Jethro Tull- A Passion Play part 1

[ejshepp1]

so good to hear this again after many years without it

[rdtkga]

Brilliant!!!!

[celloswiss]

Simply brilliant.

[Quantumphilips]

i'm now listening it for the first time.........to be continued

[Zyborggian]

I hate how this album got such a bad rep... there are so many genius moments in it!

[thelilymoore]

naaaaa im goin back to camel

[willicat441]

Well meaning fools, pick up thy bed............ and rise

Up from your gloom, smiling

Give me your hate, and do as the loving heathens do.....

Fucking EPIC.

[rimmyou69]

thick as a brick, totally different story. Heard it twice and was mesmerized. Pure genius.

[rimmyou69]

Jethro Tull is one of the best bands ever. However, listened to PP twice and just cant get into it. Sorry.

[caseypons]

@Aqualung1989; Thank you so much for posting, "A Passion Play" in it's entirety. I have had the vinyl packed away for literally decades, and has been longer than that, since I had given it a full listen. I have always been a Tull kinda guy from the time, "This Was" was released in '68. I have only seen them live three times. A Passion Play was one of those times in '73ish and they performed it whole. Seeing it live was a thing of beauty.

Thanks once again for posting, in glorious B&W. ;~}}}

[godbluffvdgg]

@caseypons You lucky dog! I was 13 in 1973 and I wasn't allowed out that late. I didn't see tull, live, until Storm Watch. Now, I am 51 and again I am not allowed out that late... I hope Ian doesn't re-tour Passion. : )

[caseypons]

@godbluffvdgg; I don't think I have ever heard more original excuses to miss seeing J-Tull & Co. With those excuses, I'll bet Ian would write a note to your significant ,"Other Mother" for permission to see the performance and be home before Sun-Up...And if you didn't make it home before dawn, you could always blame it on Hare, who lost his (spaaaaaare paaaaaair) too...

[godbluffvdgg]

@caseypons : ) Shoot I could go on tour with Ian if I wanted to. She would probably be glad I went. :)

[dodsie9]

My MOM died on a midwinters morning and was buried under SNOW !! R.I.P. mom & DAD!!! Love Kim

[godbluffvdgg]

@dodsie9 Sorry for your loss. I hope this piece helped a little.

[Huija]

This is a totally underated masterpiece, wonder what Ian Anderson was having to eat those days, because all these records are so perfect and age so well with time that I think he must have sold his soul...

[jmcdyer1]

I love this album now as much as when I first heard it. Awesome. Over 35 years now and I keep coming back to it for some awesome Tull. It is such broad spectrum of the talents of Tull both lyrically and musically. It seems like is continually shifting gears and going different directions but always brings you back where you started.

[mcmurry3]

have listed to this album many many years.always great genius tull . Ian was an unusaul character, no drugs liked to fire his shotgun for a reality check.sort of like me now!

[FormerlyMrBean667]

This is the side of Tull I really enjoy. This and TAAB.

[martonimp]

i think this is an incredible musical achievement. people may agree - most disagree. i don't care. i love it!!!

[wsjjc777]

The opening verse, the majical flut what can i say! Jethro Tull forever great stuff:)

[godbluffvdgg]

Thanks so much for posting this masterpiece. I see some people are a little adverse to it. Those of us who truly love tull and Ian of course wish this song were double in length. One album does it not justice. I rate this with Thick as a brick as monumental in scope and profundity. I feel of excitement as each stanza is reached, knowing what is ahead. For those who don't like it I quote Ian... " We will be geared toward the average,rather than the exceptional..."

[willicat441]

@godbluffvdgg

A M E  N !

[mikemcbride52]

I saw “Tull” perform this live at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, MO, USA in 197?. It changed my life. . . again, as did all of their concerts.

[MidnightWriter8210]

Had this - and it was one of my most favorite Tull albums.

[TOHOFIEND54]

seems a lot like thick as a brick. I wonder why this is so much less popular.

[ivanlarsen]

@TOHOFIEND54 i'd say its bc this one sounds more...''involved'' or ''deep'' whereas thick as a brick has a more upbeat tone throughout... theyre both great though, excellent musical rides

[PRIVATEAYEIEYE]

I'm about to listen to this for the first time in more than 30 yrs. Though I loved the concert version, the LP always left me cold, a bit like Tales From Topographic Oceans. I can't remember a note of the music, but the concert made amazingly good use of video tech for the time. I was surprised when Tull made such a bad go of it during the MTV era.

