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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: 2006-11-21
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 14: Night in the Wilderness [*] 15: Jump Start [Live][*]

Could have been better.


The first really good song is track 4 "Rocks on the Road". I expected this album to be up to par with the rest of the Tull catalog, but this one suffers from inconsitant production values.
"Thinking Round Corners" is possibly the best track on the disc.
I was hoping that the 2nd half would be better. However, it is also quite inconsistant. For example; "Doctor to my Disease" is good and "Like a Tall Thin Girl" starts out interesting musically(think "Fat Man" from the Stand Up LP), but suffers from cliched lyrics. This is where some editing really could have helped lyrically. Ironically "When Jesus came to Play" has excellent lyrics but is musically uninteresting. I agree with the reveiwer who states that this could have been a great song if they had powered it up a bit.

The last really good track from the album is "Gold Tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie".

Even Tull's lesser albums don't suffer from this lack of originality. Their follow up album "Roots to Branches" is actually much better, although it did not sell as many copies.

The remastered CD does place two bonus tracks at the end. If you're a Tull fan you will probably get this for the highlights. If you are new to Tull I recommend the remastered versions of "Minstrel in the Gallery", "War Child", "Stand Up" and "Benifit".

If you really want to get to the blues roots of Tull check out their very first LP "This Was".

Post Script: I recently heard the live version (London 1991) of "Like a Tall Thin Girl" and it is actually quite good. Ian's delivery of the lyrics is much better on that version. .


Jethro Rising
Many great rockers on this one, like "This Is Not Love," "Occasional Demons," "Like A Tall Thin Girl," and "White Innocence," as well as lighter but just-as-powerful songs like the excellent "Rocks On The Road," "Still Loving You Tonight," and the band's amusing tale of "When Jesus Came To Play. For 1991's "Catfish Rising," Jethro Tull get more into a blues-rock vein, and it's a highly enjoyable Tull album from start to finish. " Although I personally think Tull's best album from the 90's is "Roots To Branches," "Catfish Rising" is still another great album from Ian Anderson & company. .


Tull a la Tupelo
Yes, this is Jethro Tull's best album of the '90s, which really isn't saying a whole lot, but this one does have some fine tunes and an insistent, consistent, and ultimately irresistable bluesy groove and snarl.


Jethro Tull - Back To Blues Rock Roots
Along with Anderson, Barre and Pegg this version of the band also featured Doane Perry on drums, Andy Giddings on keys. By the time "Catfish Rising" was released in 1991 Ian Anderson had once again assembled a full large band as Jethro Tull. Additional keys and bass were provided by David Pegg, longtime Who sideman Rabbit Bundrick, and Foss Paterson. The album is a decent one, but I would not rank it up with the band's best. The disc is somewhat a return to the band's early blues roots. Anderson and company mix in traditional blues with folk, progressive rock, and just plain strangeness at times to come up with an interesting mix of music. For me the two big highlights on this album are the prog rock-ish "White Innocence" with it's killer instrumental break in the middle and the album closer "When Jesus Came To Play" concerning a modern day Messiah playing music in a dive bar. It sounds odd, and you would probably have to hear it, but I think it is one of the cleverest songs Anderson has written in a long time. Other good ones are the rocking single "This Is Not Love", the road anthem "Rocks On The Road", and a few others. Maybe it is just me, but some of the lyrics on this disc have Mr. Anderson coming across like a dirty old man. He has always used sexual innuendo in his lyrics, but this time it just comes across as. . . . . . for lack of a better word "creepy" at times. Overall I would call this a good, but not great Jethro Tull disc. Worth owning for fans of the band, but I wouldn't start out with this album if you are just looking to explore them.


Too old to rock... too smart to play the blues
The music is stagnant and smells of tired Dire Straits. Tull makes a mistake on this one. I am glad they have not revisited this boring blues trap. I know it is part of their past but Tull is much more than this. I was happy they returned to the prog on Roots to Branches. .


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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