Aqualung (album)
Encyclopedia
Aqualung is the fourth studio album by the rock
band Jethro Tull
. Released in 1971, Aqualung, despite the band's disapproval, is regarded as a concept album
, featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Aqualung success marked a turning point in the band's career, with them going on to become a major radio and touring act.
Recorded in Island Records
' studio in London, it was their first album with John Evan
as a full-time member, their first with new bassist Jeffrey Hammond
and last album featuring Clive Bunker
on drums. The album is something of a departure from the band's previous works, featuring more acoustic material than previous releases; and—inspired by photographs of homeless people on the Thames Embankment taken by singer Ian Anderson
's wife Jennie—contains a number of recurring themes, addressing religion along with Anderson's own personal experiences.
Aqualung has sold over 7 million units worldwide according to Anderson, and is thus Jethro Tull's best selling album. The album was generally well-received critically, and has been included on several music magazine "best of" lists. The album spawned one single, "Hymn 43", and has been cited as an inspiration by bands such as Iron Maiden
.
was fired from the band, and was replaced with Jeffrey Hammond
, an old friend of Ian Anderson's. Aqualung would be the first recording Hammond would do with the band. It would also mark the first time John Evan
had recorded a full album with the band, as his only prior involvement was to overdub several keyboard parts on the previous album, Benefit
. The album was one of the first to be recorded at the newly opened studios of Island Records
in Basing Street, London
. Led Zeppelin
were recording their untitled fourth album
at the same time. In an interview on the 25th anniversary edition of the album, Tull's bandleader Ian Anderson
said that trying to record in their studio was very difficult, due to its "horrible, cold, echoey" feel. There were two recording studios at the location; Led Zeppelin worked in the smaller studio while Tull got the larger, which was the main body of a converted church. The orchestrals were arranged by David Palmer
, who had worked with the band since This Was
, and would later join as a keyboard player. Aqualung would be the last Jethro Tull album to include Clive Bunker
as a band member, as he retired shortly after recording to start a family.
, blues
, psychedelia
and hard rock
. The "riff-heavy" nature of tracks such as "Locomotive Breath", "Hymn 43" and "Wind Up" is regarded as a factor in the band's increased success after the release of the album, with Jethro Tull becoming "a major arena act" and a "fixture on FM radio". In a stylistic departure from Jethro Tull's earlier albums, many of Aqualungs songs are primarily acoustic
. "Cheap Day Return", "Wond'ring Aloud" and "Slipstream" are short, completely acoustic "bridges," and "Mother Goose
" is also mostly acoustic. Anderson claims his main inspirations for writing the album were Roy Harper
and Bert Jansch
.
, featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Academic discussions of the nature of concept albums have frequently listed Aqualung amongst their number.
The initial idea for the album was sparked by some photographs that Anderson's wife Jennie took of homeless people on the Thames Embankment
. The appearance of one man in particular caught the interest of the couple, who together wrote the title song "Aqualung". The first side of the LP, titled Aqualung, contains several character sketches, including the eponymous character of the title track, and the schoolgirl prostitute Cross-Eyed Mary, as well as two autobiographical tracks; including "Cheap Day Return," written by Ian Anderson after a visit to his critically ill father. The second side, titled My God, contains three tracks—"My God," "Hymn 43" and "Wind-Up"—that address religion in an introspective, and sometimes irreverent, manner. However, despite the names given to the album's two sides and their related subject matter, Anderson has consistently maintained that Aqualung is not a "concept album". A 2005 interview included on Aqualung Live
gives Anderson's thoughts on the matter:
Drummer Clive Bunker believes that the record's perception as a concept album is a case of "Chinese whispers
", explaining "you play the record to a couple of Americans, tell them that there's a lyrical theme loosely linking a few songs, and then notice the figure of the Aqualung character on the cover, and suddenly the word is out that Jethro Tull have done a concept album".
The thematic elements Jethro Tull explored on the album—those of the effects of urbanisation on nature, and of the effects of social constructs such as religion on society—would be developed further on most of the band's subsequent releases. Ian Anderson's frustration over the album's labelling as a concept album directly led to the creation of Thick as a Brick
, intended to be a deliberately "over the top" concept album in response.
