20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights 1988 Album

Jethro Tull

One of the more consistent packages of music I have ever heard from the band, ever - and that is saying something, considering there are a whopping 21 tracks to weed through - nearly 80 minutes of music! Tull takes us through a wild ride of all of their phases of their initial 20 year existence - right from the beginning as a rough-and-tumble blues-fusion act, covering "Stormy Monday Blues" for the BBC, through thrilling roller-coasters like a cool live version of "Living in the Past", then steaming past the eerie Scottish mists of songs like "Jack-A-Lynn" and "Kelpie", and finally cooling down with a final look back at the past on "Dun Ringill". This is where I heard the original version of "Two Fingers", here titled "Lick Your Fingers Clean", which in the liner notes states was originally slated for the Aqualung album. Proof-positive that Tull could kick-ass when they wanted to and add "Love Story" to that reputation. Hands down that is the heaviest, most enveloping rocker - not only on this CD - but possibly in Tull's entire career. The liner notes are quite extensive, complete with a Tull family tree with interlinking lineups. Overall, whether you want to be cheap like me, or go for the gold and get all of the good stuff at once - this is definitely worth your time. And by the way - it's the Cliffs Notes version of a larger 5 LP box set.