| December 2007Aqualung
is an acknowledged rock classic, and this pressing by Classic Records may very well be the
definitive reissue. During a housecleaning, Tull headman Ian Anderson stumbled
across some long-forgotten tape boxes. He gave a listen and discovered that he had found
his own copies of the original master tapes. These are the tapes Classic Records used, and
we now have an Aqualung to be proud of. From Anderson’s vocals and flute to
Martin Barre’s guitars to Clive Bunker’s drums, each instrument sounds more
authentic. Versions other than original British pressings I’ve heard have bleached
out the tone and timbre, and, even worse, lumped all instruments into a sonic blob due to
the limitations of the inferior later-generation master tapes. This Classic Records
version returns the body, tone and timbre. The deep bass is still a bit muddy and
one-notey, and Classic Records couldn’t do much to improve the deep bass, but they
did manage to make the midbass to sound more realistic. Aqualung will never be an
audiophile demo disc because it wasn’t given the best recording treatment right from
the start, but this version truly lets the music shine.
And little needs be said about the music, as the songs --
from the title track that opens side one to the classic "Locomotive Breath" near
the end of side two -- show Tull at their absolute best. In something of a departure for
the band, Aqualung was a concept album, dealing with man and his foibles on side
one, and man and relationship with God on side two.
From the just-like-the-original textured cover stock, the
authentic green Chrysalis label, the flat, dead-silent 200-gram virgin vinyl, on through
the superb sound, Classic Records didn't miss a detail here. This reissue stands head and
shoulders above its analog and digital brethren.
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Jethro Tull - Aqualung
