Rate Jethro Tull's catalogue from A to D

[Facelift]

I think it's a great album, just not up to par with the best of the catalog.

You just rated it a C. A "C" now qualifies as "great?" I would think that only A's would count as great.

I was rating the Tull albums based on music in general, not against themselves and I thought that's what everyone else was doing too.

Anyway, I rate Broadsword as one of the band's lesser albums - not just because of the material, but because of the cheesy, dated arrangements. Over the years, I think those songs got pretty good when played live (less synthy) but I don't think they're represented well on the actual album.

[WytchCrypt]

Rock Island: D (Kissing Willie?!? Tull's worst song ever)

Agreed...certainly the most embarrassing lyric. Of course, "she wouldn't make love but she could make good sandwiches" from Budapest was nearly as cringeworthy

[Progatron]

You just rated it a C. A "C" now qualifies as "great?" I would think that only A's would count as great.

I did the same kind of thing he did. I love the majority of the Tull catalogue, and wouldn't normally call any of them "C"s or "D"s but I can't call them all "A"s. Similar to the Genesis rating thread... I suppose the actual grades weren't necessary, I just ranked them all in order of preference.

[ThomasKDye]

This Was - don't have
Stand Up - B-
Benefit C
Aqualung B+
Thick as a Brick A+++++ (dang, my plus key dissolved)
A Passion Play A-
War Child A++
Minstrel In The Gallery A
Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die D
Songs From The Wood B
Heavy Horses C+
Stormwatch B+
A B+
Broadsword and the Beast B+
Under Wraps C+
Crest of a Knave C
Rock Island D
Catfish Rising - don't have
Roots to Branches D
Everything afterwards, don't have

[zombywoof]

You just rated it a C. A "C" now qualifies as "great?" I would think that only A's would count as great.

That being said, Tull is my favorite band and all of their music is special to me. Also, I think Stormwatch and Too Old are two of the most underrated Tull albums ever. Heck, all Tull is underrated!

The point is, Broadsword is a C when compared to TaaB or APP, etc. And I don't like it as well as WarChild (a firm B), so C it is.

[Facelift]

The point is, Broadsword is a C when compared to TaaB or APP, etc. And I don't like it as well as WarChild (a firm B), so C it is.

Just curious - how do you rate Tull's catalog as compared with music in general? All A's?

[zombywoof]

Just curious - how do you rate Tull's catalog as compared with music in general? All A's?

That's difficult, nay impossible. Tull have been been my favorite band since I was just a little kid. I have trouble rating their catalog subjectively. My gut tells me the answer to your question is "yes", but that's not to say that sometimes I want to hear something other than Tull or there aren't albums by other people I might rate higher on certain days.

[llanwydd]

First five - A
Living in the Past - A+
A Passion Play - B
War Child - B-
Minstrel in the Gallery - B+
Too Old - C
SFtW - A
HH - A
Stormwatch - A-
Broadsword - C+
Under Wraps - B
Crest of a Knave - D
20 Years of Jethro Tull - A+

not too familiar with what came after those

[PeterG]

A
1.Songs From The Wood
2.Christmas Album
3.Aqualung
4 Heavy Horses
5.Crest of a Knave

The rest in alph. order only in each group
B
Benefit
Broadsword
Catfish Rising
Rock Island
Roots to Branches
Stormwatch
War Child

C
A
Dot Com
Minstrel
Too Old
Under Wraps

D
A Passion Play
Stand Up
Thick as a Brick
This Was

[Hobo Chang Ba]

This Was - B+
Stand Up - A-
Benefit - C-
Aqualung - A
TAAB - A+
APP - A+
War Child - A-
Minstrel... - A
Too Old... - D
Songs From The Wood - A-
Heavy Horses - A
Stormwatch - B+
A - C+
The Broadsword... - B-
Under Wraps - C-
Crest... - C
Rock Island - F
Catfish... - D
Roots... - C
J-Tull... - C
Christmas Album - B

[strawberrybrick]

This Was, Stand Up, LIving In the Past, A+
Benefit, Minstrel, Under Wraps B+
The rest....

