April 10, 1978 - Heavy Horses

18 days after my last release and a little over a year since "Songs From The Wood", Jethro Tull released their eleventh studio album "Heavy Horses" on April 10, 1978. It continues the folkier music that was prominent on their last album and has the same line-up, but it's also a bit heavier, a change I certainly applaud. Jethro Tull made it clear that they did not want to conform to the new music trends and I am happy they did not fall to the wayside like so many others around this time. Let's check out some new Tull!

The first song on the album is "...And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps", a song Ian Anderson wrote about his cat. He opens it with a soft acoustic guitar riff and also adds some cool flute as well. Anderson sings in a low voice for the verse but goes higher for the brief chorus. This one is almost all Anderson as there's not much electric guitar and the rhythm section is pretty quiet. John Evan's keys join in eventually and after the second chorus Ian starts off a cool solo with some nice flute. Martin Barre finally joins the mix as he plays some good guitar that goes well with the lead flute. They return for one last verse before Anderson goes off for some more cool flute. We hear several voices singing the name of the song quietly at first but as the song ends the flute fades and the chanting gets louder. We hear Ian cough and I guess that signals the end of the tune! Up next is "Acres Wild" which is driven by a pretty cool guitar riff. Anderson plays this quick acoustic as well as the nice flutes as he is just a musical wizard. Once he starts singing the verse, things quiet down a bit but it's still a solid riff. John Glascock's bass sounds pretty good and Evan adds some interesting keyboards as well. After a couple good verses they resume the cool opening riff for a bit, then it's time for another verse. They end it with a fun little finish as I really liked the fast, upbeat feel to this one. Track 3 is the longest on this side at almost eight minutes, titled "No Lullaby" and Barre kicks this one off with some nice electric guitar. After a solid opening they settle into a slow main riff driven by Glascock's bass. Barriemore Barlow plays some nice little drum fills in this slow part and Anderson sings the first verse in his always great voice. Evan adds some epic keyboards to this slow verse and when Anderson plays his short flute bits they sound pretty great! Barre starts a new riff that sounds pretty heavy and Anderson's flute meshes quite well with it! They segue nicely into a new, quicker verse with Ian singing faster and Barre leading the way with some nice guitar. This finally brings us to the chorus, which has a catchy beat and Anderson delivers the stepped "lullaby!" very nicely. They move right into a cool instrumental part with some great contributions from everyone and it sounds pretty great! They play out another chorus and at the end if this one they tie it all together as they return to the epic opening riff by Barre. Just like last time this changes to the nice slow beat as we hear another beautiful verse sung by Anderson. He plays some pretty great flute as well and they continue the same formula as they segue into the faster riff once again. Barlow's quick drumming sounds good and Anderson takes us to another chorus. They slow it down again for the end as Barre plays some final notes before this awesome song finally comes to a close. The next song is called "Moths" and Anderson leads the way with some great acoustic playing and some nice singing. Evan plays some nice keyboards in the background and when Ian syncs up with him on flute it sounds pretty good. Dee Palmer adds some orchestral stuff to this cool riff as well as we notice him for the first time really. It sounds pretty good in this setting as it enhances this smooth riff even more. They never stray from this main riff, but it also never gets old as they do a great job of cycling through all the great musicians. The final song on this pretty good first side is "Journeyman" and Glascock leads the way with a pretty cool bass riff. Barre and Evan add some cool guitar and keyboards as well as Anderson sings overtop this jamming riff. When he stops singing he plays some pretty great flute in several short bits throughout the verse. Barre plays some pretty great guitar as well in his short bits as he and Ian seem to be dueling throughout the song! Palmer adds some more orchestra to this riff as they add another dimension to this already solid riff. Barre and Anderson get a chance to play together for the final minute as they both play some pretty great stuff while this song and side slowly fades to an end. An excellent first side indeed!

The second side begins with "Rover" and it's led by a nice guitar riff by Barre as Evan plays some keyboards as well. It's a quick, interesting riff and it sounds even better when Ian adds some flute. It quiets down for the verse as Anderson sings and leads the way on acoustic. The lyrics of this one are about Ian's dog as he touches on several different animals throughout this record. It's a fairly tame verse and chorus before Barre briefly returns for the opening riff, then it's time for another verse. They repeat this same formula a few times and it gets a little stale by the end but still has some cool flute and guitar in parts. They slowly fade out the same riff that started it off and we're off to the next song, "One Brown Mouse" which opens with both Barre and Anderson on their guitars. It's a cool main riff and Evan also adds some nice keyboards that sound pretty epic. Anderson leads the verse with his acoustic and light singing as we hear another song about an animal. Barlow plays a quick drum beat that fits this slow mood pretty well and after the chorus they move into a new rock riff with some cool stuff by both Evan and Barre. Palmer adds some orchestral music and Anderson plays some beautiful flute to go along with it in another cool part. They return to the main verse and play out a final chorus before ending this short song with some well-done flute. Track 8 is the longest on the album at almost nine minutes, the title track "Heavy Horses". Barre starts this one with a pretty sweet electric guitar riff and Glascock and Barlow play a nice rhythm section as well. The song has a nice flow to it already and when Anderson joins in on flute they have a pretty solid main riff going. Evan plays some pretty awesome piano that carries the verse as Ian sings really nicely along. Palmer adds some beautiful strings and this verse sounds really good! They move seamlessly into the chorus which resumes the cool opening riff. When they start the second verse it's not piano, but Barre on guitar. The orchestra and piano do resume as we hear another nicely done slow verse. After another chorus the orchestra plays a cool little bit that brings us to a new faster riff with Barlow and Glascock speeding up the backing riff. Anderson sings the same in this riff but despite the tempo change he still sounds great! I love this more rock-y riff and things move into a guitar solo for Barre that sounds pretty good. After the solo, they essentially hit reset as it sounds like we are back at the beginning of the song! The opening was so good though that you don't mind reliving it and returning to the beautiful earlier verse. All their changes are done so well as Tull show they still have the prog in them! They jam out the chorus for the final minute of this song as it slowly fades to a close. I tend to like their longer songs, and this is no exception, well done! The final song on the record is "Weathercock" and Anderson and Barre are both on guitar again. Ian sings another solid verse while playing some backing acoustic as Martin plays the cool faster guitar. Evan plays some backing organ in the chorus that gives it a dreamy feel and it continues into the next verse. After the second chorus Anderson takes off for a flute solo! It sounds pretty good I think and there haven't been as many flute solos as I would like honestly! A flute-like keyboard takes over the riff and while it sounds okay, why not continue with the awesome actual flute?! Barre gets a chance to play a solo as well and his guitar sounds pretty good. They continue to jam out to some nice stuff as this song and the album fades to an end.

That is the end of "Heavy Horses" and I thought it was a pretty good album! They stuck to the same, mostly lighter and folk-ier feel as their last album but I think they did an even better job this time! My favourites are the longer songs, the title track and "No Lullaby" but most of the shorter songs were quite good as well. It may not still be the full-blown prog of years past, but I think it's definitely a step in the right direction. So how does it compare with their other albums? As I said, I thought it was a step up from last year's "Songs From The Wood" but I also don't feel like it cracks the top 5 where their best music is. 6th best in Jethro Tull's ranks is still a high achievement and I hope they can continue this new rise next year!