10 Best Tull Songs

[pianozach]

I'm always amused when some publication trots out what they call the "10 Best Songs" of any band, and this is no exception.

Singersroom has their list, and there's a couple of real headscratchers on it.

• 1. Songs From the Wood
• 2. Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die
• 3. Farm On The Freeway
• 4. Minstrel In The Gallery
• 5. War Child
• 6. Aqualung
• 7. Locomotive Breath
• 8. A New Day Yesterday
• 9. Hymn 43
• 10. Thick As A Brick

https://singersroom.com/w10/best-jethro-tull-songs-of-all-time/

So now it's time for us to all be rock journalists and list what WE think are the TOP TEN JETHRO TULL SONGS.

[Sharp On Attack]

Up The Pool
Living in the Past
Life's A Long Song
Cross-Eyed Mary
Bourrée
Dun Ringill
Thick As A Brick
Hymn 43
and 2 more I can't name before some research

[pianozach]

I'd be hard pressed to come up with a list of only 10 songs. JT has released 23 studio albums (13 of them in the first 13 years), and I don't know them all, although I enjoy hearing them all.

I doubt that Too Old . . . , Farm . . . , or Hymn 43 would make my Top 10 though.

[Enlighten]

Thick as a Brick Part 1
Locomotive Breath
Skating Away
Living in the Past
Teacher
Bungle in the Jungle
Sweet Dream
Bourée
North Sea Oil
Aqualung

[clos2thedge]

In no particular order:

Thick As A Brick
Skating Away
Living In The Past
Hymn 43
Teacher
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Cross-Eyed Mary
Nothing Is easy
Minstrel In The Gallery

[Homemade Parachute]

I'm tempted to just list "Thick as a Brick (edit # 1)" through "Thick as a Brick (edit # 9)" followed by "Grace"… And but if we're just talking *favourites*, not any real attempt to measure whatever "best" is, well:

1. Thick as a Brick
2. A Passion Play
3. Baker St. Muse
4. Flying Dutchman
5. Heavy Horses
6. Lick Your Fingers Clean
7. To Cry You A Song
8. Rainbow Blues
9. Mayhem Maybe
10. Songs From the Wood

*Lists subject to change, as always

[Soundwaveseeker]

Hard to list just 10, as they have so many songs and albums. Had they not been inactive creatively for a good 22 years or so, they might have even more songs & albums. I guess I'll just have to list 10 ones I really like, but in no particular order of course, just 10 I like a lot.

1) Thick As A Brick - it's all one song! If that's cheatin' then slot me down for part one/side one. Classic Tull and classic prog.

2) Quiz Kid - solid opener from an otherwise underappreciated album (Too Old To Rock & Roll...)

3) War Child - with sax, this song has an almost Roxy Music vibe

4) Dark Ages - stormy!

5) Astronomy - yeah, I defend Under Wraps. Tull is the last group on earth that would get electronic and Kraftwerk-happy, but it happened. A bearded dude with a flute is the last guy you would think would go full Ultravox. That's why its so intriguing. They didn't make an 80's synth pop album, they did something new. There's some interesting keyboard work on here. Yeah, the drum machine would have been better replaced with real drums or maybe a combo of the two, but even that's not too bad.

6) Minstrel In The Gallery - one of their all time greats.

7) Fat Man - couldn't tell you why I like that one so much, it's just cool.

8) something from Songs From The Wood - title track, Jack In The Green, Hunting Girl - you pick, any one will do. Rustic and orangey-leaves fall music.

9) Teacher - a hit that I like but I hear Ian Anderson doesn't. What does he know...

10) The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles!!!!!

plenty of runners up - Mother Goose, Baker Street Muse, Heavy Horses, Black Sunday, Witches Promise, Farm On The Freeway, Sealion, Back Door Angels, From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser, North Sea Oil, Dun Ringill, To Cry You A Song, Acres Wild, so many oh so many...

[RelayerI]

In no particular order -

Hunting Girl (Bursting Out)
Sweet Dream
Songs From The Wood
Heavy Horses
Minstrel In The Gallery
Locomotive Breath
No Lullaby (Bursting Out)
Jack In The Green
Coronach
Aqualung

Honourable mentions for Weathercock, Beastie, Thick As A Brick, Boureé, Solstice Bells, Living In The Past, Skating Away, Cross Eyed Mary, Something's On The Move and Dun Ringill, all of which could have just as easily made the cut.

[Yesed]

My surface list

Skating Away
Aqualung
Songs from the wood
The Whistler
Solstice Bells
A Christmas Song
Heavy Horses
Bungle in the Jungle
Broadsword
Thick as a Brick

Have to think about my deep cut list

[Homemade Parachute]

Had they not been inactive creatively for a good 22 years or so, they might have even more songs & albums.

Technically true, but Thick as a Brick II came out in there, albeit as an Ian Anderson solo album, and it was clearly a Tull album, as much as ABWH is a Yes album… I seem to remember having both TaaB2 and FFH on repeat for a while, and thinking they were each a damn bit better than they had any right to be, the second halves in particular. "A Change of Horses" is maybe not in my top ten, but could be in my top 50, which, given 200+ songs, is pretty good!

[Homemade Parachute]

In no particular order -
Honourable mentions for Weathercock, Beastie, Thick As A Brick, Boureé, Solstice Bells, Living In The Past, Skating Away, Cross Eyed Mary, Something's On The Move and Dun Ringill, all of which could have just as easily made the cut.

Nice to see a bit of love for Stormwatch, a tragically overlooked album…!

[brianos]

Hard to list just 10, but here's how I see it today :-)

Salamander
Mother Goose
Songs From the Wood
Skating Away
Thick as a Brick
Minstrel in the Gallery
Life Is a Long Song
Cross-Eyed Mary
Aqualung
Velvet Green

[Soundwaveseeker]

Technically true, but Thick as a Brick II came out in there, albeit as an Ian Anderson solo album, and it was clearly a Tull album, as much as ABWH is a Yes album… I seem to remember having both TaaB2 and FFH on repeat for a while, and thinking they were each a damn bit better than they had any right to be, the second halves in particular. "A Change of Horses" is maybe not in my top ten, but could be in my top 50, which, given 200+ songs, is pretty good!

Forgot about Thick II, though I still see it as a solo Ian album. The followup, however, Homo Eradicus from 2014, was very much a Tull album in all but name. His voice was even better on that one. That's a good one. The only thing missing is the word 'Jethro Tull' printed on the sleeve.

[Homemade Parachute]

The only thing missing is the word 'Jethro Tull' printed on the sleeve.

Well, they sure didn’t try to hide it…

[Old Frothingslosh]

Thick As A Brick
Skating Away
Songs From The Wood
Beastie
Under Wraps electric (yes this version!)
Farm on the Freeway
Budapest
The Whaler's Dues
Sparrow on the Schoolyard Wall
The Chateau D'Isaster Tapes