Well...here goes nothin! Next stop, TARKUS!

[PRIVATEAYEIEYE]

@PRIVATEAYEIEYE Oh well, I think I'll have to give it a few goes before I can truly judge it. I think that Anderson was purposely writing in a classical long form here, where the "Brick" LP was actually one of the quickest projects they ever conceived and recorded. The cover actually took more time to produce than the LP itself. TAAB is long, but it is much more R+R than this, and much more immediate. Nevertheless, this show sold out in near riot at a Nashville ticket office in 6 hours.

[godbluffvdgg]

@PRIVATEAYEIEYE OH NO YOU DIDN' JUST DISS TALES... : ) Tarkus is a masterpiece of ELP jamatude.

Although they butcher it in concert. Unlike YES and Tales, which they perform perfectly as usual. Watch the "Keys to Ascension" version of Revealing Science of god. Sick, Howe licks and Squire's phat bass chops.

[PRIVATEAYEIEYE]

@godbluffvdgg I didn't say I disliked Tales, it just didn't sink in. A carload of my friends and I made an affair of listening to it for the 1st. time. We got royally buzzed at the apt. with the best stereo and...nothing. It wasn't hateful like "Love Beach", it just didn't have anything as glorious as their previous LPs, which sparkle from start to finish. It's workmanlike, a well done project with little enthusiasm. From what I read, the band (esp. Wakefield) were not that happy.

[nibbleonu]

Think of the British soldiers, marching in formation standing tall, while bullets cut them down.

[TheKillShot1000]

I was told that "Thick As A Brick" took 3 years to write, whereas this one took only 3 months. Supposedly, "Passion Play" is, in design, "Thick As A Brick" backwards.

[PRIVATEAYEIEYE]

@TheKillShot1000 TAAB was the fastest studio LP Tull ever recorded and Ian ever wrote. The cover design took longer to create than the LP. Never Mind The Bollocks took longer. Sandinista took WAAAY longer.

I'm not complaining, in fact, I like the LP all the better knowing that it completely destroys the opinion of Punk purists who think prog was dour, laborious music, to create and listen to.

Brick is inspired, but I'm afraid PP is a failed effort to capture lightning in a bottle again.

[TheKillShot1000]

@TheKillShot1000 I don't remember typing this ._.

[coldKYLEfly123]

I though the first 10 seconds were dark side of the moon

[nedladdy]

@coldKYLEfly123 Isn't it? I must be in the wrong dream !

cheers



[meowandmeow]

@coldKYLEfly123 lol yea, "not sure if ipod is broken or just pink floyd song"

[jasonledyard1]

Their best album

[beyond7]

Anybody thinks fragments of APP are quite similar to The Return Of Giant Hogweed? I think so. Then, could this be a friendly and brilliant parody of Genesis with some Pink Floyd thrown in for good measure?

[apolele]

2 people like the other parts more than the first....

[NewWorldRob]

...nevermind...I see it as "part 1". Nice authors comments. I felt and feel just as do you*

[DavidKinner]

I think it is funny how so many people call this album a flop. To me it is further exploring the depth of what many consider to be their best album Thick As A Brick. However, in my opinion this is better I love them both, but this is a complete theatrical masterpiece. The lyrics brilliant, the sound brilliant, the experimentation is just beyond any of their other albums. It's not like it's overkill either it's perfect.

[KnucklesTheEchidna37]

@olivejohn

So am I! Aqualung, Benefit, Songs From the Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stand Up are the best (along with the TAAB and APP).

These albums are all unique to each other. Tull is a dynamic group!

[teddingtontcu]

It was an education...........what band uses these techniques now. Decaying in sweet dissonance hell yes.

[Topographer]

I love Tull. And I love prog rock. But I've never tried to get into this one. Is it worth the enrgy?

[Aqualung1989]

@Topographer trust me, it is. I didn't like it at first. It took me 3 or 4 listens until I started to like it. Now I think it's AMAZING. Be patient, you'll be rewarded.

[m1kewithaone]

@Aqualung1989 you guys need to drop some acid, then you'll like it first time around... :)

[rimmyou69]

@Aqualung1989 alright, alright one more time.

