Jethro Tull: Broadsword And The Beast - The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (5CD/3DVD)

Broadsword And The Beast was album number 14 for Jethro Tull and one that many viewed as a continuation of the slide that had begun with the Ian Anderson solo album/not solo album, A, two years prior in 1980. That said, I’d argue that BS&TB was a step back towards a more traditional Tull setting and an acknowledgement that this album was all along intended to be a band album. In the ever changing personnel files of the outfit, Broadsword found Anderson flanked by his long time collaborator, Martin Barre on guitars, Dave Pegg on bass, newcomer Peter-John Vettese on keyboards and Gerry Conway on drums, who while not quite a debutant, having featured on some Nightcap songs, was sitting in for his first full album.

Given that it was 1982, in all honesty Jethro Tull possibly resisted the dawn of the new technological age more than many of their contemporaries (that would come a little later for Anderson and Co.) but there’s still no denying that a lot of Vettese’s sound choices moved Tull on from what had come before - or at least before A. Add in that Barre’s guitar began to hint in places of the Knopfler-esque tone that would begin to feature further for the next few albums, and that Conway was, at the risk of being unkind, a more meat and potatoes drummer (albeit one Anderson says in the extensive liner book in this set, was perfect for this collection of Tull songs in a way the previous incumbents of the drum-stool would not have been), and Tull, as they always had, were evolving. A steady commercial success, critics weren’t so sold on this album, but with hindsight tracks such as “Pussy Willow�, “Beastie� and “Fallen On Hard Times� have aged remarkably well, even if the same maybe can’t quite be said for the more angular synth infused “Watching Me, Watching You�, although Anderson’s trademark flute trilling still snags the interest.

As with all of these super expanded (and this one is SUPER expanded - 5CDs and 3DVDs!) Tull deluxe sets, Steven Wilson offers up a brand spanking new mix and one that can on DVD also be sampled in 5.1, or indeed the original ’82 mix if that’s your preference. To my estimation, what was a slightly one dimensional sounding collection now seems to breathe more naturally, with the keys and guitars especially feeling like they’ve been unleashed from their shackles. I have to say that this is now going to be the version of this album that I reach for. A further 7 tracks are added to the main album disc under the banner of ‘Associated Recordings’ and they are a joy to behold, adding new angles and attitudes to what we were finally delivered. The stand-out for me being a rather beautiful acoustic take of “Jack-A-Lynn� which is quite stunning, while the “Beastie Band Shouts� is exactly what it suggests, with Anderson’s trademark dryness making the little outbursts of ‘Beastie!’ even more fun than they would have been.

Where these sets have really come into their own is through their confirmation that Jethro Tull are maybe the most prolific recording artists ever in terms of laying down songs and then setting them aside. Some of the 40 (yes, forty) extra tracks to be found on discs 2 and 3 have seen the light of day on a few previous Tull releases, but having them all together and in the context of the time they were recorded, is a real journey in itself. Everything from the forceful “Lights Out� to mellow aside of “No Step� proving as engaging as we remember. However, on disc 2 it’s the likes of the short “Calafel� and “Return To Calafel� where sublime guitar refrains play out, or “Inverness Sleeper� and its engagingly folky feel, that really grab the attention. Whereas another previously ‘unheard’ track here is the Dave Pegg fretless piece “The Swirling Pit�, although he did adapt it in a solo guise I believe.

The journey continues deeper into unreleased territory on CD3, dubbed here Maison Rouge Demo Recordings, where you experience Broadsword in its early stages and it has to be said that there was still quite of lot of evolution to go through, although these recordings do quite easily stand on their own two feet. There are songs here also never heard before, “Honest Girl� verging on gritty by the standards of the time, but with a meandering heart, although it wouldn’t have hurt if they’d wound things up a little tempo wise. “DJ Dream� casts aspersions on those who stand in front of packed rooms spinning records recorded by other people and somehow becoming rich and famous on the back of it. It’s an interesting sentiment but the song delivering it feels less than inspired itself in all honesty - not that its bad. However it’s the Genesis infused keyboard openings of “Me, Dinosaur� and its barking guitars that should have been able to force itself onto the album proper. Angry and infused with a lyric that tells journalists calling the band has-beens even way back in the early eighties to ‘do one’, this is a real gem.

That still somehow leaves a further two CDs of material to get through, discs four and five being a 1982 Live In Germany show. As a snapshot in time it’s quite a startling experience, with all bar one of the Broadsword songs (“Slow Marching Band�) included in the set. In fact the set-list seems to focus on distinct periods of Tull, with much of the band’s earlier material left by the wayside and A and Stormwatch almost ignored completely. In comparison to some of the other live offerings in this reissue series it has to be said that Tull sound, well, a little tame here, the drums not really pushing through and the band just a little more reserved than you might expect, although the nature of the recording - four different shows woven together to sound like one - maybe explains that somewhat. That said, it’s still a hugely enjoyable listen and one I’ll be taking often.

