JETHRO TULL – STORMWATCH LP – Nr MINT UK 1979 PROG ROCK

Jethro Tull – Stormwatch
(Chrysalis Records  1979  CDL1238)
Matrix No’s: A2/B2 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– some slight wear to edges/corners
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from the odd light pop/crackle)

Jethro Tull were a British rock group, formed in Luton, Bedfordshire, on December 20, 1967. Initially playing blues rock, the band soon developed its sound to incorporate elements of British folk music and hard rock to forge a progressive rock signature. The band was led by vocalist/flautist/guitarist Ian Anderson, and featured a revolving door of lineups through the years including significant members such as longtime guitarist Martin Barre, keyboardist John Evan, drummers Clive Bunker, Barriemore Barlow, and Doane Perry, and bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, and Dave Pegg.

The group first achieved commercial success in 1969, with the folk-tinged blues album Stand Up, which reached No. 1 in the UK charts, and they toured regularly in the UK and the US. Their musical style shifted in the direction of progressive rock with the albums Aqualung (1971), Thick as a Brick (1972) and A Passion Play (1973), and shifted again to hard rock mixed with folk rock with Songs from the Wood (1977) and Heavy Horses (1978). Jethro Tull have sold over 60 million albums worldwide, with 11 gold and five platinum albums among them. They have been described by Rolling Stone as “one of the most commercially successful and eccentric progressive rock bands”.

The last works as a group to contain new material were released in 2003, though the band continued to tour until 2011. In April 2014, as he was concentrating on his solo career, Anderson said that Jethro Tull were finished. However, in March 2017, Anderson released Jethro Tull – The String Quartets, an album of reimagined Tull songs, recorded with The Carducci String Quartet.

Stormwatch (1979) is the twelfth studio album by the rock group Jethro Tull. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull (although folk music influenced virtually every Tull album). Among other subject-matter, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money.

In 2004, a remastered version of Stormwatch was released with four bonus tracks.

This is the last Tull album to feature the classic line-up of 1970s. Bassist John Glascock, suffering at this point from the effects of a cardiac infection that eventually led to his death, is only featured on three tracks (“Flying Dutchman”, “Orion”, and “Elegy”). Ian Anderson played bass elsewhere on the album while Dave Pegg played on the subsequent tour.

The instrumental piece “Elegy” was written by David Palmer.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ian Anderson except where noted.

Personnel

• Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, bass guitar (except tracks 2, 9, 10).
• Martin Barre – electric guitar, mandolin, and classical guitar.
• John Evan – piano, organ.
• Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion.
• David Palmer – synthesizers, portable organ and orchestral arrangements.
• John Glascock – bass guitar on tracks 2, 9, 10.

Additional personnel

• Francis Wilson – spoken voice on track 8.