Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson albums ranked and reviewed by emptysquares

• Chart updated: 11/30/2023 21:45
• (Created: 10/17/2021 17:11).
• Chart size: 30 albums.

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1. (=)

Aqualung 

 Jethro Tull

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Following the moderate success of the first 3 albums, Anderson stepped things up with Aqualung by introducing a more varied compositional style. The quiet bits had an almost singer/songwriter style reflecting Ians increasingly confident vocals, whilst the loud bits had a more beefed-up guitar tone from Martin Barre - and the contrast between the two was impactful. Andersons vocal & flute were exceptional with seemingly every line accompanied with a wry chuckle, yelp or sneer. The critics at the time wrongly described 'Aqualung' as a concept album and lumped Tull in with ELP, Yes and Genesis which irked Anderson who went on to conclude that they had the combined intelligence of a clay construction block (the British music press were about to get far worse, chasing circulation through sensationalist and ill-informed insults, resorting to deformation and guilty of a cultural bigotry that would seek to air-brush bands like Jethro Tull out of British music history).
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan; b:Hammond/Cornick; d:Bunker; Produced by Terry Ellis & Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

725 charts

Rank Score:

5,637

Rank in 1971:

14

Rank in 1970s:

81

Overall Rank:

319

Average Rating:

 83 (962 votes)

Comments:

57

2. (=)

Thick As A Brick 

 Jethro Tull

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Despite its mock newspaper cover complete with fabricated stories including that of Gerald Bostock, the child prodigy to whom they co-credited the albums lyrics, Anderson was never explicit as to whom he was calling 'Thick as a Brick'. Whilst musically, the album is a gentle pastiche of the then ubiquitous Prog Rock scene, Andersons primary target was the media and the tendency of its self-appointed but impressively unqualified 'music experts' to routinely mis-understand and pass harsh judgement upon all that it came across. The impressive feat of creating a continuous 43-minute stream of music is testament to Tulls 'modus operandi' of the time. Anderson would work separately, coming up with fragments and pass them to the band who were unaware of Andersons plan of a single long piece until near the end of recording. The momentum is maintained astonishingly well from start to finish and interspersed with some memorable melodies making TAAB a unique and enjoyable listen.
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan; b:Hammond; d:Barlow; Produced by Ian Anderson & Terry Ellis(executive) [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

623 charts

Rank Score:

6,169

Rank in 1972:

8

Rank in 1970s:

73

Overall Rank:

290

Average Rating:

 83 (822 votes)

Comments:

44

3. (=)

Songs From The Wood 

 Jethro Tull

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Or to give its full title: 'Jethro Tull with Kitchen Prose, Gutter Rhymes and Divers Songs from the Wood'. For their 10th studio release, Anderson wisely decided to revert closer to a style successfully trialled two years previously on 'Minstrel In The Gallery', only this time around he encouraged other band members to contribute rather than the 'singer/songwriter' feel of the earlier album. The enthusiasm of the band for getting stuck into the noodly arrangements came across clearly and everyone seemed to be having fun. Lyrically, Anderson mashed-up the medieval with the present day with his customary tongue in cheek humour, whilst mandolins and harpsichords are pleasingly combined with Barres 'Les Paul' and Barlow's thundering drumming. It's all good (mostly) clean fun and definitely essential Tull.
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan/Palmer; b:Glascock; d:Barlow; Produced by Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

166 charts

Rank Score:

1,031

Rank in 1977:

35

Rank in 1970s:

329

Overall Rank:

1,660

Average Rating:

 78 (245 votes)

Comments:

16

4. (=)

Minstrel In The Gallery 

 Jethro Tull

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Tulls 8th studio album lacks some of the grand pretentions of its immediate predecessors - no movie concepts, satirical narratives or stage play formats...and was better for it. Anderson was at the top of his game at this time and performed best when he refrained from creatively straight-jacketing himself as he did with 'Passion Play' and soon would again with 'Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll'. The cover art seems to depict some sort of Elizabethan theatrical performance and throughout the album, Andersons plays the medieval bard with a simple acoustic accompaniment, singing of life's trials and tribulations. The eclectic title track, 'Black Satin Dancer' and 'Requiem' are all effective, but it is the 16-minute medley 'Baker Street Muse' which is the centre-piece with Anderson effortlessly ambling from one melody to another in a way that only he can.
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan; b:Hammond; d:Barlow; Produced by Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

