"This Was: The 50th Anniversary Edition" by JETHRO TULL – October 1968 UK Debut Album on Island Records in both Mono and Stereo, February 1969 US on Reprise Records in Stereo Only – Featuring Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker (November 2018 UK Chrysalis/Parlophone 'The 50th Anniversary Edition' Reissue with Mono and Stereo Versions of the Debut Album – Includes 3CDs, 1DVD with Previously Unreleased Mono/Stereo Material, Steven Wilson Remixes, Remasters and 4.1 Surround-Sound Versions) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"…Won’t Somebody Tell Me Where I Lay My Head Last Night…"

 

The Jethro Tull catalogue has been steadily receiving these fabulous Hardback Digibook Versions for some years now – but their mighty British debut album "This Was" from October 1968 on Island Records (February 1969 in the USA on Reprise) has been a rather obvious and large hole in the run.

 

I've reviewed its predecessor, the April 2008 '40th Anniversary 2CD Collector's Edition' on EMI/Chrysalis 206 4972 (Barcode 5099920649722) – a worthy reissue for its time. But it's absolutely demolished by this 2018 '50th Anniversary' variant which once again has had the master-hand of Audio Engineer STEVE WILSON poking about in its Sixties innards. A lot to catalogue, so let's get sonically impressed...

 

UK released 9 November 2018 - "This Was: The 50th Anniversary Edition" by JETHRO TULL on Chrysalis/Parlophone 0190295611484 (Barcode 0190295611484) is a 3CD and 1DVD Hardback Digibook that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (57:53 minutes):

A STEVEN WILSON STEREO REMIX

1. My Sunday Feeling [Side 1]

2. Someday The Sun Won’t Shine

3. Beggar's Farm

4. Move On Alone

5. Serenade To A Cuckoo

6. Dharma For One [Side 2]

7. It's Breaking Me Up

8. Cat's Squirrel

9. A Song For Jeffrey

10. Round

Tracks 1 to 10 are the STEREO VERSION of the debut album "This Was" released 4 October 1968 in the UK on Island ILPS 9085. February 1969 saw the album released in the USA on Reprise RS 6336 in Stereo only. The UK had a MONO variant of the Vinyl LP (Island ILP 985) which is presented on CD3 in its 40th Anniversary 2008 Remastered CD form.

 

ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS

A STEVEN WILSON STEREO REMIX:

11. Love Story

12. A Christmas Song

Tracks 11 and 12 were (originally) Non-LP A&-B sides of a 29 November 1969 UK 45-single on Island WIP 6048 in Mono – here they are presented in STEREO – for Mono Originals see Tracks 13 and 14 on CD2

 

Tracks 13 to 16 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

13. Serenade To A Cuckoo (Take 1, Studio Outtake)

14. Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You (Faster Version, Studio Outtake)

15. Move On Alone (Flute Version, Take 6, with Vocals Added, Studio Outtake)

16. Ultimate Confusion (Take 1, Studio Outtake – no other version exists)

 

CD2 (59:53 minutes):

FURTHER ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS (BBC Sessions, Original Mixes & Ads)

BBC Sessions Tracks 1 to 9

1. So Much Trouble

2. My Sunday Feeling

3. Serenade To A Cuckoo

4. Cat's Squirrel

5. A Song For Jeffrey

Tracks 1 to 5 are live-in-the-studio Mono recordings made for John Peel's "Top Gear" Radio program on BBC 1, recorded 23 July 1968 in London (broadcast August & September 1968)

 

6. Love Story

7. Stormy Monday

8. Beggar's Farm

9. Dharma For One

Tracks 6 to 9 are more live-in-the-studio Mono recordings as per 1 to 5 recorded 5 November 1968 in London (broadcast December 1968)

 

Original Mixes and Radio Adverts:

10. A Song For Jeffrey

11. One For John Gee

Tracks 10 and 11 are their second 45-single released 13 September 1968 on Island WIP 6043 in the UK in Mono, both tracks Non-LP at the time

 

12. Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You (Faster Version)

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Mono Version (Stereo variant, Track 14, CD1)

 

13. Love Story

14. A Christmas Song

Tracks 13 and 14 are their third 45-single released 29 November 1968 in the UK on Island WIP 6048 in Mono, February 1969 in the USA on Reprise 0815 with A Song For Jeffery on the B-side (there are STEREO remixes of 13 and 14 on CD1)

