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Roots to Branches is the 19th studio album by the British band Jethro Tull released in September 1995. It carries characteristics of Tull's classic 1970s progressive rock and folk rock roots alongside jazz and Arabic and Indian influences. All songs were written by Ian Anderson and recorded at his home studio. This is the last Tull album to feature Dave Pegg on the bass, and the first to feature keyboardist Andrew Giddings as an official band member, although he had contributed to Catfish Rising (1991) on a sessional basis. As a result, the album notably features the five longest serving members to date in Jethro Tull’s history. It was also the final Tull album to be released through long-time label Chrysalis Records.
| Roots to Branches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 September 1995 (UK) 12 September 1995 (US) | |||
| Recorded | December 1994 until June 1995 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:00 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer | Ian Anderson | |||
| Jethro Tull chronology | ||||
| ||||
A remastered edition of the album was released in January 2007.
Production and musical style edit
In some way, this album was much derived from the visit Ian Anderson made to India. S.A. Allen, in a history of the band, somewhat reductively describes the album as an "Indian Songs from the Wood."[1]
About Roots to Branches, Ian Anderson said: "I see Roots To Branches as the 90s version of Stand Up, because it has a lot of the things that I feel represented the key elements of Jethro Tull: there's lots of flute, lots of riffy guitars and quite a broad palette of influences, from the blues and classical to the Eastern motifs that were apparent on Stand Up ". On the other hand, Anderson also added that "the only thing about it that lets me down is that I made it sound a little too Seventies. I deliberately made the album sound like it was in the context of a live performance, rather than have it sound too 'studio.' But looking back on it, I think it should have been a bit more varied".[2]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
AllMusic made an unimpressed but positive review: "All of the songs here have more of a mood of urgency than some of Tull's then-recent albums, and a few even have memorable melodies [...] Anderson's flute occasionally takes flight, Martin Barre's guitar still wails on the breaks, and Doane Perry (drums), Dave Pegg (bass), and Steve Bailey (bass) make up a decent rhythm section. Not nearly as strong as Catfish Rising, but better than anything else since Heavy Horses".[5]
Charts edit
The album sold less than the predecessor, reaching only No. 114 on the US Billboard Charts, but achieving No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart.[6]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Ian Anderson
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Roots to Branches" | 5:11 |
| 2. | "Rare and Precious Chain" | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Out of the Noise" | 3:25 |
| 4. | "This Free Will" | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Valley" | 6:07 |
| 6. | "Dangerous Veils" | 5:35 |
| 7. | "Beside Myself" | 5:50 |
| 8. | "Wounded, Old and Treacherous" | 7:50 |
| 9. | "At Last, Forever" | 7:55 |
| 10. | "Stuck in the August Rain" | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Another Harry's Bar" | 6:21 |
Personnel edit
- Jethro Tull
- Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar
- Martin Barre – electric guitar
- Dave Pegg – bass guitar (on tracks 3, 5 & 11)
- Andrew Giddings – keyboards
- Doane Perry – drums, percussion
- Additional personnel
- Steve Bailey – bass guitar (on tracks 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10)
Release details edit
- 1995, UK, Chrysalis 8-35418-4, release date 31 August 1995, Cassette
- 1995, UK, Chrysalis CDCHR 6109, release date 4 September 1995, CD
- 1995, UK, Chrysalis CHR 6109, release date 4 September 1995, LP
- 1995, UK, Chrysalis TCCHR 6109, release date ? ? 1995, Cassette
- 1995, UK, Chrysalis 8-35418-2, release date ? ? 1995, CD
- 1995, US, Chrysalis F2 35418, release date 12 September 1995, CD
- 1995, US, Chrysalis CHR 6109, release date 12 September 1995, LP
- 1995, Australia, Chrysalis CDCHR 6109, release date 27 October 1995, CD
Charts edit
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] | 31 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] | 55 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] | 27 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] | 21 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] | 25 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[12] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 114 |
References edit
- ^ Nollen, S.A. (2001). Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001. McFarland. p. 336. ISBN 9780786411016. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Jethro Tull Press: Guitar World, September 1999". Tullpress.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ Eder, Bruce. Roots to Branches at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ "Roots to Branches - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Album artist 51 - Jethro Tull". Tsort.info. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Jethro Tull: Roots to Branches" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – Roots to Branches" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jethro Tull – Roots to Branches". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jethro Tull – Roots to Branches". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jethro Tull – Roots to Branches". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Jethro Tull | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Jethro Tull Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.