Stormwatch (album)

Stormwatch was recorded over a series of sessions lasting from August 1978 until July 1979, although the majority of the album's tracks were recorded in the later 1979 sessions. The initial series of sessions in 1978 only produced one track which would appear on the album ("Something's On the Move") with guitarist Martin Barre mentioning in a 1979 interview that "we completed an album's worth of material, then we went away to America-- and when we got back, we listened to it again and it was not there at all. So, we decided to start again."{{cite magazine|last=Webb|first=Martin|title=And the Stormwatch Brews...|journal=Stormwatch: The 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition|publisher=Chrysalis Records|year=2019}} In early 1979, the band recorded for the album while Ian Anderson, keyboardist/arranger David Palmer (now Dee Palmer) and Barre simultaneously wrote music for The Water's Edge, a commissioned program for the Scottish Ballet. Some of the music written for The Water's Edge would later develop into tracks on Stormwatch, such as "Elegy" and "Dark Ages".

Most of the album was recorded at Anderson's Maison Rogue Studios in Fulham, London, although some sessions took place at Morgan Studios, Townhouse Studios and the Maison Rogue Mobile studio at Anderson's home due to recording time not always being available for the band at Maison Rogue. Like the band's previous album Heavy Horses, much of Stormwatch was recorded late at night, as daytime hours at Maison Rogue were usually left open for other bands. Thames Television meteorologist Francis Wilson performs a spoken word piece at the beginning of "Dun Ringill".

Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock only plays on three of the album's tracks ("Orion", "Flying Dutchman" and "Elegy"), as a result of Anderson dismissing him from the recording sessions in May 1979 due to Glascock's medical issues affecting his playing. Anderson described the dismissal of Glascock as being in the interest of his own health and nothing personal: "Somebody had to be the tough guy and the nature of my hard message to him was, "John, I really don't think you can carry on working on this album, you've really got to go and get straightened out... I don't want you to come in tomorrow, go away and get yourself well.'" Anderson chose to play bass on the rest of the album as opposed to hiring a session musician, saying "It was no big deal -- anybody can play the bass. It's only four strings after all!" Some of the album's tracks were recorded with Anderson and drummer Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow recording a rhythm track together which the rest of the band would overdub their parts over. Several songs were recorded for the album but then cut from the final track listing, including songs which would later be released as B-sides or on future compilations, such as "Crossword", "Kelpie" and "A Stitch in Time".

The instrumental piece "Elegy" which closes the album was written entirely by Palmer, making it one of the few Jethro Tull songs written without the involvement of Anderson.

Much of the album's themes and lyrical content were inspired and shaped by Anderson's recently purchased estate in Kilmarie on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, as well as the salmon farming business which he was beginning to embark upon at the same location. The track "Dun Ringill" is named after the historic site of an Iron Age fort on the Isle, which served as the original seat of the Clan MacKinnon. The lyrics for "Old Ghosts" were inspired by the graveyard in Kilmarie, while "Warm Sporran" references the type of pouch traditionally worn with a kilt. Other tracks reference the constellation of Orion, the legend of the Flying Dutchman, the conjecture of global cooling common during the 1970s and what Anderson called his "sceptical nature" of oil drilling in the North Sea. The album's tracks are linked by a loose theme of environmental concern, particularly regarding what Anderson described as "Things about climate and weather, and seascapes... There's a lot of stuff on it about wild, stormy weather, particularly in a marine context."

"Elegy" was written as an ode to Palmer's father, with Palmer writing the song within an hour after first hearing that he had died. The song is musically based on the classical Latin sequence "Dies irae".

;1979 original release

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Ian Anderson except where noted

| headline = Side one

| title1 = North Sea Oil

| length1 = 3:08

| title2 = Orion

| length2 = 3:55

| title3 = Home

| length3 = 2:44

| title4 = Dark Ages

| length4 = 9:07

| title5 = Warm Sporran

| note5 = Instrumental

| length5 = 3:31

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title6 = Something's on the Move

| length6 = 4:24

| title7 = Old Ghosts

| length7 = 4:20

| title8 = Dun Ringill

| length8 = 2:37

| title9 = Flying Dutchman

| length9 = 7:42

| title10 = Elegy

| note10 = Instrumental

| writer10 = Dee Palmer

| length10 = 3:30

| total_length = 44:58

}}

;2004 Bonus tracks

{{Track listing

| headline = The remastered CD added bonus tracks that were on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull boxed set and extensive liner notes:

| title11 = A Stitch in Time

| length11 = 3:40

| title12 = Crossword

| length12 = 3:38

| title13 = Kelpie

| length13 = 3:37

| title14 = King Henry's Madrigal

| note14 = instrumental, King Henry VIII

| writer14 = Dee Palmer

| length14 = 3:01

}}

;2019 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 1: Original album: A Steven Wilson stereo remix

