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Jethro Tull - Catfish Rising Audio CD

A fair review of the Jethro Tull "Catfish Rising" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jethro Tull reviews here, or go back to the Jethro Tull tabs.

Jethro Tull Band: Jethro Tull
Title: Catfish Rising
Rating:
Release Date: 1991-09-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: This Is Not Love 2: Occasional Demons 3: Roll Yer Own 4: Rocks on the Road 5: Sparrow on the Schoolyard Wall 6: Thinking Round Corners 7: Still Loving You Tonight 8: Doctor to My Disease 9: Like a Tall Thin Girl 10: White Innocence 11: Sleeping With the Dog 12: Gold-Tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie 13: When Jesus Came to Play

2 1/2 stars. Could have been better.
Even the music snippits sound promising. I really expected this to be so much better, with reviewers saying that Tull had returned to its blues roots. There are a few good songs here. The rest of the album needs to be edited and could have benifitted from a producer. Then again I've heard of producers ruining albums, so who knows?

The first two tracks begin with AC/DC guitar riffs and don't really go anywhere. The first good song is track 4 "Rocks on the Road". "Thinking Round Corners" is possibly the best track here. I was hoping the 2nd half of the album would be more consistant, but after the "Doctor to my Disease" we have "Like a Tall Thin Girl" which is musically very good(think "Fat Man" from the Stand Up LP), but suffers from cliched and possibly trite lyrics. This is where some editing could have helped lyrically. Ironically "When Jesus Came to Play" has excellent lyrics, but is musically uninteresting. I agree with the reviewer who states that this could be a great track if they had powered it up a little bit. The last really good track is "Gold Tipped Boots, Black Jacket. . . ". If you go for the remastered version, at least you get two bonus tracks.

Post Script: I recently heard the live version of "Like a Tall Thin Girl" and it is actually quite good. Ian's delivery of the lyrics is much better on that version. .


One of My Favorites From Jethro Tull
Out of all the newer albums I heard, this one caught my ear and has the strongest tunes in my opinion. I have been trying to get familiar with his newer stuff because I will be seeing Tull in concert for the first time with my Dad next Friday. I have been playing Catfish Rising in my car for two weeks straight now and I can't wait until October 14th to see them live.


I Was Left Wanting
I probably have somewhat unique tastes among Tull fans in that I really don't like a lot of their early stuff, and really think their music took off with "War Child. I am 41 years old, and have been a huge Tull fan since I was about 11. " That being said, I find "Catfish Rising" simply, well, BORING. It seems like the band is holding back, and the electric guitar is way too subtle. For example, the track "When Jesus Came to Play" could have been a monster if they just powered it up a little, but as it is, it's merely so-so. Plus, Ian Anderson sings in basically the same nasal tone on just about every track. Again my Tull tastes are undoubtedly unique, but I thought the band really uncorked it with "Crest of a Knave," and I'd like to see them release another CD with as much power and energy.


A commendable release
I don't quite have all their releases yet, but I'm working on it, and am only missing a few. I've been a big Tull fan since 1968, and have seen them "live" 11 times over the years.

That being said, and being the Tull afficianado that I am, I have to say, this is one of the best releases of their later period. Granted, this is not up there with "Aqualung" or "Thick As A Brick", but this is a commendable CD, containing some great Tull tracks. "Rocks on The Road" ranks among my top 5 or 6 Tull tunes ever, and "Roll Yer Own" is also a great song. I think Ian's songwriting on "Catfish Rising" is still top-notch.

Not the best Tull CD, but one definitely worth having.


not quite a long-delayed return to form
The lyrics are interesting (an improvement), but interesting is not the same as good. This is clearly much better than the albums that immediately preceded it, Crest of a Knave and Rock Island, but that is saying very little. (I don't agree, by the way, that White has more in particular to do with Budapest than various other Ian Anderson songs, and White's lyrics are much better--if again, not quite good. )

The main problem once again is Ian Anderson's singing and the extreme compositional compromises he is forced to make to accommodate it. Again he is droning on a single (or two or three) pitches and nevertheless often croaking. Again he is misappropriating an extremely nasal late-70's to mid-eighties Dylan vocal artifice.

We have, however, occasionally in the instrumental section of various songs snippets of actual real music. The especially intriguing thing is how little these snippets have to do with the songs proper. In the most curious and satisfying example, what sounds like a string orchestra briefly appears than disappears forever. If it seems as if I'm disparaging the disparity, I'm not; the disparity is presumably deliberate, and I appreciate it. Still these episodes are not enough to salvage the album.


You can see a complete list of all Jethro Tull discography, or go back to the Jethro Tull tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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