Jethro Tull
Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die! (The TV Special Edition)

Let's try to put a bit of emotional charge in this review, given that when I review, 'I don't say anything'. I state that this is one of my favorite Tull albums, but not in the standard 1976 version (remastered in 2002 with two bonus tracks, namely: A Small Cigar and Strip Cartoon), but rather in this rich re-release.

Let me clarify that, contrary to what I've been told, I don't need to search for information on Google (nor on Wikipedia) to write my reviews and enrich them with emotions and enthusiasm (also because, anyway, I know all the albums I talk about by heart and have ended up wearing out the CDs from listening to them too much), and that, if I'm not mistaken, everyone is free to review all the albums (and all the deluxe repackages they wish), the entirety of the long discography of Tull (which continues to be enriched with deluxe repackages, various vinyl reissues as well as various special editions) is not for everyone. Why? Simple: every album (none excluded) is a real emotional punch. All of this is sanctimoniously true especially for the re-release I am about to review: Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die! (The TV Special Edition). When I purchased the standard edition, I thought I was dealing with an overrated album not worthy of being listened to from start to finish, but when I first listened to the album re-recorded in April 1976 for the London Weekend TV Special, a BBC music program aimed at promoting newly released or re-recorded albums specifically for that purpose, I had to change my mind, as I immediately realized I was dealing with a true masterpiece. But let's go in order.

This deluxe repackage was released in 2015. It contains two CDs and two DVDs, and is rich in special content. On CD 1 we can appreciate: the album re-recorded in April 1976 for the London Weekend TV Special, the Five original LP tracks [that is, the versions contained in the standard version of the album: From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser, Bad Eyed And Loveless, Big Dipper, Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die!, and The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)] and the very first version of Quiz Kid, known as the Monte Carlo out-take.

On CD 2, instead, there are the Associated Recordings (namely: Salamander's Rag Time, Commercial Traveller, Salamander (Instrumental), A Small Cigar (Acoustic Version), Strip Cartoon, One Brown Mouse (Early Version) [Original master mix], A Small Cigar (Orchestrated Version) [Original rough mix], and Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die! (Demo)] and the flat transfer of the original version of the album.

Finally, regarding the two DVDs, both are very 'juicy', especially DVD 1, also because it contains the full footage of the London Weekend TV Special (which the Tull recorded as if it were a real videoclip, that is, singing and playing in playback) in audio formats DTS, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, Dolby Digital Stereo and 96/24 LPCM stereo; it also contains the television special (audio only), in the 96/24 LPCM stereo audio format and the Five Original LP tracks in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 LPCM stereo audio formats. DVD 2, instead, is an audio DVD, and contains the following Associated Recordings: Salamander's Rag Time, Commercial Traveller, A Small Cigar (Acoustic Version), and Strip Cartoon in DTS, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, and 96/24 LPCM stereo audio formats; it also contains: Quiz Kid (Version 1), One Brown Mouse (Early version) [Original master mix], Salamander (Instrumental), Strip Cartoon (Original master mix), A Small Cigar (Orchestrated version) [Original rough mix], and Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die! (Demo) in the 96/24 LPCM stereo audio format; the flat transfer of the Original 1976 quad LP production master in DTS 4.0, AC3 4.0 Dolby Digital surround sound, and 96/24 LPCM stereo audio formats; the flat transfer of the Original 1976 LP master in the 96/24 LPCM stereo audio format.