Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses (1978)

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Heavy Horses is an album released by Jethro Tull on April 10, 1978. It is considered the second album in a trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull although folk music's influence is obvious on virtually every Tull release. The album abandons much of the folk lyrical content typical of the previous studio album, Songs from the Wood, in exchange for a more realist perspective on the changing world. Likewise, the band sound is harder and tighter.

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HEAVY HORSES brings together the best elements of Jethro Tull's sonic arsenal: heavy guitars, intricate, evolving song structures, folk tendencies, and Ian Anderson's inimitable growl. The album opens with the bouncy "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps," a fairy tale-like song about the adventures of a group of forest animals. "Acres Wild" features a disco-esque groove held down by funky drums and bass. The album's out-and-out highlight is the nearly eight-minute "No Lullaby," a song that undergoes the sort of musical metamorphoses present in Tull's best material. Another exceptional effort is the multi-textured title track, a song written as a tribute to the farm horses in England (which, at the time of the album's release, were declining in number). HEAVY HORSES is one of the band's most heartfelt efforts.

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Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson (vocals, guitar, mandolin, flute); Martin Barre (guitar); John Evan (piano, organ); David Palmer (portative pipe organ, keyboards); John Glascock (bass); Barriemore Barlow (drums).
Additional personnel: Darryl Way (violin).
Recorded at Maison Rouge Studio, Fullham, London in January 1978.

Tracklist:
01. ...And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps [03:14]
02. Acres Wild [03:25]
03. No Lullaby [07:55]
04. Moths [03:27]
05. Journeyman [03:57]
06. Rover [04:16]
07. One Brown Mouse [03:23]
08. Heavy Horses [08:59]
09. Weathercock [04:02]