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NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS

26 October 1968

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THIS WAS: Jethro Tull
(Island ILPS 9085)

This LP sounds good and has a lot of humour about it, too. On the cover are four of the oldest-looking guys in pop, surrounded by eleven dogs in a forest. Open the cover and there's a picture of the weirdos playing two guitars, drums and a flute, but Ian Anderson also plays mouth organ, claghorn, piano, takes seven composing credits and sings quite well.

Mick Abrahams is on guitars and sings, too (he also wrote a very good number in Move On Alone, and arranged the traditional Cat's Squirrel). Glenn Cornick plays bass guitar and Clive Bunker is on drums.

They play jazz really, in a soft, appealing way, and have a bit of fun on the side with tone patterns and singing. And who is Jethro Tull? The sleeve note says he and Terry Ellis produced the record after recording engineer Victor Gamm showed them what levers to pull.

Other titles: My Sunday Feeling, Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You, Beggar's Farm, Serenade To A Cuckoo, Dharma For One, It's Breaking Me Up, Song For Jeffrey, Round.

ALLEN EVANS