103 charts

Rank Score:

481

Rank in 1975:

54

Rank in 1970s:

557

Overall Rank:

3,116

Average Rating:

 77 (153 votes)

Comments:

5

5. (=)

Heavy Horses 

 Jethro Tull

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Following up on the success of 'Songs from the Wood', the band kept to a similar musical formula, although lyrically 'Heavy Horses' has its eye on the present day rather than the jocular wink to the past of its predecessor. The excellent title track has sad and wistful tone lamenting the passing of the old ways and facing up to obsolescence. The rest of the album is pretty upbeat with Anderson finding plenty of subject matter in a period of domestic bliss in the rural English countryside. The rebellious tones of the punk-rockers railing against urban decay and political alienation seemed like another universe entirely as Anderson appeared more concerned with the habits of his domestic pets. But if Anderson was just painting musical portraits of his life at the time, the UK music critics would dismiss Jethro Tull as wealthy out-of-touch rock-stars indifferent to the troubled realities surrounding them. Today 'Heavy Horses' is consistently enjoyable, including the three bonus tracks 'Weathercock', 'Living in These Hard Times' and the fab 'Broadford Bazaar' - never mind about anarchy in the UK, here's the car boot sale.
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan/Palmer; b:Glascock; d:Barlow; Produced by Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

104 charts

Rank Score:

641

Rank in 1978:

48

Rank in 1970s:

468

Overall Rank:

2,470

Average Rating:

 75 (193 votes)

Comments:

7

6. (=)

Stand Up 

 Jethro Tull

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‘Stand Up’ album saw the entrance guitarist Martin Barre who would remain with the band for the next 30 years. The blues influence of the debut album had been dialled down - although not entirely discarded as the excellent opener 'A New Day Yesterday' demonstrated. For the most part though, Mick Abrahams' expressive playing was replaced by an altogether more restrained and studious approach from Barre whilst Anderson continued to exercise his genre appropriation skills in numbers such as 'Bourrée' and 'Fat Man'. Overall, the album has a playful and likable feel which consolidated the Tull sound. Better still, most versions contain the excellent breakthrough single 'Living in the Past' as a bonus track.
v,f,k&g:Anderson; g:Barre; b:Cornick; d:Bunker; Produced by Terry Ellis & Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

241 charts

Rank Score:

1,273

Rank in 1969:

43

Rank in 1960s:

144

Overall Rank:

1,369

Average Rating:

 79 (303 votes)

Comments:

17

7. (=)

This Was 

 Jethro Tull

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This debut album featuring Luton's finest bluesman Mick Abrahams is too often dismissed as some kind of aberration with no relevance to the rest of the Tull catalogue. While it is true that 3 songs consist of straight-ahead (and somewhat underwhelming) blues riffs, the majority is stylistically pretty close to what would follow on the Stand Up and Benefit albums - albeit with a slightly more aggressive guitar tone from Abrahams (on Cat's Squirrel they almost sound like a proto-Led Zeppelin). Both 'Serenade to a Cuckoo' and 'Round' have a pleasing jazzy feel, but the highlights are 'Dharma for One', 'A Song for Jeffrey' and the excellent 'Beggars Farm' all of which contain the fully formed and distinctive vocal and flute delivery from Ian Anderson.
v,f,&k:Anderson; g:Abrahams; b:Cornick; d:Bunker; Produced by Terry Ellis & Jethro Tull [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

83 charts

Rank Score:

388

Rank in 1968:

57

Rank in 1960s:

323

Overall Rank:

3,733

Average Rating:

 74 (136 votes)

Comments:

5

8. (=)

