This is the 2011 Steven Wilson Stereo Remix. Steven Wilson is musician and producer and is well known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree.
"The leap from 1970's 'Benefit' to the following year's 'Aqualung' is one of the most astonishing progressions in rock history.
In the space of one album, Tull went from relatively unassuming electrified folk-rock to larger-than-life conceptual rock full of sophisticated compositions and complex, intellectual lyrical constructs. while the leap to full-blown prog-rock wouldn't be taken until a year later on 'Thick As A Brick', the degree to which Tull upped the ante here is remarkable.
The lyrical concept - the hypocrisy of christianity in England - is stronger than on most other '70s conceptual efforts, but it is ultimately the music that makes the album. Tull's winning way with a riff was never so arresting as on the chugging 'Locomotive Breath,' or the character studies 'Cross Eyed Mary' and 'Aqualung,' which portray believably seedy participants in Ian Anderson's story. The fable imagery of 'Mother Goose' and the vitriolic anti-authoritarian sentiments of 'Wind Up' both serve notice of Anderson's willful iconoclasm and his disillusionment with the spiritual traditions to which he was born.
Varied but cohesive, 'Aqualung' is widely regarded as Tull's finest hour." - Rough Trade
Notes on the 2011 Steven Wilson Remix from Wilson himself:
"Ian has stated that the original recording sessions for Aqualung were a struggle to overcome the technical shortcomings of the studio situation the band found themselves in, and it's certainly the case that the original release is more a triumph of writing and performance than it is of sonic excellence. But I was pleased to discover that what was on the multitrack master tapes sounded better than the 1971 mix would suggest. Using the digitally transferred 16 and 8 track tapes we were able to get a lot more tone from the instruments, as well as a much greater sense of depth and clarity in the sonic picture."
"As a long term fan of this music, my aim when remixing a classic album like this is to be faithful to the original, and to stay absolutely true to the spirit of the era in which the music was made. Some cleaning up has been done, but only to the extent that it had zero impact on the audio (after all, a little bit of analogue tape hiss is part of the magic!) No attempt was made to "modernise" the mix, and to this end most of the equalisation, volume levels (and rides), stereo positioning, reverbs, echos and other effects processing are matched as closely as possible to the 1971 mix. The only exceptions to this are that we have brought some instruments in a little from extreme left or right in the stereo spectrum, and a few details that may have been getting a little lost in the original mix have been given a lift in the new version." - Steven Wilson, 2011
Don't miss out on the chance to dive even deeper one of rock's greatest all-time concept albums!
Compact Disc
2. Cross-Eyed Mary
3. Cheap Day Return
4. Mother Goose
5. Wond'ring Aloud
6. Up To Me
7. My God
8. Hymn 43
9. Slipstream
10. Locomotive Breath
11. Wind-Up
