September 7, 1984 - Under Wraps

Only four days after my last release but nearly two and a half years since their last album "The Broadsword And The Beast", Jethro Tull released their fifteenth studio album "Under Wraps" on September 7, 1984. Gerry Conway is no longer with the band but Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and Peter-John Vettese all remain from last album. Vettese continues to have a big influence on things and synthesizers dominate even more on this album than the last one. Adding to the computer-y feel of things is the fact that this is the only Jethro Tull album with no drummer. Anderson programmed all the drums electronically and this robotic drum sound certainly makes things sound different. This is also my first album to have a record and then also have a CD! The CD was new technology at the time and it allowed for longer albums. The CD version has several additional songs and it's this longer version that I have. Let's dive right into Tull's newest offering!

The album kicks off with "Lap Of Luxury" and the electronic drums sound terrible in my opinion, they are just so unnatural sounding. Vettese leads the way on keyboards as Anderson sings the verse and his voice sounds good as usual but everything else is a far cry from what I think of as Jethro Tull. There is a little bit of flute from Anderson, but in this 80s-style it doesn't fit very well. The guitar isn't even noticeable as different synthesizer sounds dominate the song. Barre finally shows up for a "solo" that is decent but ultimately pretty tame. The latter part of the song is better with guitar being more prominent but the electronic drums sound so bad; every single hit shouldn't sound exactly the same! Up next is "Under Wraps #1" and Vettese's keyboards drive the song as they usually do on this album and although I'm not a big fan of the computer-y sound they have on this song, it is a pretty catchy main riff. Guitar and flute can be heard as well and they sound much more natural on this song; the drums sound anything but natural though as every snare hit just hits my ear the wrong way and makes me cringe a little. Anderson's vocals sound good as usual and he sings a decent verse overtop the catchy main riff. The chorus is pretty bland, with Anderson repeating "I've got you under wraps" several times over and the music flows right back into the main riff for another verse. After another verse and chorus they move into a weird echo-y part instead of a solo and it's an underwhelming decision with not a lot happening. It's right back to the main riff which is getting pretty old at this point, and they play a final verse before jamming out the chorus several times until the song fades to an end. Track 3 is "European Legacy" and Anderson opens with a pretty cool flute bit and this leads nicely into an acoustic guitar riff as Anderson plays and sings some solid stuff. Barre plays electric guitar overtop and Vettese plays his 80s synths, but they are in the background and thankfully not overtaking everything else. In this role, it sounds pretty good and they play a few solid verses and choruses. They move into a nice instrumental interlude with flute, guitar, bass and keyboards all taking turns playing some cool stuff, then it's back to the main riff for a final verse and chorus. I thought it was easily better than the first two songs: when the keyboards work with everything else, Tull shows they can still make solid rock music. The next song is "Later, That Same Evening" and it has a slow, trippy opening that takes a bit to get going. Vettese is back to taking over control as he plays an alright keyboard riff. Pegg's bass is decent in the background but once again Barre is nonexistent. If it weren't for Anderson singing, you'd never know this was Jethro Tull. After a couple sub-par verses and choruses they shift into a weird echo-y verse with a computerized Anderson singing "back back" along with his regular vocals. It's an odd part that's definitely not my favourite and they return right back to the synth-led main riff. After a final(ly) verse and chorus Vettese plays a bit of cool piano, but then he's right back to synths to finish things off. Track 5 is called "Saboteur" and it has a nice danceable rock beat with solid guitar and bass. The synths are overpowering once again but Vettese and Anderson sync up playing the same riff on flute and keyboards and it sounds pretty good! Anderson sings nicely overtop this catchy main riff and it flows into a similar chorus where they use more echo effects so we hear multiple Ians. After another verse and chorus Barre plays a short but sweet guitar solo and Vettese follows with a cool keyboard solo! This faster playing is more like it and this upbeat song is probably the best one yet. They bring it full circle and slow things down to repeat the opening riff as we make our way to a final catchy verse and chorus. They jam out the chorus in a disappointing end to an otherwise decent song. Up next is "Radio Free Moscow" and it begins with a clip from a radio broadcast and moves right into a light main riff. Not a ton happening in this riff: it's not bad but it's certainly underwhelming and no part of it makes me wanna tap my foot or bang my head, it's pretty tame by Jethro Tull's lofty standards. Vettese takes over the song after a couple verses and I'm just not a fan of his synth sound at all, no matter what he plays it sounds lame and pop-y to me. They continue to use lots of echo effects on Anderson's voice and when you combine the lame synths, weird tech-y vocals and the awful electronic drum sound it all adds up to some below average music to me. They slow it down and return to the main riff for a final drab verse and chorus. Track 7 is "Astronomy" and it has some upbeat and pretty catchy keyboards that drive the opening with Barre playing some decent guitar as well. Anderson sings a solid verse overtop this catchy main riff and it's not surprising that when the guitar and keyboards get equal footing, I think things sound much better! The synths are still very much Vettese's style but they blend much better in this song with the rest of the band. After a couple decent verses and average choruses Barre plays a short guitar solo that is solid and any guitar solo is quite welcome on this album! They quiet things down for a verse before returning to the usual main riff for a final verse and chorus. Vettese shows off a bit on his keyboards with some cool stuff and Anderson ends the song by repeating the name over and over. This song was decent but still nothing amazing. The next song is called "Tundra" and it has