Jethro Tull: “We Used to Know” (1969)
As is the main thrust of this blog in a greater sense, I feel the need to evangelize a bit about those other Jethro Tull songs due to the fact that, to the casual rock fan, Tull tend to get pigeonholed based on the songs radio has always played. Thus there’s an exaggerated emphasis on the Aqualung album, for example, which was a monster in the U.S. and may even indeed be the band’s strongest overall album.
Or it may not. For my money it’s Songs From the Wood. In Germany, The Broadsword and the Beast was a huge seller. And their 1969 sophomore LP Stand Up is a relatively overlooked trove of great songs that many Tull fans consider their favorite.
After the departure of Mick Abrahams following the band’s first album, This Was, guitarist Martin Barre was brought aboard. And more significantly, Ian Anderson took the reins, beginning to move the band from blues-influenced rock to a more folk-inflected style. It was a good idea: there was a glut of blues-rock bands in ’69, but Tull’s blend of folk and progressive rock made them relatively unique.
Having said all that, Stand Up was a transitional album, and does contain a mix: bluesy and folksy sounds, as well as a song written by Bach.
Elsewhere on this blog we mention how this song inspired Don Henley to write “Hotel California” (see link below)
http://edcyphers.com/2012/12/12/poplifting-part-1-eagles-beatles-beach-boys-and-their-stolen-music/
See also: http://edcyphers.com/2012/11/18/songs-you-may-have-missed-242/
