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A Passion Play

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Untitled

A Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Jethro Tull, released in July 1973 in both UK and US. Like its predecessor, Thick as a Brick (1972), it is a concept album comprising a single continuous song (which is split into two parts on the original vinyl LP release). The theme of the concept is apparently the spiritual journey of one man (Ronnie Pilgrim) in the afterlife. In the original tour to support the album, three videos were used: one for the intro of the play, "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" and a final shot passage to conclude the act. The whole of the concert was probably the mark of Jethro Tull elaborate stage productions.[2]

Production

A Passion Play initiated when the band resolved to move to France, in the Château d'Hérouville studios - known in the 70's for being frequented by artists such as Pink Floyd, Elton John and T. Rex. The move was motivated to escape high British tax rates. The original idea was to make a double album, the logical next step from Thick as a Brick. The concepts varied as the meaning of life ("Skating Away"), critics ("Critique Oblique"), and the comparison between the man and animal world ("Animelee" and "Law of the Bungle"). Although enough material was recorded to fill three sides of the intended double album, problems in the studio and discomfort of the band members made Ian Anderson discard the songs and start from scratch.[2]

Little of the material was re-used in A Passion Play, especially "Critique Oblique" which was adapted to the new concept. Some of the material was going to be used in the War Child album, like "Skating Away" and "Only Solitaire".

Musical style

Advancing in the progressive rock genre, A Passion Play counts again with the whole band playing a multide of instruments, heavily toned with dominating minor key variation. The spoken word piece "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", has its relations in musical terms with Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.[2] Bruce Eder call Anderson singing in biblical-sounding references, interwoven with modern language as a sort of a rock equivalent to T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland with the music in a "dazzling mix of old English folk and classical material, reshaped in electric rock terms".[3]

Concept

Background

A Passion Play borrows its title from a traditional type of play depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ, though the title is evidently ironic, since the album appears to reject Christian theological conclusions. A Passion Play is described in its album liner notes as though it were a theatrical "play" in four acts. Of this album, "the lyrics themselves are extremely complicated, the story is often unclear, and much is left to the individual's interpretation."[4] Knowledge of the characters and setting actually comes less from the music itself and more from the few brief words in the satirical, six-page Linwell Theatre "programme" included in the original album packaging, which names Rena Sanderone (an anagram of "Eean Anderrson") as the author of A Passion Play.[5] A basic narrative plot can be loosely interpreted from the lyrics, liner notes, and "theatre programme" of A Passion Play, centring around everyman protagonist Ronnie Pilgrim, who is named only in the album's programme.

Plot synopsis

Ronnie Pilgrim recognises his own death and, in ghostly form, attends his own funeral, before traversing a purgatorial desert and "icy wastes", where he is visited by a smiling angel guide (Act 1). Pilgrim is next admitted into a video viewing room by a Peter Dejour, and events of Pilgrim's life are replayed by a projectionist before a demanding jury. After a long-winded and bizarre evaluation process, the sardonic jury concludes that they "won't cross [Pilgrim] out", suggesting that he has led a mostly decent life and so will be admitted into Heaven, which corresponds with the sudden start of a cheerful "Forest Dance" melody (Act 2).

At this time, the main plot is interrupted by an unrelated, spoken-word comedic interlude (narrated by Jeffrey Hammond with an exaggerated Lancashire accent) backed by instrumentation. Presented as an absurd fable, the interlude details (with much wordplay) the failure of a group of anthropomorphic animals to help a hare find his missing eyeglasses.

The "Forest Dance" melody resumes, and Ronnie Pilgrim now appears in Heaven, two days after his judgment at the viewing room, communicating two unexpected thoughts: "I'll go to the foot of our stairs" (an expression of surprise) and "pie in the sky" (an expression of scepticism about the fulfilment of a reward). Pilgrim's dissatisfaction with Heaven appears to be linked to its mundane atmosphere where most of its residents endlessly reminisce, chronically obsessing over the living. Therefore unable to adapt, Pilgrim goes to G. Oddie & Son to frankly request a relocation to Hell, feeling that he has a "right to be wrong". Descending into Hell, Pilgrim is confronted by Lucifer (named "Lucy" in the album's fictitious programme), who asserts his cold authority as Pilgrim's "overseer" (Act 3). Pilgrim immediately finds Hell even worse than Heaven and flees, understanding himself now as neither completely good nor evil, wishing that he could trade his "halo for a horn and the horn for the hat I once had". He speaks with a Magus Perdé about his dilemma and, having sampled and rejected both extremes of his afterlife options, he finally stands on a Stygian shore as a "voyager into life". On this beach, other people and animals also prepare to "renew the pledge of life's long song". The final lyrics include the phrases "ever-burning fire", "ever-door", and "ever-life", as well as moving "away from the dark into ever-day", so that the play triumphantly concludes with a strong implication of eternal rebirth (Act 4).[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Melody Maker(unfavourable)[7]
New Musical Express(unfavourable)[8]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[9]
Sputnik Music3.5/5 [10]
Creem Magazine(mixed) [11]

