Jethro Tull celebrating 50 years with career-spanning collections
Jethro Tull played its first show at the Marquee Club London on February 2, 1968. It was the first step of an epic musical journey as Jethro Tull rose to become one of the world’s most successful and influential progressive rock bands. Today, the group – led by founder Ian Anderson – is still on the road, electrifying audiences with a world tour commemorating its 50th anniversary.
To help Jethro Tull celebrate this historic achievement, Parlophone will release a career-spanning three-disc set that features 50 songs – chosen by Anderson – from all 21 of the band’s studio albums. 50 For 50 will be released on May 25th.
50th Anniversary Hits is a single-disc compilation that spotlights essential tracks from the three-disc set. It will be available on the same day.50th Anniversary Hits will also be released on vinyl on August 31st.
50 For 50 provides a sweeping overview of Jethro Tull’s rich and diverse catalog, which includes 11 gold and five platinum records. Arranged chronologically, the three-disc set highlights the band’s continuous musical evolution with blues-influenced early tracks (“Beggar’s Farm” and “A New Day Yesterday”); heavy rockers (“Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath”); prog classics (“Skating Away” and “Critique Oblique”); and folk tunes (“Songs From The Wood” and “Heavy Horses.”)
The compilation also features “Steel Monkey,” “Farm On The Freeway,” and “Budapest” – three songs from the band’s Grammy-winning 1987 album Crest Of A Knave. The collection ends with “A Christmas Song” and “Ring Out Solstice Bells” – a pair of tracks that originally appeared on The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003).
The Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary Tour is currently underway, with concerts scheduled in Europe and North America. The U.S. shows will begin on May 30th in Phoenix, AZ and end on September 12th in Wallinford, CT.
50 For 50
1. Nothing Is Easy
2. Love Story
3. Beggars Farm
4. Living In The Past
5. A Song For Jeffrey
6. A New Day Yesterday
7. The Witch’s Promise
8. Mother Goose
9. With You There To Help Me
10. Teacher
11. Life Is A Long Song
12. Sweet Dream (Studio)
13. Aqualung
14. Minstrel In The Gallery
15. Critique Oblique (Steven Wilson Remix)
16. Weathercock
17. Cross-Eyed Mary
18. Bouree
19. Dun Ringill
20. Heavy Horses
21. Hunting Girl
22. Bungle In The Jungle
23. Salamander
24. Pussy Willow
25. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die
26. Songs From The Wood
27. The Whistler
28. Really Don’t Mind/See There A Son Is Born
29. Moths
30. One White Duck / Nothing At All
31. Cup Of Wonder
32. Ring Out Solstice Bells
33. Skating Away
34. A Christmas Song
35. One Brown Mouse
36. Rare And Precious Chain
37. Kissing Willie
38. Rocks On The Road
39. Fylingdale Flyer
40. Paparazzi
41. North Sea Oil
42. Steel Monkey
43. Black Sunday
44. European Legacy
45. Budapest
46. Broadsword
47. Dot Com
48. Farm On The Freeway
49. This Is Not Love
50. Locomotive Breath
50th Anniversary Hits
1. Love Story
2. Living In The Past
3. Life Is A Long Song
4. Sweet Dream
5. The Witch’s Promise
6. Aqualung
7. Dun Ringhill
8. Cross-Eyed Mary
9. Bouree
10. Bungle In The Jungle
11. Steel Monkey
12. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll
13. Ring Out Solstice Bells
14. Farm On The Freeway
15. Locomotive Breath
Author: Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites.
