly beautiful melody that has any impact for more than a few seconds, with them being fun and quirky almost always working out far better for them. That said, this is at the very least a pleasant song, which is better than can be said about a couple of other songs here. River is a strange song, on one hand, I like the abrasive edge it has, with the vocal melody being quite wonky and seemingly out of place with the instrumentation, but on the other hand, I feel like there are too many moments of this in which it just ends up working terribly, such as the quieter section near the start where Derek Shulman tries and fails to sing decent high notes. I also feel like the song ends up meandering quite a bit, with the middle section transitioning right back into more off key singing that's just retreading the opening section, which also wasn't particularly great. Overall, while the song is definitely interesting, I can't say it works particularly well on a level beyond this.

Despite the fact that this album has some of the best songs that Gentle Giant would make, and the shift towards even more complex music is one that I personally love, the uneven nature of this album really drags it down. Certain song just bore me, with a couple being straight up bad in my opinion. However, due to the fact that I am a big fan of the songs here that are good, I would still say that this album is one to listen ot at least once, as when it's good, it's really good. I personally believe that the band would move on to make the two best albums of their career past this point, and this album is definitely responsible for sowing the seeds that would eventually grow into those absolute gems, showing greater prominence in rhythmic interplay and all around instrumenal weirdness. Definitely an interesting album for sure, just not one I personally can enjoy to its fullest extent.

Best songs: The Advent Of Panurge, Raconteur Troubadour, Knots (this one is especially recommended)

Weakest songs: A Cry For Everyone, Dog's Life, River

Verdict: Despite being more accessible in certain ways, this is also the start of Gentle Giant taking their already complex songwriting to the next level. It unfortunately falters in some places, but definitely at least partially makes up for it with the great tracks. I'd recommend listening to their previous 2 albums, Acquiring the Taste and Three Friends first before trying this one out, but this has enough good material to warrant at least one listen, especially if you're a fan of more calculated, intricate music.

This is another issue of delay, being on my review list for some months. But now I took the time once again. Yeah, it's definitely worth it, still. Not knowing them hailing from the UK, I most probably would swear that INFICTIONS will be a scandinavian outfit. Headed by Ed Cartledge, also noted as the key figure of the band Early Cartographers, this Vanity Project delivers heartfelt compositions all the way through. What means a somewhat nordic melancholic, empathic sound, more in the vein of Gazpacho, Oak, skillfully combined with some post rocking outbursts. The band's core is also consisting of bass player Gareth Hughes, Tom Chaffer on the second guitar and drummer James Fosberry, all not related with his other aforementioned band, for what I know. But some guest musicians are at least, on the other hand.

Except some piano input the keyboards are having a minor role, the focus is on the guitars and vocals moreover. The album's song collection, consisting of 10 tracks, comes as a magnificent string of pearls, provided with heart and mind. Charming art rock singer/songwriter moments are alternating with heavier moments, while Cartledge is equipped with a fantastic singing voice. There is a lot going on in these meadows in general. This album is exceptional, ranks high, no question. Thematically related to environmental issues, quite obvious just when considering the song titles. When thinking of other stylistically related bands Pineapple Thief, Radiohead, Crippled Black Phoenix are coming into my mind too.

After a quiet scattered and forgettable release (Labyrinth /2018), Gunter Schickert is back in business with Nachtfalter (2019), and I mean for good!

Nocturnus, its first track, is an intense war like soundscape constructed with wailing screeching siren like noises , electronic atonal pulses and dramatic strings building up a frantic crescendo which eventually dissolves alongside an imperceptible electric guitar counterpointing. Like a perfectly threaded blend between Progressive Electronic/Krautrock and Rock in Opposition *****

Ceiling- Is a highly polished and muddy raw Progressive Electronic / Krautrock composition which connects both genres as only the masterful and inspired Gunter Schickert does. The atemporal experimental feel adds up perfectly.****

Flugelschlag- Ellaborates, with a bit of a slower tempo, the previous track´s mood with simple but precise arrangements and gentle detours built up with his clean electric guitar riffs, atmospheric synths, electronic pulses and a restless african like drumming. Being one of this album´s lengthier tracks it could have moved a bit farther from its very promising initial structure, but then again it is like asking for what not has been given. ***/*

Track 4- Floor, is like a brief recount of the aftermath of Nocturnus.****

Wohin follows with a more experimental Electronic/Krautrock composition. It could have been easily included in last year´s release as one of its better tracks but in this album it is really not that impressive. ***

