11. Jethro Tull: Songs From The Wood (1977): The Revenge Of The Mad Flutist

"Songs From The Wood" was the first Jethro Tull album I ever heard, back in 1982 when I borrowed it (and "A") from a classmate at school. Thus, I have been hooked by the Mad Flutist Ian Anderson and his troops för 37 years now - and counting.

What was it that made this album so great? Well, firstly, the songs - inventive, melodic, driving, with lyrics full of everything from environmental awareness through myth to wistful romance and even sexual innuendo. Secondly, the way they were played - from a capella folk to classic hard rock and back, sometimes within the same song; if nothing else, the arrangements were unique. And thirdly, the way they were sung. I really like Ian Anderson's voice, just as much as his songwriting and head for arrangements. I did like "A" as well, but that's another of a line of stories I'll be coming back to.

This is one of the precious few records I have heard that are classics almost song by song. I won't boe you with all of them, but rather just state that the A-side of the album is great - from the hymn-like title track and the mischievous "Jack-In-The-Green" to the rather rollicking "Hunting Girl" - but the B-side is even better, containing no less than three timeless Tull classics.

First, "Velvet Green" is a blend of a hauntingly beautiful melody, a story of a secret romantic alliance - interspersed with a rather frantic instrumental section pulling out all the stops, then coming round full circle. "Pibroch (Cap In Hand)" is similarly built but even more intricate - the verses are pure blues, Martin Barre's guitar expressing the anguish - and once again, the mad flutist and his mery men butt in with another frantically folksy part, stanging out in even stronger contrast but somehow not breaking the air of sorrow - the narrator, seeing the strange boots in the hallway and the slippers by the fire, putting his cap back on and walking away.

And then comes the finale, "Fire At Midnight", a sweet little tale of coming home after the working day, a lovely tune carried by an exquisitely down-toned arrangement literally lovingly played. A modern classic of less than three minutes, in my books.

Whence the revenge? Well, after a first brace of well-received classics such as "Aqualung", "Benefit" and "Thick As A Brick" by 1972, Ian Anderson seemingly lost his way among ill-conceived thematic works, abandoned album sessions and brawling with critics, and some of JT's mid-seventies work perhaps wasn't really good - but this record reinvented the band and put them back on top, where they belonged.