Jethro Tull

Songs from the Wood (1977)

Just as the righteous storm of punk broke all over Britain, Jethro Tull, prog dinosaurs of this parish, replied with...a folk-rock album. Let's be serious, Ian Anderson, flute playing, cod-piece wearing leader of the band named after the inventor of the seed-drill, was never going to hit back with a Ramones style half-hour of buzz-saw guitars and gobbing. Shame, really. No matter - because if you are open hearted and big-minded enough to dig a bit of prime prog-folk, this is glorious indeed. The title track sets us up nicely for a journey into the darker bye-ways of Olde England and, in a sense, is so 'out of time' it's almost perverse. At the time, like so many others, I just laughed and hid my Tull albums behind Never Mind The Bollocks and Horses but that was just the folly of youth. Don your cod-pieces! I've it said before and I'll say it again, you can't beat a nice bit of flute.