 

15. Sunshine Day

16. Aeroplane

Tracks 15 and 16 are their debut UK 45-single issued 16 February 1968 on MGM Records 1348 with the band miscredited as Jethro Toe – both sides Non-LP

 

17. Blues For The 18th

Track 17 recorded 22 October 1967 for The John Evans Smash in London; first issued 1991 as Track 1 on the German-only Maxi CD-Single "The Derek Lawrence Story: The Sampler" on Line Records LICD 9.01138 E

 

18. Love Story

Track 18 is a US-only Promo 45-single in Stereo for FM Radio airplay

 

19. US FM Radio Spot No. 1

20. US FM Radio Spot No. 2

Tracks 19 and 20 on the American promo-only 45-single on Reprise PRO 312

 

CD3 (76:41 minutes):

ORIGINAL UK ALBUM MIXES

1. My Sunday Feeling [Side 1]

2. Someday The Sun Won’t Shine

3. Beggar's Farm

4. Move On Alone

5. Serenade To A Cuckoo

6. Dharma For One [Side 2]

7. It's Breaking Me Up

8. Cat's Squirrel

9. A Song For Jeffrey

10. Round

Tracks 1 to 10 are the Original UK STEREO MIX prepared in August 1968 for the Vinyl LP Island ILPS 9085 – Tracks 11 to 20 is the MONO MIX

 

DVD (NTSC, Region 0 (All Regions):

Tracks 1 to 10 - Original Album remixed by Steven Wilson to 4.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital Surround

Tracks 11 and 12 - Love Story and A Christmas Song in 5.1 Surround

Tracks 13 to 16 are 96/24 LPCM Stereo

Tracks 17 to 26 are 1969 US Stereo Mix at 96/24 LPCM Stereo

 

I have had the 2008 UK-issued 40th Anniversary Edition 2CD set for years now and the Peter Mew Remasters for that done at Abbey Road were sensational – amazing clarity on both the Mono and Stereo versions. Here, revered Audio Engineer STEVE WILSON has done his twiddling magic with the Stereo variants and again – a noticeable upgrade with huge feel and breathing around the instruments. Although in truth there isn't a whole lot of new for diehard fans, the Stereo and Mono variants of "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine" are blistering and audiowise – up there with the best of them. I would have to agree that CD3 feels a teeny weeny bit superfluous to requirements - an original Stereo mix of the LP you don't really want and a Mono Mix you probably won't play over the richer Steve Wilson Stereo remix. But it is cool to have them.

 

The packaging though – oh my God – a 96-page booklet inside the Hardback Digibook that makes many other reissues look like whimpering brats. You would expect the UK and American LP labels to be reproduced (they are as is every 45-single), but this thing has discographies, trade adverts, band chronology, day-by-day movements and gig dates, rare concert posters, photos from Ian Anderson's own archive, memorabilia from around the world – the kind of splurge to make fans weak at the knees. They even produced the lyrics not just to the LP but the 45s including their mega-rare debut Sunshine Day. There are notes from Steve Wilson, photos of a 2008 reunion with Mick Abrahams (who left after the album and formed the much-loved Blodwyn Pig) and Ian Anderson explains all the songs – even the outtakes. Wow. To the music...

 

Highlights - the opening track "My Sunday Feeling" (lyrics above) is classic Tull - rock with a flute jazz tint. Speaking of which - the track "Serenade To A Cuckoo" first appeared on Rahsaah Roland Kirk's 1964 album "I Talk With The Spirits". Kirk's flute technique of humming and mouthing as you play the instrument clearly blew away the young Ian Anderson, because he's been aping that style ever since (it's also the only time a cover version has appeared on a Jethro Tull album).

 

The bluesy "Beggar's Farm" is so clear now as are Clive Bunker's drums on "Dharma For One". The Stereo Mix of "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine" absolutely leaps out of the speakers, while the harmonica and guitar duo intro on "It's Breaking Me Up" perfectly compliments the slinky bass line by Glenn Cornick. "Cat's Squirrel" just rocks like a monster too. The additional BBC stuff is very good (the band was still fresh) as are the properly remastered versions of the early Tull singles (most of which were non-album until the 2LP set "Living In The Past" in 1972).

