Thick as a Brick#Track listing

Jethro Tull's frontman and songwriter Ian Anderson was infuriated when critics called the band's previous album, Aqualung (1971), a "concept album". He rejected this, thinking it was simply a collection of songs, so in response decided to "come up with something that really is the mother of all concept albums".{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=48}} Taking the surreal British humour of Monty Python as an influence, he began to write a piece that would combine complex music with a sense of humour, with the idea it would poke light-hearted fun at the band, the audience, and the music critics.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=48}} He also intended to satirise the progressive rock genre that was popular at the time.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=160}} His wife Jennie was also an inspiration, to whom he credited having devised the character and lyrics of "Aqualung". She had written a letter to Anderson while he was away touring the album, ten lines from which Anderson used as inspiration for the new material.{{cite web|url=http://www.tullpress.com/capr72.htm|title=Ian Anderson shows you how to lose your way through 'Thick as a Brick'|first=Steve|last=Ditlea|date=April 1972|work=Circus|access-date=3 March 2020}}

Anderson has also said that "the album was a spoof to the albums of Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, much like what the movie Airplane! had been to Airport{{-"}}{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/arts/articles/20130625ian-anderson-jethro-tull-phoenix-symphony-hall.html |title=7/10: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull at Symphony Hall |last=Keresman |first=Mark |work=AZCentral |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=7 July 2013 |access-date=21 May 2016}} and later remarked that it was a "bit of a satire about the whole concept of grand rock-based concept albums".{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=83}} Although Anderson wrote all the music and lyrics, he co-credited the writing to a fictional schoolboy named Gerald Bostock. The humour was subtle enough that some fans believed that Bostock was real.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=48}} Reviewing the 40th anniversary reissue, Noel Murray suggested that many listeners of the original album "missed the joke".{{cite news |url=https://www.avclub.com/thick-as-a-brick-and-the-pleasures-of-the-very-very-v-1798234840 |title=Thick As A Brick and the pleasures of the very, very, very long song |first=Noel |last=Murray |newspaper=The A.V. Club |date=28 November 2012 |access-date=15 November 2012}}

The group ran through two weeks of rehearsals using the Rolling Stones' basement studio in Bermondsey.{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=82}} They had not intended to record a single continuous piece;{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=14}} the band came up with individual song segments, then decided to write short pieces of music to link them together.{{sfn|Rabey|2013|p=84}}

Recording started in December 1971 at Morgan Studios, London.{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=82}} Unlike previous albums, where Anderson had generally written songs in advance, only the initial section of the album had been worked out when the band went into the studio. The remainder of the suite was written during the recording sessions.{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6Y7AQAAIAAJ&q=%22thick+as+a+brick%22 |title=Classic Tracks: Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick |first=Tim |last=Morse |volume=72 |journal=Mix |year=1998 |page=176}} To compensate for a lack of material, Anderson began work early each morning to prepare music for the rest of the band to learn during that day's session.{{sfn|Rees|1998|pp=48–49}} The lyrics were written first, with the music constructed to fit around them.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=30}} Anderson recalls the album took about two weeks to record and another two or three for overdubs and mixing.{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=82}} The final work spanned the entire length of an LP record, split over two sides.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=14}}

The group remembered the recording being a happy process, with a strong feeling of camaraderie and fun, with numerous practical jokes. They were fans of Monty Python, and this style of humour influenced the lyrics and overall concept.{{cite journal |title=Thick As A Brick |journal=The Mix |volume=22 |number=8 |date=August 1998 |page=176}} Guitarist Martin Barre recalls the whole band coming up with various ideas for the music.{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=83}} Some parts were recorded in a single take with every member having an input, including significant contributions from keyboardist John Evan.{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=84}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.guitarworld.com/dear-guitar-hero-jethro-tull-guitarist-martin-barre |title=Jethro Tull Guitarist Martin Barre Talks Guitars, Jimi Hendrix and "Aqualung" |last=Lalaina |first=Joe |magazine=Guitar World |date=17 November 2015 |access-date=21 May 2016}}

{{Quotebox

| quote = The concept may have been audacious, but the music is beyond belief: this is among the handful of holy grails for progressive rock fanatics, no questions asked. If Aqualung doubled down on the “concept album” concept, Thick as a Brick functioned as a New Testament of sorts, signifying what was now possible in rock music.

| source = Sean Murphy of Pop Matters (March 7, 2023) [https://www.popmatters.com/best-classic-progressive-rock-albums/3]

| align = left

| width = 25%

}}

Thick as a Brick was viewed by some critics as Jethro Tull's first progressive rock album.{{cite book |title=The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music |first=Bradley |last=Smith |publisher=Billboard Books |year=2007 |page=114 |isbn=978-0-8230-7665-9}} The album has a variety of musical themes, time signature changes and tempo shifts – all of which were features of the progressive rock scene.{{sfn|Anderson|1972|p=7}} Although the finished album runs as one continuous piece, it is made up of a medley of individual songs that run into each other, none of which individually lasts more than 3–5 minutes.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=13}} Parts of the suite blend classical and folk music into the typical rock music framework.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=58}}

