Minstrel in the Gallery
| Minstrel in the Gallery | ||||
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| Studio album by Jethro Tull | ||||
| Released | 5 September 1975 (UK) 8 September 1975 (US) |
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| Recorded | April 1975 in the Maison Rouge Mobile Studio (Europe) | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock,hard rock,folk rock | |||
| Length | 45:11 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer | Ian Anderson | |||
| Jethro Tull chronology | ||||
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Singles from Minstrel in the Gallery |
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
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| Rolling Stone | (unfavourable) |
| Sounds | (favourable) |
| Sputnik Music |
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Minstrel in the Gallery is the eighth studio album by British band Jethro Tull, recorded in April and released in September 1975. The album goes in a different direction from their previous work War Child (1974), with the orchestration being replaced by a string quartet conducted by David Palmer. The band also return to the blend of electric and acoustic pieces, in a manner closer to their early '70s albums such as Benefit (1970), Aqualung (1971) and Thick as a Brick (1972), and for the first time since their two concept albums of Thick as a Brick (1972) and A Passion Play (1973), they recorded a song of more than ten minutes, which occupies almost all of the second side of the record.
It would be the last album to feature bassist Jeffrey Hammond, who was replaced by former Carmen bass player John Glascock.
The band recorded in a mobile studio in Monte Carlo in Monaco - being the first time Jethro Tull recorded an album in such studio. Anderson thought that the band was unfocused in the making of the music, leaving him with more freedom to explore the melodies and themes. Minstrel in the Gallery's lyrics and subject matter do show an introspective and cynical air, possibly the byproduct of Anderson's recent divorce from first wife Jennie Franks and the pressures of touring, coupled with the frustrations of writing for and recording the album in Monaco.
The album' title refers to the use of a minstrel's gallery in the great hall of castles or manor houses. This analogy was used thematically in the opening spoken words of the title track, "Cold Wind to Valhalla" and "Baker St. Muse" and also in the songs lyrics, always in a first person manner.
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