Upon its original release, it received generally negative reviews. Rolling Stone was very harsh, saying that the album was "a pop potpourri of Paradise Lost and Winnie The Pooh, among many other literary resources, not to mention a vast array of musical ideas derivative of influences as far-flung as Purcell, flamenco and modern jazz", with the final judge of the album as an "expensive, tedious nonsense" piece of music.[12] New Musical Express considered the album as "the fall" of Jethro Tull.[13] Even Chris Welch of Melody Maker had a bad impression, stating "Music must touch the soul. A Passion Play rattles with emptiness".[14] Lester Bangs, writing for Creem Magazine, stated that he became "totally bamboozled" after hearing the album. Bangs concluded: "I almost like it, even though it sort of irritates me. Maybe I like it because it irritates me. But that's my problem".[11] The later three star review of Bruce Eder from AllMusic were a little lighter in the judgement, saying that "the music puts it over successfully, a dazzling mix of old English folk and classical material, reshaped in electric rock terms. The band is at its peak form, sustaining the tension and anticipation of this album-length piece across 45 minutes, although the music runs out of inspiration about five minutes before it actually ends".[3]

Despite the reviews, A Passion Play sold well enough to reach No. 1 on the charts in the United States and Canada.[15][16] Good sells also in Germany and Norway, where the album reach No. 5. In the United Kingdom it reached only No. 13.[17] The 2013 box A Passion Play: an Extended Performance achieved the Nº 48 in the Top Rock Albums.[18]

A Passion Play was included in the list The 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time by ProgMagazine at number 49.[19]

Aftermath

A low point occurred when Jethro Tull's business manager, Terry Ellis, announced in Melody Maker that the band would retire from live performances in response to negative reviews of the album and concerts. This was just a publicity stunt of which the band had no knowledge; Anderson felt it made them look petulant and brought them the wrong sort of publicity.[20][21]

Releases

Subsequent to the original 1973 release, the album was released on CD. Later, in March 1998 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a CD, which indexed tracks along the lines of, but not quite matching, the radio-station promo (see below) and in 2003 a remastered CD version with an additional video track was released.[1]

On the original release of the album, as well as the original CD release, side one of the album ends in the middle of "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles". The sound at the end of side one was a nod to children storytelling records which signaled the child or parent to flip the record over. Side two begins where it left off. However, on the 2003 remastered CD, the second part begins with the full story so that it does not get cut off in the middle.

In 2013, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the album, it was released a box called A Passion Play: An Extended Performance, which contains the complete Chateau d’Herouville sessions and brand-new mix by Steven Wilson. The DVDs also include the video clips of stage intro film and "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles". The discs are packaged in a box set along with a book featuring interviews with Wilson, dancer Jane Eve, spun man Chris Amson, plus the memoirs of the Reverend Godfrey Pilchard.[22]

Chateau D’Isaster recordings

The Chateau D’Isaster tapes were only offered to public in the 1988 compilation 20 Years of Jethro Tull and in the 1993 compilation Nightcap: The Unreleased Masters 1973–1991, the last one with almost all the recordings with additional flute solos by Ian Anderson.

Even though, the full recordings were released only in 2013, in the box A Passion Play: An Extended Performance. The box contains previously unreleased tracks such as "Sailor" and "The Big Top" besides being associated with "Skating Away" and "Critique Oblique".

Track listing

These titles were provided by Anderson for the 1973 DJ pressing of the LP, though they were not included for the standard pressing. The gold Ultradisc Original Master Recording CD of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (1998) contains cueable tracks for each title, but the standard CD releases contain only one or two tracks, depending on the version.

All songs written by Anderson unless stated otherwise.

1973 Original release

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."A Passion Play, Part I"
Act 1 – Ronnie Pilgrim's funeral – a winter's morning in the cemetery.
  • I.  "Lifebeats"   (instrumental)  (1:14)
  • II.  "Prelude"   (instrumental)  (2:14)
  • III. "The Silver Cord"  (4:29)
  • IV.  "Re-Assuring Tune"   (instrumental)  (1:11)
Act 2 – The Memory Bank – a small but comfortable theatre with a cinema-screen (the next morning).
  • V.  "Memory Bank"  (4:20)
  • VI.  "Best Friends"  (1:58)
  • VII.  "Critique Oblique"  (4:38)
  • VIII.  "Forest Dance #1"  (1:35)"
21:35
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."A Passion Play, Part II"
Interlude – The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles.
Act 3 – The business office of G. Oddie & Son (two days later).
  • X.  "Forest Dance #2"  (instrumental)  (1:12)
  • XI.  "The Foot of Our Stairs"  (4:18)
  • XII.  "Overseer Overture"  (4:00)
Act 4 – Magus Perdé's drawing room at midnight.
  • XIII.  "Flight from Lucifer"  (3:58)
  • XIV.  "10:08 to Paddington"  (instrumental)  (1:04)
  • XV.  "Magus Perdé"  (3:55)
  • XVI.  "Epilogue"  (0:43)"
23:30