A 

 Jethro Tull

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With only Anderson and Barre retained from the previous album, ‘A’ was always going to be different. Originally intended as an Anderson solo effort, the inclusion of guest keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson combined with the modern cover art imagery replacing the 'old world' vibes of previous albums – it was clear that change was coming. It is a strange but true fact that most progressive rock fans really don't like their bands to progress. Reading a selection of online fan reviews for 'A', you would be forgiven for thinking that Tull had morphed into a full-on synth-pop outfit (that would come later) whereas Jobsons style was nearer to Rick Wakeman than Tubeway Army and 'A' was only a modest update in style. Side one is right up there with the best Tull with 'Fylingdale Flyer' and 'Black Sunday' particularly strong. Things flag a little on side two, but overall, I’ve always been fond of ‘A’ and thought it deserved a better reception from the Tull faithful than it ultimately received.
v&f:Anderson; g:Barre; k&vn:Jobson; b:Pegg; d:Craney; Produced by Ian Anderson & Robin Black [First added to this chart: 10/17/2021]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

37 charts

Rank Score:

142

Rank in 1980:

144

Rank in 1980s:

1,261

Overall Rank:

8,561

Average Rating:

 69 (75 votes)

Comments:

5

9. (10) 1

Benefit 

 Jethro Tull

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The bands 3rd effort found them in a more sombre mood than both the predecessors with Andersons trademark humour for some reason temporarily stowed away. Sonically, things sound pretty similar to 'Stand Up' despite the addition of ex-Blades bandmate and keyboardist John Evan who is pretty subdued on this compared to future efforts. The albums is okay, but it sounds like Tull are treading water and waiting for inspiration (which would soon come). The practice of excluding single releases from albums (common at the time) robbed Benefit of 'Sweet Dream', 'Teacher' and the excellent 'Witches Promise' (check out the fab 'Top of the Pops' performance of this on You Tube) much reducing the albums impact.
v,f,k&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Evan; b:Cornick; d:Bunker; Produced by Terry Ellis & Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/18/2021]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

130 charts

Rank Score:

504

Rank in 1970:

59

Rank in 1970s:

538

Overall Rank:

3,005

Average Rating:

 78 (204 votes)

Comments:

11

10. (11) 1

J-Tull Dot Com 

 Jethro Tull

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The last studio album of original material featuring Martin Barre does not seem to get much love from the Tull faithful. The rubbish cover art probably didn't help, but I suspect a distinct lack of hooks and an overly long run time made this an underwhelming experience for many. But to my ears there are no actual bad songs here and the album starts strongly with 'Spiral' and 'Dot Com'. If anything, Anderson’s voice sounds a little refreshed compared to some previous efforts and I even enjoyed the spoken delivery of 'Hot Mango Flush' (most reviewers don't). My biggest complaint with 'J-Tull Dot Com' is with guitarist Barre who annoyingly seems unable to resist giving it the full 80's style harmonic squeal at every opportunity (this was made in 1999) - time to pack away the leather pants for good Martin! But on the plus side, the trio of 'Bends Like a Willow', 'Dog-Ear Years' and 'Gift of Roses' is Anderson close to his best and brings the album to a pleasingly wistful conclusion.
v,f&g:Anderson; g:Barre; k:Giddings; b:Noyce; d:Perry; Produced by Ian Anderson [First added to this chart: 10/19/2021]

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

57

Rank in 1999:

318

Rank in 1990s:

3,040

Overall Rank:

18,444

Average Rating:

 67 (42 votes)

Comments:

0

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Total albums: 30. Page 1 of 3

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Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson albums ranked and reviewed composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	2	7%
1970s	11	37%
1980s	6	20%
1990s	4	13%
2000s	3	10%
2010s	2	7%
2020s	2	7%

Artist	Albums	%
Jethro Tull	24	80%
Ian Anderson	6	20%

Country	Albums	%
	30	100%

Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson albums ranked and reviewed chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 7 from 26th to 19th RökFlöte by Jethro Tull
Up 2 from 19th to 17th The Secret Language Of Birds by Ian Anderson
Up 1 from 21st to 20th Stormwatch by Jethro Tull

Biggest fallers
Down 6 from 9th to 15th Walk Into Light by Ian Anderson
Down 5 from 18th to 23rd The Zealot Gene by Jethro Tull
Down 1 from 17th to 18th A Passion Play by Jethro Tull

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