Jethro Tull’s relationship with the Christmas season goes all the way back to the legendary band’s early days. Now it’s renewed for modern-day admirers and longtime fans alike, with the release of an expanded and remixed edition of 2003’s The Jethro Tull Christmas Album via InsideOutMusic on December 6, 2024. It’s available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Listen to several tracks below.
Under the new title The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – Fresh Snow at Christmas, the band’s 21st studio album has been remixed from the original masters by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), as well as being given the surround sound treatment in both Dolby Atmos & 5.1. The limited deluxe 4-CD + Blu-ray book-set collection features all-new artwork, as well as live material, and includes the following across its 5 discs:
CD1: Original Album Mixes
CD2: 2024 Remixes by Bruce Soord
CD3: Christmas Live At St. Bride’s 2008 (newly remixed by Bruce Soord)
CD4: The Ian Anderson Band Live At St. Bride’s 2006 (previously unreleased)
Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound & High Resolution Stereo Mixes of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, as well as High Resolution Stereo Mixes of both live recordings
The album will also be released on vinyl for the very first time, as a gatefold 180g 2-LP featuring the 2024 remixes. It’s available in the U.S. here and the U.K. here.
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It included new interpretations of no fewer than seven Tull songs, including their first to be inspired by the holiday, 1968’s much-loved “A Christmas Song.” That Anderson composition, which opened with lyrics interpolated from “Once in Royal David’s City,” was the B-side of the band’s first U.K. chart single, “Love Story.”
“Some of the tracks are not necessarily Christmas songs; they’re more seasonal so that gives a broader window,” says Anderson. “And then there are a couple of them that I quite often play in the middle of summer and say, ‘It’ll soon be Christmas – it’s in the diary. So let’s kick it off now.’ And that’s part of what I’ve done over the years since October of 1968 when I went into record ‘A Christmas Song.’ So, yes – it goes back a long way.”
“A Christmas Song” was joined on the album by reworkings of such pieces as Tull’s 1976 festive hit “Ring Out Solstice Bells”; “Weathercock,” first heard on 1978’s Heavy Horses; and “Another Christmas Song,” from 1989’s Rock Island.
Also among the re-recordings was J.S. Bach’s “Bourée,” another longtime live favorite, inimitably imagined by Anderson.
“Part of the joy of redoing those things,” he says, “is that you can…not necessarily recreate, but you can keep all the essential elements of the song and maybe declutter it a little bit and give it a fresh look, but essentially still staying faithful to the original arrangements.”
Related: Our 2023 interview with Anderson on Tull’s past, present and future
The Jethro Tull Christmas Album was their last studio set to feature longtime guitarist Martin Barre, who composed its pretty closing instrumental “A Winter Snowscape.” Also featured on the album were keyboard and accordion player Andrew Giddings, bassist Jonathan Noyce and drummers Doane Perry and James Duncan. Anderson compositions making their debut included the opening “Birthday Card at Christmas” and “First Snow on Brooklyn,” while traditional pieces such as “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “We Five Kings” were interpreted alongside Fauré’s “Pavane.”
The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – Fresh Snow at Christmas Track Listing
CD1: The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – original mixes
1. Birthday Card at Christmas
2. Holly Herald
3. A Christmas Song
4. Another Christmas Song
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
6. Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow
7. Last Man at the Party
8. Weathercock
9. Pavane
10. First Snow on Brooklyn
11. Greensleeved
12. Fire at Midnight
13. We Five Kings
14. Ring Out Solstice Bells
15. Bourée
16. A Winter Snowscape
CD2: The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – 2024 stereo remixes
1. Birthday Card at Christmas
2. Holly Herald
3. A Christmas Song
4. Another Christmas Song
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
6. Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow
7. Last Man at the Party
8. Weathercock
9. Pavane
10. First Snow on Brooklyn
11. Greensleeved
12. Fire at Midnight
13. We Five Kings
14. Ring Out Solstice Bells
15. Bourée
16. A Winter Snowscape
CD3: Christmas Live At St. Brides 2008
1. Weathercock
2. Introduction: Rev. George Pitcher / Choir: What Cheer
3. A Christmas Song
4. Living in These Hard Times
5. Choir: Silent Night
6. Reading: Ian Anderson, Marmion
7. Jack in the Green
8. Another Christmas Song
9. Reading: Gavin Esler, God’s Grandeur
10. Choir: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
11. A Winter Snowscape
12. Fires at Midnight
13. We Five Kings
14. Choir: Gaudete
15. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / Thick As A Brick
CD4: The Ian Anderson Band Live At St. Brides 2006
1. Living In The Past
2. Griminelli’s Lament
3. A Christmas Song
4. Mozart
5. Pastime With Good Company
6. Holly Herald
7. Pavane Live
8. We Five Kings Live at St. Brides 2006
9. Aqualung
Blu-ray: Main Album in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound, 24/44 High Resolution Stereo
+ Live material in High-Resolution
1 Birthday Card at Christmas Dolby Atmos
2 Holly Herald Dolby Atmos
3 A Christmas Song Dolby Atmos
4 Another Christmas Song Dolby Atmos
5 God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman Dolby Atmos
6 Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow Dolby Atmos
7 Last Man at the Party Dolby Atmos
8 Weathercock Dolby Atmos
9 Pavane Dolby Atmos
10 First Snow on Brooklyn Dolby Atmos
11 Greensleeved Dolby Atmos
12 Fire at Midnight Dolby Atmos
13 We Five Kings Dolby Atmos
14 Ring Out Solstice Bells Dolby Atmos
15 Bourée Dolby Atmos
16 A Winter Snowscape Dolby Atmos
17 Weathercock Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
18 Introduction: Rev. George Pitcher / Choir: What Cheer Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
19 A Christmas Song Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
20 Living in These Hard Times Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
21 Choir: Silent Night Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
22 Reading: Ian Anderson, Marmion Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
23 Jack in the Green Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
24 Another Christmas Song Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
25 Reading: Gavin Esler, God’s Grandeur Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
26 Choir: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
27 A Winter Snowscape Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
28 Fires at Midnight Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
29 We Five Kings Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
30 Choir: Gaudete Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
31 God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / Thick As A Brick Live at St. Brides 2008 – High Res Audio
32 Living In The Past Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
33 Griminelli’s Lament Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
34 A Christmas Song Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
35 Mozart Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
36 Pastime With Good Company Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
37 Holly Herald Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
38 Pavane Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
39 We Five Kings Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
40 Aqualung Live at St. Brides 2006 – High Res Audio
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