1998 Gold CD Edition

Gold CD Edition
No.TitleLength
1."Lifebeats"1:14
2."Prelude"2:14
3."The Silver Cord"4:29
4."Re-Assuring Tune"1:11
5."Memory Bank"4:20
6."Best Friends"1:58
7."Critique Oblique"4:38
8."Forest Dance No. 1"1:35
9."The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles"4:18
10."Forest Dance No. 2"1:12
11."The Foot of Our Stairs"4:18
12."Overseer Overture"4:00
13."Flight from Lucifer"3:58
14."10:08 to Paddington"1:04
15."Magus Perdé"3:55
16."Epilogue"0:43

2003 Edition

The same listing from 1998 with a Quick Time video
No.TitleNotesLength
1."The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles"The 2003 release includes this additional 7-minute QuickTime video,[1] which was used in the original APP concerts. 

2013 An Extended Performance Edition

A Passion Play
No.TitleLength
1."Lifebeats"1:14
2."Prelude"2:14
3."The Silver Cord"4:29
4."Re-Assuring Tune"1:11
5."Memory Bank"4:20
6."Best Friends"1:58
7."Critique Oblique"4:38
8."Forest Dance No. 1"1:35
9."The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles"4:18
10."Forest Dance No. 2"1:12
11."The Foot of Our Stairs"5:08
12."Overseer Overture"4:00
13."Flight from Lucifer"3:58
14."10:08 to Paddington"1:04
15."Magus Perdé"3:55
16."Epilogue"0:43
The Château d'Hérouville Sessions
No.TitleLength
1."The Big Top"3:05
2."Scenario"3:25
3."Audition"2:33
4."Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day"3:27
5."Sailor"3:10
6."No Rehearsal"5:09
7."Left Right"5:02
8."Only Solitaire"1:28
9."Critique Oblique (Part I)"8:50
10."Critique Oblique (Part II)"5:28
11."Animelee (1st Dance)"3:36
12."Animelee (2nd Dance)"1:34
13."Law Of The Bungle (Part I)"5:08
14."Tiger Toon"2:31
15."Law Of The Bungle (Part II)"5:28

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1973 Billboard Pop Albums 1[15]
1973 UK album charts 13[17]
Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
18–24 August 1973 		Succeeded by

Personnel

Jethro Tull
Additional personnel
  • David Palmer – Orchestral arrangements
  • Robin Black - Sound engineer
  • Terry Ellis - Producer
  • Brian Ward - Photography

References

  1. ^ a b c d Eder, Bruce. Album review – A Passion Play (bonus tracks) at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "A Passion Play". Jethrotull.com. 6 July 1973. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b Bruce Eder. "A Passion Play - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  4. ^ "The core narrative of Jethro Tull's 'A Passion Play' explained at the Ministry Of Information". Ministry-of-information.co.uk. 24 March 1973. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. ^ "A Passion Play – Linwell Theatre Program". J-tull.com. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Jethro Tull Tour History, annotated Passion Play and blog, at the Ministry Of Information". Ministry-of-information.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^ Welch, Chris (21 July 1973). A Passion Play, Melody Maker
  8. ^ Clarke, Steve (21 July 1973). A Passion Play, New Musical Express
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (30 August 1973). A Passion Play, Rolling Stone
  10. ^ "Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (album review )". Sputnikmusic.com. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Jethro Tull Press: Creem, May 1973". Tullpress.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Jethro Tull Press: Rolling Stone, 30 August 1973". Tullpress.com. 30 August 1973. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Jethro Tull Press: NME, 21 July 1973". Tullpress.com. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Jethro Tull Press: Melody Maker, 21 July 1973". Tullpress.com. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  15. ^ a b Billboard chart info A Passion Play at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Album artist 51 - Jethro Tull". Tsort.info. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  17. ^ a b "UK chart history of Jethro Tull A Passion Play". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  18. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-passion-play-mw0000036413/awards
  19. ^ http://prog.teamrock.com/features/2014-08-06/the-100-greatest-prog-albums-of-all-time-60-41
  20. ^ "Melody Maker". tullpress.com. 25 August 1973. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  21. ^ "Press". Jethrotull.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Jethro Tull's Passion Play gets extended edition - Prog". Prog.teamrock.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
Books
  • Smolko, Tim (2013). Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play Inside Two Long Songs. Profiles in Popular Music. ISBN 9780253010315. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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