The compilation covers the progress of the group all the way from its early beginnings with songs like "Living In The Past" and "Aqualung" to its final efforts with songs like "Broadsword" and "Heavy Horses". Among my favorites here are "Locomotive Breath", "Songs From The Wood', and of course, "Thick As A Brick". Ian Anderson was famous for doing his own particular thing, for his quirky brilliance in arranging song structures and instrumentation, for mixing rock with a folksy twang, and for also never trying to cash in by copying the successful work of others. The group never tried to go mainstream rock, but were quite successful with their own peculiarly British take on sixties rock. Enjoy

This cd belongs in any classic rock collection
This cd is where I first remembered hearing Aqualung, and ever since then I've liked practically every song on the cd. I have a friend who listened to my cd on a trip once and said that Aqualung just flat out scared him. I still tell him that maybe he would like Locomotive Breath. All of the songs on this cd are cool, but I especially like "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," "Bungle in the Jungle," and "Minstrel in the Gallery." I think a part of the reason that Jethro Tull is such an important classic rock figure is the eerily cool way that he regularly integrates flute, a instrument not usually associated with rock, into his songs. Also in the way that many of the songs will switch from electric guitar to acoustic or vice versa all of the sudden. I would have to say that this cd should be in every serious rock and roll fan's collection.

Great Music, what happened to the mix?
I grew up with this music, went and saw them several times in concert. I love this stuff, but how did they push Ian Anderson's vocals into the back, particularly in the Aqualung tracks. This disc has lost much of the urgency that was a Tull hallmark. I have most of this music in either vinyl or CD, and they just don't sound this way. If you like Tull do yourself a favor and try one of the other discs, otherwise you might think you are loosing your hearing.

Best of, Volume IV
I have mixed feelings about this CD. It does repeat some of what was collected in previous "best of" or "greatest hits" collections, of which there were three previous. Another problem with this CD is that it was originally released in 1985, and yet it focused on pre-1977 music. Very strange given that the "best of" released before this one was released in 1977. What happened to the music from the six albums released between 1977 and 1985?

In spite of my grumbling, this CD is Jethro Tull, and I could listen to just about any combination of Tull. Naturally I had to have this one. On the plus side, if you are looking for a sampler of Jethro Tull music, this CD is perfect. This CD even includes a three minute excerpt from the epic "Thick as a Brick". While the excerpt is way too short to do any real justice to that particular CD, it does give you a small flavor of the song.

Four of the songs on this CD are from "Aqualung" and "Warchild". Some Jethro Tull fans revile "Warchild" as a sellout or a lowering of Jethro Tull standards; unfortunate because "Warchild" included some of the most deeply satirical and anti-establishment lyrics of any Tull CD.

A listener to this CD will also detect humor in Jethro Tull's classification as a hard rock or metal group. As a song like "Songs from the Wood" indicates, Tull was what Tull wanted to be, when they wanted to be it. Tull has always drifted from English folk to rock to their own brand of progressive rock. In its own way "Songs from the Wood" incorporates a bit of every style that Tull has ever done. The lead guitars have rocking riffs. The keyboards throw in a flavor of medieval church music, particularly in association with that flute. I am unable to describe the flavor the other instruments provide on that particular album, which include mandolin, whistles, lute (nothing like a rocking lute, I say), organ, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, tabor, portative organ, piano and synthesizers, which doesn't even list all the instruments used. The range of instruments is like what The Moody Blues used on their second album, "In Search of the Lost Chord".

Jethro Tull has always defied conventional description. Their sound over their history has been eclectic. They are one of the few groups that seem to have been able to use musical styles as appropriate to their mood, and still keep their fan's attentions. This CD certainly samples that range. While I can decry the repetition mentioned earlier, the fact remains that for casual fans this sampler is an excellent introduction to the group; 5 stars for being great Tull music. However, if you like what you hear, please go buy the albums from which this music was taken; they are better than any possible greatest hits collection from Tull.

Awesome
Great Album, short but great, definently pick this up if you are a jethro tull fan