A
Studio album by
Jethro Tull
Released29 August 1980
Recorded16 May – 6 June 1980
StudioMaison Rouge Studios, Fulham, London
Maison Rogue Mobile, Radnage
Genre
Length42:30
LabelChrysalis
Producer
Jethro Tull chronology
Stormwatch
(1979)		 A
(1980)		 The Broadsword and the Beast
(1982)
Singles from A
  1. "Fylingdale Flyer"
    Released: 1980
  2. "Working John, Working Joe"
    Released: 1980
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]

A is the 13th studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull. It was released on 29 August 1980 in the UK and 1 September of the same year in the United States.

The album was initially written and recorded with the intention of being frontman Ian Anderson's debut solo album (hence the album's title: the master tapes were marked "A" for Anderson during recording), however the album was eventually released as a Jethro Tull album after pressure from Chrysalis Records. Anderson has since stated that he regrets allowing the album to be released under the Jethro Tull name.

Musically, the album was a departure from prior Tull works, adopting more of an electronic rock sound with heavy use of synthesizers, although still retaining the band's trademark folk influence and Anderson's flute playing. Lyrically, the album saw a similar departure from the fantasy and folklore themes of previous Tull work, instead emphasizing contemporary matters such as the Cold War. The album was the first Tull album released following a large lineup change which saw drummer Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and Dee Palmer departing the band in 1980 while bassist John Glascock had died from heart complications the previous year. The album instead features Glascock's touring replacement Dave Pegg on bass in his first recorded appearance with the band, Mark Craney on drums and Eddie Jobson on keyboards (with Jobson credited as a "special guest") and electric violin.

Overview

A was recorded as an intended Ian Anderson solo album before Tull's record label, Chrysalis, asked that it become credited to the group.[3] This is the reason for the album's title, as the tapes were marked "A" for "Anderson". It is noted for its more synthesiser-based sound, a fact which created controversy among many of the band's fans. On the other hand, it features a folk-influenced piece, "The Pine Marten's Jig".

A features a dramatically different line-up of Tull from the band's previous album, Stormwatch (1979). Former keyboardist John Evan and organist Dee Palmer were fired from the group, while drummer Barriemore Barlow left the band due to depression over the death of John Glascock as well as plans to start his own band.

The only members of Tull to appear on both Stormwatch (1979) and A (1980) are Ian Anderson and Martin Barre. This is also bassist Dave Pegg's first appearance on a Tull studio recording, but he had become a member of the band during the Stormwatch tour in 1979, replacing the deceased Glascock. Conflicting reasons have been given for the line-up change. Anderson has stated that he wanted to take the band in a different direction from the folk rock and progressive rock of the 1970s.[4]

Barriemore Barlow was unhappy with the direction the band was taking and later stated that he would have left anyway. However, biographer David Rees reports in his book Minstrels in the Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull (2001) that Anderson had never intended to replace Jethro Tull's previous line-up with the musicians who recorded A, but was forced by Chrysalis Records, which had decided to release his 'solo' album under the name Jethro Tull.[5] This claim was further evidenced by Anderson's note in the 2003 re-release of the album.

A 40th anniversary box set was released in April 2021, featuring the album remixed by Steven Wilson. It includes some bonus tracks, a DVD of Slipstream, and audio of a concert in Los Angeles.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ian Anderson with additional music material from Eddie Jobson; arranged by Jethro Tull

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Crossfire"3:55
2."Fylingdale Flyer"4:35
3."Working John, Working Joe"5:04
4."Black Sunday"6:35
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Protect and Survive"3:36
2."Batteries Not Included"3:52
3."Uniform"3:34
4."4.W.D. (Low Ratio)"3:42
5."The Pine Marten's Jig" (instrumental)3:28
6."And Further On"4:21
  • The 2004 remastered two-disc edition includes Slipstream as a bonus DVD.

