Listen to this collection, put together to capitalize on the explosive growth in the group's audience after
Aqualung
, and it's easy to understand just how fine a group
Jethro Tull
was in the early '70s. Most of the songs, apart from a few heavily played album tracks (
"Song for Jeffrey,"
etc.) and a pair of live tracks from a 1970
Carnegie Hall
show, came off of singles and EPs that, apart from the title song, were scarcely known in America, and it's all so solid that it needs no apology or explanation. Not only was
Ian Anderson
writing solid songs every time out, but the group's rhythm section was about the best in
progressive rock
's
pop
division. Along with any of the group's first five albums, this collection is seminal and essential to any
Tull
collection, and the only compilation by the group that is a must-own disc. ~ Bruce Eder