Cheap Stormwatch (Music) (Jethro Tull) Price

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Customer Reviews of Stormwatch

The End of the Long Road.....
Yes, we all know Tull is still around touring and releasing the occasional cd, but the era of "Tull the Supergroup" came to an end with the Stormwatch album. Once the tour was done, long time members John Evan (1970 - Piano/Keyboards) & Barriemore Barlow (1972 - Drums) left the band. They probably were a little tired after years of recording and touring & lets face it - maybe they realized that Ian Anderson was past his prime in song writting (understandable after 11 albums) and Tull was not going to ever match that period again.

That historic period saw Tull go from a blues band (This Was) to a hard rock band (Stand Up, Benefit) to a progressive rock band (Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, A Passion Play) to a british-elizabethean band (War Child, Minstral in the Gallery) to a band a little lost in the punk rock era (Too Old to Rock Roll, Too Young to Die) to a rural-folk band (Songs from Wood, Heavy Horses) and finally to band that had done it all and was out of gas and was had become flat (Stormwatch).

So, Tull had reached the end of their prime. Oh well, they sold a ton of records and concerts tickets and were just a shade below the big three of 70's rock - Zeppelin, the Who and the Stones.

After this, Ian & Martin would carry on the flag and the new members of Tull would come and go. There were some good cd's and the concerts are still pertty good....but the Heyday was over. Nothing last fovever.

So buy Stormwatch to complete your Tull collection - but not to discover Tull.

bye tull fans!

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UNDERRATED JETHRO TULL
THE ONLY BAD THING ABOUT THIS RECORD IS THE ALBUM COVER. WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE THE REST OF THE BAND WORKED INTO THE ALBUM COVER. THIS RECORD IS SADLY UNDERRATED BY CRITICS AND TULL FANS. THE ONLY THING MUSICALLY BAD HERE IS THE ABSCENCE OF JOHN GLASSCOCK'S BASS ON MOST OF THE SONGS. THIS WAS THE LAST OF THE CLASSIC LINEUP BEFORE THE INEXCUSABLE MISTAKE OF CHANGING THE LINEUP FOR WHATEVER REASON IAN ANDERSON OR TERRY ELLIS OR WHOEVER RESPONSIBLE CHOSE TO DO SO. TULL WOULD HAVE SOLD MORE RECORDS INTO THE 80'S HAD THIS BLUNDER NOT BEEN MADE. STORMWATCH STANDS WITH: HEAVY HORSES, SONGS FROM THE WOOD, TOO OLD TO ROCK N ROLL, AND WARCHILD AS SOME OF THE BEST TULL ON RECORD. THE RECORD MIGHT HAVE A DARKER TWIST THAN PREVIOUS RECORDINGS BUT THE SONGS ARE EXCELLENT. THE SONGS OLD GHOSTS AND THE INSTRUMENTAL WARM SPORRAN ARE MY FAVORITES AND THE TRACK HOME IS IN MY MIND THE WEAKEST TRACK. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE STORMWATCH.

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The shadows in the park were longer yesterday...
"I flew for heaven's sake, and let the angels take me home" (from "Home")

In many ways *Stormwatch* is the last Jethro Tull album; *A*, its followup, started life as an Ian Anderson solo effort and future efforts would lack the classic lineup ... and the stately Elgar-meets-folk-rock grandeur of Jethro Tull at its finest. Perhaps that explains the pervasive feeling of melancholy which suffuses this album: everyone involved knew that things were coming to an end.

"Floating slowly out to sea in a misty misery." (from "Flying Dutchman")

While Ian Anderson had been Tull's leader since *Stand Up,* he had always relied on the efforts of his backing musicians, particularly the electric guitar of the much underrated Martin Barre. Drummer Barrimore Barlow and keyboard whiz John Evan left Jethro Tull not long after *Stormwatch* was released, while bassist John Glascock passed away of a heart ailment shortly thereafter. This may explain why their contributions seem almost perfunctory: *Stormwatch* has the same basic sound as *Heavy Horses* and *Songs from the Wood* but lacks the instrumental pyrotechnics of prime Tull. (On the other hand, David Palmer's orchestral arrangements are more important than they ever were before... or would ever be again... on this CD, particularly on the instrumental tracks "Warm Sporran" and "Elegy").

"I'll be coming again like an old dog in pain
blown through the eye of the hurricane
down to the stones where old ghosts play... " (from "Old Ghosts")

That's not to say this isn't an excellent album. "Dun Ringill" and "Home" are great acoustic tunes which feature Ian Anderson at his best. "Orion," "Old Ghosts" and "North Sea Oil" are solid Tull, and while "Dark Ages" and "Flying Dutchman" are a tad overlong, they're definitely enjoyable. It's not *Thick as a Brick* or *Living in the Past* ... but it's a solid effort from Ian Anderson, one of rock's most creative and talented musicians.