Trollheart

Album Title: Heavy horses
Artist: Jethro Tull
Nationality: British
Year: 1978
Subgenre: Folk/Prog
Player(s): Ian Anderson (Vocals, flute etc), Martin Barre (Guitar) Barriemore Barlow (Drums), John Evan (Organ, Piano), David Palmer (Keyboards) John Glascock (Bass)
Familiarity: Very little if I'm honest, and what I have heard I have never liked. The flute again, y'see?
Favourite track(s): “Moths”
Why? I just love the melody, even if Anderson does insist on rushing the last line of every verse as if he's trying to keep up with the band.
Least favourite track(s): “Rover”
Why? It's just too meh for me. I don't really like anything about it.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? I honestly expected this to be a hard slog, given my feelings about Tull.
Factoids you'd like to share?
End impression: Not half as bad as I had expected. More real prog rock than folk. I've caught myself humming the tunes more than I thought I would.
Comments: When this album came up I groaned. Oh god! Not Tull, spake I! Then I ran my usual research on Wiki and found that it was responsible for a change in the band's music from outright folk and medieval styles to a more modern rock approach rooted mostly in real-world issues: not so much of the trees and forests and more of the city skyscrapers perhaps? The first track had me nodding along I must admit, even with the flute so prominent. It's quite catchy, though what the hell it's about I can only guess at. No I can't.

I have to admit that much of my dislike for Tull stems from Anderson himself. I don't like him. I don't like his “crazy old wizard” image, I don't like his flute and I don't like his voice. Other than that he's ok. But I warmed to him a little on this album. Wasn't mad about “Acres wild” and “No lullaby” just bored the hell out of me. It wasn't until “Moths” hit that I actually sat up and took notice. It's almost an AOR style song in ways and easily my favourite, even if he does keep the kind of Olde English Rose lyrical theme. “Journeyman” reminded me of “Jive talking” (!) and then as I said I bloody hate “Rover”. Ugh.

The album recovers well with “One brown mouse”, which would have been another contender for standout along with the title track, even if the latter is a little too long. The closer is ok too. Overall, not as bad as I had expected but not enough to change my mind about Tull, or Anderson. Good effort though, another case of some good tracks but a lot of bad ones.

Rating: I'll give it a 3.5, but no more than that.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018