Search - Jethro Tull :: Bursting Out

The concert I never attended

John S. Ryan | Silver Lake, OH | 08/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't have all that many regrets in my life (in part because I don't regret as many things as I probably should). One of the regrets I _do_ have is that I never got to see this particular Tull lineup in concert.



It wasn't because I didn't know who they were. I had all of their albums and they were one of my favorite bands. It's just that when the great Anderson-Barre-Glascock-Evan-Palmer-Barlow lineup went kerplooey, I was fifteen years old and hadn't really started attending concerts yet.



I've seen Tull several times since then, and the shows have all been good; as long as Anderson and Barre are there, Tull will be worth hearing. But the particular magic of this particular assemblage isn't going to be recaptured.



This album (now CD) is about as close as it's now possible to come. And what a marvelous time capsule it is. Even aside from its value as a distant second to the concert experience I never had, it's surely up there with Frank Zappa's _Roxy and Elsewhere_ as one of the great live albums of all time. It's even better now that it's been remastered.



Enough from me. If you've read this far, you don't need me to sell it to you; just buy it."

Jethro Tull's Classic "Live" Release Is Now Remastered!

highway_star | Hallandale, Florida United States | 04/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Merging folk and rock, Britain's Jethro Tull emerged on the music scene in the late sixties along with such progressive rock acts as The Yes & King Crimson (to name a few) and became known worldwide for their 1971 album "Aqualung" which propelled them to superstar status alongside the The Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. "Bursting Out" was recorded during various European concerts in 1978 and they cover early classics such as "A New Day Yesterday", "Sweet Dream", "Bouree", "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath", "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Thick As A Brick" to later songs such as "Jack In The Green", "Songs From The Wood", "Too Old To Rock N' Roll, Too Young To Die","Minstral In The Gallery" and "No Lullaby" to name a few. Headed by the always colorful and never at a loss for words, flutist and lead singer Ian Anderson, does a superb job interracting with the audience. The interplay between his flute playing and guitarist Martin Barre's solos are outstanding and can best be heard on "Thick As A Brick". And enough can't be said of Barriemore Barlow who's drum solo at the end of "Conundrum" is nothing short of jaw dropping. This newly remastered version of "Bursting Out" is excellent with increased bass, midrange and crisp highs. If you enjoy classic rock from the seventies then you'll love this cd as it is one of the best "live" recorded concerts this reviewer has ever heard!"

The Ultimate Remaster of the Ultimate Tull Concert

Bud | Seminole, Texas, USA | 05/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's not so ironic as it may seem that the intelligent, flabbergasting music of Jethro Tull became the center of one of the 70s' leading arena attractions. A Jethro Tull concert could be seen as a sanctuary for hard rock fans, especially in that decade, a time when prog-rock (and most of rock/metal labels) was widely dismissed as overblown, empty showiness. This was the band that proved a concert hall full of cheering teenagers were also capable of handling the mind-challenging music and lyrics of Ian Anderson with open-mindedness and maturity. That's why this definitive remaster of "Bursting Out" is such an important piece of rock history.
Culled from a captivating European tour, this double disc set defined both this era of rock in general, and this era of Jethro Tull specifically. There are some interesting improvisational moments, such as Anderson's antics on a flute improv including 'God Rest Ye Merry Men' and 'Bouree' (the image of a manic flute player at a rock concert is deliciously intriguing). But while many other places don't sound radically different from their studio versions (music-wise, not time-wise), it's the power and passion of the performance that counts. If you don't plan on buying the entire "Thick As a Brick" album, this is an ideal buy, as it features a 12-minute performance of that record's title song, but you'll also be getting several other Tull classics ('Aqualung,' 'Cross-Eyed Mary,' 'Locomotive Breath,' 'Too Old To Rock and Roll...'), as well as some pieces demonstrating the band's folk influences, ('Songs From the Wood,' 'Jack in the Green').
Hopefully with this great remaster, "Bursting Out" will get some more of the attention that it deserves. It is the remnant of a time when rock was striving to gain its respect, but the end of this era for Tull, as several members would soon depart, leaving Ian Anderson to re-craft the band's music."