Thick as a Brick
Studio album by Jethro Tull
Released	March 3, 1972 (UK) May 10, 1972 (US)
Recorded	December 1971 at Morgan Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	43:50 (22:45 LP side 1; 21:05 LP side 2)
Label	Island Records (Original UK) Reprise (original US) Chrysalis/Capitol (US re-issue)
Producer	Ian Anderson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone (favorable) June 22, 1972 George Starostin (10/10) link
Jethro Tull chronology
Aqualung (1971) Thick as a Brick (1972) Living in the Past (1972)
Alternate cover
The cover of the 1995 25th anniversary re-release. Note the vertically elongated front page image and the completely different leftmost panel.

Thick as a Brick (1972) is a concept album by the British rock band Jethro Tull. Its lyrics are built around a poem written by a fictitious boy, "Gerald Bostock" a.k.a. "Little Milton" (Ian Anderson himself). The album only featured one song, lasting over 43 minutes. To accommodate the album on LP vinyl, the seamless track was split on both sides of the record. The epic is notable for its numerous time signature and tempo changes (not uncommon to the newly emerging progressive rock subgenre of rock), as well as a large number of themes throughout the piece, resembling a typical classical symphony in this regard, rather than a typical rock song. Released in 1972, Thick As A Brick was Tull's first true prog rock offering, four years after the release of their first album. Not only was the musical structure complex, but many instruments uncommon in rock music were added. Whereas in prior numbers the band were content with guitars, drums, piano, Hammond organ, and Ian Anderson's signature flute, Thick As A Brick included harpsichord, xylophone, violin, lute, trumpet, and a string section (as well as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass, piano, and flute). Cover of the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... For the 18th-century agriculturist for whom the band was named, see Jethro Tull (agriculturist). ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... An LP Long playing (LP), either 10 or 12-inch diameter, 33 rpm (actually 33. ... An LP Long playing (LP), either 10 or 12-inch diameter, 33 rpm (actually 33. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Island Records is a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. ... Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ... Chrysalis logo (1987-2005) Chrysalis Records is a record label that was created in 1969. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article is about the lead singer of Jethro Tull. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4. ... This article is about the magazine. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... For the 18th-century agriculturist for whom the band was named, see Jethro Tull (agriculturist). ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Living in the Past is a quasi-greatest hits collection by Jethro Tull which contains some unreleased songs. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... For the 18th-century agriculturist for whom the band was named, see Jethro Tull (agriculturist). ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Gerald Bostock (born circa 1964) is the fictional author of the poem used as the lyrics for the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. ... For other persons named John Milton, see John Milton (disambiguation). ... An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles, however saxophones have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since the 90s. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the lead singer of Jethro Tull. ... â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... A medieval era lute. ... The trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. ...

While the previous album, Aqualung, stretched the band's wings further from the blues of the first three albums, it was still basically mainstream rock. Band leader Ian Anderson was surprised by the critical reaction to the previous album Aqualung as a "concept album", a label he has firmly rejected to this day. In an interview on In the Studio with Redbeard (which spotlighted Thick as a Brick), Ian Anderson's response to the critics was "if the critics want a concept album we'll give them a concept album and we'll make it so bombastic and so over the top." With Thick as a Brick, the band created an album deliberately integrated around one concept: a poem by an intelligent English boy about the trials of growing up. Beyond this, the album was a send-up of all pretentious "concept albums". Anderson also stated in that interview that "the album was a spoof to the albums of Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer much like what the movie Airplane had been to Airport". The formula was successful, and the album reached number one on the charts in the United States. ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... “Blues music” redirects here. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... In the Studio with Redbeard is a North American radio program, produced and hosted by Dallas, Texas based rock and roll disc jockey Redbeard. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... ELP can also stand for Extra Long Play, a format for the VCR tape. ... Airplane! is an American comedy film, first released on 27 June 1980, produced, directed, and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. ...

Cover

The original LP cover was a spoof of a twelve by sixteen inch (305 by 406 mm) multipage local newspaper with stories, competitions, adverts, etc., lampooning the parochial and amateurish local journalism that still exists in many places today. The "newspaper" also includes the entire lyrics to the song. The spoof newspaper had to be heavily abridged for conventional CD covers, but the 25th Anniversary Special Edition CD includes a partial facsimile; some content is missing, such as the original connect the dots activity and part of the "front page". Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. ... Connect the dots puzzle for adults. ... Front Page can refer to: The first page of a publication such as a newspaper or magazine. ...

Track listing

Side one

1. "Thick as a Brick" (part one) (Ian Anderson/Gerald Bostock) – 22:45

This article is about the lead singer of Jethro Tull. ... Gerald Bostock (born circa 1964) is the fictional author of the poem used as the lyrics for the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. ...

Side two

2. "Thick as a Brick" (part two) (Ian Anderson/Gerald Bostock) – 21:05

This article is about the lead singer of Jethro Tull. ... Gerald Bostock (born circa 1964) is the fictional author of the poem used as the lyrics for the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. ...

25th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks

3. "Thick as a Brick" (live at Madison Square Garden, 1978) – 11:50
4. Interview with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond – 16:30

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ...

Personnel

• Ian Anderson – vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, violin, trumpet
• Gerald Bostock - Poet
• Martin Barre – electric guitar, lute
• John Evan – piano, organ, harpsichord
• Jeffrey Hammond (as "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond"): Bass guitar, vocals
• Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion, timpani
• David Palmer – brass and string arrangements

This article is about the lead singer of Jethro Tull. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A steel string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. ... ♠ This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Gerald Bostock (born circa 1964) is the fictional author of the poem used as the lyrics for the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... Martin Lancelot Barre (born 17 November 1946, in Kings Heath, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England) is an English rock musician. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... A medieval era lute. ... John Evan (born March 28, 1948) played keyboards for Jethro Tull from 1970 to 1980. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... Jeffrey Hammond (born July 30, 1946, sometimes credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond) was a bass player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, popping or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Barriemore Barlow Barriemore Barlow (born 10 September 1949, in Birmingham) best known as the drummer and percussionist for rock band Jethro Tull from 1972 to 1980. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... “Percussion” redirects here. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... Dee Palmer (born David Palmer in 1937) is a British arranger and keyboardist best known for her membership in the rock band Jethro Tull. ...

External links

• Thick as a Brick (1972) at All Music Guide
• Thick as a Brick (1998) at All Music Guide (UK)
• Complete lyrics
• Jethro Tull, Progressive Rock and Thematic Approach, essay by Dave Morris
• Scans of the pages of the LP cover mock newspaper