April 10, 1982 - The Broadsword And The Beast

Nearly three weeks since my last release and over a year and a half since "A" Jethro Tull released their fourteenth studio album "The Broadsword And The Beast" on April 10, 1982. Both Eddie Jobson and Mark Craney have departed since "A" but remaining members Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Dave Pegg continue to fuse Tull's older style of rock with new 80s inspired music. Gerry Conway would become Tull's new drummer and Peter-John Vettese would become their new full-time keyboardist. Vettese helped to write a lot of the material on this album as we see another fresh take on what kind of band Jethro Tull is. Let's check it out!

The album begins with "Beastie" and Vettese makes his presence felt right away as he plays some very 80s synths that sound alright, but not great I find. I want to say they sound very unlike Tull, but this is actually becoming part of their identity this decade! Anderson begins the first verse in a nice low voice and Pegg and Conway join in to form a slow backing riff, but Barre's guitar isn't very prominent at all. We finally do hear Barre in the chorus as he plays a bit of cool guitar while Anderson sings only the name of the song a few times. They return to the synth-led riff but once they reach the chorus this time Anderson sings a lot more lines in a much-improved chorus. Barre's guitar in the chorus continues to sound good and afterwards Vettese sets the stage nicely for a guitar solo. Barre plays a decent solo that isn't too flashy but fits the mood well and it actually continues into another rendition of the longer chorus as Barre is easily the highlight of this song for me. They quiet things down for the final verse and after a final chorus Anderson exclaims "look out!" before Barre ends the song with a final guitar bit. A not amazing but also not too shabby opener, and up next is "Clasp" which Vettese also opens with some interesting keyboards. It's just him in this long, trippy opening where he mixes some very low and very high keyboards. The mood shifts when Anderson comes in on flute with some cool stuff and Conway plays a fast-paced drumbeat. Anderson's flute stops so he can begin the verse and it sounds like he has a computer-y echo, which I think is unnecessary; Ian sounds great, no need to mess with his voice. Barre joins in with some nice guitar in this cool riff and I think the parts inbetween the verses are the best with Anderson playing some nice flute. After a couple verses they move to a new riff led by Vettese on keyboards and while there are some parts that sound good, I think for the most part the 80s style keyboards sound stale and boring. Vettese plays some piano in this new part as well and I think the classic piano sound sounds way better. Everything else drops out except the synths and Anderson's altered voice as they play another verse that just sounds very underwhelming and frankly disappointing. They end it as it began with Vettese returning to his high and low synths and this makes me ache for the awesome Jethro Tull of the past very badly. Track 3 is called "Fallen On Hard Times" and it opens more like an older Tull song with Anderson and Barre combining some cool flute and guitar while Vettese's keyboards can be heard, but remain in the background, and I think it's refreshingly nice. Anderson begins the verse in his usual great vocal style and Barre, Vettese and Pegg all take turns playing some nice little bits in this cool riff. Everything but the vocals stops for the chorus as it gives it a bit of emphasis, but things definitely sound better in the verse as the band comes back in. Barre leads another couple nice verses with some great guitar and after a final chorus Anderson yells the name of the song over and over while Barre continues his smooth guitar until things eventually fade to a close. The next song is "Flying Colours" and Vettese and Anderson open it by themselves as we hear some beautiful piano and Ian sings epicly overtop. It's a nice opening, but the mood drastically shifts after we hear the name of the song as Vettese's piano turns into 80s style synthesizers and the pace picks up for the first real verse. Barre plays some decent guitar in the background, but the synths are overpowering I find and I think bring down the quality of the music. After we hear the name of the song again, the mood also shifts once again as Pegg plays some nice bass and Barre adds some cool guitar as well. Vettese's keyboards are ever-present and it's very clear that he had a huge influence on the songs so far, but I'm not a fan of making synthesizers the lead instrument for a band like Jethro Tull. The rest of the music sounds good, I don't feel it needs the extra cheesy synths as well. "Flying colours" again indicates a shift in the music as Vettese leads a new part with some more over-the-top synths. Barre plays some nice guitars but it's sad that it's shoved to the background. Conway does a nice little fill and they bring things back to the main riff for a final verse and we hear a final couple "flying colours" before Vettese ends the song. The final song on this side is "Slow Marching Band" and Anderson plays some beautiful flute and Barre and Vettese also play solo great slow guitar and piano. Maybe it's just me, but when Vettese plays piano as opposed to synthesizer, I find he adds, not subtracts, to the music and this piano sounds great. Anderson begins the verse in a great slow voice and even though this is not nearly as upbeat as the last song, I find it much more enjoyable. Barre's guitar drops off and Vettese leads the way by himself, but his epic piano sounds pretty great backing Anderson's great singing. One by one Conway, Pegg and then Barre join in and together they add some more great music to this already epic riff. They play a couple of nice slow verses before ending this first side on a very nice note.

