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This Was

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Untitled

This Was is the debut album by the progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1968. Recorded at a cost of only £1200 GBP, its the only studio album to feature guitarist Mick Abrahams. The good reception of the album permited the band to present in the Marquee Club - where other successfull british groups start their careers, as The Rolling Stones and The Who.[1]

Music

While vocalist Ian Anderson's creative vision largely shaped Jethro Tull's later albums, on This Was Anderson shared songwriting duties with Tull's guitarist Mick Abrahams. In part due to Abrahams' influence, the album incorporates more rhythm and blues and jazz influences than the progressive rock the band later became known for. In particular:

  • The music to "My Sunday Feeling", "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You", "Beggar's Farm" and "It's Breaking Me Up" and are based on blues progressions, with "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" arranged similarly to Big Bill Broonzy's blues standard "Key to the Highway".
  • "Cat's Squirrel" (included in the album "because people like it", according to the liner notes) was written by Doctor Ross and covered as an instrumental by numerous 1960s British blues bands, perhaps most notably by Cream. Mick Abrahams would later perform the song in his post-Jethro Tull blues band Blodwyn Pig.
  • The album includes a cover version of Roland Kirk's jazz standard "Serenade to a Cuckoo". According to the liner notes, "Cuckoo" was one of the first tunes Ian Anderson learned to play on the flute.
  • The coda of "My Sunday Feeling" incorporates quotes from two well-known jazz tunes, Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" (specifically the song's bass line, played as a short solo by Glenn Cornick) and Nat Adderley's and Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Work Song".

This Was also contains the only Jethro Tull lead vocal not performed by Ian Anderson on a studio album, "Move on Alone". Mick Abrahams, the song's author, provides vocals on the track; David Palmer provided the horn arrangement. Abrahams left Jethro Tull following the album's completion in a dispute over "musical differences". Thus, the album's title probably refers to Abahams' blues influence on the album and how blues weren't the direction Anderson wanted the band to go. As said in the liner notes of the original record "This was how we were playing then – but things change – don't they?"

The song "Dharma for One", a staple of Tull's early concerts (usually incorporating an extended drum solo by Clive Bunker), was later covered by Ekseption, Pesky Gee! and The Ides of March.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
NME(favourable)[3]
Melody Maker(favourable)[4]
Robert ChristgauC−[5]
BBC Music(favourable)[6]

This Was received generally favourable reviews and sold well upon its release. New Musical Express wrote a positive review in 1968, saying that the album "sounds good and has a lot of humour about it", about their style, the review continues with a positive approach: "They play jazz really, in a soft, appealing way, and have a bit of fun on the side with tone patterns and singing".[7]

Melody Maker had a remarcable positive approach: "From the opening number to the last track, the LP is full of excitement and emotion".[8]

In the documentary film of the Woodstock Festival, portions of the songs "Beggar's Farm" and "Serenade to a Cuckoo" may be heard on the PA system, indicating the level of notice the album achieved in the United States. The album reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart[9] and number 62 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing

1968 Original Release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Sunday Feeling"Ian Anderson3:43
2."Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"Anderson2:49
3."Beggar's Farm"Mick Abrahams, Anderson4:19
4."Move on Alone"Abrahams1:58
5."Serenade to a Cuckoo" (instrumental)Roland Kirk6:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Dharma for One" (instrumental)Anderson, Clive Bunker4:15
7."It's Breaking Me Up"Anderson5:04
8."Cat's Squirrel" (instrumental)Traditional, arranged by Abrahams5:42
9."A Song for Jeffrey"Anderson3:22
10."Round" (instrumental)Anderson, Abrahams, Bunker, Glenn Cornick, Terry Ellis1:03
2001 remaster bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."One for John Gee"Abrahams2:06
12."Love Story"Anderson3:06
13."Christmas Song"Anderson3:06
  • The 2001 remastered CD added three bonus tracks (which had been on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull box-set) and extensive liner notes.

40th Anniversary Collectors' Edition

A deluxe two-CD fortieth anniversary edition was released in 2008. It contains the original mono version, a stereo version remixed from the original four-track session tapes, non-LP single tracks and the BBC sessions recorded by the band in 1968 for John Peel's "Top Gear".

Disc one: Original Mono LP (Remastered) & BBC Sessions
No.TitleLength
1."My Sunday Feeling"3:43
2."Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"2:49
3."Beggar's Farm"4:23
4."Move on Alone"2:00
5."Serenade to a Cuckoo"6:07
6."Dharma for One"4:13
7."It's Breaking Me Up"5:01
8."Cat's Squirrel"5:40
9."A Song for Jeffrey"3:26
10."Round"0:59
11."So Much Trouble" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)3:19
12."My Sunday Feeling" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)3:49
13."Serenade to a Cuckoo" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)3:37
14."Cat's Squirrel" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)4:38
15."A Song for Jeffrey" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)3:13
16."Love Story" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)3:04
17."Stormy Monday" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968, written by T-Bone Walker)4:09
18."Beggar's Farm" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)3:22
19."Dharma for One" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)3:46
Disc two: New Stereo Album Mix + Additional New Stereo Mixes & Original Mono Recordings (Remastered)
No.TitleLength
1."My Sunday Feeling"3:42
2."Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"2:47
3."Beggar's Farm"4:21
4."Move on Alone"1:57
5."Serenade to a Cuckoo"6:05
6."Dharma for One"4:13
7."It's Breaking Me Up"5:03
8."Cat's Squirrel"5:39
9."A Song for Jeffrey"3:23
10."Round"1:00
11."Love Story" (New Stereo Mix)3:05
12."Christmas Song" (New Stereo Mix)3:13
13."Sunshine Day" (Non-LP single, original mono recording)2:26
14."One for John Gee" (B-side of 'Song for Jeffrey' single, original mono recording)2:05
15."Love Story" (A-side of single WIP 6048 released in November 1968 on Island, original mono recording)3:05
16."Christmas Song" (B-side of 'Love Story' single, original mono recording)3:05

Personnel

Jethro Tull
Additional personnel

Release history

Dates
  • 25 October 1968 (UK)
  • 3 February 1969 (US)
Labels

References

  1. ^ http://jethrotull.com/?portfolio=this-was
  2. ^ Eder, Bruce. This Was – Jethro Tull at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  3. ^ Evans, Allen (26 October 1968). "This Was: Jethro Tull". NME. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Jethro Tull LP Sets Fans on Fire". Melody Maker. 2 November 1968. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (14 August 1969). "Consumer Guide (3)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Music - Review of Jethro Tull - This Was". BBC.co.uk. 24 September 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^ http://www.tullpress.com/nme26oct68.htm
  8. ^ http://www.tullpress.com/mm2nov68.htm
  9. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 282. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. ^ Claghorn:

    "a strange bamboo flute with a saxophone mouthpiece attached to it called a claghorn – a dreadful instrument that I invented"

    — Ian Anderson, interview with BBC Radio Scotland, 27 August 2001
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