a space-y and epic main riff that sounds a little dark as Anderson sings overtop. Barre is nonexistent once again but we do hear some flute that as usual sounds pretty good. Vettese plays a lot of different keyboards and while I do like this song it sounds alien compared to the Jethro Tull that I would rather be hearing. Barre makes a couple brief appearances but the rest of the song is just jamming this main riff out. The fact that there is flute is nice but it's another sub-par song. Track 9 is "Nobody's Car" and it has a promising start with some more nice flute but Vettese takes over once again with some weird keyboards. Anderson alternates between a softer and louder voice but I'm once again annoyed by that exact same snare hit; get a drummer! After several rounds of this weird main riff they move into an instrumental part. Everyone takes turns in the spotlight as we hear flute, guitar, bass and of course lots of keyboards in this decent part. Then it's back to the main riff for a few more goes round as the average-or-less songs keep rolling on. Up next is the longest song on the album "Heat" but at about five and a half minutes is very short by Tull's standards. Anderson plays some more cool flute at the beginning but Vettese ruins any hope of a vintage song as he takes over with his dreadful synths as Anderson oddly sings "get out of the heat". Pegg plays a nice bass riff to begin the verse but it's another synth dominated riff and it's really starting to wear on me. When Barre has to make little appearances on guitar because the keyboards are dominating the rest of the time, you're not playing my kind of Tull. There is a cool instrumental bit in the middle of this song but what makes it so great is that it's topped off with a great guitar solo from Barre! But they find their way back to the main riff and wrap this up with a ton more synthesizers. Hooray for the 80s...... Track 11 is "Under Wraps #2" and as the name suggests it's a reprise of the earlier title track, but this one is led by Anderson on acoustic guitar and is much softer. He sings the same lyrics and it's ultimately not that exciting, but it is a welcome break from the constant keyboards. He plays a couple quiet verses and choruses and wraps up this short 2 minute song. Up next is "Paparazzi" and it starts in the chorus and those electronic drums continue to kill me! Vettese is back on his new-age synths and Barre plays a decent guitar riff while Anderson sings the name of the song. They move into a space-y verse as Vettese and Barre take turns driving the main riff. Of course, I find the guitar parts better than the keyboard ones but even Barre can't save them from another alien-like Tull song. After a couple sub-par verses and choruses Barre plays a cool little guitar lick, but it's just that, a short lick. Let the man go off for a real solo! Instead it's right back into the main riff as they predictably play things out. Track 13 is "Apogee" and it has a talking opening (sounds like a checklist before space takeoff) and they eventually start a slow main riff with some stop-and-start synths and some nice low bass from Pegg. Barre plays the occasional guitar lick but is once again mostly silent as Vettese plays some very 80s synths that dominate the slow verse. The chorus is faster paced but the drums continue to sound awful and they do more weird effects with Anderson's voice that I'm also not a fan of. This song isn't terrible but it's a perfect example of what most of this album is like and when you realize what great musicians are playing this new-age mediocrity it's certainly disappointing. We hear some more boring talking and they continue to just jam the verse and chorus for most of this five and a half minute song. The final minute has some space-y keyboards and Anderson counting up while the talking voice counts down and says a prayer. An odd ending to a pretty sub-par song. The next track is "Automotive Engineering" and Anderson plays some flute at the beginning but it's not long before we arrive at another synth-led main riff with minimal guitar. Vettese makes a bunch of crazy noises with his keyboards on this song and everything sounds very jagged and offbeat. I like that the flute is more involved (I mean it's freaking Jethro Tull) but this is a weird song for sure. I like it's unpredictability though and weird is good in this case! They don't stray away from the main verse and chorus but it keeps you on your toes, including a false ending before they come back in and finish it off with a nice ending. The final song on this album is called "General Crossing" and it has a weird opening with Anderson talking and also yelling "he's crossing" in the background. The terrible drum sound, a very corny synth riff and some lame "oh oh oh" vocals adds up to a pretty lame main riff for me. I miss John Evan dearly. The weird opening turns out to be the chorus and this song is an example of weird in a bad way. Anderson does lots of weird vocals and it seems Jethro Tull have devolved from their previous progressive masterpieces. An awful way to end a pretty disappointing album.

That is the end of "Under Wraps" and while it wasn't bad, I thought it was easily the worst Jethro Tull album. I thought their last album "The Broadsword And The Beast" was their worst when it came out two years ago, but "Under Wraps" makes even that album seem much better! The 80s have absolutely destroyed one of the best progressive rock bands of the 70s and Jethro Tull continue to decline in my opinion. As long as Peter-John Vettese is around I don't see things getting any better, but at least this is the only album with those god awful electronic drums. They couldn't possibly sink lower than this right? We will see. Amazingly, this September release is my last album of the year and so begins the year-end wrap-up! 7 full albums is around the usual for the 80s for me and although Jethro Tull may be on the way down, some other bands are on the way up in 1984!

Favourite song of the year: All the contenders this year come from the same album, as "Ride The Lightning" was jam-packed with several songs that could easily be picked here. I would be happy naming any song other than "Escape" but if I really had to choose I would pick the title track "Ride The Lightning".

Top 3 Albums of the Year

1. Ride The Lightning by Metallica
2. Powerslave by Iron Maiden
3. Grace Under Pressure by Rush

I don't rank EPs against full albums because they're usually so much shorter but a shoutout to Slayer's EP "Haunting The Chapel", which was also a great release this year. At least the metal scene is alive and well!