Three-CD/DVD collection includes rare recordings and more.
(Image credit: Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
On November 9 Rhino will release an expanded 50th anniversary edition of Jethro Tull’s 1968 debut album, This Was.
The deluxe 3CD/DVD version includes:
- Original album and bonus tracks remixed in stereo by Steven Wilson
- Live BBC sessions recorded in 1968
- Original mono mix and original 1968 U.K. stereo mix
- Original album and bonus tracks remixed by Steven Wilson in 4.1 DTS and AC3
- Dolby Digital surround and 96/24 LPCM stereo
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- Flat transfer of the 1968 stereo remix
- Presented in a case-bound DVD book filled with an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs
Recorded during the summer of 1968, This Was is the only Jethro Tull album to feature guitarist Mick Abrahams, who left the group shortly after the album came out to form Blodwyn Pig. The title of the album refers to the band moving away from its early blues-based sound, which was referenced in the original liner notes: "This was how we were playing then—but things change, don't they?"
The album includes songs that have been in and out of Jethro Tull's live show for 50 years, like "My Sunday Feeling" and "Beggar's Farm." Also featured are several bonus tracks: "Love Story," "A Christmas Song," "Sunshine Day" and "Aeroplane."
In 1968, BBC Radio featured the band twice on its award-winning program, "BBC Top Gear Session." Both of those performances—nine songs in total—are featured on the second disc, including live versions of "Serenade to a Cuckoo," "Love Story" and "My Sunday Feeling." Rounding out the disc are b-sides, outtakes, radio advertisements, and an unreleased mono mix of "Someday The Sun Won't Shine For You" (Faster Version). The final CD features the album's original U.K. stereo mix and its original mono mix.
The DVD features the original album and bonus tracks remixed by Steven Wilson in 4.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital surround and 96/24 LPCM stereo. There are also 5.1 surround versions of "Love Story" and "A Christmas Song." Also included in 96/24 LPCM stereo is the 1969 stereo mix that was released in the U.S.
This Was: 50th Anniversary Edition track listing:
Disc One: Steven Wilson Stereo Remix:
1. "My Sunday Feeling"
2. "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You"
3. "Beggar's Farm"
4. "Move On Alone"
5. "Serenade To A Cuckoo"
6. "Dharma For One"
7. "It's Breaking Me Up"
8. "Cat's Squirrel"
9. "A Song For Jeffrey"
10. "Round"
Associated Recordings:
11. "Love Story"
12. "A Christmas Song"
13. "Serenade To A Cuckoo" (Take 1)*
14. "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You" (Faster Version)*
15. "Move On Alone" (Flute Version)*
16. "Ultimate Confusion"*
Disc Two:
1. "So Much Trouble" (BBC Sessions)
2. "My Sunday Feeling" (BBC Sessions)
3. "Serenade To A Cuckoo" (BBC Sessions)
4. "Cat's Squirrel" (BBC Sessions)
5. "A Song For Jeffrey" (BBC Sessions)
6. "Love Story" (BBC Sessions)
7. "Stormy Monday" (BBC Sessions)
8. "Beggar's Farm" (BBC Sessions)
9. "Dharma For One" (BBC Sessions)
10. "A Song For Jeffrey" (Original Mono Mix)
11. "One For John Gee" (Original Mono Mix)
12. "Someday The Sun Won't Shine For You" - Faster Version (Original Mono Mix)*
13. "Love Story" (Original Mono Mix)
14. "A Christmas Song" (Original Mono Mix)
15. "Sunshine Day"
16. "Aeroplane"
17. "Blues For The 18th"
18. "Love Story" (1969 US Promo Single Stereo Mix for FM Radio Airplay)
19. US FM Radio Spot #1
20. US FM Radio Spot #2
Disc Three:
1. "My Sunday Feeling" (Original Stereo Mix)
2. "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You" (Original Stereo Mix)
3. "Beggar's Farm" (Original Stereo Mix)
4. "Move On Alone" (Original Stereo Mix)
5. "Serenade To A Cuckoo" (Original Stereo Mix)
6. "Dharma For One" (Original Stereo Mix)
7. "It's Breaking Me Up" (Original Stereo Mix)
8. "Cat's Squirrel" (Original Stereo Mix)
9. "A Song For Jeffrey" (Original Stereo Mix)
10. "Round" (Original Stereo Mix)
11. "My Sunday Feeling" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
12. "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
13. "Beggar's Farm" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
14. "Move On Alone" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
15. "Serenade To A Cuckoo" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
16. "Dharma For One" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
17. "It's Breaking Me Up" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
18. "Cat's Squirrel" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
19. "A Song For Jeffrey" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
20. "Round" (2008 Remastered Version - Mono)
DVD:
- Original album and bonus tracks remixed by Steven Wilson in 4.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital surround and 96/24 LPCM stereo
- "Love Story" and "A Christmas Song" in 5.1 surround
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