Light, the following track, gets back to business with the raw/polished Electronic/Krautrock drive which he so well handles. Its detailed yet free form structures move along with the kind of psychedelic frenzy which throws one back in time with no kind of nostalgia, quiet the opposite. ****

This album closes with Reflection of the Future. A very visual composition which actually and subtly evolutes from a kind of "out of this world" primitive electronic tribe´s ritualistic music into a more, but not less raw, futuristic electronic environment. ****

4 PA stars.

This is the debut album of the American band that was recently added to the database, seemingly on the strength of the second, presumably more progressive album Mr. Astute Trousers (2018); I remember suggestions being made when the debut had come out, but the band was (strangely) rejected or ignored back then. I originally received this album to be reviewed in a Finnish prog magazine Colossus in 2012. I haven't much listened to it ever since, but the CD still happens to be in my collections, so why not review it here.

BTW, have a closer look at the cat on the cover: a buttered toast is tied on his back. This refers to two superstitious beliefs, a) cat always lands on his feet, b) toast always falls the buttered side down. The band invented a mock-scientific experiment, resulting as a cat floating in mid-air, according to the humorous liner notes. Ha ha. In 2015, British Neo Prog band Sanguine Hum released a concept album Now We Have Light, which incorporated the same mock-scientific idea in its adventurous and humorous sf plot. A mere coincidence or stealing of an idea? Anyway, this album is not conceptual, the cat experiment seems to appear only on the album covers. The lyrics here are something I'm not paying much attention to.

The band bio describes the music as a fusion of prog, metal and AOR. That description pretty much hits the nail. The core line-up is bassist Bob Madsen, vocalist Brian Cline (ex-ENCHANT) and guitarist-keyboardist Kenny Steel who joined a bit later. Without a permanent drummer they have recruited SPOCK'S BEARD men Nick D'Virgilio and Jimmy Keegan, among several other guest musicians and backing vocalists. Not being familiar with Enchant, the vocals strongly remind me of Neal Morse, another reason to have sonic connotations to Spock's Beard. 41POINT9 play energetic rock with the mentioned prog, AOR and metal elements, without being highly progressive on this album. I haven't listened to their second album.

The songs, when evaluated individually, are not bad at all. They will please you for sure if you fancy the style and the bands mentioned. There's the typically American feel, bold and catchy. The playing is good, that can't be denied. The problem, if there is one, is the the lack of originality, and the fact that with Spock's Beard and several other modern American prog bands you'll get rather similar music with a notably bigger variety in compositions, in a word, more progressive. 41POINT9 favours the AOR side instead of an eclectic prog approach such as the Gentle Giant influences you hear in Spock's Beard. There are some fine details, but they remain very small. Among nine tracks there's one instrumental, 'Surface Tension (A Drive Thru the City)', and one song which could be described as a ballad ('Promise the Moon'), but for the rest of material a tired feeling of sameyness sets in. A classic 3-star case: good but non-essential -- and so unoriginal.

The Moog synthesizer was one of the most innovative developments for electronic music in the 1960s once the instrument gained a much wider audience after it was demonstrated at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 followed by the commercial success of the Wendy Carlos' series of 'Switched-On Bach' the following year. After the floodgates were opened everyone was getting in on the act. The Doors, The Byrds and even The Monkees teased the new synthesized sounds into the new transistor based sequences that took their music into fertile new ground and helped conjure up new levels of experimentation but the progressive electronic scene would take a few more years to gestate.

As the pop and rock world were adding new layers of atmospheric gusto to their musical output, the British jazz bassist Malcolm Cecil was busy nerding out by developing what would become the TONTO synthesizer which is an acronym for 'The Original New Timbral Orchestra,' the very first and to this very day largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer. Cecil collaborated with record producer Robert Margouleff to create some of the first experimental progressive electronic music as TONTO'S EXPANDING HEAD BAND. This project only produced two albums under this moniker but would continue work behind the scenes with many artists most famously Stevie Wonder as well as The Isley Brothers, Doobie Bros, Randy Newman, Steve Hillage, Billy Preston and many others.

