Capitol
1968
This Was (Collectors' Edition)
About This Album
Jethro Tull was very much a blues band on their debut album, and this double-CD edition -- restored to its original 1968-vintage mono-mix on the first platter, and augmented there with BBC archive performances recorded for John Peel's Top Gear show, and remixed in 2008 for stereo on the second platter, augmented with chronologically related single- and EP tracks -- shows them as even more of a blues- and roots-oriented outfit. In terms of sound, the original mono version of the album would be worth the price of admission by itself -- at this point, the band (Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glen Cornick, Clive Bunker) was generating a lean, bluesy hard rock sound that didn't really benefit from stereo mixing as it was done at the time, and the BBC sessions only bear out the simplicity and directness of their sound, with Anderson and Abrahams pushing the group in what were originally compatible directions, into blues and realms of jazz -- fans of Mick Abrahams, incidentally, will have to own this set just for those BBC sides, which showcase his acoustic and electric guitar about as well as they ever could be, and with impressive clarity, as well. Additionally, the BBC version of "Love Story" plunges into some pyrotechnics that the official version only hints at.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 11 and 17)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 1,2,4,5,7,8,11,13 and 14)

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