Too Old to Rock N Roll

Too Old to Rock N Roll Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: Toshiba EMI
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988006812666
ASIN: B000094DUT


Release Date: 2003-06-17

Too Old to Rock N Roll


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
Categories | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Classic Rock Classic Rock
Categories | Imports | Stores | Music
Rock Rock
Categories | Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

  1. Quizz Kid
  2. Crazed Institution
  3. Salamander
  4. Taxi Grab
  5. From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser
  6. Bad Eyed And Loveless
  7. Big Dipper
  8. Too Old To Rock N Roll Too Young To Die
  9. Pied Piper
  10. The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)
  11. A Small Cigar
  12. Strip Cartoon

Album Description

Full Title - Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll - Too Young To Die! Japanese remastered reissue of 1976 album, that's unavailable domestically, packaged in a limited edition miniature LP gatefold sleeve features 12 tracks including two bonus tracks, 'A Small Cigar'

Album Details

Digitallty Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Unusual Even for Tull.......2006-04-21

While this album was supposedly a concept album, it takes a lot of effort to follow the story. This album also departs from Tull's usual style, which an unusual comment is given that I have emphasized in other reviews of Tull CDs that Tull has always followed their own musical path.

"Quizz Kid" starts out mellow and slow with strings and an easy electric guitar riff. However, indicative of the punk age of the time, bass and electric guitar riffs push themselves to the front, and this song sounds like a punk-influenced hard rock song. The lyrics are about going on a game show with the hopes of winning big.

"Crazed Institution" does not try to mislead you. From the very beginning the beat of this song speaks rock. When you hear this song you could be under the impression that Ian Anderson was striving for a harder edge on this album as compared to Tull's earlier folk-flavored offerings. The lyrics in this song are about celebrity and fame and the insanity that such status causes in a person's life.

"Salamander" provides the first real flavor of Jethro Tull's style as it was up to that time. Clever acoustic guitar picking takes you halfway through the piece until a heavily echoed Ian Anderson brings on the vocals. The contrast between the acoustic and folk-flavored music and the echoed voice is interesting and makes me wish that Ian had explored this song in greater depth.

From a lyrical viewpoint, "Taxi Grab" is a relatively lightweight offering and is not a fan favorite. From a musical viewpoint, this song is a rocker, bass and harmonica driven, a blues-flavored hard rock song. The music is pretty good, but the weak lyrics detract a bit.

"From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser" begins in a traditional Tull style, dirge-like and acoustic. The lyrics tell a story of someone sinking further and further into the depths, perhaps becoming the character of Aqualung. The music remains acoustic until the end, keeping the dirge-like tune, though a saxophone-flavored bridge gives the song an interesting style.

"Bad-Eyed and Loveless" gives you the viewpoint of a woman as an old man thinks he would have seen her as a young man. The instruments backing this song are minimal, principally an acoustic guitar. This song continues the theme of someone who has degraded into the character of Aqualung; you have to wonder how much deeper into the depths this person can go.

"Big Dipper" shakes off the acoustics and allows the electric guitars their licks once more. There are interesting percussion effects in this song as well as an instrument that I believe was a Vako Orchestron, a synthesizer. The musical effects are unique. The lyrics are all about fun and sex, the theme deceptively lightweight, perhaps hiding a sinister undertone.

I enjoy "Too Old to Rock `N' Roll: Too Young to Die." This song is bombastic, and perhaps the only song on this CD that shows much progressive rock influence. The instruments are dramatic and strident, punctuating the notes in harmony rather than any extensive counterpoint. Lyrically this song is about aging rockers when they get too old for the perceived style of rock that has historically emphasized youth, and of course they have many years left to live. I wonder what Ian Anderson thinks of this song today.

"Pied Piper" has just a touch of folk-rock flavoring mixed into a rock beat. The Vako Orchestron makes an easily discerned appearance, providing an unusual musical voice. Because of the synthesizer sound, this song makes me think that perhaps Wendy Carlos, who created "Switched-On Bach" and several other synthesizer albums, influenced Ian Anderson. Lyrically, the character that sank to the depths of despair has been patched up and made anew, and now eyes young girls lasciviously.

The album finishes with "The Chequered Flag," a song that provides some soaring music and vocals, and yet is a bitter-sweet ending to this CD. The lyrics are about the incompletion of life; the unfinished symphonies, the unread books, the tasks imagined and never satisfactorily accomplished. The music is mellow, synthesizer and strings providing the core sound.

While Jethro Tull has historically combined folk and rock, this album is more a product of its time. You can hear a synthesizer in several songs. Several songs are hard rock. The Jethro Tull of "Thick as a Brick," "Aqualung" and "Songs from the Wood" has temporarily taken on the mantle of contemporary rocker. If Tull had not created the other albums for comparison, a listener might readily enjoy this one. However, even Tull with their eclectic style moved too much to center in this album for many fans, and perhaps lost a few fans as a result. However, this album is, while not comparable to the best of Tull, a good 70s rock album. While I am unable to provide a strong recommendation for this album, for Tull fans it is a must own. For casual listeners, I recommend the previously mentioned albums, along with others that have a strong folk-rock and progressive influence.

This Japanese remaster of Tull's classic album includes two bonus tracks. There are other versions available at different prices. Be aware of the availability of these versions before you buy. Enjoy!

Music Album:

  1. Sunday Morning ~ Maroon 5
  2. Rock Your Soul ~ Mother's Finest
  3. Rocky Dennis ~ Jens Lekman
  4. The Mar-Vel Masters : Get With The Beat : Lost Decade Of American Rock 'N' Roll ~ Various Artists
  5. Ping Pong ~ Momus
  6. End of the Beginning: The Best of Eddie & the Hot Rods ~ Eddie & the Hot Rods
  7. B.R.M.C. ~ B.R.M.C.
  8. In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music By Nightwalker ~ Nightwalker
  9. New Directions V.3 ~ Various Artists
  10. Brand New Day ~ Emily Lord

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Hottest Mariachis in Mexico ~ Various Artists

Gypsy '66 ~ Gabor Szabo

Linger Awhile ~ Paul Whiteman

Just the Beginning ~ Julius Tolentino

The Things We Did Last Summer ~ New York Trio

Joe Pass at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 ~ Joe Pass

Dai Shissou ~ Fool & Scissors

Chain Gang Most Wanted ~ Chain Gang Crew

The Best of Bellydance ~ Various Artists

Juventude 2000 ~ Wilson Das Neves