Jethro Tull
Nightcap

The work consists of two CDs: the first one (My Round), magno cum gaudio, contains the entire edition of the legendary "Château D'Isaster Tapes". They were recorded in August 1972, after the masterpiece "Thick As A Brick", at the French estate of Château d'Hérouville, near Pontoise, where the band had retreated due to the ferocious tax persecution by Her Majesty's government. However, they did not see the light of day until twenty years later, and the very name by which the work has become famous is emblematic of how the project had floundered.

I remember when the acoustic guitar of the intense "First Post" struck, the speakers created quite an anticipation, confirmed by the harpsichord and the incisive drums of the beautiful "Animalee". And then came "Tiger Toon" and an expression of amazement overtook me: in a flash, I remembered everything.

The tapes were nothing other than the first draft of the monumental "A Passion Play", which would divide critics and audiences the following year. The song in question is one of the beautiful flute solos of the piece, culminating in the drum ecstasy that leads to the following "Look At The Animals", this time an unreleased and alluring piece, though with its unmistakable atmosphere. A band in great shape, confirmed by the subsequent "Law Of The Bungle", also released in the '73 work in a renewed guise. "Law Of The Bungle, Part II" is a reprise of the atmospheres of the following tracks and would not have been out of place in the concept with its flute and drum progression sewn together by Martin Barre's usual guitar mastery.

"Left Right" leaves one bewildered with its original swirling of bees and various noisy insects, but Uncle Martino dissolves it all and weaves a carpet where the band intertwines the warp with its mastery creating a hard and hypnotic track. "Solitarie" is instead (another surprise) the first appearance of the acoustic pearl from "Warchild", which is known to have had a long and troubled gestation (the piece in question is "Only Solitarie"). Following is the core of the Tapes: that "Critique Oblique", the backbone of the first part of "A Passion Play" (an entire movement of the suite bears the same title), where the organ and the hard flute let you more than any other track hint at what will be (in the nine minutes of the mini-suite, important elements such as the old dog howling in sadness and the macabre examiners of bodies already appear). The instrumental tail, stunning. "Post Last" is instead a mostly instrumental version (obviously the concept's text was only crafted for the new project) that hardly deviates from the grandeur of the preceding track.

As for the last three tracks, they do not constitute unreleased material, having already been published in the twentieth-anniversary box set, five years prior: perhaps it is their beauty that prompted the fans to loudly request the publication of the entire series of Château D'Isaster Tapes. "Scenario" is of a moving sweetness, with Ian duetting with the guitar in a musical aura that gives chills. "Audition" is a very tullian piece, with the incisive voice of the magic piper doubled by the faithful Martino, never invasive or trivial: one of the greatest guitarists of all time, perhaps for this very reason. "No Rehersal" is finally an excellent piece, with an atmosphere immediately reminiscent of "Passion Play" (the other members are, as always, excellent, with Evan on keyboards and the exceptional rhythm pair of Barlow, prominently featured with his impressive drumming, and the great bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond). A great closure, in other words, for a work that cannot escape the greatness characterizing the controversial masterpiece I have, inevitably, mentioned. Listening again to Ian Anderson's great voice, I imagine it must have almost moved those who've always loved Jethro Tull, again in the prime of their years of grace: in unexpected years, a pearl directly from the era in which progressive made music viscerally immortal.

