[Pet Health Admin]

Like 1977's Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses is often unfairly posited as the thematic follow-up to its aforementioned studio predecessor. While Songs from the Wood evokes a magical atmosphere, Heavy Horses is far more earthly. Indeed, on the nine-minute-long title-track--a most poetic ode to the England's plough horses--Ian Anderson sings with the sorrow of a farmhand witnessing modern harvesting equipment coming over the horizon for the first time. One can even forgive him the rather randy line, "Let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed, to keep the old line going." Sure, there's plenty of prattle about drinking afternoon tea with mice, but tracks like "Moths" and "Acres Wild" mark Heavy Horses as a must-own title in the Jethro Tull canon. --Kevin Maidment
Customer Review: One of Tull's best
Quite simply one of Tull's best. Granted, it leans a bit toward the "acoustic" side of Tull, but it has all the good trademarks of the best Jethro Tull music: Ian Anderson's characteristic flute, Martin Barre's virtuosic and streamlined electric guitar, syncopated rhythms with complex arrangements, insightful lyrics, and (especially on this album) that "earthy" feel. My only complaint would be that Ian Anderson's voice has a bit of that flat and robotic feel that it does on the middle-era albums, less raw than the early ones and less free and relaxed than on recent releases. I first heard the album when my mother bought it because of the horses on the cover; but perhaps a band rooted in rural living and named after the inventor of the seed drill (which contributed to the 18th-century agricultural revolution by making planting seeds more efficient) would do best with such rural themes anyway! Heavy Horses is also a nice companion to the more outdoorsy "Songs from the Wood." I see them as a pair, although I don't know if they were intended or created that way.
Customer Review: Strong Follow up to SONGS FROM THE WOOD
While the imagery is (for me) not as strong as it's predecessor, I can still strongly reccomend this album to all but Tull neophites. The music & performances are solid as any & Mr. Anderson is in fine form. I've seen "the boys" play a few times, though, and any recording (like those for say, Disco Biscuits, now) is pale beside a live setting. Nonetheless, I'd reccomend this album to anyone who enjoys Tull's brand of rock & art. Listen to it a couple of times right away. There are tracks here that definitely grow on you. Enjoy!


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