As albums labelled as “prog rock” go, this is one of the better ones. It has a pleasingly resonant rock feel to it and a nice lack of quasi-classical keyboard indulgence. It is more of a rock-folk album, for me. It has surprised me in my genuine liking for it.
My lasting memory of this album, from 1971, is that, while attending "house assembly" at my boys' grammar school, one of the older boys (one Chris Best - a geeky, long-haired boy - if I remember rightly) had managed to persuade the Housemaster, Mr. Glover, a grandfatherly old war veteran, to let him play the first track, Aqualung, to us all. Best said that it should make us focus our minds on the problem of the old and homeless, as that was what the song was about. I can still see poor old Glover's stony but bemused face as singer Ian Anderson ranted on at the song's subject - "you poor old sod". Now, Glover was actually a most kindly man, so he wasn't angry, he was just nonplussed by it all. So was I. Why couldn't they have played us some T. Rex.
Anyway, as I said, the album was written as a sort of vague concept on homelessness, religion, neglect and poverty. Anderson's wife had taken some photos of homeless people in London and this had inspired him. It is a bit of a rambling affair, but it is sort of ok in places and, although proggy in style it has some robust acoustically-backed rock parts, as well as showcasing Anderson's trademark flute.
The afore-mentioned title track, Aqualung, is somewhat lacking in cohesion, for me, although its stronger rock parts are thumpingly excellent. Its hard-hitting lyrics make it somewhat different from your average fantasy-inspired prog song. The mid-song guitar and drum interplay is great.
Cross-Eyed Mary sets the tone for subsequent years of unique Tull rock - chunky, riffy but folky in places. as I have said many times in their reviews no-one else sounded quite like them when they hit a run as on this track. Cheap Day Return is a brief acoustic guitar and vocal interlude that precedes the excellent Mother Goose, which was another of the album's highlights - a Traffic-like acoustic and flute number with hints of Bob Dylan's It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding. Some great electric guitar comes in half way through.
Wond'ring Aloud is another short acoustic and strings ballad that is followed by the staccato and slightly psychedelic jerky rhythms of Up To Me. This one contains some of Tull's heaviest guitar. I really like this one too. Good stuff.
Then we get the lengthy, slow and grandiose My God which builds up acoustically before cranking the electric guitars up. The sheer power of this is breathtaking. Martin Barre's guitar solo is outstanding, as is Anderson's flutery. This is my favourite sort of prog, with the progometer more to the rock side. It is this balance that I have always liked about Tull. Hymn 43 is delightfully riffy and heavy. Check out those Deep Purple-esque riffs.
Slipstream is another short interlude that leads into the album's final big cornerstone, Locomotive Breath. It gradually builds up into a superb vehicle of more guitar-driven chunkiness. This excellent album ends with Anderson recalling his schooldays on the equally riffy Wind-Up, showing that the album is not quite as overly acoustic as it has often been described as. It is a merger of acoustic and electric - to great effect.
Good one - I can't help but like it. Chris Best was right.