. "Lick Your Fingers Clean" was eventually released in 1988 on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull
collection. It was then released as a bonus track on the 1996 reissue of Aqualung.
Another song, "Wond'ring Again" was recorded in early sessions in 1970 and considered for release on the album before Anderson decided to drop it from the final tracklisting. It was subsequently released on the compilation album, Living in the Past
, in 1972. However, elements of the song—essentially its coda—were included on Aqualung as "Wond'ring Aloud." Glenn Cornick played bass on the song and says it is his favorite song he recorded with the band. Cornick also played bass on early studio recordings of "My God" and "a couple of other songs", though he did not say which they were.
features a watercolour portrait of a long haired, bearded man in shabby clothes. The idea for the cover came from a photograph Anderson's wife took of a homeless man on Thames Embankment, and Anderson later felt it would have been better to have used the photograph rather than commission the painting. Ian Anderson recalls posing for a photograph for the painting, though Silverman claims it was a self-portrait. The artwork was commissioned and purchased by Chrysalis Records
head Terry Ellis
. Artist Silverman claims the art was only licensed for use as an album cover, and not for merchandising; and approached the band seeking remuneration for its further use. Silverman and Anderson have different accounts of level of enmity involved in this. The original artwork for both the front and back covers are now privately owned by an unknown family, apparently having been stolen from a London hotel room.
chart. The album would go on to sell over seven million copies, and is the band's best-selling album. Aqualung was one of only two Jethro Tull albums released in quadraphonic sound, the other being War Child
. The quadraphonic version of "Wind Up", which is in a slightly higher key, is included on the later CD reissue of the album as "Wind Up (quad version)".
The album's only single was "Hymn 43", which was released on 14 August 1971. It reached number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, spending two weeks in the chart. The song was the first single released by the band in the United States. It was later included in the video game Rock Band 2
as downloadable content; which also featured the album's title track.
The album was re-released in a fortieth anniversary edition on 31 October 2011. The release contains a new stereo and 5.1 surround remix of the album by Porcupine Tree
's Steven Wilson
, and comes in two different editions—a "collector's edition" containing the album on LP and two CDs, as well as DVD and Blu-Ray discs and a hardback book; and a "special edition" containing the two CDs and an abridged version of the book.
lauded its "fine musicianship", calling it "serious and intelligent", although feeling that the album's seriousness "undermined" its quality. Sounds
said that its "taste and variety" made it the band's "finest" work. Robert Christgau
, however, was more critical of the album, rating it a C+, and calling Anderson's lyrics "inchoate" and "pretentious".
, the bass player for the heavy metal band Iron Maiden
, has called Aqualung "a classic album", lauding its "fantastic playing, fantastic songs, attitude [and] vibe". Iron Maiden would go on to cover "Cross-Eyed Mary" as the B-side
of their 1983 single "The Trooper
".
Aqualung has also been appraised highly in retrospective listings—Rolling Stone included it on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
", at number 337, whilst UK magazine Q
listed it a number 7 in their "40 Cosmic Rock Albums" countdown. Martin Barre's solo on the album's title track was included in Guitarist
magazine's list of "The 20 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time" at number 20.
pressings of Aqualung contained a slightly edited version of the title song, with its first three seconds (i.e., the first repetition of the song's signature riff) removed. These pressings correspondingly list the song's length at 6:31.
added the following tracks to the original album track listing:
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
. Released in 1971, Aqualung, despite the band's disapproval, is regarded as a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Aqualung success marked a turning point in the band's career, with them going on to become a major radio and touring act.
Recorded in Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
' studio in London, it was their first album with John Evan
John Evan
John Evan , played keyboards for Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980. He was educated at King's College London....
as a full-time member, their first with new bassist Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond sometimes credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, is a former bass guitar player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull....
and last album featuring Clive Bunker
Clive Bunker
Clive William Bunker is a British rock drummer. He was the original drummer in the British band Jethro Tull....
on drums. The album is something of a departure from the band's previous works, featuring more acoustic material than previous releases; and—inspired by photographs of homeless people on the Thames Embankment taken by singer Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson may refer to:* In music:**Ian Anderson , head of the rock band Jethro Tull**Ian A. Anderson , folk musician and editor of Roots magazine**Ian M...
