Sunday, April 9, 2017

#425: Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)


Zack: Depending on who you’re talking to, Aqualung is either a deep and profound concept album about religion, God, and society or it’s a bunch of songs that constitute a rock album and maybe like calm down with your projecting. You’ll hear the first if you’re talking to anyone who has written a retrospective review of the album. You’ll hear the latter if you’re talking to anyone in the band who worked on this album. So I think I’m going to go with the latter on this one. I wasn’t really paying too close of attention to the album, because I was listening to it while I built a dataset for my prospectus. It was pleasant enough, and way more acoustic than I was expecting from a prog rock staple. Overall, Aqualung was alright. I didn’t think it shifted my perception on issues of faith or anything, like some people seem to come away from it experiencing, but it was still a pretty good listen.
Favorite Tracks: Aqualung; My God; Locomotive Breath

Emily: I agree with Zack that I didn't exactly pick up on any of the "dour musings on faith and religion" that allegedly fill this concept album. Upon first listen, you can definitely tell that Jethro Tull was shooting for something bigger than a typical rock album. Even without a full grasp on the lyrics, the grandiosity and a smidgen of self-importance shine through. Otherwise, though, Aqualung is a perfectly serviceable, if unexciting, rock album. And it includes the best use of flute this side of Ron Burgandy, which definitely is a point in its favor.
Favorite Tracks: Aqualung; Wind-Up; Hymn 43

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