 

The Blues-Rock sound that permeates much of this forgotten debut was never going to be enough for a mind like that of band-leader Ian Anderson and on their next platter "Stand Up" in 1969 (a No. 1 LP) – the JT sound and their particular brand of Prog Historical Rock was born.

 

For sure there are far better albums in their voluminous back catalogue (hence the four stars), but it is only the churlish begrudger that would say "The 50th Anniversary Edition" of Jethro Tull's debut "This Was" isn't anything other than exemplary. Love Story indeed...

"Benefit: The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition" by JETHRO TULL – Third Studio Album from April 1970 (USA) on Reprise Records and May 1970 (UK) on Chrysalis Records featuring Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Glenn Cornick, John Evans and Clive Bunker (5 November 2021 UK Chrysalis 'The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition' Six-Disc Reissue – 4CDs and 2DVDs in A Hardback DigiBook Presentation Pack with Stereo and Mono Previously Unreleased Material - New Steve Wilson Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Alive And Well And Living In 2021..."

When the pudgy 2CD/1DVD 'A Collector's Edition' card digipak reissue of Tull's 1970 third studio album "Benefit" appeared in October 2013 - most fans loved it – even if it did feel a tad clunky on the visual front. 

But since the 'book' series has advanced (serious reissues seriously praised) - "Benefit" and its absence in that handsome rat pack has been a hole in a wall of hardback digipak editions most fans have longed to fill. 

Well, here on Friday, 5 November 2021 is the 'The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition' of "Benefit" by JETHRO TULL - a stunning six-disc visual and audio upgrade (4CDs and 2DVDs) that makes most other 50th Anniversary sets seem positively dowdy. Here are the actual benefits...

Chrysalis 0190295201616 (UK) is beautifully done (barcode is the same number) – 2CDs in the front hardback cover (the album Remastered and Remixed by STEVEN WILSON including associated Stereo and Mono mixes), Disc 3 in the first hard-card leaf (Live At Tanglewood 1970), Disc 4 in the final leaf (Live In Chicago 1970) and 2DVDS in the rear hardback cover (Steve Wilson Audio mixes of the album with bonuses in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound plus flat transfers on DVD1 with DVD2 being a visual of the Live At Tanglewood 1970 concert). 

Fans have come to have high expectations for these Tull digibook sets – fan involvement and historian contributions with rare picture sleeves, press announcements and reviews, concert posters, pictures of venues, timelines etc – and the 100-page attached booklet doesn’t disappoint (the 2013 version had 42-pages, so a massive amount of extra material). Every aspect of that 1969 to 1970 period is covered (even early Aqualung sessions for that 1971 magnum opus). There is an interview with Studio Engineer ROBIN WOOD, interviews with the band on recording sessions, lyrics to all album tracks and the stand-alone singles (which wasn’t on the 2013 issue), a day-by-day breakdown leading up the April (US) and May 1970 (UK) album release and beyond - and every possible catalogue number and chart position for the UK and USA. It’s truly a wonder and I cannot imagine how many man-hours it took to collate and typeset. 

And the STEVE WILSON Remixes and Remasters sound spectacular (not just good) – after decades of my battered Chrysalis LP – it is genuinely shocking to hear stuff like "Alive And Well And Living In" and "Sossity" sound this sonically empowered – Anderson’s vocals leaping out of your speakers with snotty intent. Here is a breakdown...

CD1 (76:19 minutes):

A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix

1. With You There To Help Me

2. Nothing To Say

3. Alive And Well And Living In

4. Son

5. For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me

6. To Cry For A Song [Side 2]

7. A Time For Everything?

8. Inside

9. Play In Time

10. Sossity: You're A Woman

Tracks 1 to 10 make up their 3rd album "Benefit" – released 20 April 1970 in the USA on Reprise RS 6400 and 1 May 1970 in the UK (delayed from 24 April 1970) on Chrysalis/Island ILPS 9123. Produced by IAN ANDERSON - peaked at No. 11 (USA) and No. 3 (UK). 

ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS (A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix):

11. Singing All Day (Stereo)

12. Sweet Dream (Stereo)

13. 17 (Stereo)

14. Teacher – (4:58 minutes, UK Single Version, Stereo)

15. Teacher – (4:03 minutes, US Album Version, Stereo)

16. My God (Early Version) - Studio Outtake from early 'Aqualung' sessions recorded 11 and 12 April 1970 – Extra Flute Passages – 9:06 minutes

17. Just Trying To Be - Studio Outtake from early 'Aqualung' sessions recorded 11 April 1970 – mostly Anderson and Acoustic - 1:39 minutes 

NOTES: Tracks 16 and 17 did not appear on the 2013 'A Collector's Edition'

CD2 – Original 1969-1970 Mono Mixes (77:37 minutes):

1. Singing All Day (Previously Unreleased 1969 Mono Mix)

2. Sweet Dream (Mono Single Mix)

3. 17 (Mono Single Mix)

Tracks 2 and 3 released 17 October 1969 as a UK 45-single on Chrysalis WIP 6070 (peaked at No. 7)

4. The Witch's Promise (EUR single double 'A' side; mono mix not used in the UK)

5. Teacher (UK Single Version - EUR single double 'A' side; mono mix not used in the UK)

6. Teacher (US Album Version - Mono Reduction Mix used for US single 'B' side)

7. Inside (UK Single 'A' Side) 

8. Alive And Well And Living In (Mono Reduction Mix for US single 'B' side)

9. A Time For Everything (Mono Reduction Mix for US single 'B' side)

ORIGINAL 1969-1970 STEREO MIXES 

10. Sweet Dream (Unused Stereo Mix prepared for the Side 'A' of an unissued US promo single for FM stereo radio)

11. 17 (Unused Stereo Mix prepared for the Side 'A' of an unissued US promo single for FM stereo radio)

12. The Witch's Promise (UK single version double 'A' side – disc transfer)

13. Teacher (UK single version double 'A' side – disc transfer)

14. The Witch's Promise (US promo single 'A' prepared for FM stereo radio)

15. Teacher (US Album Version – Us Promo Single 'B' side prepared for FM stereo radio)

1971 STEREO REMIXES 

16. Singing All Day 

17. Sweet Dream 

18. The Witch's Promise

19. Teacher (US Album Version)

ORIGINAL RADIO SPOTS 

15. Benefit AM Radio Spot No. 1 (Mono)

16. Benefit FM Radio Spot No. 2 (Stereo) – issued to US Radio Stations May/June 1970 on Reprise PRO 395

Notes: Although the running order is rejiggered, CD2 is the same 16 tracks that were on the 2013 reissue; three here were Previously Unreleased Mixes at that time – Tracks 1 (Mono), 10 and 11 (Stereo) 

CD3 (69:19 minutes) and DVD 2 (Previously Unreleased)

LIVE AT TANGLEWOOD 1970 – A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix 

(Recorded 7 July 1970 for Bill Graham’s ‘Fillmore At Tanglewood’ Show)

1. Introduction And Tuning 

2. Nothing Is Easy 

3. My God (incl. Flute Solo)

4. With You There To Help Me / By Kind Permission Of 

5. Dharma For One (incl. Drum Solo (edited on CD))

6. We Used To Know 

7. Guitar Instrumental 

8. For A Thousand Mothers 

CD4 (75:19 minutes, Previously Unreleased):

LIVE IN CHICAGO 1970 (Recorded in Mono directly from the soundboard by John Burns at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois on 16 August 1970)

1. Introduction And Tuning 

2. My Sunday Feeling 

3. My God (incl. Flute Solo)

4. To Cry You A Song 

5. With You There To Help Me / By Kind Permission Of 

6. Sossity: You're A Woman / Reasons For Waiting 

7. Nothing Is Easy 

8. Dharma For One (incl. Drum Solo (edited))

9. We Used To Know

10. Guitar Instrumental 

11. For A Thousand Mothers 

DVD 1 (Audio Only - As per 2013 Reissue) 

Steven Wilson's 2013 Stereo Mixes of "Benefit" and 5 Extra Tracks in DTS and Dolby AC3 5.1 Surround & Stereo 96/24 LPCM (65:06 minutes)

Flat transfers of the Original UK and US LP Master in 96/24 LCPM (59:59 minutes)

Additional Tracks "Sweet Dream", "17" and "The Witch's Promise"

DVD 2 (Video, NTSC, All Regions (0) – Previously Unreleased)