The album prominently features flute, acoustic and electric guitars and Hammond organ, which had been used previously, but the instrumentation includes harpsichord, glockenspiel, timpani, violin, lute, trumpet, saxophone, and a string section—all uncommon in the band's earlier blues-inspired rock.{{sfn|Anderson|1972|p=7}} Anderson later said that the lyrics were partly derived from his own childhood experiences, though the overall theme was Bostock's attempt to make sense of life from his point of view.{{cite web |url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-12-03/story-behind-the-song-thick-as-a-brick-by-jethro-tull |title=The Story Behind The Song: Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull |publisher=TeamRock |date=3 December 2016 |access-date=25 October 2017}}

The original LP cover was designed as a spoof of a {{Convert|12|x|16|in|mm|adj=on}} 12-page small-town English newspaper, entitled The St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser, with articles, competitions and advertisements lampooning the typical parochial and amateurish journalism of the local English press.{{cite web |title=Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull |website=Songfacts |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/jethro-tull/thick-as-a-brick |access-date=20 November 2024}}{{unreliable source|reason=Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums/Sources|date=November 2024}} The band's record company, Chrysalis Records, complained that the sleeve would be too expensive to produce, but Anderson countered that if a real newspaper could be produced, a parody of one was also practicable.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=49}}

The mock newspaper, dated 7 January 1972, also includes the entire lyrics to "Thick as a Brick" (printed on page 7), which is presented as a poem written by Bostock,{{sfn|Anderson|1972|p=7}} whose disqualification from a poetry contest is the focus of the front-page story. This article claims that although Bostock initially won the contest, the judges' decision was repealed after protests and threats concerning the offensive nature of the poem, along with the boy's suspected psychological instability.{{sfn|Anderson|1972|p=1}} The front cover includes a piece where Bostock is accused without foundation of being the father of his 14-year-old friend Julia's child.{{cite web|url=http://jethrotull.com/?portfolio=thick-as-a-brick|title=Thick as a Brick|publisher=The Official Jethro Tull Website}} The inside of the paper features a mock review by "Julian Stone-Mason BA", a pseudonym of Anderson.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=40}}

The contents of the newspaper were written mostly by Anderson, bassist Jeffrey Hammond and keyboardist John Evan.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=49}} While some of the pieces were obviously silly, such as "Magistrate Fines himself", there was a lengthy story entitled "Do Not See Me Rabbit" about a pilot in the Battle of Britain being shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=39}} The overall layout was designed by Chrysalis' Roy Eldridge, who had previously worked as a journalist.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=49}} Most of the characters in the newspaper were members of the band, their management, road crew, or colleagues; for instance, recording engineer Robin Black played a local roller-skating champion.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=37}} Anderson recalls that the cover took longer to produce than the music.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=49}}

The satirical newspaper was heavily abridged for conventional CD booklets, but the 25th Anniversary Special Edition CD cover is closer to the original, and the 40th anniversary boxed version contains most of the content from the original newspaper.{{cite web |url=http://jethrotull.com/taab-40th-anniversary-special-editions-released/ |title=TAAB 40th Anniversary Special |date=18 April 2013 |publisher=Official Jethro Tull Website |access-date=3 March 2017}}

File:Jethro Tull 070373 003.jpg

Following the album's release, the band set out on tour, playing the entire piece with some extra musical additions that extended performances to over an hour.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=50}} At the start of the show, men wearing capes appeared onstage and began sweeping the floor, counting the audience and studying the venue; after a few minutes, some of them revealed themselves to be members of the band and began to play.{{sfn|Smolko|2013|p=169}} During some shows, the entire band stopped mid-performance when a telephone rang on stage, which Anderson would answer, before carrying on performing. News and weather reports were read halfway through the show, and a man in a scuba diver outfit came onstage. The tour's humour caused problems in Japan, where audiences responded to the changes with bewilderment.{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=50}} Barre recalls these first live performances being "a terrible experience" as there was a lot of complex music with a variety of time signature changes to remember.{{sfn|Rees|1998|pp=49–50}}

Anderson performed the entire album live on tour in 2012, the first complete performances since the original tour.{{cite web |url=http://jethrotull.com/news/taabtour2012.html |title="Thick as a Brick" Played in Special 2012 Tour |publisher=Jethro Tull Official Website |date=2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005165658/http://jethrotull.com/news/taabtour2012.html |archive-date=5 October 2011 |access-date=21 May 2016 }} In August 2014, Anderson released the CD/DVD/Blu-ray Thick as a Brick – Live in Iceland.{{cite web|url=https://www.burningshed.com/store/jethrotull/product/444/5823/ |title=Jethro Tull |publisher=Burningshed.com |access-date=1 May 2015}} The concert was recorded in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 22 June 2012, and featured complete Thick as a Brick and Thick as a Brick 2 performances by the Ian Anderson Touring Band. Some of the humour and stage antics were maintained—especially the telephone ringing in the middle of a song, which was replaced by a cell phone and a Skype call.{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/ian-anderson-thick-as-a-brick-live-in-iceland-dvd-review/ |title=Ian Anderson "Thick as a Brick" Live in Iceland DVD |date=31 August 2014 |publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=3 March 2017}}