[Alvinegro1904]

@Aqualung1989 Yeah, it so usual to me to listen to a great song for the first time and not be captivated, but at the second listen all those strange notes gain life, and then I understand how beautifully composed the song was. That's the music you'll never get tired of. Each listen will reveal something new and special

[Dodger281955]

Long time Ian Anderson fan saw him at Madison Square Garden NYC, A Passion Play, War Child in Rutherford N.J Brynden Buyrn Area, and Montreal at the Forum in1978. A genius! @Aqualung1989

[teddingtontcu]

@Topographer oh yes dear topographer its great fun

[dreyxxyz]

@Topographer HELL YEAH-This is Prog-Rock/Classic Rock at it's peak-let's get your musical muscles warmed up-King Crimsion-In The Court Of The Crimson King, ELP-Tarkus, Yes-Close To The Edge, Kansas- Left Overture-Song-Magnum Opus, Renaissance-Song For All Seasons,PFM-Photos Of Ghosts, Nektar- Remember The Future-Check out all of these on Youtube, and then come back to this-D.

[NewWorldRob]

@dreyxxyz You're an incredibly musical person, a gem of a certain kind..but I just wanted to say you missed Rush/ Permanent Waves...Hemispheres and possibly 'Signals'...definitely one of them belongs in the general discussion sure?

[baremetal]

@Topographer - I think this piece is among the most beautifully and sublimely executed works of the utmost genius. I fell in love with it when it came out and it has never left me.

[PaulHartXYZ]

@Topographer Wait a second. You LOVE Tull. And you LOVE prog rock. Then how is it that you never tried to get into A PASSION PLAY???? This is the MASTERPIECE of all Tull... and the MASTERPIECE of all Prog Rock.

[Solidos]

@Topographer album of the year 1973 u wont ask if its good or not...this year was full of special albums it couldnt be bad...nowadays any album from back then is a masterpiece...and man really if u love Tull u should listen to all their tracks.u love Tull so u love Ian's voice as well ;)

[Nicar526]

@Topographer Was blown away by this show when I was a kid-ran out and bought the album the next day-still hands down my fav Tull album

[Aldiberuin]

One word : fabulous !

Ian Anderson = the best progressive rock musician of the XVII/XX centuries

[ReturnToTheSwift]

never heard of it before, just read the name-and went here

wow

what an amazing song

[SolidLittle]

Goddamn, this song is good.

[SolidLittle]

Underrated.

[mircea1910]

this was released before Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon", right? because, if so, Pink Floyd stole the heartbeat idea at the beginning

[EmileJoulbert]

@mircea1910 'A Passion Play' was recorded in March 1973, the month 'The Dark Side of the Moon' was released, so the Floyd didn't steal from Tull -- at least not in this case.

[arturoewallis]

@mircea1910 " Dark side..." March 1973, "Passion"...June 1973. You decide.

[4EvMetal]

@olivejohn all of them...

[jcast18k]

Im 14... I know Jethro Tull by searching music in YouTube...

Well I listened to this song 10 times and I still didnt like it.

I kept up listening it untill now and now I think its one of the bests songs Ive heard :D

Of course I have a lot of free time to listen to a 40 min song 10 times ahahaha.

[SecondRook]

@jcast18k check out Thick as a Brick.

[olivejohn]

i am 16 and quite new to Jethro Tull. I already have a few of their albums (Aqualung, Stormwatch and War Child) but could anybody recommend some of their other albums i could get! I think i will buy this one and Thick as a Brick! Thanks

[add2718]

@olivejohn pick up Minstrel in the Gallery, it is their best album in my opinion.

[olivejohn]

@add2718 hey hey thanks for that I shall check it out

[shadowheart52]

@olivejohn I consider Minstrel in the Gallery and the earlier Benefit to be two of their best. I also like Living in the Past.

[tjrxk7]

@shadowheart52 I think you may have left out Aqualung-(after Benefit)-and War Child-(after Thich as a Brick) and of course Thick as a Brick and Passion Play. Too Old to Rock and Roll was decent and I rather liked Songs from the Wood as well.

[sukumvit]

@olivejohn The "Bursting Out" album is a good live one with what many consider the best Tull line-up, and it has a good cross-section of their music.