The 1970 Tanglewood Concert on video with Steven Wilson’s 2020 audio Remix in DTS and Dolby AC 3 5.1 Surround and Stereo 96/24 LPCM

More than a year and a half late for a 50th Anniversary celebration of the original LP (1970 to 2020) and pandemic delays aside, the packaging and audio upgrades here in 2021 are both fantastic. But I must admit that non-fans will probably tire of the multiple versions of Teacher, Sweet Dream, 17 and of course The Witch's Promise on CD 1 and 2 (never mind live versions) - but that 9:06 minute outtake of "My God" with the wild flute soloing in the centre is an absolute blast and shows more clearly than anything before how fast Anderson and his songwriting was racing ahead (one of two new extras dovetailing CD1). And that Just Trying To Be may only be 1:39 long, but its ethereally beautiful. 

Come the Tanglewood live set, you can hear how tight the band is, eager, sharp, taking on America and doing it bravely too with material the audience clearly doesn't know. I was impressed at the live sets and their sound (CD 3 in Stereo and Remixed by whiz Wilson, CD4 in Mono but still punchy and with a few cuts we didn’t have before. For Tull nuts, the live sets are another sneak preview into their band in primo-form - hitting the crowd right in the eyes with old chestnuts and newbees that would quickly become celebrated the following year as classics. 

Jethro Tull would go global in 1971 with "Aqualung" and rightly so. And it has to be truthfully said that Benefit's illustrious follow up is a better crop of songs and a more coherent LP in every way. But this fabulous reissue of 1970's "Benefit" should surely mean that this forgotten bow in Tull's arsenal of strings should be reappraised. Well done to all involved...

I know it's not for everyone, but this lavish go at "Benefit" again is a reissue winner (six discs for under thirty-five quid). Hell, at this rate, we might even get my all-time Tull-crave - 1972's "Living In The Past" double-album which in 2022 will reach its 50th anniversary (a super-duper deluxe edition with the double LP in that hardback book packaging please and shed loads more).

'Nothing is easy' with Tull, but they sure do it right for their fans. A reissue of the year for 2021 without hesitation...

"Minstrel In The Gallery" by JETHRO TULL – September 1975 UK and US Eight Studio Album on Chrysalis Records featuring Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Jeffery Hammond-Hammond with Barriemore Barlow – Guests Include Orchestral Arrangements by David Palmer (May 2015 UK Chrysalis 40th Anniversary Edition 1CD Reissue Version – A New Steven Wilson Stereo Remix) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Mother England Reverie..."

Tull's eight studio-album of Folk/Prog Rock "Minstrel In The Gallery" originally hit the shops in vinyl form in September 1975 and has been subject to many digital variants ever since. But this May 2015 beauty from remix/remaster maestro Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree) is the very best – thorough, affectionately handled and revealing in ways that none before have ever been. As with all things JT-reissue, the Wilster has only gone and done it again...

There are two UK/EUROPE CD variants issued on the same day 5 May 2015 – the Deluxe 2CD + 1DVD "La Grande Edition" on Chrysalis 0825646157204 (Barcode 0825646157204) that comes in an 80-page Hardback Digibook presentation. It offers seven Bonus Tracks on CD1, a Jakko Jakszyk Stereo Remix of a 5 July 1975 live show staged at the Palais Des Sports in Paris on CD2 with the album presented in 5.1 Surround and other various digital mixes on the DVD-A. Tull aficionados will have to own the book baby – a thing of beauty and reissue excellence bar none. But the rest of us will only need to settle for Door No. 1...

What we have here is the plain-old single-CD '40th Anniversary Edition' variant with its chock-a-block 24-page booklet and that masterful Steve Wilson Remaster in tow. So once more my balcony babies to the Mother England Reverie...

UK released Friday, 5 May 2015 - "Minstrel In The Gallery" by JETHRO TULL on Chrysalis 0825646157181 (Barcode 0825646157181) is a 40th Anniversary Edition Single-CD Reissue with a New Stereo Remix/Remaster from Steven Wilson that plays out as follows (45:11 minutes): 

Side 1:

1. Minstrel In The Gallery

2. Cold Wind To Valhalla 

3. Black Satin Dancer 

4. Requiem 

Side 2

5. One White Duck/o10 = Nothing At All

6. Tracks 6 to 10 are five-parts of the "Baker St. Muse" Suite

(6) Baker St. Muse 

(7) Pig-Me And The Whore 

(8) Nice Little Time 

(9) Crash-Barrier Waltzer 

(10) Mother England Reverie 

11. Grace 

Tracks 1 to 11 is their eight studio-album "Minstrel In The Gallery" – released September 1975 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1082 (same catalogue number for both countries). Produced by IAN ANDERSON – it peaked at No. 7 in the USA and No. 20 in the UK LP charts. 

