The Story Behind Thick As A Brick Jethro Tull

In !972 Jethro Tull followed up their hit album Aqualung , with the spoof concept album Thick As A Brick . The album one continuous piece of music 43 minutes plus ,was meant to lampoon the progressive rock scene at the time . Few people back then got the joke and the album became a another hit for the band . We look back at the "mother of all concept albums ".

[@philbrown1474]

I saw this tour in 1972. Absolutely the best concert imaginable. You had to be there.

[@9999deoxys]

Great insight and thoughts.....This is always an album I go back to whenever in doubt of what to listen to when I have 40 minutes of time.

[@justgivemethetruth]

thanks, nice history lesson. MACA - Mother of ALL Concept Albums.

[@justgivemethetruth]

One of my favorite Tull albums was Living In The Past ... and I partiularly loved the live part of the album, Dharma for One and By Kind Permission Of ... just an amazing piece of work.

[@HansRickheit]

Thanks for making this video. I found a copy of the vinyl THICK AS A BRICK in a flea market, so I finally got to read the entire newspaper, many years after I was given the abridged version for my 14th birthday aa a youngster. What a treat for their fans that must have been at the time. I'm envious of anybody who got so see them live during this time period. I did get to see Tull perform on the late 80's, during their Rcok Island tour; I didn't much care for their newer material, but they gave a stellar performance of Black Satin Dancer and My God that I remember fondly to this day.

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

Have you seen our Passion Play video ? More Tull to come on the channel .

[@haskellbob]

I was at the Los Angeles Forum concert you mentioned. To be precise, it's the "Inglewood" Forum; Inglewood is a satellite neighborhood of Los Angeles. I had just gotten my car and driver's license the previous October; I was 16 years old.

[@michaelthomas8677]

Thanks for this! I discovered Thick as a Brick while roving the Internet for progressive rock goodies in my early 20's in 2011! I think you did a good job putting the album into it's proper context. I see it now as jokingly one-upping Yes's Tales of Topographic Oceans' 10-20 minute concept songs with the one huge track. Perhaps now I'll start laughing in the right places of Thick as a Brick! :)

[@mikejanke2690]

Thank you so much for posting this; I discovered this album at age 15 in 1985, and I was totally mesmerized by it. Only recently, have I been able to understand APP. I love this album, though

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

More to come on Tull and prog bands of the 70s .

[@satorimystic]

Brilliant! One on my all-time favorite albums of the last century ... Still have my copy of the vinyl, cassette, and the CD. I was fortunate to have seen the 'Thick as a Brick' show, and 6 other Tull shows in Oakland, CA and other local venues back in the day. Unforgettable, inspiring, innovative ... Amazing talent!! 😉👍

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

Plenty more Tull to come buddy

[@satorimystic]

@@classicrockalbumreviews19 Mmmmmm... yeah. 😊👍

[@arthurfarrow]

Well, do I remember the 'Wise Man breaks Wind Tour' of Spring 1972. I saw at the Albert Hall, in March of that year. Surreal, and an utter delight musically.

[@seanallenmccoy]

These guys have the endurance of ultra-marathon athletes! Would have LOvED to see them live!!

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

Three hour plus shows , night after night .

[@thedevil1882]

*eight year old genius

[@justgivemethetruth]

I'd like to know if there is any documentation of Ian saying this about TAAB at the actual time they were producing it. His stories about this, and Aqualung not being a concept album just seem like Ian tweaking the audience's nose in a way saying - just make of it what you will. If Ian would have admitted that Aqualung was a concept album ( and I think it was because of the concept written on the back of the album ... In the Beginning, Man Created God ... ) then he would have had to have waded into the hot water of explaining what the concept was, and Ian is a very private person, moreso as time has gone by ... ( and now for God's sake kindly leave me alone ) ;-)

[@c.a.t.732]

Mr. Anderson has consistently scoffed at those who think Aqualung was a concept album, despite the fact that 4 out of 6 songs on side one are thematically related to the title character and his friends and all of the songs on side two are are related to the concepts of God and organized religion (and Locomotive Breath could be seen to tie back to Aqualung or one of his cronies)... and also the album's graphic lay-out is designed to further these thematic ideas. Ian also claims Thick As A Brick was a Monty Pythonesque spoof of the whole concept album concept, and thinks people who take it seriously are missing the joke, despite the fact that its lyrics are often poignant, profound and deeply touching (at least to me) and much of the music is likewise both beautiful and moving, with it would seem obvious thematic threads running through the whole work. Indeed he has claimed that no Jethro Tull album was a concept album... not even Passion Play, with its packaging and lay out and story-line exemplifying the whole idea. I have sometimes gotten the sense that the gentleman doth protest too much.

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

I never thought of Aqualung as a concept album , but Brick yes . I used to visit Chrysalis records office in London a fair bit , back in the early seventies . Brick was definitely thought of as a concept album as was APP .

[@c.a.t.732]

@@classicrockalbumreviews19 I suspect I'm sensitive about Mr. Anderson's assertion that TAAB was just a spoof and not to be taken seriously, because as a high school senior at the time it came out, I was thoroughly captivated by it and related to it's story... I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it changed my life. So I feel a bit silly all these decades later to think I was perhaps just a naive fool who was taken in by what was really just meant as a joke (even though the idea that I'm a fool is hardy a new revelation!).

[@c.a.t.732]

@@classicrockalbumreviews19 P.S. One last thought... Aqualung could be thought of as a "concepts (plural) album", given that side 1 is labeled "Aqualung" and largely revolves around that character and his life, and side 2 is labeled "My God" and the songs there revolve around the nature of deity and religion. But again, what do I know... Regardless, I love your Tull-related videos and look forward to more! Happy New Year to you!

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

@@c.a.t.732 thank you buddy . Happy new year to you .

[@billb456]

C.A.T. I was in high school when TAAB came out and I was so impressed by the music, the "newspaper" and the concept. Yes, the concept, haha. It is possible for an album to be both a spoof and also have an enjoyable and meaningful concept at the same time. Todd Rundgren, who produced Bat Out of Hell for Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, produced the album because he saw it as a spoof of Bruce Springsteen, but he still was a driving force in creating a great album and concept. Or, maybe I'm just gullible too lol.

[@russellgalloway8049]

Gerald Bostock was depicted as an 8 year old boy, not 12.

[@classicrockalbumreviews19]

Oh well never mind