This Was

Studio album by Jethro Tull

Released

25 October 1968

Recorded

13 June 1968 – 23 August 1968 at Sound Techniques, Chelsea, London

Genre

Blues rock

Length

38:21
42:55 (remaster)
126:30 (Collector's Edition)

Language

English

Label

Island, Reprise

Producer

Terry Ellis, Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull chronology

This Was
(1968)

Stand Up
(1969)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
NME	(favourable)^[2]
Melody Maker	(favourable)^[3]
Robert Christgau	C−^[4]
BBC Music	(favourable)^[5]

This Was is the debut album by the rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1968. Recorded at a cost of only £1200 GBP, the album received generally favourable reviews and sold well upon its release. In the documentary film of the Woodstock Festival, portions of the songs "Beggar's Farm" and "Serenade to a Cuckoo" may be heard on the PA system, indicating the level of notice the album achieved in the United States. The album reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart^[6] and number 62 on the Billboard 200.

Music

While vocalist Ian Anderson's creative vision largely shaped Jethro Tull's later albums, on This Was Anderson shared songwriting duties with Tull's guitarist Mick Abrahams. In part due to Abrahams' influence, the album incorporates more rhythm and blues and jazz influences than the progressive rock the band later became known for. In particular:

The music to "My Sunday Feeling", "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You", "Beggar's Farm" and "It's Breaking Me Up" and are based on blues progressions, with "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" arranged similarly to Big Bill Broonzy's blues standard "Key to the Highway".
"Cat's Squirrel" (included in the album "because people like it", according to the liner notes) was written by Doctor Ross and covered as an instrumental by numerous 1960s British blues bands, perhaps most notably by Cream. Mick Abrahams would later perform the song in his post-Jethro Tull blues band Blodwyn Pig.
The album includes a cover version of Roland Kirk's jazz standard "Serenade to a Cuckoo". According to the liner notes, "Cuckoo" was one of the first tunes Ian Anderson learned to play on the flute.
The coda of "My Sunday Feeling" incorporates quotes from two well-known jazz tunes, Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" (specifically the song's bass line, played as a short solo by Glenn Cornick) and Nat Adderley's and Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Work Song".

This Was also contains the only Jethro Tull lead vocal not performed by Ian Anderson on a studio album, "Move on Alone". Mick Abrahams, the song's author, provides vocals on the track; David Palmer provided the horn arrangement. Abrahams left Jethro Tull following the album's completion in a dispute over "musical differences". Thus, the album's title probably refers to Abahams' blues influence on the album and how blues weren't the direction Anderson wanted the band to go. As said in the liner notes of the original record "This was how we were playing then – but things change – don't they?"

The song "Dharma for One", a staple of Tull's early concerts (usually incorporating an extended drum solo by Clive Bunker), was later covered by Ekseption, Pesky Gee! and The Ides of March.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Sunday Feeling"	Ian Anderson	3:43
2.	"Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"	Anderson	2:49
3.	"Beggar's Farm"	Mick Abrahams, Anderson	4:19
4.	"Move on Alone"	Abrahams	1:58
5.	"Serenade to a Cuckoo" (instrumental)	Roland Kirk	6:07

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Dharma for One" (instrumental)	Anderson, Clive Bunker	4:15
7.	"It's Breaking Me Up"	Anderson	5:04
8.	"Cat's Squirrel" (instrumental)	Traditional, arranged by Abrahams	5:42
9.	"A Song for Jeffrey"	Anderson	3:22
10.	"Round" (instrumental)	Anderson, Abrahams, Bunker, Glenn Cornick, Terry Ellis	1:03

2001 remaster bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"One for John Gee"	Abrahams	2:06
12.	"Love Story"	Anderson	3:06
13.	"Christmas Song"	Anderson	3:06

The 2001 remastered CD added three bonus tracks (which had been on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull box-set) and extensive liner notes.

40th Anniversary Collectors' Edition

A deluxe two-CD fortieth anniversary edition was released in 2008. It contains the original mono version, a stereo version remixed from the original four-track session tapes, non-LP single tracks and the BBC sessions recorded by the band in 1968 for John Peel's "Top Gear".

Disc one: Original Mono LP (Remastered) & BBC Sessions
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Sunday Feeling"	3:43
2.	"Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"	2:49
3.	"Beggar's Farm"	4:23
4.	"Move on Alone"	2:00
5.	"Serenade to a Cuckoo"	6:07
6.	"Dharma for One"	4:13
7.	"It's Breaking Me Up"	5:01
8.	"Cat's Squirrel"	5:40
9.	"A Song for Jeffrey"	3:26
10.	"Round"	0:59
11.	"So Much Trouble" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)	3:19
12.	"My Sunday Feeling" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)	3:49
13.	"Serenade to a Cuckoo" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)	3:37
14.	"Cat's Squirrel" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)	4:38
15.	"A Song for Jeffrey" (John Peel Session: 23 July 1968)	3:13
16.	"Love Story" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)	3:04
17.	"Stormy Monday" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968, written by T-Bone Walker)	4:09
18.	"Beggar's Farm" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)	3:22
19.	"Dharma for One" (John Peel Session: 5 November 1968)	3:46

