Jethro Tull Passion Play CD

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 Musically and conceptually, this is Tull's deepest album.
Every band has a "lost classic," those albums that get neglected in the adoration of the albums that preceded or followed them. Yes has TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, Genesis has TRESPASS, and Jethro Tull has the mighty A PASSION PLAY Coming off of a highly creative and experimental period that produced "the big three" of BENEFIT, AQUALUNG, and THICK AS A BRICK, A PASSION PLAY is that inevitable prog-rock album that most proggers own but haven't listened to all that often. Often thought of as an attempt to follow up THICK..., A PASSION PLAY could not be farther removed from its predecessor. And now in its re-mastered and expanded version, APP offers a new perspective on an album that most Tull fans regard as the one that got away. This music is Tull's most challenging, and most difficult. You guys who are always trying to get your wives to listen to Tull know what I'm talking about. Tricky time signatures and impossible riffs abound, the signature Tull acoustic passages are among the most impressive in their catalog, and the focus is on the interplay of instruments, which takes multiple listens to fully appreciate. This is one of those rare rock albums where every time you listen you hear something new and wonderful. Something you won't hear on APP are solos - which in the context of the album is ok..but it would be cool to hear one of Martin Barre's amazing solos or one of John Evan's blazing Hammond organ spots. Where THICK AS A BRICK parodied the "concept album", A PASSION PLAY pretty much defines it. The story involves those two hobgoblins of existence, life and death - and is told via lyrics that unfold in multiple allegories - providing a story within a story within a story, and it all takes place on a theatre stage. There are entire web sites dedicated to interpreting APP's lyrics and solving the 30-year-old puzzle that is A PASSION PLAY. In the middle of the seamless 44-minute piece (it's broken into 2 tracks) is the controversial "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles." This is a farcical story that serves to break up the tension of the dark matter that pervades the PASSION PLAY story, and also serves as an allegory of it's own - tied very closely to the main story. The story is told in spoken word form with a playful orchestral backing, almost like a children's story. As with all of APP, the story eventually grows on the listener, as the wordplay and puns begin to sink in, and the "Hare"'s connection to the protagonist begins to congeal in the listener's mind. The sound on this re-master in stunning. I don't usually buy into the whole re-mastering deal, but this cd in particular is a big exception. It really is like hearing it for the first time all over again. The cd also includes a video (to be viewed on your PC) - this is the film the band showed during the live shows to illustrate the "Hare". It's whimsical and strange, using traditional English pantomime and sudden shifts in reality. I highly recommend this cd to any casual observer of Tull. I took one star away for the anti-climactic conclusion of the album...it just ends kind of flat. Review written by GEE ZEE.
Submitted by glzion (Indianapolis, IN) 
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 Extra features are nice and sound is good
This has never been my favorite Tull album - in fact I have never owned it before now. Since I was so happy with the other remasters I was tempted to get it for completeness, and the video feature pushed me over the line.
Submitted by bob.king (Nashua, NH) 
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 Poetic Masterpiece
This is easily Tull's most dark and lonesome record but the riffs and lyrics are beyond belief. Also It was written and recorded in only 17 days!! Also to Webster (Willamdale, RI, USA) It was a joke. Gerald Bostock doesn't exist!!!!!!!! He never did!!! cheers the Almighty Amos
Submitted by amos_omigos (Wollongong, NSW, AUS)
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 Anderson's Masterpiece
1974-1976 Was the pinnacle of the art/prog/fusion period. During these years each major band created their most complicated, creative, sublime, and epic work, their rite-of-spring. After this peek, most of these bands became uninteresting, writing smaller pieces and songs, rehashing old ideas with new technology, leaving their masterpieces on the pedestals, never trying to outdo them. Passion Play has remained a gem, withstanding the test of time. It is by far the masterpiece of Tull. Passion Play is not easy listening music. It is a study. And the more I study it, the more I hear. Other reviewers here that dislike this album probably favor albums that are more rock than progressive. This is quite the opposite. If you like well executed complexity, thick textures, amazing solos, creative licence and whimsy this will become one of your favorite albums. Other masterpieces during this period: Yes / Relayer Chick Corea RTF / Romantic Warrior King Crimson / Larks Tongue in Aspic Rundgren / Utopia (the first one (really)) Mahavisnu / Visions of the Emerald Beyond Zappa / Too many to list Enjoy
Submitted by Mark (Newport Beach, CA)
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 A Passion Play That Goes All The Way....
Lovely Jethro Tull Album. Wish it was in 16 tracks rather then 2. But It's still an awesome collection of music. Very Progressive Rock and that keeps it interested. Kind of like a easier to listen to Captain Beefheart. The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles is spoken word by bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond not John Evans. Incredible Stuff on this CD! Don't miss it. A+
Submitted by Carrion (Save The Coral, FL)
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