I can't add much to the accolades here so I'm adding something of conceptual interest. Many may wonder where the title came from. i haven't heard where Anderson has ever addressed the question but my theory may shed some light. All English boys are aware of, and many may even have succumbed to, Lord Baden-Powell's tenets for good boyhood. As the inventor of the Boy Scouts he admonished young englishmen to "be a brick" in all aspects of their lives. In other words, to fit in, to not rock the boat, but to be a solid citizen. The original Boy Scouts were also an organization designed to prepare young men for the military, being as England was still master of the world then, with holdings and wars upon which "the sun never set". Some samples from the songs lyrics:
And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall --
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.
See there! A son is born -- and we pronounce him fit to fight.
We'll
make a man of him
put him to trade
teach him
to play Monopoly and
to sing in the rain.
The young men of the household have
all gone into service and
are not to be expected for a year.
We'll
take the child from him
put it to the test
The late 60's being what they were, we find many, many english rock songs slyly, or openly, bucking the system.
November 2, 2008This is the best thing Jethro Tull ever did, and it's also my all-time favorite album. You might say it's pretentious except that pretension implies unfulfilled ambition. You'll find none of that here; Tull deliver heroically on every level. ELP, Yes, and most of the other prog bands were pretentious. They sounded silly sometimes because they took themselves really seriously. I think it's funny how those bands, whose members were often classically trained, tried so hard to be sophisticated and profound, and then Ian Anderson, a blues flute player with no musical education at all, beat them at their own game while making fun of them at the same time. Tull had a sense of humor about progressive rock which, combined with their overall superior musicianship, resulted in success where others would have made fools of themselves. With Thick as a Brick the spoof surpassed the spoofed.
September 27, 2008 |  | Stick around for the bonus track |  |
Tull struggled to sustain the level of invention and listener involvement over the course of this one. It certainly has its moments, however, the real prize here is the 12 minute live distillation, from N.Y 1978. This has all of the essential moments from the album, seamlessly joined, and, played with no little abandon. This one rocks.
August 31, 2008 | | Tull takes on the Concept Album | |
'Thick as a Brick' is Tull's 'intentional' concept album, telling the tale of Gerald (Little Milton) Bostock. Putting the lyrical content aside for a moment, the album is prog rock excellence, with the organ, synth and guitar taking the forefront of the music. Ian Anderson's vocals are outstanding as can be expected from this time period in the long career of Tull. Both part 1 and 2 of TAAB really shine, although for a strange reason the cd manufacturer decided to keep the break between sides 1 and 2 of the original LP. The live version is much shorter, just hitting the highlights and comes off rather well. The interview with Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Jeffrey Hammond, while interesting, probably could've been left off, unless you're interested in hearing the tale of the urine tainted rabbit costume head. At any rate, for those who are building up their Tull collection this one, as it goes without saying, is essential, and is ranked highly for good reason.
August 15, 2008| | | One of the Best Albums Jethro Tull has ever done! | |
When I first bought this album on LP record, I didn't like it. I took it over to my younger brother's house to play and told him I didn't like it. He was surprised. He played it. I left it over his house and every time I'd go there, he'd play it. Gradually, the album got into my blood and I think I bought about 3 or 4 copies of it because I played it so much.
I taped it and played it every day on my way to and from work. That was sometime in the '70's and today, I have it on CD and also made a tape of it that I play in the car. I think it's the kind of album that you have to play a while until it gets into your blood. I especially like the ending of Side I where he sings: "I see you shuffle in the courtroom with your rings upon your fingers and your downy little sidies and your silver-buckle shoes. Playing at the hard case, you follow the example of the comic-paper idol who lets you bend the rules." (Words in quotes by Ian Anderson and Gerald Bostock from Thick As A Brick.)
On side II, it seems like they wasted some time before they really got into it, but once they did, it was a masterpiece. I have often said, that if they let me take 2 albums with me when I pass from this earth, it's going to be "Thick As A Brick" and "A Passion Play," both by Jethro Tull.
July 5, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(159 reviews)