CLASSIC ALBUM DISCUSSION
A PASSION PLAY (1973)
by Jethro Tull
A PASSION PLAY (1973)
by Jethro Tull
This album has always vexed me. It was purchased by my oldest brother back in 1973 (he was a senior in high school and I was in 5th grade). A Passion Play was the next Jethro Tull entry in my brother's album collection joining the outstanding Aqualung (1971).
As far as music goes, the great thing about having older siblings, was the exposure to music I gained as a young lad. The constant influx of 45's and LP's by the Beatles, Stones, Led Zep, The Who, Creedence, Humble Pie, Yes and on and on, pouring in from stores like Two Guys, Korvettes or a couple of local records stores in town, certainly shaped my musical tastes.
After my introduction to Jethro Tull via Aqualung, it was with great anticipation I placed A Passion Play onto the turntable to discover the next gem that would rock like "Locomotive Breath" or "Cross-Eyed Mary" or the killer "Aqualung". When looking at the album I discovered that there were only two songs:
1) A Passion Play - Part I (21:36)
2) A Passion Play - Part II (23:32)
Each song logging in at over 20 minutes each. At that length of time, we are not talking about just listening to a song, we are talking a major commitment. A early Beatle album might have 12 or 13 songs that would time in at 33 minutes. This was over 40 minutes for just two songs. Now the early 70's was starting to see it's share of long(-winded) songs. "Space Truckin'" by Deep Purple off the live (and awesome) Made In Japan, suite-styled album sides by Yes with Close to the Edge and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Karn Evil 9" from Brain Salad Surgery.
Now, back in 1973, I probably had the attention-span of a gnat. Nevertheless, the album went on the turntable. After that, I couldn't tell you what happened. Because in the last 41 years, I have never listened to this whole album, that is, until today. I recently came across this album while on Amazon.com that an expanded version had just been released. It piqued my curiosity and I decided that I would finally get this monkey off my back and listen to the whole album. So off I went to Spotify and I have finally done that.
Let's just say that 41 years later, I find this album to be listenable but it is somewhat inaccessible. For me, there is nothing to hold on to. Like with the aforementioned albums that were released at the same time as A Passion Play, although some the songs were lengthy, there were parts that you could grab on to. Whether it was other songs to flesh out the album or certain sections in the suites that were memorable. (i.e. "Highway Star" and "Lazy" from Made In Japan or "And You and I" from Close to the Edge.)
Was Ian Anderson's attempt at his Tommy-style rock-opera successful? With the benefit of hindsight we know that this album was castrated by the critics of the time (although it did reach #1 on the US album charts). This album was released at a time when the artists were allowed to be as self-indulgent as they wanted. Double and Triple-album sets were not uncommon. ((ELP's Welcome Back My Friends... and Yes' Tales From Topographic Ocean, come to mind.)
How many of them hold up to the test of the time? Well, if you look at the recent glut of re-releases of these albums I guess many of them have held up quite well. Deep Purple has just released a 6-CD repackaging of Made In Japan, Humble Pie's Rockin' the Fillmore received a 4-CD treatment last year and The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East just released a 6-CD set of the legendary concert at the fabled venue.
All in all, with the passage of time, A Passion Play is a listenable, albeit somewhat forgettable album, although "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", a Monty Python-esque or in the style of The Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number") is a fun listen.
It took 41 years but I finally listened to this album in its entirety and I am not unhappy for having done so.
Now I will put together the two greatest inventions ever to grace the music industry...
What the heck, it's raining here.
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