Baker St. Muse & Grace –

So this is the last LP Mondays before 2016 has come and gone (which is crazy to think about). So I decided I wanted to sift through my vinyls and decide to pick a band that really made an impact on me over the year. Well. Here it is.

Minstrel in the Gallery (1975), Jethro Tull. If you had told me last year that Jethro Tull would easily rank in my top ten favorite music artists of all time, that I would own a large variety of their albums, and that I would spend $70 just for the cheapest seat at one of their concerts, I probably would have been confused. It’s not that I disliked them, I just never got into them. I am extremely fond of the 60s and 70s era of music (if it’s not bluntly obvious by now), but for some reason, Tull had never really caught my ear. I had heard a single or two from them (like “Hymn 43” or “Bungle in the Jungle”) and they just didn’t stick. I was not aware though at the time that Tull’s strongest point (in my opinion at least) is in their “album” construction, not their individual singles.

So many of their albums are what are called “concept albums” where specific themes or narratives are carried throughout the entire album. While their album Aqualung is definitely and example of this, a more extreme example would be their next album Thick As a Brick, an album completely devoid of “individual” songs. Instead of songs there’s just Side A and Side B on the record. Other times their themes would extend beyond even just one album (for example, their folk rock trilogy).

In Minstrel in the Gallery, we are given a selection of tunes from “the minstrel in the gallery” that vary in subject matter, but ultimately reveal more about the character’s personality. This all accumulates in the last (technically, second last) song titled “Baker St. Muse” which takes a step back and is a very direct look at the character. I picked this song because it displays Tull’s ability to weave a story within a song while juggling different themes in their lyrics with variations in their musical style. It goes from its simple acoustic guitar, to sweeping string segments, to hard rock, and of course features Ian Anderson’s iconic flute playing.

I actually included “Grace” because it was easier to record by just letting the record finish. It’s actually exceptionally short, consisting of only four lines (it’s the last bit after you hear Anderson walk away and complain about not being able to get out). Also it’s just a pretty farewell to an album ^^

If you take anything away after reading this, it should be that this is not actually the best way to listen to Jethro Tull. This song is more of an exception than some of their other stuff, but their works really do hold up so much better in the setting of the entire album. Nowadays bands like Green Day offer some impressive concept albums (American Idiot, Revolution Radio) and there were even plenty of bands to come before Tull with some stellar concept albums, but there’s still something about Tull’s music that has managed to capture my heart.

P.S. If you’re a Green Day fan like myself, I think you’ll also smirk at the botched acoustic guitar opening followed by a whispered cuss on this song.