![]() ![]() My first impression is that Stormwatch has a lot more in common with their 80s albums such as Crest Of A Knave, rather than their 70s output - and that includes Songs From The Wood and Heavy Horses. Philip Qvist: Well, thanks for the suggestion this week, because it forced me to listen to the only 70s Jethro Tull album that has never appeared on my Playlist. Lack of consistency and a muddled feeling let it down somewhat. ![]() When it works, it works well, with a pleasing 'Northerness' to it's soundscapes. Overall, I'd rate this as 'mid-table' Tull. The underlying message of the epic Flying Dutchman may well have been inspired by the plight of the Vietnamese boat people but is still relevant, more than four decades later, when considering the number of displaced people in the world. Dun Ringill is nicely evocative of the Iron Age fort's Isle of Skye home while Orion has a nice energy to it. It would also have made a far better album opener than North Sea Oil. Positives? Something's On The Move is my favourite track and the one that best reflects the album title. I always used to head straight to side two when sticking this on the turntable, so listening via Spotify (or CD) gives a welcome opportunity to experiment with the shuffle button. The most irritating thing about Stormwatch, for me, though, is the track order, which contributes to the uneven nature of the album and seems to have been done by pulling names out of a hat. Some of the imagery, both metaphorical and literal, is too heavy handed, particularly on North Sea Oil.Įlsewhere there is a tad too much filler about proceedings. Some of the arrangements are unsatisfactory, most notably on the album's longest track, Dark Ages which is partially rescued by a nice Martin Barre solo and Barriemore Barlow's drumming - which is excellent throughout Stormwatch. Negatives? Thematically and stylistically it's a somewhat muddled affair. The upheaval and general dissatisfaction in the band and Ian Anderson's restlessness results in an uneven, faintly frustrating album, that falls the right side of enjoyable – but only just. Gary Claydon: Transitional Tull and it shows. As it is, it’s all too frequently considered to be where the decline of the band started, rather than the final hurrah of one of the UK’s greatest rock bands as they raged against the dying light." ( Backseat Mafia) Perhaps if A had been released as an Ian Anderson solo album, then Stormwatch, and maybe Jethro Tull’s career as a whole would be much more widely celebrated than it is now. "It’s certainly their last album that was unmistakably Jethro Tull. ![]() The latter, in particular, proved that Anderson's well of folk-inspired tunes was also running dry, apart from the instrumental Warm Sporran." ( AllMusic) "Just when Something's On The Move seems like it could be the most tuneless track in Tull's history, Old Ghosts and Dun Ringill follow it with even less memorable melodic material. One, however, can’t help feeling that of Jethro Tull’s folk trilogy, Stormwatch is obviously the weakest link. Not only does it present a darker, more serious side of Anderson’s persona, but it also contains a rather larger amount of compelling, if not incredibly innovative, music. "Despite the fluctuating quality of the songs, Stormwatch remains quite an interesting album for fans of the band. In 2019, a 40th anniversary edition of Stormwatch was released. Did we do everything we could to help? That’s a question we’ll ask ourselves forever." I made him leave to get himself well and sadly he got worse and then we got the terrible news that he’d passed away. He’d be on stage and his face would be white like wax, with a film of sweat. "We sent him home and told him he had to get out of this spiral he was in because it wasn’t just his illness, it was lifestyle. “There was a lot of stress within the band, mainly to do with John Glascock’s illness," said Anderson. And, just two months after it was released, Glascock died at the age of twenty-eight as a result of a congenital heart condition. Stormwatch was also the last album made by what is widely considered to be the classic line-up of Jethro Tull: Anderson, Martin Barre, keyboard player John Evan, drummer Barriemore Barlow, bassist John Glascock and keyboard player and orchestral arranger David Palmer. The information was out there in the public domain if you cared to look for it." When the first elements of climate change were being identified back in the early seventies, you didn’t have to be a university professor to know that stuff. I was simply reacting to things that were being discussed in certain circles. "I can’t claim in any way to be way ahead of my time. "That wasn’t a prophecy," band leader Ian Anderson told us.
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