For a single CD reissue pitched at roughly seven quid new, the booklet is huge. The massively detailed DAVID WEBB essay is wittily called 'The Full Monte' after Tull had (for tax reasons) decamped to Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco on the French Riviera to record the album at a newly rigged out studio there with the latest tech. Four of the original five band members - Ian Anderson (Lead Vocals, Flute, Principal Songwriter), Martine Barre (Electric Guitars), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (Bass), Barrimore Barlow (Drums and Percussion) relay the story to Webb with the text peppered by period photos. The fifth member of the band was Keyboardist John Evan and there were string arrangements by David Palmer. 

But the big news is a new Stereo Remix and Remaster by STEVE WILSON whose name is now synonymous with these Jethro Tull reissues. In the second last page of the booklet he goes into full-on nerd mode by telling us that Martin Barre's guitar solo on "Cold Wind In Valhalla" has tape echo employed to enhance the notes as they ping from left to right channels. We non-techno-wizard types might not know our oscillator from our fretboard sustain – but there's no doubting the feeling you get of attention-having-been-paid as you play this CD. The clarity is fabulous and powerful. Those who have held a candle for "Minstrel In The Gallery" will be moved and not just pleased. 

A couple of weeks prior to the LP's 8 September 1975 UK release, Chrysalis took the self-titled album opener "Minstrel In The Gallery" in all its 8:18minute pomp and pumpkin-eater glory and edited down to a usable 45-single of 4:10 minutes. Issued 22 August 1975, Chrysalis CHS 2075 also sported a non-LP B-side in the shape of "Summerday Sands" which is available on the "La Grande Edition" set. Although hardcore Blighty fans probably bought copies at the time, it's American issue on Chrysalis CHS 2016 (August 1975 too) actually charted - albeit at a lowly No. 89. The combo of flute, strings and acoustic comes out of your speakers with gorgeous musicality when "Cold Wind To Valhalla" hits your man-palace and then you hear those cool electric guitar licks Wilson was talking about in the liner notes - brilliant. 

Guitars ping in combination with serious string arrangements on "Black Satin Dancer" and when it dips in that bells and cymbals moment - the clarity is fantastic. Side 1 ends with the LP's prettiest moment - Anderson's voice shimmering on "Requiem" and once again, hero of the hour is David Palmer conducting Violinists Elizabeth Edwards, Rita Eddowes and Bridget Proctor alongside Cellist Katherine Thulborn. Anyone who has had fondness for the album will wipe away a Proggy tear at this one. 

Side 2 opens with soft acoustic guitars catching a ride on violins, picture postcards of music for the two-parter "One White Duck/o10 = Nothing At All". I'd forgotten how good this is - deep and yet accessible - a perfect line-up for the LP's big one - the five-parts of "Baker St. Muse". Newspaper warriors chase headlines that thrill - Barre's guitar parts so Zappa-like- accomplished instrumental passages in "Nice Little Tune". But the section I like the most is the one-band-man of "Mother England Reverie" – a little boy sitting on a burning log dreaming of being a Minstrel In The gallery one day. And it all ends on the pretty ditty of "Grace" – a lone violin fading out what feels like a far better album than 1973's two-sider "Thick As A Brick" which is somehow revered more.

In some respects you can't help thinking that 1975's "Minstrel In The Gallery" is the forgotten gem in Jethro Tull's arsenal – a public (as I recall at the time) having had their confidence in the band tested by "A Passion Play" just a tad too much.

They would go on to even greater success of course – especially in the USA - who took Tull's Blighty Prog musings to heart – even in the years when they were as unfashionable as a band could get. But what clobbers you here is the Audio that has somehow elevated this LP way up high - high enough for us to notice the five-piece up in the gallery area waving with a glint in their collective beady eye...

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"...Heart Of The Sunrise..."

