Nov 10
15
Jethro Tull – Madison Square Garden 1978 DVD
Back on our review of Bursting Out we mentioned that there was little to no live footage of Jethro Tull available outside of pesky trading circles. Well, we were partially right but now ever so wrong…
Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 captures a smoking performance in front of a riotous New York City audience. The band is basically the same band found on the eternally heavy Bursting Out album with the only change coming in bass player Tony Williams filling in for an ailing John Glascock. Oddly enough, Williams seems to capture that tight, dry bass sound well enough but Glascock is sorely missed…he was just fantastic.
Just as with Nothing is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (reviewed here), Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 is available as both DVD and CD but to me the most important aspect is the video footage found on the DVD. The CD plays well enough but, to these ears anyway, is dwarfed by the mighty Bursting Out - perhaps I’m just a bit biased but man that was a great album! The DVD, however, is a completely different story and finally puts some truly fantastic visuals to the amazing awesomeness that was Tull in 1978.
Right off the bat you’ll notice the picture quality which is absolutely stunning – for being shot in 1978 it is crisp, clear, and features little to no color bleed. There are multiple camera angles that highlight each band member with stunning clarity. The close-ups on Ian’s flute technique is reason alone to get a hold of this – finally, we get up close and personal with the man himself and catch a glimpse of a man that plays his flute like a wild beast.
Speaking of Ian, his antics are as wild as ever although quite a bit more refined compared to the earlier days found on Isle of Wight. He is fully engulfed in his bearded wild man persona and yet his playing is so spectacular, so otherworldly, that you can’t help but become entranced by his aura. Ian is always the consummate showman and provides the perfect blend of musical dexterity and general oddball weirdness to become one of the all time frontmen. Incredible.
Although the DVD contains the entire audio portion of the concert, only six songs were recorded on film and then broadcasted live across the Atlantic to England via the good old BBC. Spectacular versions of “Thick as a Brick,” “No Lullaby,” and an incredible “Songs From the Wood” fly by with a rock fervor that only Tull can provide. Meanwhile, “Quatrain” morphs into an “Aqualung” that gets about as heavy as you would expect, guitarist Martin Barre’s solo reaching arena rock heights of epic proportion. A stunning “Locomotive Breath” closes out the video portion of the disc.
Of all the songs featured on the DVD, “Thick as a Brick” is easily the most stunning. Ian starts off with that classic acoustic guitar intro we all know and love and then, before you are even ready for it, the band explodes into the main portion of the song. The band’s group mind is on full display as they traverse through the tricky time patterns and stop/start riffery with ease. With Ian’s theatrical antics and almost unreal flute playing, and the band’s stunning interplay and general oddball nature, this is some truly essential footage that more than justifies any price. You really have to see it to fully appreciate just how awesome this really is.
Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 is much appreciated document that finally allows us to catch a glimpse of a band that was unlike any other, not only in music, but in highly entertaining visual theatrics. The band looks like no other and the footage contains some of the most entertaining rock interplay I have seen in quite some time. The band is very obviously enjoying themselves and fully engrossed in their merry Englishmen group personas, with that poor old sod Ian leading the pack.
If you’ve ever wondered what a real band looks like while delivering exceedingly tight music that transcends all manner of musical labeling, you simply cannot go wrong with this release. Just awesome!
Tracklist
DVD:
- “Sweet Dream”
- “One Brown Mouse”
- “Heavy Horses”
- “Opening”
- “Thick As A Brick”
- “No Lullaby (Including Flute Solo)”
- “Songs From The Wood”
- “Band Intro”
- “Quatrain”
- “Aqualung”
- “Locomotive Breath (Including Dambusters March)”
- “Too Old To Rock ‘N’ Roll”
- “My God/Cross Eyed Mary”
- “Locomotive Breath (Encore) (Including Dambusters March)”
CD:
- “Sweet Dream” – 6:52
- “One Brown Mouse” – 3:24
- “Heavy Horses” – 7:22
- “Thick As A Brick” – 11:24
- “No Lullaby (Including Flute Solo)” – 9:00
- “Songs From The Wood” – 4:54
- “Quatrain” – 0:41
- “Aqualung” – 8:05
- “Locomotive Breath (Including Dambusters March)” 15:40
- “Too Old To Rock ‘N’ Roll” – 4:18
- “My God/Cross Eyed Mary” – 6:59