The first album was titled ZERO TIME and showcased the magic powers of the TONTO's full capabilities. It was released in 1971 and although was an obscurity even during the time of its release became a classic for audiophiles who wanted to show off their speakers systems but it also had a hand in influencing the progressive rock and Krautrock scenes that would dominate the 70s. This album was recorded exclusively with six instrumental tracks and entirely electronic that mixed psychedelia, experimental and progressive elements and has been called some of the trippiest instrumental Muzak ever created. The sole track that includes vocals is 'Riversong' which finds strangely processed utterances sounding like some alien mating songs from a science fiction movie.

The album zigzags through more accessible tracks with highly unstructured avant-garde sonic experiments. The opening 'Cybernaut' starts things off with a more accessible bass groove and accompanying counterpoints kinda played more like a traditional organ with some swirls and squigglies fluttering around. The following 'Jetsex' is highly experimental and sounds like the soundtrack to jellyfish propulsion beneath the ocean's surface with a heartbeat providing a percussive drive. It also includes random sounds creeping out of the abyss and is quite dark and freaky. 'Timewhys' features some glide tones and off-kilter time signatures with some sort of strange octave intervals which displayed the TONTO's ability to simultaneously create a multi-octave range of myriad dynamics .

'Aurora' is like a space journey which showcases sever layers of monophonic styles. What was originally a 27 minute experiment was edited down to the less than 7 minute track here. The bass is provided by a thumping reverberation while three glide tones swirl all over the place. This is another revolutionary track in the world of electronic music that sounds so common place by today's standards. 'Riversong' is more ethereal and less frightening and one of the highlights of the entire album and sounds like it could very well have been a major inspiration point in the development of world new age music as a subdued swami chants through the electronic pitches that rise to the heavens above. The Indo-raga percussive drive and droning gives this one more of human touch than the alienating textures presented elsewhere. The final 'Tama' is the least interesting as it repeats the sounds of ocean waves crashing against the shore with a rather cheesy synth run. A longer 'Aurora' might have been a better choice.

As a cornerstone in the progressive electronic scene in 1971 as well as a most brilliant listening experience even by modern day standards, ZERO TIME cranked out a rather diverse palette of tracks that made the ultimate statement: TONTO was here to stay! This album perfectly fits in with the timeline of the psychedelic 60s ceding to the more sci-fi Star Wars dominated 70s and created a wealth of new hitherto unheard sounds in the form of recorded music. The album has a grandiose presentation with strong melodies where they exist and heavy doses of complete experimental escapism from the Earth's gravitational pull. The stylistic shifts are well balanced and the album is captivating as well as historically significant. Cecil and Margouleff would release one more album, 'It's About Time' in 1974 but with the shortened moniker TONTO before being swept into the world of Stevie Wonder where they appeared on all his albums from the 1972 'Music of My Mind' to 1974's 'Fulfillingness' First Finale.' While not quite a classic masterpiece, this is a very interesting prerequisite for all those strange progressive electronic albums that followed.

This one should have been Fairport Conventions ticket back to the high life. It´s really a shame it wasn´t. All the effort to bring back Sandy Denny to the fold, and the recording company suggestion of ace producer Andy Johns to coordinate the whole project should do the trick. Sadly it did not. Johns was against the use of traditional material or covers, in a time they did a fantastic version of Dylan´s All along the Watchtower. Besides, Trevor Lucas did push their sound maybe a little too much into american styled country rock (the presence of yankee Jerry Donahue certainly did not help matters), which alienated much of their fan base. Or maybe the timing simply was not right.

Still, the music here is beautiful, with Denny delivering some of the best tunes and performances of her short career. Her and Lucas voices blend very well too. Songs like the title track, White Dress and One More chance are the highlights of this very good album. Production is a little slick, but it works. With time I´m sure Fairport Convention would find their feet and could take this line up very far. Alas, this was not meant to be, since Denny and Lucas would leave the band after the tour to promote it. Some people think it should have been a Sandy Denny album, but really it only takes a few spins to figure it is far better than most of her solo work. The magic was there, they just didn´t let it grow its debut (few) limitations.

All in all a very fine album, although not that much folk-ish. My rating would be something between 3,5 and 4 stars. I´ll round it up to four because I really love it.

After Tortoise released their 2nd album 'Millions Now Living Will Never Die', they commissioned a series of 12 inch singles featuring remixes of material from that album. The single 'The Taut and Tame' features a remix of the 4th track from the full album of the same name as the A-side to that single.