| title1 = North Sea Oil

| length1 = 3:11

| title2 = Orion

| length2 = 4:00

| title3 = Home

| length3 = 2:46

| title4 = Dark Ages

| length4 = 9:12

| title5 = Warm Sporran

| length5 = 3:58

| title6 = Something's On The Move

| length6 = 4:30

| title7 = Old Ghosts

| length7 = 4:24

| title8 = Dun Ringill

| length8 = 2:42

| title9 = Flying Dutchman

| length9 = 7:43

| title10 = Elegy

| length10 = 3:34

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 2: Associated recordings: A Steven Wilson stereo remix

| title1 = Crossword

| length1 = 3:37

| title2 = Dark Ages

| note2=Early Version

| length2 = 11:55

| title3 = Kelpie

| length3 = 3:35

| title4 = Dun Ringill

| note4=Early Version

| length4 = 2:43

| title5 = A Stitch in Time

| length5 = 4:28

| title6 = A Single Man

| note6=Instrumental

| length6 = 2:40

| title7 = Broadford Bazaar

| length7 = 3:46

| title8 = King Henry's Madrigal

| length8 = 3:01

| title9 = Orion

| note9=Full Length Version

| length9 = 9:14

| title10 = Urban Apocalypse

| length10 = 4:46

| title11 = The Lyricon Blues

| note11=Instrumental

| length11 = 5:16

| title12 = Man of God

| length12 = 6:33

| title13 = Rock Instrumental

| note13=Unfinished Master

| length13 = 3:34

| title14 = Sweet Dream Fanfare

| length14 = 2:30

| title15 = Sweet Dream

| note15=Live

| length15 = 4:39

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 3: Live in Den Haag, 1980 (Part One)

| title1 = Prelude to a Storm

| length1 = 1:54

| title2 = Dark Ages

| length2 = 8:30

| title3 = Home

| length3 = 2:53

| title4 = Orion

| length4 = 5:03

| title5 = Dun Ringill

| length5 = 2:41

| title6 = Elegy

| length6 = 3:55

| title7 = Old Ghosts

| length7 = 3:08

| title8 = Something's On The Move

| length8 = 4:24

| title9 = Aqualung

| length9 = 9:55

| title10 = Peggy's Pub

| length10 = 2:57

| title11 = Jack-In-The-Green

| length11 = 3:16

| title12 = King Henry's Madrigal / Drum Solo

| length12 = 5:50

| title13 = Heavy Horses

| length13 = 6:10

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 4: Live in Den Haag, 1980 (Part Two)

| title1 = Flute Solo (Incl. Bourée, Soirée, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Kelpie)

| length1 = 7:56

| title2 = Keyboard Duet (Bach's Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier)

| length2 = 1:24

| title3 = Songs From the Wood

| length3 = 4:12

| title4 = Hunting Girl

| length4 = 5:36

| title5 = Jams O'Donnell's Jigs

| length5 = 3:31

| title6 = Thick As a Brick

| length6 = 7:30

| title7 = Too Old to Rock'n'Roll: Too Young to Die

| length7 = 3:10

| title8 = Cross-Eyed Mary

| length8 = 3:22

| title9 = Guitar Solo

| length9 = 2:28

| title10 = Minstrel in the Gallery

| length10 = 2:57

| title11 = Locomotive Breath

| length11 = 4:01

| title12 = The Dam Busters March

| length12 = 2:45

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = DVD 1: Stormwatch album mixed to 5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital and 94/24 LPCM Stereo and flat transfer of original 1979 mix at 94/24 LPCM Stereo

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = DVD 2: 13 associated recordings mixed to 5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital, 15 associated recordings mixed to 94/24 LPCM Stereo and 5 original mixes at 94/24 LPCM Stereo

}}

• Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, bass guitar (on tracks 1, 3–8 & 11)
• Martin Barre – electric guitar, classical guitar, mandolin
• John Evan – piano, organ
• Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow – drums, percussion
• John Glascock – bass guitar (on tracks 2, 9, 10, 12 & 13)
• Dee Palmer – synthesizers, portable organ and orchestral arrangements (credited as "David Palmer")

;Additional personnel

• Francis Wilson – spoken word (on track 1 and 8)
• Dave Pegg – bass guitar (on track 14)
• Robin Black – sound engineer
• David Jackson – artwork
• Peter Wragg – art direction

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|relyear=1979|artist=Jethro Tull|title=Stormwatch|award=Gold|certyear=1980}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|relyear=1979|artist=Jethro Tull|title=Stormwatch|award=Gold|certyear=1980}}

{{certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.discogs.com/Jethro-Tull-Stormwatch/master/38293 Stormwatch] at Discogs

{{Jethro Tull}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Jethro Tull (band) albums

Category:1979 albums

Category:Chrysalis Records albums

Category:Island Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Ian Anderson