| JETHRO TULL THIS WAS | |
01. My Sunday Feeling (3:38) (Anderson) | 02. Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You (2:42) (Anderson) 03. Beggar's Farm (4:19) (Abrahams/Anderson) 04. Move On Alone (2:00) (Abrahams) 05. Serenade To A Cuckoo (6:01) (Roland Kirk) 06. Dharma For One (4:11) (Anderson/Bunker) 07. It's Breaking Me Up (4:56) (Anderson) 08. Cat's Squirrel (5:36) (Trad. arr. Abrahams) 09. A Song For Jeffrey (3:18) (Anderson) 10. Round (0:50) (Anderson/Abrahams/Bunker/Cornick/Ellis) Total playing time: 38:41 Bonus tracks on remastered CD: 11. One For John Gee (2:04) (Abrahams) 12. Love Story (3:01) (Anderson) 13. Christmas Song (3:05) (Anderson) Overalll playing time: ~47 minutes Ian Anderson: Flute, Mouth Organ, Claghorn on 6, Piano on 10, Vocals Mick Abrahams: Guitar, 9-String Guitar, Vocals on 4 Clive Bunker: Drums, Hooter & charm bracelet Glenn Cornick: Bass Guitar Recorded at Sound Techniques Studio, Chelsea, London, between June 13 & August 23 1968 Recording engineer: Victor Gamm Produced by Terry Ellis & Jethro Tull Strings arranged by David Palmer Cover concept by Terry Ellis & Ian Anderson Cover photographs by Brian Ward Well - they don't seem to do this cover note thing any more which is a bit sad as it is not a bad thing to say something, even if it doesn't amount to much. 'This was' recorded at Sound Techniques Studio, Chelsea, London - a big sort of greenhouse place. The coffee machine didn't always work, and you had to watch out for the wires and things on the floor - very pleasant, though, first thing in the morning. There we met Recording Engineer Victor Gamm who turned out to be all right too. He twiddled the magic knobs and bore up quite well under strain. Produced by Terry Ellis and Jethro Tull for Chrysalis Productions, which is a bit of a joke really but Victor showed us which levers to pull and we had the whole thing going quite nicely towards the end. Cover concept by Terry Ellis & Ian Anderson, with many thanks for the cover photographs by Brian Ward - he's only a young lad, but he does a fair snap. By way (not of explanation) of interest as regards some of the things - 'Move On Alone' is one of Mick's - it's designed to be pleasant and loose - has weird trumpets and things arranged by David Palmer which we slipped on without Mick's noticing. He (Mick) plays a 9-string guitar, which is a 12-string guitar with three strings missing (or something). 'Serenade to a Cuckoo' is this Roland Kirk one, which was the first thing Ian learned to play on flute (so he says) - it's probably all right. 'Dharma For One' zooms along (you know?) - contains Claghorn (Jeffrey made it) and old Clive has a bit of a bash). 'Cat's Squirrel' is here because people like it, Terry just muttered something about "representative of our musical style" (which is bull). 'A Song for Jeffrey' - he is one of us but doesn't really play anything - makes bombs and things. 'Round' - musically goodbye or something - Ian (playing) on piano. 'This was' commenced on Thursday 13th June and finished on Friday 23rd August (1968). 'This was' how we were playing then - but things change. Don't they. Jethro Tull
(P) © 1968 Chrysalis Records Ltd. 12 Stratford Place, London W1N 9AF 2001 Remaster: re-issue co-ordination: Jo Brooks & Nigel Reeves Artwork designed by The Red Room @ EMI Remaster's sleevenotes: I pushed for the name 'This Was' to make some kind of statement regarding the temporary nature of the band's then musical style & in the hope that we might move on from the musically limiting blues-based tunes to incorporate the other influences which I was assimilating from various sources. As it turned out, like his prophetic song, it was Mick Abrahams who was to move on alone after the ten months during which his musical skills & showmanship did so much to establish the early credentials of our little band. The support of Marquee Club manager, John Gee & BBC Radio DJ John Peel were of enormous help in spreading the word & giving us the opportunity to find an audience. Perhaps, to Mick, John & John we should dedicate this remastered edition of 'This Was', complete with the additional tracks recorded during the brief life of this line-up of Jethro Tull. Tribute track 'One For John Gee' speaks for itself while the single 'Love Story', recorded late in 1968, marked the end of the Abrahams era in the studio. 'A Christmas Song' was mostly me together with a string quartet accompaniment arranged & conducted by David Palmer in a taste of more eclectic things to come. And, of course, our thanks go to managers Terry Ellis & Chris Wright for taking the chance. IA, August 2001 
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