The original was an upbeat track featuring vibes, heavy bass lines and a somewhat sparse guitar melody which is developed on through the track and also features a synth riff in the middle of the track. The remix version, which is the one featured on this single, is remixed by Luke Vibert (Wagon Christ), who is an European club music experimentalist. The melodic aspect of the original is still there, the overall feel is still quite sparse, but the percussion style is changed, sounding more electronic and fast moving, but also more complex. There are also some nice effects done to the guitar and synth parts. You can tell it is the same basic song, but there is a definite difference and the biggest addition is in the excellent effects that in the end, justifies the few minutes of extra time added over the original version.

Side B is an 11 minute track called 'Find the One (Wait, Abstraction No. 3)' The track is a reshaping done by Tortoise member Bundy K. Brown of a track done by Jeff Parker originally called 'Wait'. At the time, Parker was not a full-time member of Tortoise, but he worked with them and would later join the band. Parker originally composed the original version after he had heard Tortoise for the first time. I am not familiar with this original track, but this reworking starts with vibes playing a repetitive two- chord pattern with a very soft drone sound in the background. Faint and subtle instrumental sounds can be heard underneath it all. As the vibes continue, the background slowly becomes more noticeable, and soon drums and percussion come in. A slight variation of the vibe pattern changes things only minimally. A slight trip-hop beat comes in with electronic glitches and tones, but it all stays quite sparse with minimal build-up. Don't expect a melody here, as this is a study in repetitive patterns, and the use of percussion in minimalistic music. After the midway point, the build up reverses and slowly fades away.

This is not necessarily music for entertainment purposes as it is for experimental purposes, changing sounds around to create new inventions. The music is very sparse throughout and will not appeal to many except those familiar with the original sound of the A-side track. It is good for meditation, or background music, or if you like to listen to the slight changes of the B-side. Anyway, it's interesting, but only for collectors and fans. It might prove to be interesting to composers of electronic and / or minimalism music.

— First review of this album —

Rock music from the 70s still hides a lot of secrets - one of them is album Joutsenen Juju. Mr. Ilpo Saastamoinen known from Piirpauke, gathered here the cream of the Finnish jazzmen (including Juhani Aaltonen, Pekka Sarmanto, Edward Vesala). They created a very interesting and original folk-spirit album dressed in prog robes.

We start with delicate but royal fanfare announcing the beginning - idyllic folk mood surrounds us. Following instruments start the show: saxophone, vibraphone, flute and guitar playing in the background - the last of them takes the lead in the next part entering into numerous dialogues with the rest. In the middle of first track we have a moment of peace with low sounds of double bass and oriental instrument (on this album Ilpo Saastamoinen uses a large range of instruments: guitar, Domra, Zither, Yangqin) Then the guitar returns again - in her footsteps go: saxophone and all the rest of the vibraphones along with unusual vocals. The end of the song is full of silence and reverie ... interrupted by another frivolous folk melody. This dance is endless. Then, in contrast, we have an extremely sad atmosphere of a funeral epitaph at a slow pace. We can immerse ourselves in contemplation of an ethnic world that doesn't exist any more. In the second part Ilpo's guitar leads us through the memories. The third song is characterized by the entrance of the violin, which plays a melody that reminds me of something - it has a very cinematic character. The second half starts with another folk melody - we definitely are here for some fun in the inn or around the campfire. Until the saxophone starts to shine - here we have a crazy journey through the evening with the setting sun transforming into the night. Saxophone fluently intertwines with the guitar, vibraphone and all the rest... Again a sad climate, but this time some incredible mourning (more concerning the whole civilization than just old times as for me) is created by an arrangement of Bach's song - here it's quite modest, calm and spiritual. Another track unnoticed opens before us the way to cosmic dimensions. We return to earth to a sad folk (perhaps again funeral) march with somber vocals, saxophone, flute, guitar and vibraphone (an eagle-owl is sitting on a withered tree with the evil glare). At the end there is again quick folk accent that leaves us a lot of hope, warm and slight consternation.

Conclusion: excellent album with lots of flavors and giving great fun with catching the next, very richly used instruments (there are also: kantele (singing?), Bouzouki, mandolin, metallophone). The first sounds remind me of Gryphon - but only for a moment. You can compare the album to Samla Mammas Manna - but with a more introspective character, and of course it's more Finnish. I recommend it!

