Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’ at 50
Sean MurphyWhatever one’s feelings about progressive rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is a rare album that remains at once part of, and above, the fray. It is, to be certain, a cornerstone of the…
Reappraising Jethro Tull’s ‘Minstrel in the Gallery’
Jethro Tull, again? Seriously? Yes, seriously. The reason Tull warrants continued discussion is because unlike just about all other prog rock acts of the mid-‘70s, they were—in their businesslike, seemingly…
Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’: Even Better Than You Thought It Was (Revisited)
Whatever one’s feelings about progressive rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is a rare album that remains at once part of, and above, the fray. It is, to be certain, a cornerstone…
Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’: Even Better Than You Thought It Was
Whatever one’s feelings about progressive rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is a rare album that remains at once part of, and above, the fray. It is, to be certain, a cornerstone…
Sony Walkman R.I.P. or, My Mix-Tape Confession
Anyone who was born before Y2K cannot be unmoved by the announcement that Sony has ceased production of the beloved Walkman (Begging the question: they were still making them? I admit rocking…
Steven Wilson: The Gentleman Doth Protest Too Much (Part Two, The Fury)
Many of Steven Wilson's mostly accurate, but increasingly tedious denunciations of inferior audio can be attributed to genuine motivations. He really does despise digital downloads and looks askance at those…
Steven Wilson: The Gentleman Doth Protest Too Much (Part One, The Sound)
Take a gifted and successful musician; add a cup of elan, a dash of pomposity, some shoulder chips for spice, ambition and sensitivity to taste, bring to a boil then let simmer and...voila,…
2000-2009: Let’s Break it Down (Epilogue)
So, the recent discussion of the Top 50 albums of the last decade was supposed to end, as it began, with a sampling of songs. The introductory entry covered 2000-2004;…
Steven Wilson: Appetite for Construction
To point out the superhuman scale Steven Wilson operates on is like pondering whether Donald Trump's hair is for real. Wilson, whose name you may not know, nevertheless recorded a new…