's wife Jennie—contains a number of recurring themes, addressing religion along with Anderson's own personal experiences.
Aqualung has sold over 7 million units worldwide according to Anderson, and is thus Jethro Tull's best selling album. The album was generally well-received critically, and has been included on several music magazine "best of" lists. The album spawned one single, "Hymn 43", and has been cited as an inspiration by bands such as Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
.
Production
After an American tour in 1970, bass player Glenn CornickGlenn Cornick
Glenn Douglas Barnard Cornick was the bespectacled, first bass guitar player in the progressive rock band, Jethro Tull....
was fired from the band, and was replaced with Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond sometimes credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, is a former bass guitar player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull....
, an old friend of Ian Anderson's. Aqualung would be the first recording Hammond would do with the band. It would also mark the first time John Evan
John Evan
John Evan , played keyboards for Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980. He was educated at King's College London....
had recorded a full album with the band, as his only prior involvement was to overdub several keyboard parts on the previous album, Benefit
Benefit (album)
Benefit is the third album by Jethro Tull. It was released in April 1970. It was the first album to include pianist and organist John Evan , and the last to include bass guitarist Glenn Cornick. It reached #3 in the UK album charts.The album has more hard rock than its predecessor, Stand Up...
. The album was one of the first to be recorded at the newly opened studios of Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in Basing Street, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
were recording their untitled fourth album
Led Zeppelin IV
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
at the same time. In an interview on the 25th anniversary edition of the album, Tull's bandleader Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (musician)
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
said that trying to record in their studio was very difficult, due to its "horrible, cold, echoey" feel. There were two recording studios at the location; Led Zeppelin worked in the smaller studio while Tull got the larger, which was the main body of a converted church. The orchestrals were arranged by David Palmer
Dee Palmer
Dee Palmer is an English composer arranger and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the rock group Jethro Tull.Palmer studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Richard Rodney Bennet,winning the Eric Coates Prize and The Boosey and Hawkes Prize...
, who had worked with the band since This Was
This Was
*The 2001 remastered CD added three bonus tracks and extensive liner notes.40th Anniversary Collectors' Edition*A deluxe two-CD fortieth anniversary edition was released in 2008...
, and would later join as a keyboard player. Aqualung would be the last Jethro Tull album to include Clive Bunker
Clive Bunker
Clive William Bunker is a British rock drummer. He was the original drummer in the British band Jethro Tull....
as a band member, as he retired shortly after recording to start a family.
Musical style
The songs on the album cover a variety of musical genres, with elements of folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
. The "riff-heavy" nature of tracks such as "Locomotive Breath", "Hymn 43" and "Wind Up" is regarded as a factor in the band's increased success after the release of the album, with Jethro Tull becoming "a major arena act" and a "fixture on FM radio". In a stylistic departure from Jethro Tull's earlier albums, many of Aqualungs songs are primarily acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
. "Cheap Day Return", "Wond'ring Aloud" and "Slipstream" are short, completely acoustic "bridges," and "Mother Goose
Mother Goose (song)
"Mother Goose" is a song by the British multi-genre band Jethro Tull. It is the fourth track from their album Aqualung which was released in 1971. The lyrics are a pastiche of surreal figures based on images that Ian Anderson saw while wandering around Hampstead Heath. The song is mostly acoustic...
" is also mostly acoustic. Anderson claims his main inspirations for writing the album were Roy Harper
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
and Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
.
Themes
Aqualung has widely been regarded as a concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Academic discussions of the nature of concept albums have frequently listed Aqualung amongst their number.
