Jethro Tull was caught in a bit of a maelstrom by the time
War Child came out in 1974. Having survived the critical
drubbing their last album
A Passion Play took and the rumor that Ian Anderson was so
upset with the response to the disc that he disbanded Tull (only to
reform the next day), Anderson faced a tough choice. Record a
straight-out album or try another concept piece?
In truth,
War Child was supposed to be a soundtrack to a movie — in
essence, becoming the third concept piece in a row for Jethro Tull
— but the bottom eventually fell out of that plan. In its place
came this album, complete with scraps from the infamous “Chateau
D’Isaster” sessions. If only this album had enough firepower to
propel it.
Make no mistake, Anderson and crew do come up with some classic
material on this album (which was re-mastered and released in an
expanded edition in 2002; I’m working with the original album,
cheapskate that I am). To this day, “Skating Away (On The Thin Ice
Of A New Day)” remains one of my favorite songs. From its simple
opening of Anderson’s vocals and acoustic guitar, the
instrumentation slowly is layered in, almost as if the band were
joining in an informal jam session. It’s quirky but upbeat, and is
still one of Jethro Tull’s best recorded moments — interestingly
enough, it’s also one of three songs from the “Chateau D’Isaster”
sessions.
And while “Bungle In The Jungle” has become a bit overplayed
thanks to the tunnel vision of classic rock stations across
America, it still is a somewhat enjoyable track, especially when
heard in its own natural environment. (Insert your
Wild Kingdom joke here.) In fact, it sometimes feels like
the whole second half of
War Child is infallible, what with the classic tracks”The
Third Hoorah” (which has the feel of an Irish jig to it) and “Two
Fingers” livening things up.
It is the first half of
War Child, though, that is the most difficult to get
through, and seems to be the most bogged down in any plot. The
title track is decent enough, I will admit, but things nosedive
quickly from there. “Queen And Country” almost sounds like Anderson
and crew are trying too hard to write a rock-oriented song, while
tracks such as “Ladies” and “Back Door Angels” don’t quite seem
like they know what genre they should be in or what they’re
supposed to be about. And let’s not get into the absolute silliness
of “Sealion.”
Maybe – just maybe – some of these tracks would have made more
sense had
War Child been made into the movie it was supposed to be.
But while there are some definite moments on this disc which show
that Jethro Tull was still a force to be dealt with,
War Child remains a disc which is very hit or miss, despite
sounding remarkably fresh 30 years after it was released.
