Jethro Tull Album: “Songs From the Wood [Remaster]”

_Songs From The Wood_ and _Heavy Horses_ are not only two of my favorite Tull albums but two of my favorite albums by anyone, ever. I've had SftW in one form or another since it was released in 1977 and I know every note on it forward, backward, upside down, and inside out. I was _expecting_ to be blown away by the remastered version.

And for all that, even _I_ wasn't prepared for the full effect of this thing. My heavens, there's a wealth of sonic detail here that I haven't heard in twenty-five years, and it's every bit as fresh as when it first came out. It brought tears to my eyes.

This will not be a big deal to you if this isn't one of your Preferred Tulls. But if it is . . . well, then, you can safely ignore the silly comments from the peanut gallery and rest assured that this remastered release is worth investing in.

As with most of these Tull re-releases, I don't care one way or another about the extra tracks. It's nice to have "Beltane" (which was released on the big 20-year box set but got winnowed out of the one-CD version). It's also nice to have a live "Velvet Green". But I'd have bought this CD without them. (Not that I'm complaining. And anyway, if you don't want to hear the extra tracks, you can just stop the CD, can't you? Like most CDs, this one has a nice generous break before the "bonus" tracks kick in so that you can do just that.)

And I don't have anything to say about the album itself that I didn't say in my review of the earlier CD version. It's just that in view of some of the reviews this remastered version has been getting, I thought some potential buyers might like to hear from someone who _liked_ the blinkin' thing in the first place and can therefore comment sensibly on whether this new release is satisfactory.

It is.

It's hard for me to believe that so many people find this album mediocre. Of course this is a matter of personal taste, but this is my all time favorite Tull album. There is so much going on at any one moment; all the melodies are strong, the hooks are wonderful, and yet this is some of the most complex and challenging arrangement work that Anderson and the band have ever done (second perhaps only to Passion Play). The band membership at this point was also top notch, and it shows in the sheer (small "b") baroque of the instrumental interplay. I'm particularly partial, as a bassist myself, to John "Brittledick" Glascock (may he Rock in Peace), who I consider the best bass player Tull ever had (sorry Peggy, you come in a close second).

I suppose whether or not you like the lyrics is also a matter of taste. You will definitely *not* like them if you refuse to hear them with the tongue-in-cheek flavor that they're written. The combination of seriousness with fun is a very, very English outlook, poorly understood by Americans All of you out there who think that Tull peaked with Thick as a Brick: the music on Brick is fantastic, and the lyrics near-literary quality, but you seem to have missed the point. That album was intended as a joke, from the front cover to the very last note. Is it any wonder that Ian Anderson is still, to this day, occasionally asked "So, whatever happened to Gerry Bostock, then?" Not to mention that while the lyrics on SftW may *describe* "country living" topics, they're not anywhere near *about* those things. If you cannot read beneath the veneer of woodland fairies and toddies on the mantlepiece to what the songs are actually *about*, then you'll never really get it anyway.

I absolutely love the word-play in Velvet Green; it points out very well the difference between being liscentious and being crassly vulgar. Solstice Bells is a little more serious in it's treatment of the May Day celebration, and the choruses a bit heavy handed and hymn-like, but dang if the production and arrangement aren't sharp, tight, and clever.

Also, IMHO, the remastering is *very* good, some of the best such re-issue work I've yet heard.

I'm sure there are some people, somewhere, who think that the Beatles started to go downhill after Help! Or that Led Zeppelin peaked with the II album (just as a couple of examples). I'm not one of those people. Give me sophistication, maturity, and good humor whatever the date and time, and to heck with the chronological "coolness" and the "not the original band" snobbery.

Pass the word and pass the lady!

I realize this is only one man's opinion, but I do believe Songs From the Wood is Jethro tull's finest hour. I can't think of a more cohesive, complete album by Tull (with the possible exception of Aqualung).Inspired by Ian Anderson's move to the country, the album rings with good will. Even a potentially depressing song as Velvet Green has merit. Lyrically it's depressing, musically, exciting.

Ring out, Soltice Bells is my favorite song on this album, and the fade-out with the bells ringing is beautiful. Barrie Barlow shows his stuff on these songs. What a magnificent drummer he is!!Listen to Hunting Girl and pay attention to the drumming on that particular number. It doesn't get any better than that.

The inclusion of Beltane makes perfect sense. It slots in nicely with the theme of the album. So, even if you are not a Tull fan, but are merely curious, start with SFTW as opposed to something with which you are overly familiar, such as Aqualung or Thick as a Brick. You will not be disappointed.

I have listened to it all in every format and this is some great remastering! for once.

In response to the reviewer asking if it is possible to botch the earlier cd pressings -

This is one of the best Tull albums out there!

If you like Tull at all then this is a must have!!

"Songs from the Wood", originally issued in 1977, is overlooked in the Jethro Tull catalogue. Perhaps this (very welcome) reissue (11 tracks; 53 min.) will reignite attention to this gorgeous collection.

I hadn't listened to this album in probably more than 15 years when I recently saw that it was reissued in a remastered version, and with liner notes from Ian Anderson to boot! I knew I had to buy it. "Songs from the Wood" boasts no hit singles (apart from the minor Christmas hit "Ring Out Solstice Bells", which happens to be a very fine Christmas tune). It can be vaguely be described as a concept album, with songs celebrating life in the English country side. Musically, this album reminds me of the electric rock-folk of Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention, but of course with Jethro Tull's unique twist and Ian Anderson's instantly recognizable flute preminent. Stand-out songs include the title track, "Jack-in-the-Green" (Anderson in the liner notes: "It was all played by me one rainy Sunday afternoon, I wrote the piece in the morning, had lunch, and beetled off to record it while the idea was still in my head. I think we even mixed it in the same evening. Wow!"), "Ring Out Solstice Bells" and "Pibroch (Cap in Hand)", the only "hard" rocking song on the album, with Martin Barre's guitar upfront, but with an equally mesmorizing flute solo by Anderson. This reissue comes with 2 bonus tracks: "Beltane" is from the same sessions, but not nearly as delightful as the original album songs. "Velvet Green" is a live version of the album track.

If your idea of Jethro Tull is focused on/limited to "Aqualung", "Locomotion Breath" and the like, then "Songs from the Wood" is not for you. If, however, you are looking for a great album featuring Jethro Tull music, then by all means buy this! You will not be disappointed.