Jethro Tull’s Songs From The Wood, their 10th studio album, is a rural, folksy affair that shows off the band’s progressive interplay. With a theme revolving around folklore and countryside, it’s regarded by many as Tull’s last truly masterful record — although there are strong arguments on behalf of Heavy Horses, Stormwatch and Crest of A Knave. No matter which way you go, the 40th anniversary of Songs From The Wood warranted new Steven Wilson mixes, plus extra tracks, video and other goodies for a triple CD, double DVD box dubbed The Country Set.
Musically, Songs From The Wood is, “with kitchen prose, gutter rhymes and divers,” doused in strings, keys and woodwinds — and it still rocks. The title track, with its infectious chorus, “Cup Of Wonder” and “Hunter Girl,” all bloom rich and wild with Ian Anderson’s flute work and Martin Barre’s guitar angling for position. it’s all flavoring for David Palmer and John Evan’s bedrock of keyboard orchestration. Drummer Barriemore Barlow and bassist John Glascock, of course, keep the whole train running on time. When he isn’t singing as well as he ever would or playing the flute, Anderson strums his acoustic or, as he does so well on “The Whistler,” toots on a tin whistle.
Extras like the previously unreleased “Old Aces Die Hard,” an epic in itself, and “Working John, Working Joe” could have turned the original Songs From The Wood into a double album, but were left off and stored in the vault for safekeeping. Unedited masters of “Songs From The Wood” and “Fire At Midnight” fluff up the instrumentation, while “Magic Bells” makes for a jazzier “Ring Out Solstice Bells” — perfect for the season. Two more CDs comprise live material from 1977, mixed by Jakko Jakszyk. Live video from the same year, plus high-definition and surround mixes of the original album complete a package that follows in the footsteps of previous Tull classics getting the grand and enhanced Steven Wilson Mix treatment.
Songs From The Wood: The Country Set is topped off with an 80-page booklet that goes deep into the album’s inspiration, making and legacy, including track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson. The pages are adorned with rare and unseen photographs, and the odd vintage advertisement. Songs From The Wood is the culmination of a rock, prog and folk-rock mix that signifies a unique sound and identity associated with Jethro Tull. Always a fan-favorite, it remains one of their most popular albums. For any Tull fan on your list, this speaks volumes about the care and love you would have to have for one lucky recipient.
~ Shawn Perry
