Stormwatch

Among Jethro Tull's activities during the previous year, they managed to back Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior on her debut solo album, Woman In The Wings. David Palmer lent his considerable arrangement skills, while Martin Barre contributed a blistering solo to "Cold Flame." The album is worth seeking out. Judging by the Stormwatch album cover, Ian Anderson seemed to have had enough with country life, looking now to the North Sea for inspiration on this, the band's 12th studio album, and the final installment of their so-called folk trilogy. To wit, the album presents a harder edge than its two predecessors, if only slightly. Gone are songs about country estates, and in are the songs concerning oil and the environment. "Orion" isn't particularly inspired, but it has a good hook. "Dark Ages" and "Something's on the Move" are the big rocking tracks, while "Flying Dutchman" sports the large orchestration. It isn't that the album is bad, in fact it's the folksiest of the trilogy; but ultimately, it just sounds like more of the same ole Jethro Tull. However, David Palmer did manage to do something quite rare in Tull-dom: he received a songwriting credit. A tribute to his late father, his self-penned "Elegy" closes the record. Sadly, bassist John Glascock would succumb to a heart condition before the sessions were completed, with Anderson filling in on bass to finish the album. The band would then go through some major personnel changes, beginning with Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg subbing in on the subsequent tour. The album reached No. 27 in the UK, and fared slightly better in the US at No. 22.