What does it sound like?:
After the long conceptual pieces showcased in Thick As A Brick and A Passion Play, Ian Anderson returns to short form songs on this Steven Wilson remix of the Tull’s 1974 album.
As ever, Wilson seems to strip away layers of muddiness from the original, leaving a cleaner, airier sound.
Many would think of this line-up of the band as the definitive one, and indeed they are in fine form, with Martin Barre’s guitar work particularly excelling.
What does it all *mean*?
The second cd features the usual slew of outtakes and bonus tracks, including three previously unreleased songs. Most fascinatingly though, it includes the orchestral pieces written for the soundtrack of the planned but aborted film which was to be part of the original concept for a multi-faceted project.
Goes well with…
The accompanying two dvds have the usual 5.1 mixes by Wilson, which live up to the high standard he has set on previous releases. An excellent 80 page book, plus some promo footage from the time, round off the whole package.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
If you’re a Tull fan you will want to finally hear the long ago consigned to the archives unreleased orchestral arrangements on offer here. An intriguing insight into what might have been.
And watch out for the upcoming reissue of Minstrel In The Gallery, which has been given the same treatment.
The bonus disc – as with the ‘Passion Play’ bonus disc – is a revelation. It’s not only mind-boggling that Anderson could write and record, with the band, such complicated, angular, quirky but often enthralling pieces of music but that (a) he could discard such a lot of it (generally in a finished state) at the time and (b) could discard some of the best of it on previous expanded reissues until now. ‘Sailor’ on ‘APP’ is one great example; ‘Good Godmother’ and ‘Tomorrow Was Today’ on ‘Warchild’ are two others…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNkNK8L9Pq0
I’m really enjoying these Tull re-issues. The Wilson mixes and the packaging are all top notch and they are good value too. I’m a relative newcomer to Tull so to have this stuff coming out regularly has been a good education.
I agree with the comment that the bonus material is revelatory. Anderson must have had a really high work rate, putting out a new album every year and having so much great stuff left in the archives. He almost makes it seem too easy and I find I forget how complex some of the arrangements are, which is all credit to him and the band.
I would have liked to have seen the proposed WarChild film come to fruition too.
Agree with all of the above. I have always loved Warchild and the remix is everything BP says, and the extras are superb. As Chappo says. IA rejected material most bands would have given their right arms to be able to play, never mind release. And let’s doff a hat to Martin Lancelot Barre, one of our finest and I think we can say, under rated guitarists. Melodic, distinctive, team player, fiery soloist, nice bloke. I want to BE Martin Barre.
…now champing at the bit for the Minstrel set: much as I love Warchild, Minstrel was always my favourite, as a callow youth in the ’70s….and so it has stayed….
JETHRO TULL – MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY:
40th ANNIVERSARY LA GRANDÉ EDITION
Tull’s Classic Album Expanded With Rare And Unreleased Tracks Including New Mixes By Steven Wilson And Rare Live Video From 1975
Multiple Versions Will Be Available On May 4th From Parlophone
Jethro Tull notched its sixth gold record in 1975 with its eighth studio album, Minstrel In The Gallery. Its elaborate production is reminiscent of the band’s 1972 classic Thick As a Brick and its songs rock as hard as anything in the band’s vast and storied catalog . To mark the occasion of the album’s 40-year anniversary, Parlophone will present several new versions of the record.
MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY: 40TH ANNIVERSARY LA GRANDÉ EDITION will be available as a limited edition 2CD/2DVD set on May 4th.
Highlights from the set include:
– Original album and seven bonus tracks (six previously unreleased), two mixed to 5.1 surround , and all to stereo by Steven Wilson
– Flat transfers of the original LP mix at 96/24+ Summerday Sands
– Flat transfer of the original quad mix of the LP + Summerday Sands
– An eight and a half minute film of the band performing “Minstrel In The Gallery” in Paris from July 1975
– Presented in a case-bound DVD book that includes an 80-page booklet featuring an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson,recollections by roadie Kenny Wylie, Maison Rouge maintenance engineer Pete Smith, and string section member Liz Edwards plus lyrics, tour itinerary and rare and unseen photographs.
Additionally on May 4th a new stereo remix of Minstrel In The Gallery will also be released on a single CD, digitally, and on 180-gram vinyl as a limited edition pressing.
When it was originally released, Minstrel In The Gallery became the band’s fifth consecutive US Top 10 album, peaking at #7 and #20 in the UK. It was also the last to feature the longtime lineup of Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Barriemore Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond.
For this anniversary edition, the album has been expanded with the b-side “Summerday Sands,” several studio outtakes, as well as alternate session material done for a BBC broadcast, of the album’s title track, “Cold Wind To Valhalla,” and “Aqualung.” The second disc features a live recording of the band performing at the Olympia in Paris on July 5, 1975, a few months prior to the release of Minstrel In The Gallery. During the show, the band played songs from several of its albums, including War Child (1974) and Aqualung (1971), as well as an early performance of “Minstrel In The Gallery.” It was mixed to 5.1 & stereo by by King Crimson guitarist Jakko Jakszyk.
MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY: 40TH ANNIVERSARY LA GRANDÉ EDITION
Track Listing
Disc One: New Steven Wilson Stereo Remix
1. “Minstrel In The Gallery”
2. “Cold Wind To Valhalla”
3. “Black Satin Dancer”
4. “Requiem”
5. “One White Duck / 010 = Nothing At All”
6. “Baker St. Muse”
7. “Baker St. Muse”-“Pig-Me And The Whore”
8. “Baker St. Muse”-“Nice Little Tune”
9. “Baker St. Muse”-“Crash-Barrier Waltzer”
10. “Baker St. Muse”-“Mother England Reverie”
11. “Grace”
12. “Summerday Sands”
13. “Requiem” (Version 1) *
14. “One White Duck” (Take 5) *
15. “Grace” (Take 2) *
16. “Minstrel In The Gallery” (BBC version)*
17. “Cold Wind To Valhalla” (BBC version)*
18. “Aqualung” (BBC version)*
Disc Two – Live at The Palais Des Sports, Paris, July 5, 1975 (A Jakko Jakszyk Stereo Mix)
1. “Introduction (The Beach Part 11)”
2. “Wind Up”
3. “Critique Oblique”
4. “Wond’ring Aloud”
5. “My God”
a. Flute Solo Including: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Bouree/Quartet”
b. “Living In The Past”
c. “My God” (Reprise)
6. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
7. “Minstrel In The Gallery”
8. “Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day”
9. “Bungle In The Jungle”
10. “Aqualung”
11. “Guitar Improvisation”
12. “Back-Door Angels”
13. “Locomotive Breath”
with improvisation and including “Hard Headed English General” and “Back-Door Angels” (Reprise)
* Previously Unreleased
The DVDs will feature the DTS & DD 5.1 surround mixes as well as the 96/24 PCM stereo mix and and an eight and half minute film of the band recorded in Paris on 6th July 1975.
mmmmm……nice……looking forward to the live album, considering they were touring Warchild at the time….
…and out in May? Calloo callay (he chortled in his joy)…