Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

Artist: Jethro Tull
Album: Thick As A Brick
Genre: Progressive Rock
Year: 1972
Origin: UK

Jethro Tull is an amazing progressive rock band that hopefully everyone knows already. Aqualung is their masterpiece, but since my comrade Bart has already posted that one I'll share Thick As A Brick, which is also excellent but seems to be less well known. I suspect this is because it is really just one long composition broken into two parts to fit on a record. It's got some of Ian Anderson's trademark flute along with some occasional brass and a lot of great bass guitar parts. The album has a compelling concept about a young boy and his poem. This is from before the band's folk period (which is also quite good, I may post Minstrel in the Gallery sometime later).

receive album

Comus - First Utterance

Artist: Comus
Album: First Utterance
Genre: Psych Folk
Year: 1971
Origin: UK

Comus took folk rock in an almost frightening psychedelic direction in the 1970s. The band used a wide variety of instruments, and sometimes tried to incorporate animal sounds into the music. I really like the drumming and the violin parts, and the male and female vocalists fit the music quite well, though I am sometimes glad I don't understand all the lyrics. Akerfeldt of Opeth is apparently a fan, having named My Arms, Your Hearse after a line from the song Drip Drip. I find the album cover both disturbing and reminiscent of the artwork for The Court of the Crimson King, this album (First Utterance) being much more frantic and dark.

receive album

The 241ers - Murderers

Artist: The 241ers
Album: Murderers
Genre: Folk Punk
Year: 2008
Origin: USA

The mysteriously named 241ers (some New York thing I guess?) were formed from members of the Stockyard Stoics among other underground punk groups, which is probably what first got my interest. They play acoustic folk-punk though, with the angry-drunk vocal stylings and anarchist lyrics that make the genre work for me.

receive album