If you are into a folky, medieval sort of sound, "Songs from the Wood" and "Heavy Horses" are considered classics by many. "Minstrel in the Gallery" isn't bad either.

However, Tull's back catalogue is enormous - they have been going for over 40 years and constantly releasing albums in that time! Too much to choose from...

[jmgalbo]

@olivejohn

I was a promotions manager at Chrysalis Records in the early 1970's through 1980. I had the opportunity to meet Ian Anderson at our offices in Los Angeles. Being a Tull enthusiast I asked him which of his releases were his personal favorites. He said without hesitation "Passion Play" because it so closely held significance to him emotionally and musically. If you'd like to become more familiar. I highly suggest "Songs from the Wood", "Under Wraps" & "Minstrel in the Gallery".

[timpipe]

@jmgalbo Does not surprise me that this is his favorite. I always thought there was something special about this album. First time I heard it I was about eleven years old.

[TheOriginalBassBones]

@olivejohn

Stand Up, This Was & Benefit are three of their first albums. All awesome !

[dan97240]

medevol

[CzechGuardian]

The reason why this album is frowned upon by many is a mystery for me. I think it's a pinnacle of a progressive / art rock genre, and one of the best records Jethro Tull ever made.

[1TigerBird]

@CzechGuardian I totally agree. this album still sends shivers up my spine. to see it live, with the movie and everything else, was unreal.

[valkoth2112]

I was born in 74 ... first time i heard jethrotull was 21 years after passion play... and Still Ian the ever "minstrell in the gallery", caught my ears , and put my brain in a breaking reality, i cant even try to explain... and english inst even my native language... i had to research words to underswtabd passion play fully.

Hope the generation that comes after me , can still at least try to hear it propelly.

[tjrxk7]

With the success of the giant song-album of "Thick as a Brick",Anderson tried again with "A Passion Play" however this album got a very poor review (no accounting for taste sometimes)...and so Ian Anderson,as a sign of protest,produced "Warchild" the following year as a response. Every album by Tull is great,but I just wanted to add a little fun-fact to this forum. Cheers!

[sjplwc]

@tjrxk7 Very interesting. The Warchild album was a protest in precisely what way? It's songs' messages? It's style? Not sure about this, but didn't Warchild also receive rather tepid reviews? Seems like the critics sniffed at quite a bit of Tull's stuff, aye?

[tjrxk7]

@sjplwc I recall reading in a Rolling Stone or some other publlication of an interview Ian Anderson gave about Warchild and the good reviews is had comming after the bad review A Passion Play had gotten and Ian had explained how Tull 'went to war',so to speak in a protest against the critics that gave A Passion Play a bad review. Personally,I never mind any 'rock and roll critics' and what they have to say. Esp. when it comes to my fav. group JT.

[sjplwc]

@tjrxk7 Interesting. Thanks!

[Budney420]

Kind of a Floydian slip I guess!

[hyperguy61]

A compositional genius at the height of his powers. This album is a work of art. It just gets better and better ....

[busterbone]

a very intense and musically complex modern musical arrangement. almost too good to be appreciated by most of the dumb masses of record buyers/concert attendees.

[mwininge]

So right! I remember trying to force this guy I was dating to listen to it hahahaha. But my generation in the U.S. has poor taste I'm afraid.

[kingofthebrittains]

I got to see Tull in Seattle at the newly remodeled Paramount Theater in 97 I think. They played Thick as a Brick in it's entirely, blowing my mind & forever changing my idea of what a live performance could be. I saw them again in 99 at an outdoor show in Seattle and Ian was unbelievable! Singing, playing flute & 7-8 other wind instruments, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and some Irish lute type thing- all well & mostly on one leg! The man is a musical genius in IMHO.

[Doctorbeermaker]

I listened to this on vinyl for the first time in nearly twenty years last night. I had forgotten just how great this is. And I still remembered all the lyrics! the line that runs "and your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the boney shoulder of a young horse named George that stole surreptitiously into her geography revision" has got be up there with the most bizarre ever penned.