Disc two: New Stereo Album Mix + Additional New Stereo Mixes & Original Mono Recordings (Remastered)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Sunday Feeling"	3:42
2.	"Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You"	2:47
3.	"Beggar's Farm"	4:21
4.	"Move on Alone"	1:57
5.	"Serenade to a Cuckoo"	6:05
6.	"Dharma for One"	4:13
7.	"It's Breaking Me Up"	5:03
8.	"Cat's Squirrel"	5:39
9.	"A Song for Jeffrey"	3:23
10.	"Round"	1:00
11.	"Love Story" (New Stereo Mix)	3:05
12.	"Christmas Song" (New Stereo Mix)	3:13
13.	"Sunshine Day" (Non-LP single, original mono recording)	2:26
14.	"One for John Gee" (B-side of 'Song for Jeffrey' single, original mono recording)	2:05
15.	"Love Story" (A-side of single WIP 6048 released in November 1968 on Island, original mono recording)	3:05
16.	"Christmas Song" (B-side of 'Love Story' single, original mono recording)	3:05

Personnel

Jethro Tull

Mick Abrahams – guitar, nine-string guitar, vocals
Ian Anderson – flute, mouth organ, "claghorn",^[7] piano, vocals
Clive Bunker – drums, hooter, charm bracelet
Glenn Cornick – bass guitar

Additional personnel

David Palmer – French horn and orchestral arrangements
Terry Ellis - Producer

Release history

Dates

25 October 1968 (UK)
3 February 1969 (US)

Labels

Island (UK)
Reprise (US)
Philips (Spain)
Sonet (Scandinavia)
Fontana (South Africa)
Chrysalis (1973 reissue)

References

↑ Eder, Bruce. This Was – Jethro Tull at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
↑ Evans, Allen (26 October 1968). "This Was: Jethro Tull". NME. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
↑ "Jethro Tull LP Sets Fans on Fire". Melody Maker. 2 November 1968. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
↑ Christgau, Robert (14 August 1969). "Consumer Guide (3)". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved 5 July 2013.
↑ "Music - Review of Jethro Tull - This Was". BBC.co.uk. 2001-09-24. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 282. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
↑ Claghorn:
"a strange bamboo flute with a saxophone mouthpiece attached to it called a claghorn – a dreadful instrument that I invented"
—Ian Anderson, interview with BBC Radio Scotland, 27 August 2001

External links

This Was (1968) at AllMusic
This Was (2001) at AllMusic (bonus tracks)
This Was at Progressive World

Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson Clive Bunker Glenn Cornick Mick Abrahams Tony Iommi Martin Barre John Evan Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond Barriemore Barlow John Glascock David (Dee) Palmer Dave Pegg Mark Craney Eddie Jobson Peter-John Vettese Gerry Conway Paul Burgess Doane Perry Don Airey Maartin Allcock Andrew Giddings Dave Mattacks Jonathan Noyce David Goodier John O'Hara

Studio albums	This Was Stand Up Benefit Aqualung Thick as a Brick A Passion Play War Child Minstrel in the Gallery Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! Songs from the Wood Heavy Horses Stormwatch A The Broadsword and the Beast Under Wraps Crest of a Knave Rock Island Catfish Rising Roots to Branches J-Tull Dot Com The Jethro Tull Christmas Album

Live albums	Bursting Out Live at Hammersmith '84 Jethro Tull In Concert A Little Light Music Living with the Past Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 Aqualung Live Live at Montreux 2003 Live at Madison Square Garden 1978

Compilations	Living in the Past M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull Repeat – The Best of Jethro Tull – Vol II Original Masters 20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights Nightcap The Best of Jethro Tull – The Anniversary Collection Through the Years The Very Best of Jethro Tull The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull Essential

Boxed sets	20 Years of Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Box Set

Videos	Slipstream 20 Years of Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Video Living with the Past A New Day Yesterday Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 Live At Montreux 2003 Jack in the Green Classic Artists: Jethro Tull Live at Madison Square Garden 1978

Singles	"Sunshine Day" / "Aeroplane" (as "Jethro Toe") "A Song for Jeffrey" / "One for John Gee" "Love Story" / "A Christmas Song" "Living in the Past" / "Driving Song" "Sweet Dream" / "17" "Bouree" "Witch's Promise" / "Teacher" "Inside" / "Alive and Well and Living In" "Life Is A Long Song" "Hymn 43" "Living in the Past" "A Passion Play" "Bungle in the Jungle" / "Back-Door Angel" "Minstrel in the Gallery" / "Summerday Sands" "Living in the Past" / "Requiem" "Too Old to Rock And Roll, Too Young to Die" / "Rainbow Blues" "Locomotive Breath" "The Whistler" "A Stitch in Time" / "Sweet Dream" "Beastie" "Fallen On Hard Times" "Lap of Luxury" "Coronach" "Farm on the Freeway" "Jump Start" "Steel Monkey" "Said She Was a Dancer" "Part of the Machine" "Kissing Willie" "Another Christmas Song" "Rocks on the Road" "Living in the (Slightly More Recent) Past" "Bends Like a Willow"

Tours	Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll Tour Heavy Horses Tour Stormwatch Tour

Related	Discography A Billion Hands Concert The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus A Classic Case Ian Anderson solo discography Thick as a Brick 2