If there’s a disappointment across the 8 discs here it’s that there isn’t any visual aspect to the 3 DVDs, all of the studio and live recordings featured on the CDs reworked expertly into 5.1 mixes (and more) in the case of the studio work and a 4.1 mix for the live set. Is it a minor niggle? Well, maybe not but if there wasn’t a visual performance from this era to use then surely having 8 discs of audio and a variety of mix choices to experience them through goes a long way to negating it.

Add in the now almost expected, huge (164 page) booklet, which really is genuinely interesting and enlightening and this rather triumphant Jethro Tull deluxe reissue set continues as excellently as we have come to expect.

Track Listing
CD1 - THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST   A Steven Wilson stereo remix
1. Beastie 2. Clasp 3. Fallen On Hard Times   4. Flying Colours   5. Slow Marching Band   6. Broadsword   7. Pussy Willow   8. Watching Me, Watching You   9. Seal Driver   10. Cheerio
ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS - A Steven Wilson stereo remix - Recorded on 24 track at Maison Rouge Studios, December 1981 �" January 1982 (unless otherwise noted)
11. Fallen On Hard Times (1st master, Dec ’81 sessions) 12. Beastie (2nd master, Dec ’81 sessions) 13. Fallen On Hard Times [2nd master, Dec ’81 sessions) 14. Seal Driver (1st master, Dec ’81 sessions)   15. Cheerio (ensemble vocal version)   16. Jack-A-Lynn (acoustic version)   17. Beastie Shouts!

CD2 - ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS (Early 1981 Sessions) - A Steven Wilson stereo remix - Recorded on 24 track at Maison Rouge Studios, March 1981 - July 1981
1. Roland's Entry [Instrumental] 2. Lights Out 3. The Curse (version 1)   4. The Curse (version 2) 5. Too Many Too 6. Calafel [Instrumental]   7. I’m Your Gun   8. No Step 9. Down At The End Of Your Road   10. Mayhem Maybe [with 1988 overdubs]   11. Commons Brawl [with 1993 overdubs] 12. Return To Calafel [Instrumental] 13. Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow 14. The Swirling Pit [Instrumental]   15. Inverness Sleeper
FURTHER ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS - A Steven Wilson stereo remix - Recorded on 24 track at Maison Rouge Studios, December 1981 - January 1982
16. Crew Nights (combined version) [with some 1993 overdubs]   17. Rhythm In Gold   18. Overhang [with 1988 overdubs] 19. Jack-A-Lynn (band version) 20. Motoreyes 21. Drive On The Young Side Of Life [with 1993 overdubs]

 
CD3 - DEMO RECORDINGS - Recorded directly to stereo in Maison Rouge Studio 1 on 15th December 1981
1. Flying Colours  2. Me, Dinosaur 3. Crew Nights 4. Rhythm In Gold 5. Honest Girl 6. DJ Dream 7. Seal Driver 8. Jack-A-Lynn 9. Fallen On Hard Times 10. Drive On The Young Side Of Life
ORIGINAL 1981 MASTER MIXES - Early master mixes prepared in July 1981. The master mix of ‘Watching Me, Watching You’ used on the album was also prepared during these mixing sessions. 
11. Beastie 12. Too Many Too 13. I’m Your Gun 14. Down At The End Of Your Road 15. Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow
EARLY 1982 ROUGH MIXES - Rough mixes of work-in-progress album tracks prepared in January 1982 16. Slow Marching Band 17. Pussy Willow 18. Fallen On Hard Times
ORIGINAL 1982 RADIO ADVERT - UK local radio advert promoting the band’s headlining appearance at the Theakston Music Festival, Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire, England on Saturday 28th August 1982
19. Theakston Music Festival Advert

CD4 - LIVE IN GERMANY 1982
1. Clasp 2. Hunting Girl 3. Fallen On Hard Times 4. Pussy Willow 5. Broadsword 6. Jack-In-The-Green 7. One Brown Mouse 8. Seal Driver 9. Heavy Horses 10. Weathercock/Fire At Midnight 11. Keyboard Instrumental 12. Sweet Dream

CD5 - LIVE IN GERMANY 1982
1. Flying Colours 2. Songs From The Wood 3. Watching Me, Watching You 4. Band Introductions 5. The Swirling Pit 6. Pibroch/Black Satin Dancer 7. Beastie 8. Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die! 9. Aqualung 10. Minstrel In The Gallery 11. Locomotive Breath/Black Sunday 12. Cheerio

DVD 1
Audio only
The Broadsword And The Beast album remixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo and DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound + flat transfer of the 1982 original mix and other associated tracks in 96/24 LPCM stereo

DVD 2
Associated Recordings remixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo and DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound

DVD 3
Live in Germany (as per CDs 4 & 5) remixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo and DTS and Dolby Digital 4.1 surround sound

Added: August 30th 2023
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: JethroTull.Com
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Language: english

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