Jethro Tull
's first LP-length epic is a masterpiece in the annals of
progressive rock
, and one of the few works of its kind that still holds up decades later. Mixing
hard rock
and English
folk
music with
classical
influences, set to stream-of-consciousness lyrics so dense with imagery that one might spend weeks pondering their meaning -- assuming one feels the need to do so -- the group created a dazzling tour de force, at once playful, profound, and challenging, without overwhelming the listener. The original LP was the best-sounding, best-engineered record
Tull
had ever released, easily capturing the shifting dynamics between the soft all-acoustic passages and the electric
rock
crescendos surrounding them. ~ Bruce Eder