October 14, 1974 - War Child

Just 8 days since my last release, and about a year and a half since "A Passion Play", Jethro Tull released their seventh studio album "War Child" on October 14, 1974. After two albums of amazing 40-plus minute songs Jethro Tull decided to make a more conventional album again, with 10 songs and a total running time under 40 minutes. A lot of the songs are reworked versions of old songs that never made it on to any previous albums and Jethro Tull deliberately simplified this album after the grand complexity of their last record. How will Tull sound when they are not at their progressive best? Let's find out!

The album kicks off with the title track "War Child" which begins ominously with sirens and sounds of gunfire. Ian Anderson plays some cool saxophone and it takes the form of a more regular song. Anderson's singing is decent and John Evan adds some cool piano during the verses. The sax continues in the chorus and continues to sound great. A cool song, but certainly not long enough to be progressive as is the case with all these songs. The next song is titled "Queen And Country" and once again Dee Palmer does orchestral arrangements on the album and it's all over this song. The orchestra sounds good mixed with the guitar and bass and we hear a cool, short guitar solo by Martin Barre. They jam out the chorus until it fades out and up next is a song called "Ladies". Barre plays some cool Spanish guitar as Anderson plays some nice flute. Ian sings softly overtop of the good guitar and also adds some cool sax in the chorus. The orchestra joins as well to add to this beautiful song, but near the end it changes into a quick rock beat, but then quickly fades out. Track 4 is "Back-Door Angels" and Anderson plays some wonderful flute and also sings nicely to open this song. Barre's guitar takes it a new direction and he leads the way with a fine solo! Jeffrey Hammond and Barriemore Barlow keep the pace in a fine rhythm section, then it's back to the flute. Evan plays an interesting synth segue and we're treated to an extended Barre solo. He plays some really good stuff and then the song ends a bit oddly with a question as Anderson seems unsure when he says "winked?" The side ends with "Sealion" as Barlow plays some good drums and Anderson adds cool flute. Ian sings in his typical voice in the verses as Barre carries with a good guitar riff. The chorus is a little funny, but the music is quite good and we hear a short flute solo. One more verse and chorus wraps up this song and the side ends with another question: "would you like another cup of tea my dear"? Don't mind if I do.

And neither does Ian as side two begins with "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" which opens with Anderson humming and making some tea, then he suddenly comes in with a cool acoustic guitar riff. His voice sounds great and his great acoustic carries the song. He adds flute into the mix for the second half and this is another cool rock song, but this album doesn't show how good Jethro Tull are at combining different musical pieces. Up next is "Bungle In The Jungle" which begins with some catchy flute and some roaring! Evan plays some cool piano as Anderson sings a nice tune. Barre adds some cool guitar as well and it's no surprise that this was the big hit single. There's some cool parts from the orchestra as well and this song is pretty catchy for Tull! Anderson uses lots of animals in his lyrics and by the end you can't help sing along to the chorus. Track 8 is called "Only Solitaire" and has fast guitar from both Anderson and Barre that sounds pretty good. The former's singing and acoustic playing is nice while the latter plays some cool electric overtop. An interesting short song for sure. The next song is "The Third Hoorah" and the guitar and flute sync up for a cool riff, then Evan takes over with some interesting keyboards. Anderson's singing is good as usual and once again the orchestra adds a nice touch. It's got kind of a march feel to it and has a pretty solid instrumental middle part with great contributions from everyone. The chorus is pretty catchy and Tull show they can make great mainstream rock as well on this cool song. The last track is titled "Two Fingers" and has a cool acoustic guitar opening before Barre adds some epic electric guitar. Evan joins in on what I think is a Mellotron as this makes for an interesting riff. Hammond plays some great bass in the verses and it continues into a new part after the second chorus. There's great guitar and bass throughout, and Anderson adds a mean saxophone solo at the end that sounds fantastic! The song and album fades to a close as Tull successfully complete their most radio-friendly album yet.

That is the end of "War Child" and I thought it was a good album, albeit a different one for Jethro Tull. They made this album with shorter, more catchy songs in response to the negative press to "A Passion Play". Well I think the press can screw off and thought that album was quite excellent. Their past three albums have all been very progressive, and they were all bloody brilliant. It's not that the songs on "War Child" are bad, some of them are pretty good! But to me it's a huge drop in overall amazingness. So how does it compare to their previous albums? Previously I thought their debut "This Was" was their least good album so far, but I enjoy that old blues-style rock more than I enjoyed this new made for radio Tull, so "War Child" takes the bottom rung on the ladder. Hopefully Jethro Tull will bounce back to their progressive ways next year!