Jethro Tull ‘This Was’ 50th Anniversary Edition Due

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To celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Jethro Tull’s debut album, This Was, Rhino Records will release a deluxe 3-CD/DVD version on November 9.

After several name changes, Jethro Tull played their first show under that name in February 1968. Months later, Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker released the band’s debut. The album debuted at #10 on the U.K. albums chart, and rose to #62 in the U.S.

Highlights include:

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
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

Listen to “Dharma for One” from the original album

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.”

Jethro Tull in 1968

In 1968, BBC Radio featured the band twice on its 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.

Listen to “My Sunday Feeling”