A (studio album)
by Jethro Tull

A by Jethro Tull
Year: 1980
Overall rank: 9,559th   
Average Rating: 
67/100 (from 79 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1980 (158th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (1,386th)
Award Best albums of all time (9,559th)

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Availability

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Jethro Tull A Passion Play: Extended Performance (CD) Expanded Album with DVD
Condition: Brand New


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JETHRO TULL - A PASSION PLAY [CD/DVD] [STEVEN WILSON 2014 STEREO MIX] NEW CD
Condition: Brand New


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JETHRO TULL - M.U. The Best Of (1975) - 12" Vinyl Record LP - SEALED
Condition: New


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Jethro Tull bestography

A is ranked 17th best out of 46 albums by Jethro Tull on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Jethro Tull is Aqualung which is ranked number 321 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 5,313.

Jethro Tull album bestography « Higher ranked (8,130th)
Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!
This album (9,559th)
A
Lower ranked (9,559th) »
A

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Jan
18
Sun
20:00
Berner @ 191 Toole
191 Toole, Tucson, United States. United States
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Dec
04
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19:30
Ingrid Michaelson
Boch Center Shubert Theatre, Boston, United States. United States
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Dec
16
Tue
19:00
Lorde: Ultrasound
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, United States. United States
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A track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
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1.
Average Rating: 77 (15 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 78 (15 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 80 (16 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 76 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 72 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 71 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 71 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 76 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 77 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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A rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 9,559th | 1980s rank: 1,386th | 1980 rank: 158th

A collection

A ratings

Average Rating: 
67/100 (from 79 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 79 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
10/100
 !
11/12/2025 20:39 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
65/100
 !
07/03/2025 07:22 steve397   45976/100
 
80/100
 !
01/06/2025 09:14 Fullsized   16385/100
 
55/100
 !
09/17/2024 13:34 duelek   1,57576/100
 
50/100
 !
06/09/2024 17:14 acoustic-horn   17676/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 67.5/100, a mean average of 66.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 66.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.7.

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A favourites

Showing all 5 members who have added this album as a favourite

A comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
65/100
From 10/11/2021 14:28 | #274861
Compared to other JT albums for my personal taste more at the lower end.
Black Sunday stands out as the shiny diamond of the album.
And Further On, Crossfire and Flyingdale Flyer are really solid numbers. The rest is okay till good but doesnt stick for long.
But at least it was the pioneer for the great Broadsword and the beast.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/05/2021 19:36 | #272285
This is an underrated Tull album (judging by its position in this chart) and could very easily become one of my Tull favourites. I have waited a long time for this to be re-issued on vinyl and it has been worth the wait. The introduction of a diffrent drummer and keyboard player who also played violin adds a different dynamic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 04/30/2020 03:29 | #250695
This album A (for Anderson) which was meant to be a solo album is normally overlooked in the Tull catalogue. Its not actually bad, and not as keyboard laden as people would have you believe (that honour was saved for Under Wraps). It's a step down from Stormwatch, but still a step up from Broadsword and the Beast.

A lot of people say it doesn't sound like a Tull album. I'd say it does. For some reason it reminds me of War Child, without the highlights (and lowlights) of that album. Put it on when you are playing cards or something and it won't intrude on the game.
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Rating:  
95/100
From 02/07/2018 23:16 | #207377
Totally right. Apart Black Sunday there was other good song. I like Crossfire, Unifor and futher on. A lot of synths but works
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Rating:  
85/100
From 11/30/2016 20:11 | #179394
This album has a fascinating history. This was originally an Ian Anderson solo project in which he employed some, but not all, members of Jethro Tull. The record company released it as a Jethro Tull album rather than an Ian Anderson album which spurred discord within the group.

Corporate marketing and internal squabbles aside, this is an outstanding album, whether you think of it as an Anderson album or a Tull album. Black Sunday is one of Anderson's most biting lyrics, and exceptionally well delivered in spite of the heavy production. Flyingdale Flyer has multi-part vocal harmonies that rival Tull's best. The rest of the album also stands up quite well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel (1980) by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Permanent Waves by Rush
9. Pretenders by Pretenders
10. Making Movies by Dire Straits
11. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
15. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
16. Boy by U2
17. Gaucho by Steely Dan
18. Dirty Mind by Prince
19. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden
20. Sound Affects by The Jam
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