Review Nº 257

'This Was' is the debut studio album of Jethro Tull and was released in 1968. With this release, Jethro Tull became as one of the first bands that would be designated as one of the pioneers of the progressive rock music, with bands such as Pink Floyd, Caravan, The Moody Blues, Van Der Graaf Generator, Procol Harum, Renaissance and King Crimson.

The line up on the album is Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, mouth organ, harmonica, claghorn and piano), Mick Abrahams (vocals, guitar and 9 string guitar), Glenn Cornick (bass guitar) and Clive Bunker (drums). David Palmer (French horn and orchestral arrangements), appears on the album as a guest musician. Following this album, guitarist Mick Abrahams left the group after a falling out with Ian Anderson. There were a number of reasons for his departure, but the main reason was surely that he was a blues purist while Ian Anderson wanted to explore many other forms of music.

'This Was' was an album where Ian Anderson shared some songwriting duties with the guitarist Mick Abrahams. The album also contains the only Jethro Tull's lead vocal not performed by Ian Anderson on any studio album of the band, 'Move On Alone'. Mick Abrahams, who was the songwriter of 'Move On Alone', provides the lead vocals on this track.

'This Was' has ten tracks. The first track 'My Sunday Feeling' written by Ian Anderson is clearly a song with some influences of blues and even more influences of jazz. It's a song with good and energetic drumming very well followed by the flute and also by the voice of Ian Anderson used in a very unique style. The second track 'Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You' was also written by Ian Anderson and is a typical and short blues song, much slower than the previous track and where Ian Anderson changes his flute by the harmonica. This is a real cool song but when we hear the song we remain with the feeling that we had already heard this kind of tune many other times before. The third track 'Beggar's Farm' written by Ian Anderson and Mick Abrahams is a song with good instrumental parts of flute and where the voice of Ian Anderson appears entrained with a light drunken touch. It has also great combination of guitar and bass and it has also a good rhythm section. The fourth track 'Move On Alone' written by Mick Abrahams is the shortest track on the album and is a song sung by Mick Abrahams. It's a very simple song with a mix fusion between jazz and blues. The only thing I can say about it is that it's short and nice but it seems to belong to another age, the 60's. The fifth track 'Serenade To A Cuckoo' written by Roland Kirk is an instrumental track and is the lengthiest on the album. It represents, without any doubt, one of the best musical moments on the album. This is really a wonderful instrumental song that is more jazz music than blues. It has a great and perfect instrumental performance all over the song, especially by the flute and guitar. The sixth track 'Dharma For One' written by Ian Anderson and Clive Bunker is one of the most known Jethro Tull's songs of this album. It's another instrumental track on the album where Clive Bunker performed a great and inventive drum solo. This is a song with a more rock feeling than the other previous songs. The seventh track 'It's Breaking Me Up' written by Ian Anderson is another traditional and classical blues number. It has good harmonica performance, but like 'Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You', it still is also a real cool song, but when we hear the song we remain with the feeling that we had already heard this kind of tune many other times before, too. The eighth track 'Cat's Squirrel' is a traditional song arranged by Mick Abrahams, and like 'Dharma For One' is also one of the most known Jethro Tull's songs of this album. This is a good instrumental track, a blues/rock song with a nice and interesting guitar work. It's true that saw from our days it seems to be a bit dated, but I think it still remains a good song. The ninth track 'A Song For Jeffrey' written by Ian Anderson is also one of the best known tracks of the album. This is a very good song and represents one of the best musical moments on the album. We may say this is one of the first standard songs from the group that better represent the first musical period of Jethro Tull. The tenth and last track 'Round' written by Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Clive Bunker, Glenn Cornick and Terry Ellis is the smallest song on the album. It's an instrumental and very simple track with catchy filler. But I've nothing more to say about it.

Conclusion: In part due to Mick Abrahams' influence, 'This Was' incorporates more blues and jazz influences, than the following releases of Jethro Tull. It was only after 'This Was' that was possible to see the progressive rock lines that later became as one of the best marks of the group. So, 'This Was' is practically a blues/jazz album with very few or even nothing of progressive rock music on it. I can see some similarities between 'This Was' and the debut albums of Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator, 'From Genesis To Revelation' and 'The Aerosol Grey Machine', respectively. All these three albums aren't really great works, all have few progressivity and all have very little with what would be the future sound of those three bands. Besides, in my humble opinion, 'This Was' is with 'War Child' and 'Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die!' one of the three weakest studio albums released by Jethro Tull in the decade of 70's.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)