Jethro Tull – A Passion Play (1973) Review | A Fitting Hare to Thick as a Brick

Kronomyth 7: Quick as a brick.

A Passion Play picks up where Thick As A Brick left off. Their earlier album-length opus followed the life of one man, from birth to death. Their next (Passion) follows the afterlife of one man, from heaven to hell. I don’t know why this isn’t more obvious to people, but some have apparently taken up the scent of the red herring in the title, concluding that A Passion Play has to do with the last moments of Christ. It does insofar as Christian theology holds that Christ’s death vouchsafed our afterlife, but the operative architecture here is rather Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy than the titular medieval morality plays. And so many have gone looking for something that wasn’t there, this despite “The Story of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles,” which cautions against looking for something that can’t (and doesn’t need to) be found. That’s pretty much the theme in a nutshell, allowing for the usual human error on my part. (And, of course, if you’ve struck upon a theme you like better, by all means keep it!) Musically, A Passion Play is more complex than Thick, downright diabolical in spots. The big difference here is the increased role of the saxophone, which supplants the flute and gives the arrangements a tempestuous twist that suggests Gentle Giant at this stage (unfortunately, Ian lost interest in sax after delivering War Child). Structurally, A Passion Play is less cohesive than its predecessor; Thick featured half a dozen or so themes played out several times throughout the course of the album, whereas Passion re-uses only a handful of themes and seems to consist of at least a dozen distinctive sections. By album’s end, Tull resorts to piecemeal composition, stringing miniature songs together without even the pretense of a sound structural bridge between them. In kindness, it could be that Tull was simply too creative to stay confined to a handful of musical themes, a point that War Child’s bulging bag of booty would seem to support. Some would rank A Passion Play with Tull’s most magical creations (and far be it from me to debunk anyone’s source of magic), but it’s a playmate I pull from the shelves with caution, knowing it will only walk my mind in a circle.

Original elpee version

A1. A Passion Play (23:07)
B1. A Passion Play (22:04)

Music and lyrics by Ian Anderson except “The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles” by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, John Evan and Ian Anderson. Arranged by Jethro Tull.

CD bonus track
3. Video: The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles

Edited version for DJ use
A1. A Passion Play (Edit #1) (2:15)
A2. A Passion Play (Edit #2) (4:37)
A3. A Passion Play (Edit #3) (4:18)
A4. A Passion Play (Edit #4) (2:46)
A5. A Passion Play (Edit #5) (4:38)
B1. A Passion Play (Edit #6) (4:16)
B2. A Passion Play (Edit #7) (4:58)
B3. A Passion Play (Edit #8) (3:04)
B4. A Passion Play (Edit #9) (3:29)
B5. A Passion Play (Edit #10) (3:53)

The Players

Ian Anderson (vocal, acoustic guitars, flute, soprano and sopranino saxophones), Barriemore Barlow (drums, timpani, glockenspiel, marimba), Martin Barre (electric guitar), John Evan (piano, organ, synthesizer, speech), Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (bass guitar, vocal). Produced by Ian Anderson; engineered by Robin Black.

The Plastic

Released on elpee in July 1973 in the UK and the US (Chrysalis, CHR 1040), Germany (Chrysalis, 6307 518) and Mexico (Reprise, GX 01678) with gatefold cover and booklet. Reached #13 on the UK charts and #1 on the US charts (RIAA-certified gold record). Also released as promotional elpee in 1973 in the US (Chrysalis, CHR 1040) with track edits.

1. Re-issued on elpee in 1983 in the US (Chrysalis, PV 41040) with gatefold cover.
2. Re-issued on compact disc in the US (Chrysalis, F2 21040).
3. Re-issued on compact disc in January 1989 in the UK (Chrysalis, CDP 32 1040).
4. Re-issued on compact disc in 1993 in Japan (Chrysalis, TOCP-7816).
5. Re-issued on remastered compact disc in 1994 in the US (Mobile Fidelity, UDCD-720).
6. Re-packaged w. Living in the Past Pt. III on 2-for-1 compact disc in Russia (CD-Maximum, CDM 59926).
7. Re-issued on expanded, remastered compact disc on May 23, 2003 in the US (Chrysalis, 81569) and on June 23, 2003 in Japan (EMI/Toshiba, TOCP-67181) with one bonus track.
8. Re-issued on limited edition remastered compact disc on June 18,2003 in Japan (Phantom, 209524).