The fifth release to date to receive the twinkle-fingers jiggery-pokery remix-magic of Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson – 1971's "Fragile" was always going to inject a flying-jalopy flutter into the Prog Rock trousers of YES fans – make their scaly Schindleria Praematurus Space Ark hearts beat a little faster (if you get my fishy drift). And you have to say that the dapper gent has done another sterling job - even if I personally find the remixes just a tad too squeaky clean (1971's "The Yes Album", 1972's "Close To The Edge", 1973's double "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and 1974's "Relayer" are the other four Wilson revamps).

Firs up there are two versions of this November 2015 'Definitive Edition' Reissue for "Fragile" – the CD and DVD-A variant on Panegyric GYRSP50009 (Barcode 633367900722) and its bigger brother – the CD and BLU RAY Version – the one we are about to dance a jig too. There is a mountain of detail to be crossed, so onwards into the Heart of the Sunrise…

UK released Friday, 6 November 2015 - "Fragile: Definitive Edition CD/BLU RAY" by YES on Panegyric/Atlantic GYRBD50009 (Barcode 633367900821) is a 2-Disc Reissue (CD and BLU RAY) with New 5.1 Surround, Stereo and Instrumental Album Remixes and Remasters by Steve Wilson – it plays out as follows:

CD Definitive Edition (64:38 minutes):

2015 STEREO MIXES

1. Roundabout [Side 1]

2. Cans And Brahms

3. We Have Heaven

4. South Side Of The Sky

5. Five Per Cent For Nothing [Side 2]

6. Long Distance Runaround

7. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)

8. Mood For A Day

9. Heart Of The Sunrise

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth studio album "Fragile" - released 26 November 1971 in the UK on Atlantic Records 2401019 and 4 January 1972 in the USA on Atlantic SD 7211. Produced by EDDIE OFFORD - it peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 4 in the USA and was the first Yes album to use Roger Dean's artwork (something that became synonymous with the band's image)

ADDITIONAL TRACKS:

10. Roundabout (Rehearsal Take, Early Mix)

11. We Have Heaven (Full Version, Steve Wilson Mix)

12. South Side Of The Sky (Early Version, Steve Wilson Mix)

13. All Fighters Past (Steve Wilson Mix)

14. Mood For Another Day (Previously Unreleased Take)

15. We Have Heaven (Acapella, Steve Wilson Mix)

All tracks mixed and produced from the original multi-track tapes by STEVE WILSON

BLU RAY Definitive Edition:

2015 STEREO MIXES

Tracks 1 to 9 as per CD - LPCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

5.1 SURROUND MIXES

Tracks1 to 9 as per CD - LPCM and DTS-HD MA (24bit/96khz)

ORIGINAL STEREO MIXES

Tracks 1 to 9 as per CD - Flat Transfer from Original Master - LPCM Stereo (24bit/192khz)

ADDITIONAL TRACKS

1. Roundabout (Rehearsal Take, Early Mix)

2. We Have Heaven (Full Version, Steve Wilson Mix)

3. South Side Of The Sky (Alternate Take, Steve Wilson Mix)

4. All Fighters Past (Steve Wilson Mix)

5. Mood For Another Day (Previously Unreleased Take)

6. We Have Heaven (Acapella, Steve Wilson Mix)

Tracks 1 to 6 LPCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

BLU RAY EXCLUSIVE

1. Roundabout (Early Rough Mix from "Fragile" 2003 CD Reissue)

2. South Side Of The Sky (Early Take)

3. Roundabout (Headphones Mix for Vox Overdubs)

Tracks 1 to 3 LCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

2015 STEREO INSTRUMENTAL MIXES

Tracks 1 to 9 as per the CD - LPCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

ORIGINAL 5.1 MIX

Tracks 1 to 9 as per CD (with 6 and 7 as one track) plus "America" as Track 10

Mix from the Rhino DVD-A release - LPCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

NEEDLE-DROP

A1/B1 (Matrix) first -pressing UK original vinyl LP transfer

Tracks 1 to 9 as per the CD - LPCM Stereo (24bit/96khz)

10. Roundabout (US Single Edit)

11. Long Distance Runaround (US Single Edit)

YES was:

JON ANDERSON – Lead Vocals

STEVE HOWE – Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Vocals

RICK WAKEMAN – Organ, Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Harpsichord, Mellotron and Synthesizer

