September 4, 1995 - Roots To Branches

Nearly three weeks after my last release and four years since "Catfish Rising", Jethro Tull released their 19th studio album "Roots To Branches" on September 4, 1995. This album deliberately sounds more like the Tull of the 70s and frontman Ian Anderson even called it the "Stand Up" of the 90s. That sounds like a great throwback to me and Tull are also back to being a five-piece on this album. Andrew Giddings did keyboards on a few songs on "Catfish Rising" but now he is made a full-time member and I like that they have a keyboardist again as well. Let's see what the latest from these mainstays has to offer!

The album begins with the title track "Roots To Branches" and Anderson and Martin Barre sync up for some cool guitar/flute. I love that there's lots of flute in this song and Ian plays some cool stuff throughout, including a couple short, mini-solos. His voice still sounds like his usual self and this song did remind me a little of the old Tull. Up next is "Rare And Precious Chain" and it has a slower, Eastern influence to it and it's a cool main riff with some solid bass by Dave Pegg and more cool flute overtop from Ian. There's sole flashes of coop guitar from Barre and Anderson plays some predictably good flute throughout. Track 3 is "Out Of The Noise" and Anderson continues to play lots of cool flute and I'm thrilled that it seems to be a main instrument again after it becoming a bit secondary lately. The verse also has some nice guitar and Giddings showing off for the first time with some fast keyboards that sound cool. Anderson's fast singing completes a pretty cool main riff that is more than enough to carry this shortest song on the album. The next song is "This Free Will" and it's a typical Tull sounding song with a catchy main riff and some strings that give things a bit of an extra punch. Barre plays an unconventional guitar solo that sounds a bit weird but is still a pretty good little solo. Track 5 is "Valley" and there's a sweet flute intro followed by a cool building of the main riff with some catchy acoustic guitar. It's a solid verse and chorus with some nice vocals and decent background keyboards and there's cool bits of guitar and flute mixed in. The flute solo at the end to finish things sounds pretty good as well. Up next is "Dangerous Veils" and Ian plays really cool and catchy flute riff to drive things along. His flute is phenomenal throughout this song and Doane Perry plays a few nice drum fills in the chorus. The solo is a mix of guitar and keyboards and Barre and Giddings both do a good job in this solo. Probably my favourite song so far! Track 7 is "Beside Myself" and it's a lighter song with Anderson playing some acoustic guitar as well as some more cool flute. Giddings has a couple cool piano parts but it's the flute that really drives things and I think it sounds good. The next song is "Wounded, Old And Treacherous" and Anderson plays another pretty cool flute riff and Giddings even syncs up with him on keyboards in this long intro. The verse has a different feel, more like their 80s stuff, with Ian talk-singing overtop. They eventually return to the cool opening riff and it sets the stage for solo time as Anderson and Barre trade off flute and guitar solos in a pretty awesome part that also has some pretty sweet bass by Pegg backing them. Track 9 is the longest on the album at just under 8 minutes and is called "At Last, Forever". Giddings plays some nice piano and Anderson plays some solid acoustic guitar as well as, of course, some cool flute. There's some strings added in parts that make things sound even more epic and unsurprisingly I like it when the song shifts louder and Anderson takes over with some nice melodic flute. This long song is slow the whole way through, but it was still solid for sure. Up next is "Stuck In The August Rain" and this one is even slower than the last song! Giddings and Anderson carry the song with some soft piano and some soft but still cool flute and there's not really much more to it than that. The fact that this is one of the lesser songs on the album just shows how solid this album is, and it's wrapping up with the final track "Another Harry's Bar". It's another slower song and Giddings continues to show off in these slower songs with some nice piano. The first half of the song is several slow verses but the latter half has a lengthy instrumental part that finishes out the album and it's got lots of cool stuff on piano, guitar and flute.

That is the end of "Roots To Branches" and I thought it was a great album, especially for their 19th one! Ian Anderson plays a ton of flute on this album, and all of it sounds pretty awesome if you ask me. Every song is solid with no weak links and I think this is Jethro Tull's best album since the 70s! I think it's easily better than their last album "Catfish Rising" and the fact that I'm putting it ahead of "War Child" and "This Was" as well shows that Tull are back amongst the pretty damn good stuff. I think it's also better than "Stormwatch" and I'd even go as far to say it's better than "Crest Of A Knave". But this is where I finally draw the line, as I don't think it was better than "Benefit". Cracking the top 10 at 9th out of 19 is pretty damn impressive and I can't wait to see if Jethro Tull can keep the good tunes comin'!