[Trane]

I don't get the "plus/minus" additional scale. Is it really matters to raise the algebraic degree in this case?)

Naaah, this is North Am school grading (though I Canada, we also had %age)... the plus or minus are shades of the letter grade A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, etc...

==================

The first trilogy:
This Was A
Stand Up A++++
Benefit B

the "apex" trilogy (includes LITP):
Aqualung A
LitP A-
TAAB A++++
APP D+

The post-TAAB trilogy
War Child B-
Minstrel B
Too Old F

the "prog-folk" trilogy
Songs B
Horses B
Bursting B
Stormwatch C

the "no direction" trilogy:
A: D-
Broadsword E-
Under Wraps FFFFFFFF

the slight return trilogy:
Crest C-
Rock Island C-
Catfish C-

The post-90's trilogy:
Roots B
Dot-Com D
don't think I ever really heard X-mas Album in full

[bob_32_116]

I think people are stressing too much about the A to D rating system. I can't speak for how other members have interpreted it, but I used it the same way as school grades, i.e. A, B, C and D are all pass grades in descending order of merit. The scale is pretty coarse, so it's nice to distinguish something that gets an A (excellent) from A- (excellent but with one or two minor flaws). D is probably the lowest rating I would give to an album that I actually bought, unless of course my opinion of it altered over the years in the downwards direction..


When I do a rating, I like to give a mark out of 20. That seems a fine enough division so that I don't have to worry about fractions of a mark.

[PeterG]

Enough already about the bloody grades!

[bob_32_116]

Don't talk to me about grades... It's nearing the end of semester at uni and I am likely to be involved in some of the marking. Students don't believe us when we say we dislike exams almost as much as they do, but it's true.

[cavgator]

I was rating the Tull albums based on music in general, not against themselves and I thought that's what everyone else was doing too.

Actually, I got the impression that the albums are rated against each other. For me, the WORST Tull album is better than the best Rap or Punk album, so it is all relative.

[Facelift]

Actually, I got the impression that the albums are rated against each other. For me, the WORST Tull album is better than the best Rap or Punk album, so it is all relative.

OK, well - for me, grading things is not relative. For me, a B-minus Jethro Tull album isn't any better than a B-minus rap album - which is to say, I haven't got much listening time available for either of them, once this judgement has been passed, apart from whichever songs on them I like enough to copy to the Ipod.

[trurl]

Yes, I am rating the albums against each other, But I would say the ratings still match what a universal scale would be. In other words, a "B" Tull album for me matches a "B" album from anyone else. If the worst Tull album is better than a theoretical best rap album it just means to me all rap is an F- (which is not entirely true. Close, but not entirely.)


BTW would you say it's pretty clear that Under Wraps is the most controversial Tull album it goes pretty much from an F to a B or A...

[Facelift]

Yes, I am rating the albums against each other, But I would say the ratings still match what a universal scale would be. In other words, a "B" Tull album for me matches a "B" album from anyone else. If the worst Tull album is better than a theoretical best rap album it just means to me all rap is an F- (which is not entirely true. Close, but not entirely.)


BTW would you say it's pretty clear that Under Wraps is the most controversial Tull album it goes pretty much from an F to a B or A...

That looks to be the case. For me, that album is only notable in that it's the last where IA had his old singing voice.

[bill g]

This Was - B
Stand Up - B+
Benefit - A
Aqualung - B+
Thick As A Brick - A+
Passion Play - B+
War Child - C+
Minstrel In The Gallery - B+
Too Old... - C
Songs From The Wood - A
Heavy Horses - B+
Stormwatch - B
A - B+
Broadsword - C+
Under Wraps - B-
Crest - B-
Rock Island - C
Catfish - C
Roots to Branches - B+

not familiar enough with anything after this to fairly rate.