Jethro Tull - This Was

Released - October 1968

Genre - Blues Rock

Producer - Terry Ellis & Jethro Tull

Selected Personnel - Ian Anderson (Vocals/Flute/Harmonica/Piano); Mick Abrahams (Vocals/Guitar); Glenn Cornick (Bass); Clive Bunker (Drums); David Palmer (Orchestral Arrangements)
Standout Track - Beggar's Farm

Jethro Tull are one of my all-time favourite bands, and are always doomed to be greatly misunderstood by most people. There are two common mistakes, the first being that Jethro Tull is one person. Admittedly, throughout their career the band would be predominantly defined by the leadership of Ian Anderson, with few of the other members ever really making a hugely significant impression, but the guitar work of Martin Barre from 1969 onwards would be a key element of their sound, and it would be wrong to write the band off as a thinly disguised solo act as they're considerably more than that. Nonetheless, my dad's response to my telling him I was going to see Jethro Tull live a few years ago ("Is he still alive?") is fairly typical. The other misunderstanding is that they're frequently called a prog band. Prog has been my favourite musical genre for a long time now, but frequently my favourite prog bands are the ones who are able to do something different with the genre and don't just indulge themselves to the point of excess. This is certainly true of Tull, who, though progressive elements have defined their music throughout the career, are largely a folk rock band who have also incorporated elements of blues rock and hard rock. The band only made two out-and-out self-consciously progressive albums in their career, 1972's phenomenal Thick As A Brick and its rather more half-hearted follow-up, A Passion Play. But they're generally doomed to be written off as another over-the-top, self-indulgent prog band and a lot of their great stuff therefore rarely gets the appreciation it deserves.

This, their debut album, is a good example of just how diverse the band's roots were. In the late 60s, English blues rock bands were ten-a-penny. Eric Clapton ruled the roost with Cream, but there were countless imitators and knockoffs, and the ones that have really stood the test of time were the ones who were willing to approach the genre with an open mind, prepared to do things differently. This Was (the title a reference to the fact that the album showcases an iteration of the band that no longer existed by the time it was released due to the recent departure of guitarist Mick Abrahams) is one of the best examples of this innovative spirit being applied to a fairly traditional and by-the-numbers genre. For the only time in their entire career, here the band is under the leadership of two individuals, lead vocalist and flautist Anderson and guitarist Abrahams. Abrahams was the traditional bluesman, trying to push the band as far as possible towards typical blues progressions and song structures. Anderson was the more innovative mind, here searching for inspiration from traditional folk music as well as blues ("Cat's Squirrel" is a traditional folk tune that Anderson arranged), and pushing for the involvement of less typical instruments, such as the flute.

Anderson's flute, which quickly came to be the band's chief defining feature, was relatively new here. Anderson had only been playing the instrument for six months prior to the release of the album, due to an increasing frustration that he had neither the ability, nor the desire, to play guitar as well as Clapton and the like. At the time, Anderson was more proficient at the harmonica, used here in equal measure, but his flute skills are already enormously impressive for such a novice. A long way from the virtuosity he would be able to display within just a few years, but impressive nonetheless and, crucially, unusual enough to make this album stand out from its contemporaries. One gets the feeling that, had Tull followed down the path Abrahams wanted it to, they would quickly have been forgotten (borne out by the fact that Blodwyn Pig, the band Abrahams went on to form, made little lasting impression on the music scene), but that's not to say that Abrahams's work here isn't effective. It's the combination of his conventional blues songwriting and guitar-playing with Anderson's more imaginative mindset that makes this album such an unusual delight.

It's a long way from Tull's best work, but it's a hugely enjoyable album that features some great stuff. Few of the songs really jump out and grab you, but the mood of rustic laziness is infectious and when it tries to rock out it really succeeds - Anderson's flute work on "Beggar's Farm" and Abrahams's guitar solo on "Cat's Squirrel" are brilliant, while the more mellow folksy tunes such as "A Song For Jeffrey" and "My Sunday Feeling" are delightful. As stated above, Abrahams left the band after recording was finished due to the age-old get-out clause of "musical differences," going on to form Blodwyn Pig and leaving Tull exclusively under Anderson's leadership. It wasn't an immediate transition into prog-influenced brilliance, as their next album ploughed similar ground to this one, but it certainly set the scene for one of the best, and most unfairly maligned, bands of all time.

Track Listing:

1. My Sunday Feeling (Ian Anderson)

2. Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You (Ian Anderson)

3. Beggar's Farm (Mick Abrahams & Ian Anderson)

4. Move On Alone (Mick Abrahams)

5. Serenade To A Cuckoo (Roland Kirk)

6. Dharma For One (Ian Anderson & Clive Bunker)

7. It's Breaking Me Up (Ian Anderson)

8. Cat's Squirrel (Traditional, Arranged by Ian Anderson)

9. A Song For Jeffrey (Ian Anderson)

10. Round (Ian Anderson; Mick Abrahams; Clive Bunker; Glenn Cornick & Terry Ellis)