The initial idea for the album was sparked by some photographs that Anderson's wife Jennie took of homeless people on the Thames Embankment
Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
. The appearance of one man in particular caught the interest of the couple, who together wrote the title song "Aqualung". The first side of the LP, titled Aqualung, contains several character sketches, including the eponymous character of the title track, and the schoolgirl prostitute Cross-Eyed Mary, as well as two autobiographical tracks; including "Cheap Day Return," written by Ian Anderson after a visit to his critically ill father. The second side, titled My God, contains three tracks—"My God," "Hymn 43" and "Wind-Up"—that address religion in an introspective, and sometimes irreverent, manner. However, despite the names given to the album's two sides and their related subject matter, Anderson has consistently maintained that Aqualung is not a "concept album". A 2005 interview included on Aqualung Live
Aqualung Live
Aqualung Live is a live album by Jethro Tull,a live performance of Aqualung before an audience of 40invited guests at XM Studios in Washington, D.C.....
gives Anderson's thoughts on the matter:
I always said at the time that this is not a concept album; this is just an album of varied songs of varied instrumentation and intensity in which three or four are the kind of keynote pieces for the album but it doesn't make it a concept album. In my mind when it came to writing the next album, Thick as a BrickThick as a Brick-Differences between various CD releases:By 2011 the album received three major releases on CD: the first release , the MFSL-release , and the 25th Anniversary Edition . Whereas the first release and the MFSL-release run with identical speed, the 25th Anniversary edition runs 0.5% slower...
, was done very much in the sense of: 'Whuh, if they thought Aqualung was a concept album, Oh! Okay, we'll show you a concept album.' And it was done as a kind of spoof, a send-up, of the concept album genre. ... But Aqualung itself, in my mind was never a concept album. Just a bunch of songs.
Drummer Clive Bunker believes that the record's perception as a concept album is a case of "Chinese whispers
Chinese whispers
Chinese whispers is one name for a game played around the world, in which one person whispers a message to another, which is passed through a line of people until the last player announces the message to the entire group...
", explaining "you play the record to a couple of Americans, tell them that there's a lyrical theme loosely linking a few songs, and then notice the figure of the Aqualung character on the cover, and suddenly the word is out that Jethro Tull have done a concept album".
The thematic elements Jethro Tull explored on the album—those of the effects of urbanisation on nature, and of the effects of social constructs such as religion on society—would be developed further on most of the band's subsequent releases. Ian Anderson's frustration over the album's labelling as a concept album directly led to the creation of Thick as a Brick
Thick as a Brick
-Differences between various CD releases:By 2011 the album received three major releases on CD: the first release , the MFSL-release , and the 25th Anniversary Edition . Whereas the first release and the MFSL-release run with identical speed, the 25th Anniversary edition runs 0.5% slower...
, intended to be a deliberately "over the top" concept album in response.
Other songs
"Lick Your Fingers Clean" was recorded for Aqualung but did not make the final cut. The song was drastically re-worked as "Two Fingers" for Tull's 1974 album, War ChildWar Child (album)
War Child is the seventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released in October 1974.Originally meant to accompany a film project , it was reinstated as a ten-song, single-length rock album after failed attempts to find a major movie studio to finance the film.The "War Child" movie was written as a...
. "Lick Your Fingers Clean" was eventually released in 1988 on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull
20 Years of Jethro Tull
-Disc two:Flawed Gems and Other Sides Of Tull-Disc three:The Essential Tull-LP Track listing:The track numbers shown below are for the five LP set...
collection. It was then released as a bonus track on the 1996 reissue of Aqualung.
Another song, "Wond'ring Again" was recorded in early sessions in 1970 and considered for release on the album before Anderson decided to drop it from the final tracklisting. It was subsequently released on the compilation album, Living in the Past
Living in the Past (album)
Living in the Past is a double album quasi-compilation collection by Jethro Tull which contains album tracks, outtakes, the "Life Is A Long Song" EP, and all of their singles non-lp tracks except "Aeroplane", "Sunshine Day", "One For John Gee", "17" and the original United Kingdom version of...
, in 1972. However, elements of the song—essentially its coda—were included on Aqualung as "Wond'ring Aloud." Glenn Cornick played bass on the song and says it is his favorite song he recorded with the band. Cornick also played bass on early studio recordings of "My God" and "a couple of other songs", though he did not say which they were.
