Published on Jul 14, 2000
Every once in a while, I am “gifted” in this job. That is, I
receive in the mail something that I neither had asked for nor ever
expected, but is most welcomed as I have been wanting to listen to
it. Unfortunately, these incidents are rare — and, no, that’s not
a subtle hint for more CDs. God knows my “to be reviewed” pile has
gotten too big of late.
Picture this: a stressful week at work, where I have nearly
broken several laws (as well as a few of the Commandments) due to
my stressed-out state of mind. Then, Friend Anne sends me a package
containing
The Best Of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection, a
two-disc set from 1993. This, as we say in the business, is a sight
for sore eyes — look, two hours of stress relief!
After the disappointment of the
25th Anniversary Box Set (which I purchased several years
ago), a smaller, more concise package seemed to be the answer for
many Tull fans — maybe without the bells and whistles of rare
releases, but a nice collection of the essentials. (Memo to Ian
Anderson: I’m still pissed that Tull decided against releasing that
boxed set of “alternative” performances.) And while there are some
songs and albums that are glossed over, this is a well-constructed
collection of 36 tracks sure to satisfy.
To the band’s credit, every single album up to that point in
their history is represented within the two CDs — enough of an
education for the casual fan to quite possibly awake their interest
in some of these forgotten classics such as
This Was. (The only missing album I can find is the live set
Bursting Out.) And all of the favorites are here, from
“Aqualung” to “Teacher” to “Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New
Day”, so even if all you know of Jethro Tull is what you’ve heard
on the radio, you’ll still have a level of comfort.
Where this collection truly succeeds is in its ability to draw
attention to some of the not-so-well-known songs. “Dun Ringill” off
of
Stormwatch is quite possibly the prettiest song Ian Anderson
and crew have ever done, and this set puts it into the light it
deserves to be seen and heard in. Likewise, the overlooked classic
Songs From The Wood gets royal treatment with three of its
songs featured. Even
A, the 1980 almost-solo album is rightfully saluted with the
inclusion of “Flylingdale Flyer” — but “Black Sunday” was just as
worthy of a song, and its exclusion is sorely missed.
Yet there are a few minor (and I do mean minor) holes in the
quilt. The excerpt from “Thick As A Brick” is the same one featured
on
M.U.: The Best Of Jethro Tull, but it could have honestly
been padded a little more, as the more you hear patched together,
the tastier it becomes. (There are quite a few “custom” radio mixes
of this song out there these days.) And while
Crest Of A Knave is noteworthy because of its Grammy
Award-winning status (don’t get some people started on this one), I
never considered it to be their strongst effort, so including three
songs off of it is a bit of a mystery. All of that said, it is
refreshing to see that Tull’s post-1983 history is fairly
represented here, as most casual fans wouldn’t recognize material
from the band after, say, 1975.
The Best Of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection won’t
hold many surprises for the die-hard Tull fan, but it’s still
noteworthy enough to make it a must-own disc — especially if you
plan to own only one Jethro Tull disc. (Listen to this the whole
way through, though, and tell me you don’t feel the need to
purchase any more of their albums… you just can’t do it.) This
set has all of the magic that the box set from the same period has,
at a fraction of the price, and is well worth the investment.
Nicest gift I’ve received in ages, Anne.