[Craig in Indy]

How did I manage to miss this thread? Tull is one of my all time favorite bands. I first came on board when Aqualung was released, but quickly filled out my collection with its predecessors. And while I liked Thick a lot, I couldn't warm up to A Passion Play at all, and sadly it put me off the rest of the band's output (other than Living in the Past). I do have a copy of Songs from the Wood that I have yet to get around to listening to, though. I've heard it's among the best of the latter-day Tull albums.

All in all, among the material I know, the highlights for me are Stand Up and Benefit, with a definite preference for the former. For some reason I'm especially drawn to the songs that are in 6/8 time - I just love the kind of feel that time signature creates. And while I think all of the remasters are very well done, that one shows the most improvement. Some of the differences are staggering.

Of course, one of the things I miss about the CDs of both albums is the now-absent "trick" album covers. Stand Up of course had the folded illustration in the middle that popped up like a children's book when you opened the gatefold album cover. And Benefit (if memory serves) had little opening windows in it, like an advent calendar. Sadly those two LPs are gone from my collection, but I plan on hanging onto Thick forever, with its newspaper foldout.

Oh, and they were the first rock concert I ever attended, at the Chicago Stadium in 1972, when they were touring in support of Thick. Glen Cornish's (late of Tull) new band Wild Turkey opened for them.