Jethro Tull - A Passion Play
When I first heard the proggy Jethro Tull I started with Thick as a Brick and quickly fell for it, so my exposure to the next two in the lineage, A Passion Play and Minstrel in the Gallery, just kind of felt weak in comparison. But in hearing the MFSL version of Passion Play many years later, I seem to have come back with fresh ears as there’s really a lot to love. Sure its essential weakness is coming back to an album-length suite (in this case sounding like chains of smaller songs), but the music itself is quite strong, with the band keeping things upbeat through a lot of very dramatic and symphonic passages. All very enjoyable and I’m hoping to squeeze some more mileage out of it.
Humble Pie - Rock On
Really great Humble Pie record with solid work by Marriott and Frampton. Like a lot of classic rock albums of the day, the album works a number of styles along its history, from passionate blues influenced rock to more upbeat pop numbers and succeeds over most of the ideas. A great production too, the guitarwork at time is so harmonically pristine that it reminds me a little of Wishbone Ash or the Allman Brothers. Like the Rolling Stones they’re probably the closest to, Pie play a British vision of American rock, although the music is split between its original 60s roots and the beginning of Frampton’s arena rock arc.
Exil - Fusionen
Exil’s style’s obviously no secret, but this German take on the genre pulls it just slightly closer to some German progressive rock. Like a lot of bands doing jazzrock, Exil constructs their music over repeated riffing and when the horns are more in front the band sounds a little like Xhol Caravan with only a dreamy overlay rather than the full in the period psychedelic mode. Exil aren’t likely to be too top tier for most as this is a style of music with a whole range of adherents from Mahavishnu Orchestra to Embryo and fall in the middle in terms of quality, but I always get a little extra out of the atmosphere some of the 70s albums have and this one just kind of lays back and cruises through its five pieces.