CHRIS SQUIRE – Bass Guitars and Vocals

BILL BRUFORD – Drums and Percussion

PACKAGING: Using a Mini-LP replica gatefold sleeve (slightly oversized compared to the CD variant) – you get the original Roger Dean artwork - gatefold sleeve with the lyrics on one side and the album credits on the other with the mini booklet of the original LP now detached) - as well as archive material (evolution of the Fragile logo) and new Roger Dean front-cover images used on both discs (they are housed in plain black card sleeves). Noted Progressive Rock writer and enthusiast SID SMITH provides new liner notes in the 16-page booklet and there are Audio Source notes about the Transfers, Remixes and BLU RAY Set-up (Headless Operation) and so forth.

The booklet also has the usual original/reissue credits, the lyrics to the four worded tracks, repro's of a UK, USA and French original 1971 LP labels (a white label promo for the American issue on Atlantic SD 7211), period colour photos of each band member, concert tickets for the October 1971 Tour (Jonathan Swift was the support act), photos of the rare and unique artwork to French, Dutch, German and Spanish edited singles for "Roundabout" (called "Carrusel" in Spain) most with "Long Distance Runaround" as its flipside - as well as a Melody Maker magazine full-page advert for the album. Sid Smith interviews Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Roger Dean and others and of course discusses the sad passing of original Bassist Chris Squire in 2015 only months before the reissue – noting quite rightly that the big man and the unique Bass sounds he made came from a mere 23 year-old back in August and September 1971. The whole shebang is nicely presented and feels substantial – especially the sheer amount of material on the BR disc. If I were to criticise - I'd say that some of the BLU RAY 'Exclusive' material is mildly superfluous whilst other parts of it should have been made available on the CD too (the single edits would easily have fit). But others would argue that if you buy this BR version – then you know what it is that you're getting - and fair enough. To the music...

The album "Fragile" consisted of four centrepieces – the short "Long Distance Runaround" and the long "Roundabout", "Heart of the Sunrise" and "South Side Of The Sky". But realising they hadn’t enough material, each was sent off to write a solo piece - and they did. Personally I find Bruford’s "Five Per Cent For Nothing" (named after a dodgy publishing deal) and Wakeman’s "Cans And Brahms" both superfluous to anyone’s requirements. The individual stuff is saved by Chris Squire’s ingenious "The Fish" where every sound is from some sort of Bass Guitar, Howe’s delightful Spanish guitar piece "Mood For A Day" and Anderson’s voice-crescendo "We Have Heaven".

What is fascinating though (apart from the staggering clean audio provided by Wilson – disarmingly perfect almost) is the unexpected quality of the extras which are thankfully worthy of the moniker Bonus and not just reissue padding. Apparently found at the end of one of the master tapes whilst Steve Wilson was researching the reissue - the snippet "All Fighters Past" turns out to be a work-in-progress abandoned at the sessions. But on hearing it fans will immediately recognise that it was used for passages in both "Siberian Khatru" on 1972's "Close To The Edge" and in parts of "The Revealing Science Of God" on Side 1 of 1973's double-album "Tales From Topographic Oceans". The piano-to-the-fore/at-the-beginning of the Early Mix for "South Side Of The Sky" almost makes me wonder did the boys make an arrangement mistake. I can understand why the clever finished version was chosen but there’s something about this Rick Wakeman led cut that I find a hundred times more endearing than the released version. The two versions of Anderson's beautiful vocal tour-de-force "We Have Heaven" are fascinating - but although the 'Headphones Mix' on the BLU RAY is a trip - I thought the rehearsal variant of "Roundabout" on the CD didn’t seem radically different.

YES broke American with "Fragile" in January 1972 when an edit of "Roundabout" was played on US Radio and its angular yet funky rhythms caught the listener's fascination. The album eventually made No. 4 there – better than they did in their native Blighty. YES had truly arrived and with a different kind of music made on their own terms – an amazing achievement.

"…Mountains come out of the sky…" – Jon Anderson sang on the opening musical carousel "Roundabout". Well, having loved "Fragile" back in those heady days - I'm so pleased to report that this superb-sounding 2015 reissue warrants another ride on the 1971 Space Ark. Letting in the sunshine indeed...