Side two begins with "Broadsword" and Vettese plays some slow, droning keyboards and Pegg plays a nice slow bass riff to set the stage. Anderson sings a slow verse in a nice epic voice and Barre's guitar finally joins in for the chorus which is at the same slow pace as Vettese plays some interesting keyboards. The guitar sticks around for the next verse and things sound decent, but also pretty tame I think. They move to a new bridge part with Vettese playing more synths and this sets the stage for a Barre guitar solo. It's not one of his best solos, but it's still the highlight of the song as at least his faster guitar brings some excitement to the song. The guitar falls away after the solo as they resume the slow verse, but Barre comes back in for the chorus and they jam out the chorus riff for the final minute until it slowly fades to an end. Up next is "Pussy Willow" and Anderson plays some acoustic guitar in the background while Vettese leads the way on keyboards. He plays some almost fantasy-like synths, but when Anderson begins singing he also plays some very nice piano. It's a bit of an odd combination but they make it work in this soft main riff. I especially like the piano and it continues into the chorus where Anderson continues to sing in his usual solid voice. Barre doesn't seem to have much to do in this one, and after the chorus it seems like they would naturally go to the next verse. Instead, they play the chorus a second time and then segue back into the main riff, a bit of an oddity. This turns out to be the final verse and chorus before they just jam out the chorus riff while Anderson repeats the name of the song over and over. An unexciting end to a pretty unexciting song; how far these progressive giants seem to have fallen. Track 8 is called "Watching Me, Watching You" and Vettese dominates the music once again with some fast synths, it's just the very 80s sound to it that bothers me. It's a pretty good riff, it just sounds very computer-y and that is not what I think Jethro Tull should sound like. Anderson adds a bit of flute before beginning the first verse and the bass also sounds very computerized on this song. It's a very loud and in your face main riff and Anderson adds bits of flute between his lyrics that sound great, but it's certainly an odd mix with the rest of the music. Vettese seems to have replaced Barre as second fiddle though and I really dislike this move. I found this song tolerable, but very repetitive and so far from the awesome music that Tull is known for. The next song is "Seal Driver" and Pegg and Conway combine for a nice slow rhythm section as Vettese plays lots of synthesizers. When we hear Barre's guitar it sounds good but once again things are dominated by the keyboards, especially in the verse where it's just Anderson singing and Vettese. The rest of the band does come back in and it sounds much better when they do as Pegg continues to play some nice bass. This leads right into a similarly slow chorus and after Anderson sings the name of the song they move on to the next verse. After another chorus we hear a nice little instrumental bit that finishes with a Conway drum fill that leads into a new part. This riff sounds much more old time Tull with some cool bass and Barre leading the way with some nice guitar. This turns into a full-blown guitar solo and this is more like it as we hear some great guitar from Martin and Vettese does play some keyboards, but they are in the background, not dominating the mix. After the solo they play a nice slow interlude that brings this back to the main verse and after a final chorus Pegg plays things out with some smooth bass. The final song on the album is "Cheerio" and it's a short one at just over a minute long. Vettese plays some droning organ-like synths as Anderson sings a short verse with more of this weird computer-y echo on his voice. After his verse he plays a nice little flute bit and brings this album to a close.

That is the end of "The Broadsword And The Beast" and I thought it was a pretty disappointing album overall. Their last album "A" had some 80s influence, but this one takes it to a whole new level and I'm certainly not a big fan of Peter-John Vettese and his love for synthesizers. It had some bright spots on it, but there wasn't nearly enough flute or guitar, and when you're talking about Jethro Tull that's almost disgraceful! Compared to their other albums, it pales in comparison in my opinion. I previously had "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!" as Tull's bottom rung but even that album was more of a typical Tull album than this new offering. It's not like I don't want bands to explore new ideas, but the direction these guys have taken is not to my liking. Can Jethro Tull break out of their 80s funk? We'll just have to wait and see!