Record of the day: Jethro Tull, “Stormwatch”

Jethro Tull, “Stormwatch” (Cd Chrysalis CDP 3212382)

In 1979, immediately after completing the tour immortalized in the live album “Bursting Out”, Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock had to leave the group due to heart disease; he only managed to complete three songs on the new album Stormwatch after which he had to give up and died shortly after at just twenty-eight years old. The befalling of this tragedy on the group generated two types of effect, one of a practical nature (Ian Anderson had to record the bass parts that were missing to complete the album) and another, much more evident, of an artistic nature; “Stormwatch”, in fact, is one of the darkest (but also most beautiful) albums of Tull’s entire long discography.

As the cover clearly reveals (which portrays Anderson peering into a storm with binoculars) it’s freezing cold on this record. Snow, ice, wind, rain, turbulent oceans abound in the lyrics, often inspired by a total catastrophism about the fate of the planet and its inhabitants; apocalyptic scenarios, gatherings and magic circles, nocturnal apparitions and ghosts are evoked while the world falls into a new Middle Ages (one of the key songs of the album is entitled “Dark Ages”). Only the instrumental “Elegy” composed by keyboardist David Palmer seems to bring, through its pastoral-flavored melody, a moment of rest at the end of the tormented journey of this album.

In these years Jethro Tull could count on the best line-up in their history thanks to excellent musicians such as Barriemore Barlow on drums, the aforementioned Palmer and John Evans on keyboards, plus the imperishable guitarist Martin Barre, Anderson’s musical alter ego who has always been .

Ian was in a state of compositional grace, writing magnificent songs both in formats more suited to the charts and radio (“North Sea Oil”, “Orion”, “Something’s on the Move”) and in the vast frescoes of “Flying Dutchman” and ” Dark Ages”, full of inspired passages with a progressive flavor and complex combinations of different compositional sections that alternate moments inspired by British folklore with more rocking sections; there is no shortage of very beautiful acoustic moments, such as “Dun Ringhill” and “Home”. After “Stormwatch” the lineup will change, and Jethro Tull, while remaining a quality band (they are still formidable live) will no longer reach, in my opinion, the level of those years.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.