[mwininge]

While I don't share your dislike of 'A'..I do share your passion for Passion Play. It's probably one of my top 4 Tull Albums. I'm pretty sure there was about 6 months when it was the only album I listened to at all...over and over and over lol

[EternalTeaPot]

the fine people at wikipedia cannot seem to understand the dark perfection im listening to right now :)

[Aqualung1989]

They're not very bright, are they? Although to be honest, this is a "difficult" album to listen to... I didn't like it too much a year ago or so... I LOVE it now

[EternalTeaPot]

your right there not very bright :) when i first heard it i didnt care for it too much but after recently listening to it i can't get enough of it :P

[txeire]

@Aqualung1989

same here dude. its a "deep record". doesnt just jump off the stereo...actually have to listen. masterpiece

[sebathc]

@Aqualung1989

i loved it from the firt second i ever heard

[SupperOfTheMightyOne]

@Aqualung1989

People aren't intelligent by virtue of listening to certain music, bro...this is one of Tull's worst, in my opinion (which isn't saying much), hope that doesn't make me soft in the head.

[Aqualung1989]

@SupperOfTheMightyOne yeah, maybe I shouldn't have said that, sorry. Anyway, I still think this album is terribly underrated, but yeah, I respect your opinion.

[caseypons]

@Aqualung1989; Not to worry my friend....Those who are deft to Ian & Co are those whose craniums rival the bricks of imagination. Do not let the lessors obscure your vision of grandeur. You are a Prince among slovenly thieves of creativity...Ha!

[rimmyou69]

@SupperOfTheMightyOne

no, youre not at all. Thick as a brick was pure classic, but passion play? I doubt if Tull even knew where they were going with that one. lol

[SupperOfTheMightyOne]

@rimmyou69

Heheh, true, true.

Or...opinion. But still.



[dirac33]

@SupperOfTheMightyOne Well I was a Tull maniac in the day, and when this came out I played it till the grooves went through to the other side of the vinyl. It's a great work and was great then, and is great now. It's hypnotic and fascinating.

[jstarang1]

@EternalTeaPot wiki doesn't play down on passion...they just show you reviews of george strat, allmusic, rolling stone, and sometimes other reviewers...and they just give u metacritic data basically...while agreed this is the opus of TULL, dont blame wiki...blame the reviewers as wiki reviews nothing

[gutsbiker]

@EternalTeaPot I'm a long time Tull fan, but I've always said this was an album that only true Tull fans would like. Many parts are brilliant and others are well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or listener.

[BassVirtual]

I absolutely LOVE the part that starts at 6:00 and ends a minute later. Describes the "realisation" of death perfectly.

[pennyfritz]

melodies decaying into sweet dissonance...

the man's a genius!

[MisterEvasion]

Wiki says "A Passion Play (is) one of the most disputed albums in Tull's catalog". I cannot comment on that statement fairly, because I have lost my objectivity somewhat because of fandom persistence.

But I can say my favorite is "Warchild", but I really like all the albums from the period of 1971-1976. However, A Passion Play is less tedious in my opinion than Thick as a Brick. I'm quite impressed with the sequence changes and the odd story of hare's spectacles gives the album character.

[BassVirtual]

I agree. Thick as a Brick has at least four excruciatingly dull, humdrum sections. The only part I skip over in "A Passion Play" is the hare anecdote. And I prefer the sax to the flute. :P

[siggi5153]

Unique!

[laylor1225]

omg. i havent heard this since i was like 8. (i'm 22)

[MisterD48]

Whenever I feel Life is getting to be a drag, I listen to Passion Play. It gives me Hope of Life after Life. Show me the Everdoor.

[wetweasel56]

Being a rather ill informed teen I was unaware of what to expect when I sat down to partake whilst Tull took the stage to perform this new material back in 73. The following experience of sight and sound held me to my seat in intense delight.... or was it the pot.

[motormanish]

No, it was not the pot. I had the same experience when I saw Tull. It was my first concert ever. It was the Aqualung tour in Boston garden. I was speechless all night at that show. Fantastic Show. I will be a serious Jethro Tull fan forever.

[badumpy]

@wetweasel56 lol

[jazzerjunkie]

Oh wow, I haven't heard this in 30 years. Thank you for bringing back some forgotten memories.

[JDKunk]

Thank you!!!!

[cinebeatl]

One of my favorite Tull albums!! Dark, ominous, but tuneful and engaging throughout.

[PaulHartXYZ]

@cinebeatl AGREED. I like my Tull DARK and OMINOUS. The critics be damned.