2021 40th Anniversary A La Mode Edition

CD 1: Original Album And Associated Tracks Steven Wilson Stereo Mix
No.TitleLength
1."Crossfire"4:05
2."Fylingdale Flyer"4:35
3."Working John, Working Joe"5:07
4."Black Sunday"6:42
5."Protect And Survive"3:37
6."Batteries Not Included"3:52
7."Uniform"3:33
8."4.W.D. (Low Ratio)"3:44
9."The Pine Marten's Jig"3:25
10."And Further On"4:25
11."Crossfire (Extended Version)"4:39
12."Working John, Working Joe (Take 4)"5:16
13."Cheerio (Early Version)"0:39
14."Coruisk"6:29
15."Slipstream Introduction"2:51
CD 2: Live At The LA Sports Arena, 1980 Part 1 Steven Wilson Stereo Mix
No.TitleLength
1."Slipstream Introduction"3:01
2."Black Sunday"7:07
3."Crossfire"3:59
4."Songs From The Wood"4:51
5."Hunting Girl"6:04
6."The Pine Marten's Jig"3:43
7."Working John, Working Joe"4:17
8."Heavy Horses"7:29
9."Musicians Introductions"1:55
10."Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day"3:28
11."Instrumental (Inc Flute Solo)"6:16
CD 3: Live At The LA Sports Arena, 1980 Part 2 Steven Wilson Stereo Mix
No.TitleLength
1."Trio Instrumental"5:08
2."Keyboard Solo"7:58
3."Batteries Not Included"4:14
4."Uniform (Inc Drum Solo)"6:48
5."Protect And Survive (Inc Violin Solo)"6:24
6."Bungle In The Jungle"5:31
7."Encore Intro - Guitar And Bass Instrumental"3:01
8."Aqualung"9:48
9."Locomotive Breath / Instrumental / Black Sunday (Reprise)"7:02
DVD 1: Steven Wilson Album Remix
No.TitleLength
1."Crossfire (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
2."Fylingdale Flyer (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
3."Working John, Working Joe (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
4."Black Sunday (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
5."Protect And Survive (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
6."Batteries Not Included (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
7."Uniform (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
8."4.W.D. (Low Ratio) (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
9."The Pine Marten's Jig (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
10."And Further On (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
11."Crossfire (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
12."Fylingdale Flyer (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
13."Working John, Working Joe (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
14."Black Sunday (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
15."Protect And Survive (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
16."Batteries Not Included (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
17."Uniform (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
18."4.W.D. (Low Ratio) (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
19."The Pine Marten's Jig (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
20."And Further On (Original 1980 Album Mix (96/24 Stereo LPCM))" 
21."Cheerio (Early Version) (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
22."Coruisk (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
23."Slipstream Introduction (96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS 96/24 5.1, Dolby AC3 5.1)" 
24."Crossfire (Extended Version) (-Stereo Only-)" 
25."Working John, Working Joe (Take 4) (-Stereo Only-)" 
DVD 2: Live At The LA Sports Arena, 1980 Steven Wilson Concert Mix (DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround, Dolby AC3 5.1 Surround, Stereo 96/24 LPCM)
No.TitleLength
1."Slipstream Introduction" 
2."Black Sunday" 
3."Crossfire" 
4."Songs From The Wood" 
5."Hunting Girl" 
6."The Pine Marten's Jig" 
7."Working John, Working Joe" 
8."Heavy Horses" 
9."Musicians Introductions" 
10."Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" 
11."Instrumental (Inc Flute Solo)" 
12."Trio Instrumental" 
13."Keyboard Solo" 
14."Batteries Not Included" 
15."Uniform (Inc Drum Solo)" 
16."Protect And Survive (Inc Violin Solo)" 
17."Bungle In The Jungle" 
18."Encore Intro - Guitar And Bass Instrumental" 
19."Aqualung" 
20."Locomotive Breath / Instrumental / Black Sunday (Reprise)" 
Slipstream Video Steven Wilson Album Remix (DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround, Dolby AC3 5.1 Surround, Stereo 48/24 LPCM)
No.TitleLength
1."Slipstream Introduction" 
2."Black Sunday" 
3."Dun Ringil" 
4."Flyingdale Flyer" 
5."Songs From The Wood" 
6."Heavy Horses" 
7."Sweet Dream" 
8."Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die" 
9."Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" 
10."Aqualung" 
11."Locomotive Breath" 

Personnel

Jethro Tull

Guest personnel

technical staff

  • Robin Black – sound engineer
  • John Shaw – photography
  • Peter Wagg – art direction

Charts

1980 chart performance for A
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] 47
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 10
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 48
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 26
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 25
US Billboard 200[14] 30
2021 chart performance for A
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 91
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 11
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[18] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 18

References

  1. ↑ Eder, Bruce. A review allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  3. ↑ Kovarsky, Jerry (17 November 2016). "Interview: Eddie Jobson". Keyboard Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  4. ↑ A New Day Yesterday: The 25th Anniversary Collection, 1969–1994
  5. ↑ "Jethro Tull 'A' 40th Anniversary Edition". Jethrotull.com. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 155. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jethro Tull – A" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4703a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jethro Tull – A" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – A" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jethro Tull – A". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Jethro Tull Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jethro Tull – A" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jethro Tull – A" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – A" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 16. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jethro Tull – A". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
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