Jethro Tull plan 50th Anniversary release for debut album

Jethro Tull's 1968 debut album This Was is to have a 50th Anniversary edition release through Rhino on November 9.

The album, which featured Ian Anderson, guitarist Mick Abrahams, bassist Glenn Cornick and drummer Clive Bunker, reached No. 10 in the UK album charts upon release.

“This was how we were playing then – but things change – don’t they?” read the original album's liner notes, referencing the swift progression of the group's sound, from blues to incorporating jazz, folk and classical. The shift proved too much for guitarist Abrahams who would quit after the album and form Blodwyn Pig.

The new 3CD/DVD release features the original album and bonus tracks, including Love Story, A Christmas Song, Sunshine Day and Aeroplane remixed in stereo by Steven Wilson. Wilson has also mixed the tracks in 4.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby. There's live BBC sessions from two 1968 Top Gear sessions, including live versions of Serenade To A Cuckoo, Love Story and My Sunday Feeling, as well as various b-sides, outtakes, radio ads and a previously unreleased mono minx of Someday The Sun Won't Shine For You (Faster Version). The DVD also features Love Story and A Christmas Song in 5.1 surround and an additional 1969 US mix.

This Was is currently available for pre-order through Amazon.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.