Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)

"Aqualung" is the fourth studio album by the rock band Jethro Tull. Released in 1971, "Aqualung", despite the band's disapproval, is regarded as a concept album featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Aqualung's success marked a turning point in the band's career, with them going on to become a major radio and touring act.

After veering sharply from the blues inluences of their debut, This Was, Jethro Tull's sound quickly coalesced around jazz-tinged English folk influences and the antics of frontman/flautist Ian Anderson. But it was guitarist Martin Barre's swaggering riff off the title track of the band's fourth album that would become Tull's indelibly clichéd trademark and the band's entrée into a long reign as arena-rock perennials. But there's a lot more to Aqualung than the riffage of that cut and its cousins, "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Locomotive Breath." In an era when pseudo-Christian spirituality was a de rigueur, if cheap, musical commodity (from the overblown operatics of Jesus Christ Superstar to one-hit pop wonders such as "Spirit in the Sky" and "Put Your Hand in the Hand"), Anderson and company openly challenged the value of organized religion with a thematic album savvy enough to layer its thought-provoking lyrics between heavy strata of FM-friendly guitar bedrock.

Tracklist

01.  Aqualung  (Ian Anderson, Jennie Anderson)  - 6:34

02.  Cross-Eyed Mary  (Ian Anderson)  - 4:06

03.  Cheap Day Return  (Ian Anderson)  - 1:21

04.  Mother Goose  (Ian Anderson)  - 3:51

05.  Wond'ring Aloud  (Ian Anderson)  - 1:53

06.  Up to Me  (Ian Anderson)  - 3:15

07.  My God  (Ian Anderson)  - 7:08

08.  Hymn 43  (Ian Anderson)  - 3:14

09.  Slipstream  (Ian Anderson)  - 1:13

10.  Locomotive Breath  (Ian Anderson)  - 4:23

11.  Wind Up  (Ian Anderson)  - 6:01

Personnel

Ian Anderson - vocals, acoustic guitar, flute

Martin Barre - electric guitar, descant recorder

John Evan - piano, organ, mellotron

Jeffrey Hammond - bass guitar, alto recorder and odd voices

Clive Bunker - drums and percussion

Glenn Cornick - bass guitar

David Palmer - orchestral arrangements and conduction

Notes
Released:  19 March 1971

Recorded at:  Island Studios, Basing Street, London

Genre:  Progressive Rock

Length:  42:55

Label:  Chrysalis

Producer:  Ian Anderson, Terry Ellis