The second CD (Your Round) contains pieces 'too similar or too different from existing Jethro Tull songs', as explained by Ian Anderson himself in the sleeve notes. Recording scraps, thus. Nothing more. But what scraps!!! From the Warchild sessions, the chest of magic opens: "Paradise Steakhouse", an excellent track, prog rock at its best, where Ian's voice still breaks eardrums and the flute is the same as ever. Then "Sealion II", a missed follow-up to "Sealion", sung by the good Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond. A quirky version, one definitely has to get used to it, especially in the "inn song" central part; the sax also makes an appearance, a remnant from the A Passion Play period. And then "Quartet", a masterpiece often performed live, mostly written by John Evans: Bach, baroque music, strings arranged by Dave (now Dee, sigh!) Palmer, harpsichords, flute, sax, choirs, Hammond organ playing Bach's fugue. In other words, genius. Anderson and Palmer duet in the studio and produce a piano bar piece like "A Small Cigar", where Ian sings passionately, plays the acoustic guitar with the usual poetic and distinctive touch and sings the praises of the cigar, which in his opinion is much better than joints. But the great poetry, the elegy, the epic poem, the perfect ten theme is her, "Broadford Bazar". Capo at the seventh, elven-celtic guitar, Scottish flute in the background, weaving fluid stories, a voice on the border between wonder and incredible. The theme is the flea market on the Isle of Skye where Ian Anderson lives. A piece that brightens the day, sunny, emerged in 1978 from the "Heavy Horses" sessions and mysteriously discarded.

In 1981 the Jethro Tull did not release anything, interrupting the cycle of one album a year that began in 1968. Few know, however, that the album was there and ready, but due to an incompetent manager/producer, the tapes remained locked in a trunk for years and forgotten. The 1981 sessions are, in terms of sound, between "A" and "Broadsword And The Beast". "Crew Nights" is not bad, with an almost Aor chorus and synthesizers weaving with the flute parts. "The Curse" talks about a thirteen-year-old named Gladys who gets her period for the first time and thinks she is cursed. Ian Anderson has always liked to joke about such topics, and musically the piece turns out to be solid with good rhythm, with Uncle Martino having fun with phrases between verses and Vettese doing his usual nonsense on the synth. "Commons Brawl" presents Dave Pegg's mandolin and flutes in the background, a return to origins: the freshness of the Scottish landscapes is described in a warm and genuine folk rock, with a cottage, the "house of Commons Brawl," as the protagonist. "No Step" is instead a primitive version of "Watching Me Watching You" from "Broadsword", and equally repetitive, technological, experimental, and annoying. "Drive On The Young Side Of Life" is a track rich with pathos, sometimes majestic, but maybe a little detached. "Lights Out" revisits the themes of "No Lullaby", the child in the room afraid of the dark imagining monsters. Nice track, but the enthusiasm isn't sky-high either. "Man Of Principle" starts great: Bach's fugue done with flute and Dave Pegg's bass creating the backbone of the piece. But why, I wonder, not release such a masterpiece? Who knows! At least on "20 Years Of Jethro Tull" they could have included it as an unreleased piece...

In 1989, "Hard Liner" wasn't included in the "Rock Island" album, which is a real pity because perhaps this piece would have made Rock Island a somewhat more substantial record. In 1990 Ian wrote another handful of pieces that he couldn't publish: good Jethro-style rock with "Piece Of Cake" ("you are a piece of cake", what did he mean by that? He he!); then "Silver River Turning", a piece akin to "Waking Edge" or "White Innocence", very beautiful, with sublime arrangements, about a river turning blue, polluted to death; "Rosa On The Factory Floor", which is literally exhilarating, mainly for the wonderful notes created by the transverse flute and the chorus; and then "I Don't Want To Be Me", here too flute and mandolin wondrously blend into each other. And what about that transverse flute whistling in the chorus? Goosebumps! Finally, "Truck Stop Runner", a cheerful and carefree piece, where the piper is magical, and Uncle Martino's guitar slightly recalls Mark Knopfler's.

The proceeds from Nightcap go entirely to charity (one more reason to buy the original). This is Nightcap: the greatest gift an artist can give to his legion of "faithful," irreducible fans, those autograph hunters who sneaked backstage. A record for true connoisseurs of the genre, an interesting album containing a variety of genres and styles, featuring as many as 12 different musicians. Nightcap: the nightcap of liquor before going to bed, plunging into dreams made of magical flutes and enchanted guitars.

(written in order of appearance by: Pibroch & the green manalishi)