It might have seemed odd to some people that Jethro Tull was putting out a compilation album, Living In The Past, in 1972. After all, this was a group that was only four albums old at the time, and who were just hitting their commercial stride thanks to the success of Aqualung.

Bu Living In The Past is not a best-of per se. What this album does is collects the songs that made Ian Anderson and crew stars in Great Britain, songs that quite possibly were not as familiar to American audiences. And there are some chestnuts in this collection that are absolutely astounding, making me wonder why they never made it onto an album prior to this one.

Sure, there's plenty of material that the casual Jethro Tull fan will recognize, like "Teacher," "Living In The Past" and even some hidden nuggets like "Song For Jeffrey" or "Bouree." But the real treats on this one, rightfully so, are the songs that weren't as familiar.

Just sit back, slap the headphones on, and wait to see how long it takes before you all in love with songs like "Love Story," "Life Is A Long Song," "Dr. Bogenbroom" or "Driving Song." What is interesting about these tracks is that, even on the first listen, they will sound like you've known them all your life, especially if you've listened to Tull past the hit singles in any fashion.

There are one or two potholes in the road, of course. I've never really been able to get into the track "Singing All Day," and it might surprise some people, but I also don't count "Witch's Promise" among my favorites. (Maybe it would have stood out on a different album, but it feels inferior in this setting.)

I will also admit the long, drawn-out live tracks from a Carnegie Hall show might scare some people off - what is it about Carnegie Hall that bands think they can get away with turning simple songs into goddamn epics? Chicago tried this on a four-record set that collapsed under its own weight, and Jethro Tull comes dangerously close to doing this on the John Evan piano solo. However, the drawn-out style works well on "Dharma For One," a jazzed-up version of the track from This Was that has its moments -- though I still love Clive Bunker's manic drumming on the original better, and probably always will.

What Living In The Past does is ties up the loose ends of Jethro Tull's career to that point, allowing both the band and the listener to move forward towards new creations. And over 25 years since this album came out, it still is a must-own item.

Rating: A-

User Rating: A

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