Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull. This is the only song on the album. Side 1 is “part 1,” running 22:31, and Side 2 was “part 2,” clocking in at 21:05. Each side is over 20 minutes long.

A radio edit, running just 3:01, was sent to radio stations and is the version used on most compilation albums.

“Thick as a brick” is a phrase meaning stubbornly dumb, as one’s head is so thick that no new thoughts can enter it. The song starts with Ian Anderson expressing his low expectations for his target (“I may make you feel but I can’t make you think”) before singing about class structures, conformity, and the rigid moralistic beliefs of the establishment that perpetuates it.

The song follows a young boy who sees two career paths: soldier and artist. He chooses the life of a soldier, just like his father. We see him assimilate into the society he once rebelled against, becoming just like his dad.

The original LP cover was designed as a spoof of a 12-by-16-inch (300 mm × 410 mm) 12-page small-town English newspaper, entitled The St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser, with articles, competitions and advertisements lampooning the typical parochial and amateurish journalism of the local English press. The band’s record company, Chrysalis Records, complained that the sleeve would be too expensive to produce, but Anderson countered that if a real newspaper could be produced, a parody of one would also be practical.

The mock newspaper, dated 7 January 1972, also includes the entire lyrics to “Thick as a Brick” (printed on page 7), which is presented as a poem written by Bostock, whose disqualification from a poetry contest is the focus of the front-page story. This article claims that although Bostock initially won the contest, the judges’ decision was repealed after protests and threats concerning the offensive nature of the poem, along with the boy’s suspected psychological instability. The front cover includes a piece where Bostock is accused without foundation of being the father of his 14-year-old friend Julia’s child. The inside of the paper features a mock review by “Julian Stone-Mason BA”, a pseudonym of Anderson.

The contents of the newspaper were written mostly by Anderson, bassist Jeffrey Hammond and keyboardist John Evan. While some of the pieces were obviously silly, such as “Magistrate Fines himself”, there was a lengthy story entitled “Do Not See Me Rabbit” about a pilot in the Battle of Britain being shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109. The overall layout was designed by Chrysalis’ Roy Eldridge, who had previously worked as a journalist. Most of the characters in the newspaper were members of the band, their management, road crew, or colleagues; for instance, recording engineer Robin Black played a local roller-skating champion. Anderson recalls that the cover took longer to produce than the music.

The satirical newspaper was heavily abridged for conventional CD booklets, but the 25th Anniversary Special Edition CD cover is closer to the original, and the 40th anniversary boxed version contains most of the content from the original newspaper.

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Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (live in London 1977)13:30

Acest video a fost filmat la 10 Februarie 1977, la Golders Green Hippodrome, Londra. Concertul a fost transmis live de către BBC

“Thick As A Brick” este al cincilea album de studio lansat în Martie 1972.

Aceast album are o singură melodie. Fața A este “Part 1”, care rulează 22:31, și Fața B este “Part 2” care are 21:05.
Un radio edit, care rare doar 3:01, a fost trimis la posturile de radio și este versiunea folosită pe cele mai multe albume compilație. Această versiune, a fost rulată la radiourile din America. Melodia nu a fost niodata rulată la radio-urile din Europa.

“Thick As A Brick” este considerată de critici ca fiind prima piesă a grupului Jethro Tull în întregime de muzică rock progresiv. Astăzi este considerată o piesă clasică de rock progresiv, primind mai multe premii.

Jethro Tull, și-a luat numele după inventatorul semănătoarii, din secolul 18. Grupul a fost format la 20 Decembrie 1967.

Albumul vândut în 1972 a avut ca insert, un ziar ficțional, “St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser“.

Membrii actuali:
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, other instruments (1967–2012, 2017–present)
David Goodier – bass (2007–2012, 2017–present)
John O’Hara – keyboards, accordion, vocals (2007–2012, 2017–present)
Scott Hammond – drums (2017–present)
Florian Opahle – electric and acoustic guitars (2017–present)

Fosti membri:
Mick Abrahams – guitar, vocals (1967–1968)
Clive Bunker – drums, percussion (1967–1971)
Glenn Cornick – bass guitar (1967–1970; died 2014)
Tony Iommi – guitar (1968)
Martin Barre – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, lute, flute (1968–2012)
John Evan – keyboards (1970–1980)
Jeffrey Hammond – bass, vocals (1971–1975)
Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion (1971–1980)
John Glascock – bass, harmony and backing vocals (1975–1979; died 1979)
Dee Palmer – keyboards (1977–1980; also worked with the band as an arranger between 1967 and 1976)
Dave Pegg – bass, mandolin, vocals (1979–1995)
Mark Craney – drums (1980–1981; died 2005)
Gerry Conway – drums, percussion (1981–1982; studio – 1987–1988)
Peter-John Vettese – keyboards, vocoder (1982–1986; studio – 1989)
Doane Perry – drums, percussion, vocals (1984–2012)
Maartin Allcock – keyboards, guitar, mandolin (1988–1991; died 2018)
Andrew Giddings – keyboards, accordion, bass (1991–2007)
Jonathan Noyce – bass, percussion (1995–2007)

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