Jethro Tull notched their sixth gold record in 1975 with their eighth studio album, Minstrel in the Gallery.
Its elaborate production is reminiscent of the band's classic 1972 album, Thick As a Brick, and its songs rock as hard as anything in the band's massive catalog.
To mark the occasion of the album's 40th anniversary, Parlophone will present several new versions of the album early next month.
And to mark that occasion, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Minstrel in the Gallery" (BBC version), a previously unreleased recording. You can hear it below.
Minstrel in the Gallery: 40th Anniversary La Grande Edition will be available as a limited-edition 2CD/2DVD set May 5. You can see the complete track listing below.
Highlights include:
• Original album and seven bonus tracks (six previously unreleased), two mixed to 5.1 surround, and all to stereo by Steven Wilson
• Flat transfers of the original LP mix at 96/24 (plus "Summerday Sands")
• Flat transfer of the original quad mix of the LP (plus "Summerday Sands")
• An eight-minute film of the band performing "Minstrel in the Gallery" in Paris from July 1975
• Presented in a case-bound DVD book that includes an 80-page booklet featuring an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, recollections by roadie Kenny Wylie, Maison Rouge maintenance engineer Pete Smith and string section member Liz Edwards, plus lyrics, tour itinerary and rare and unseen photographs.
Also on May 5, a new stereo remix of Minstrel in the Gallery will be released on a single CD, digitally and on 180-gram vinyl as a limited-edition pressing.
When it was originally released, Minstrel in the Gallery became the band's fifth consecutive U.S. Top 10 album, peaking at Number 7 and at Number 29 in the U.K. It also was the last to feature the longtime lineup of Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evans, Barrie Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond.
For this anniversary edition, the album has been expanded with the B-side "Summerday Sands," several studio outtakes, as well as alternate session material done for a BBC broadcast of the album's title track (you can hear it below), "Cold Wind to Valhalla" and "Aqualung."
The second disc features a live recording of the band performing at the Olympia in Paris on July 5, 1975, a few months prior to the release of Minstrel in the Gallery. It was mixed to 5.1 and stereo by King Crimson guitarist Jakko Jakszyk.
For more information about Minstrel in the Gallery: 40th Anniversary La Grande Edition, visit jethrotull.com. To pre-order the album now, visit amazon.com.
Minstrel in the Gallery: 40th Anniversary La Grande Edition Track Listing:
Disc 1: New Steven Wilson Stereo Remix
1. "Minstrel In The Gallery"
2. "Cold Wind To Valhalla"
3. "Black Satin Dancer"
4. "Requiem"
5. "One White Duck / 010 = Nothing At All"
6. "Baker St. Muse"
a. "Pig-Me And The Whore"
b. "Nice Little Tune"
c. "Crash-Barrier Waltzer"
d. "Mother England Reverie"
7. "Grace"
8. "Summerday Sands"
9. "Requiem" (Version 1)*
10. "One White Duck" (Take 5)*
11. "Grace" (Take 2)*
12. "Minstrel in the Gallery" (BBC version)*
13. "Cold Wind to Valhalla" (BBC version)*
14. "Aqualung" (BBC version)*
Disc 2: Live At The Palais Des Sports, Paris, July 5, 1975 (Jakko Jakszyk Stereo Mix)
1. "Introduction (The Beach Part 11)"
2. "Wind Up"
3. "Critique Oblique"
4. "Wond'ring Aloud"
5. "My God"
a. Flute Solo Including: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Bouree/Quartet"
b. "Living In The Past"
c. "My God" (Reprise)
6. "Cross-Eyed Mary"
7. "Minstrel in the Gallery"
8. "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day"
9. "Bungle In The Jungle"
10. "Aqualung"
11. Guitar Solo
12. "Back-Door Angels"
13. "Locomotive Breath" with improvisation and including "Hard Headed English General" and "Back-Door Angels" (Reprise)
* Previously Unreleased
Note: The DVDs will feature the DTS and DD 5.1 surround mixes as well as the 96/24 PCM stereo mix and an eight-minute film of the band recorded in Paris in July 1975.
