1979 was hardly the best year for progressive rock. Many of the iconic bands were in the midst of readjusting their sound and style, often flirting with easy pop to compete lucratively with the disco and new wave sounds that were booming at the end of the decade.
However, some bands persevered with their original vision, with varying degrees of creativity and some sonic shifts, but maintaining their core philosophy without taking the suicidal leap towards simple, commercial sounds. One of those bands was Jethro Tull, who in the second half of the seventies had released albums of rich folk rock, dominated by acoustic guitars and Ian Anderson's melodious, classical flute, returning to their roots where blues and folk were their defining style.
These albums included the folk-rock album "Minstrel in the Gallery", the medieval-tinged "Songs from the Wood", and the melodic folk album "Heavy Horses". However, for their twelfth album, "Stormwatch", the band took a step forward, moving towards a harder sound, at times bordering on hard rock a style they had abandoned since the early seventies with "Aqualung".
Lyrically, it also represented a radical shift. In contrast to the more cheerful and optimistic "Songs From The Wood" and the darker "Heavy Horses", "Stormwatch" showcases the band's concern for the environment and the pessimism stemming from excessive and uncontrolled economic growth, all delivered with Ian Anderson's characteristic sarcastic style. Also noteworthy, after his absence on previous albums, is the return of Martin Barre, who takes center stage with his powerful riffs and a harder guitar sound, as demonstrated in the opening and aggressive "North Sea Oil", followed by the dynamic and dark "Orion", and "Home," on the other hand, is a step back towards a more folk-oriented sound, where the string arrangements of an inspired David Palmer stand out.
Meanwhile, "Dark Ages" is one of the few tracks that maintains a progressive structure, due to its length of almost ten minutes, in which a kind of short epic unfolds with a certain dramatic flair. The martial “Warm Sporran” gives way to one of the heavier tracks, “Something’s On The Move”, followed by the nostalgic “Old Ghosts”, the acoustic “Dun Ringill”, and the elaborate “Flying Dutchman”, before concluding with the instrumental “Elegy”, a track that serves as the perfect ending to an album as dark as it is pleasing.
“Stormwatch” remains to this day one of Jethro Tull’s most underrated works, and this would, in a way, mark the end of an era. It would also be the last album to feature their longtime bassist John Glascock, who died during its recording after open-heart surgery. From this point on, the band embraced more electronic sounds without ever losing their original essence, as would be demonstrated on the following albums: “A,” “The Broadsword and the Beast,” and “Under Wraps.”