Album cover
The album's original cover art by Burton SilvermanBurton Silverman
Burton Silverman is an American painter.A 1949 graduate of Columbia University, Silverman's work has concentrated on, as he put it, "the landscape of the human face." As a portrait artist, he has completed commissions for hundreds of noteworthy patrons...
features a watercolour portrait of a long haired, bearded man in shabby clothes. The idea for the cover came from a photograph Anderson's wife took of a homeless man on Thames Embankment, and Anderson later felt it would have been better to have used the photograph rather than commission the painting. Ian Anderson recalls posing for a photograph for the painting, though Silverman claims it was a self-portrait. The artwork was commissioned and purchased by Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
head Terry Ellis
Terry Ellis (manager)
Terry Ellis is an English record producer and manager best known for his early work with Jethro Tull, and as co-founder of Chrysalis Music in 1969....
. Artist Silverman claims the art was only licensed for use as an album cover, and not for merchandising; and approached the band seeking remuneration for its further use. Silverman and Anderson have different accounts of level of enmity involved in this. The original artwork for both the front and back covers are now privately owned by an unknown family, apparently having been stolen from a London hotel room.
Release
In April 1971, Aqualung peaked at number 4 on the UK Album Chart; when the CD version was released in 1996, it reached number 52. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Music Charts' North American pop albums chart; the single "Hymn 43" hit #91 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The album would go on to sell over seven million copies, and is the band's best-selling album. Aqualung was one of only two Jethro Tull albums released in quadraphonic sound, the other being War Child
War Child (album)
War Child is the seventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released in October 1974.Originally meant to accompany a film project , it was reinstated as a ten-song, single-length rock album after failed attempts to find a major movie studio to finance the film.The "War Child" movie was written as a...
. The quadraphonic version of "Wind Up", which is in a slightly higher key, is included on the later CD reissue of the album as "Wind Up (quad version)".
The album's only single was "Hymn 43", which was released on 14 August 1971. It reached number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, spending two weeks in the chart. The song was the first single released by the band in the United States. It was later included in the video game Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
as downloadable content; which also featured the album's title track.
The album was re-released in a fortieth anniversary edition on 31 October 2011. The release contains a new stereo and 5.1 surround remix of the album by Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
's Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
, and comes in two different editions—a "collector's edition" containing the album on LP and two CDs, as well as DVD and Blu-Ray discs and a hardback book; and a "special edition" containing the two CDs and an abridged version of the book.
Reception
On its release, Aqualung was met with favourable reviews. Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
lauded its "fine musicianship", calling it "serious and intelligent", although feeling that the album's seriousness "undermined" its quality. Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
said that its "taste and variety" made it the band's "finest" work. Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, however, was more critical of the album, rating it a C+, and calling Anderson's lyrics "inchoate" and "pretentious".
Legacy
Allmusic give the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a bold statement" and "extremely profound". Steve HarrisSteve Harris (musician)
Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he founded in 1975...
, the bass player for the heavy metal band Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, has called Aqualung "a classic album", lauding its "fantastic playing, fantastic songs, attitude [and] vibe". Iron Maiden would go on to cover "Cross-Eyed Mary" as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of their 1983 single "The Trooper
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song written by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's ninth single, and the second from their 1983 album Piece of Mind. The single was released on 20 June 1983...
".
Aqualung has also been appraised highly in retrospective listings—Rolling Stone included it on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
", at number 337, whilst UK magazine Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
listed it a number 7 in their "40 Cosmic Rock Albums" countdown. Martin Barre's solo on the album's title track was included in Guitarist
Guitarist (magazine)
Guitarist is a monthly music making magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. The magazine features reviews of newly released guitars, amplifiers and other equipment, plus interviews with guitar players, features on the guitar industry, news articles, and features on playing...
magazine's list of "The 20 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time" at number 20.
Track listing
Note that original North American Reprise RecordsReprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
pressings of Aqualung contained a slightly edited version of the title song, with its first three seconds (i.e., the first repetition of the song's signature riff) removed. These pressings correspondingly list the song's length at 6:31.
1996 CD release
The 1996 and 1999 remastered CDs added six bonus tracks and extensive liner notes:2011 40th Anniversary Release
The 2011 remixed and remastered version by Steven WilsonSteven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
added the following tracks to the original album track listing:
Personnel
External links
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyRomanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyThe Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company , informally referred to as Radio Romania , is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates four national radio channels, and, under the Radio România Regional umbrella, eleven regional radio stations. The four national radio channels are: Radio...