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/thick-as-a-brick-bonus-tracks-mw0000650313 |title=Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick review |last=Eder |first=Bruce |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=21 May 2016}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = C−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: J|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=J&bk=70|access-date=27 February 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

| rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}

|rev5 = Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide

|rev5score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.superseventies.com/spjethrotull2.html |title=Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull |publisher=Superseventies.com |access-date=22 May 2016}}

|rev6 = Record Collector

|rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |title=Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick |journal=Record Collector |date=December 2012 |last=Rathbone |first=Oregano |issue=408 |url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/thick-as-a-brick |access-date=21 May 2016}}

|rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

|rev7Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last1=Brackett|first1=Nathan|last2=Hoard|first2=Christian David|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|date=2004|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/430 430]|title-link=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide}}

|rev3 = The Daily Vault

|rev3Score = A{{cite web |url=http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=2525 |title=The Daily Vault Music Reviews: Thick as a Brick |first=Riley |last=McDonald |work=dailyvault.com |year=2019 |access-date=29 January 2019}}

}}

Thick as a Brick was originally scheduled for release on 25 February 1972. Following production problems relating to the 1972 miners' strike, it was held back a week to 3 March. The album reached the top 5 in the UK charts, and number one in Australia, Canada and the United States,{{sfn|Nollen|2002|p=81}}{{sfn|Rees|1998|p=51}}{{cite web |url=http://tsort.info/music/bhb4n0.htm |title=Album artist 51 – Jethro Tull |publisher=Tsort.info |access-date=1 May 2015}} where it was certified Gold.{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=jethro+tull#search_section |title=RIAA Gold & Platinum Database: search for Jethro Tull |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=24 March 2016}}

Contemporary reviews were mixed. Chris Welch of Melody Maker praised the musicianship of the band and Anderson's flute playing, writing also that "the joke at the expense of a local newspaper wears thin rather rapidly, but should not detract from the obvious amount of thought and work that has gone into the production of Thick"; he described the music as a creative effort where "the ideas flow in super abundance" but that "needs time to absorb" and "heard out of context of their highly visual stage act ... does not have such immediate appeal".{{cite magazine |title=Jethro Tull: 'Thick as a Brick' |journal=Melody Maker |date=11 March 1972 |last=Welch |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Welch |url=http://tullpress.com/mm11mar72.htm |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020417041339/http://tullpress.com/mm11mar72.htm |archive-date=17 April 2002}} Tony Tyler in his review for New Musical Express generally appreciated the construction of the suites and the arrangements, but he had doubts about the album's possible success. He called Thick as a Brick "Jethro Tull's own stand-or-fall epic after the lines of Tommy" and "an assault on the mediocrity and harshness of lower-middle-class existence in '70s Britain".{{cite magazine |title='Brick': Is This Jethro's 'Tommy'? |journal=New Musical Express |date=11 March 1972 |last=Tyler |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Tyler |url=http://www.tullpress.com/nme11mar72.htm |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109064005/http://www.tullpress.com/nme11mar72.htm|archive-date=9 November 2005}} Ben Gerson in Rolling Stone magazine called Thick as a Brick "one of rock's most sophisticated and ground-breaking products". Going further, the reviewer stated: "Martin Barre's guitar and John Evan's keyboards especially shine, and Ian's singing is no longer abrasive. Whether or not Thick As A Brick is an isolated experiment, it is nice to know that someone in rock has ambitions beyond the four- or five-minute conventional track, and has the intelligence to carry out his intentions, in all their intricacy, with considerable grace."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/thick-as-a-brick-19720622 |title=Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull |last=Gerson |first=Ben |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=22 June 1972 |access-date=21 May 2016 }} Rolling Stone's Alan Niester gave it 2 out of 5 stars in The Rolling Stone Record Guide, judging it had "relatively undifferentiated movements".{{cite book |last1=Niester |first1=Alan |author-link=Alan Niester |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |chapter=Jethero Tull – Thick as a Brick |edition=1 |location=New York City, New York |publisher=Random House |date=12 November 1979 |isbn=978-0-394-73535-1}} Village Voice critic Robert Christgau disliked the album, calling it "the usual shit" from the band: "rock (getting heavier), folk (getting feyer), classical (getting schlockier), flute (getting better because it has no choice)".

Retrospective reviews have been positive. AllMusic wrote that "Jethro Tull's first LP-length epic is a masterpiece in the annals of progressive rock, and one of the few works of its kind that still holds up decades later." Jordan Blum of PopMatters thinks that the album "paved the way for modern progressive rock" and "today, it represents not only a pinnacle achievement for Jethro Tull, but also a concrete example of just how adventurous and free artists used to be." Record Collector{{'}}s reviewer writes that "today, free from the irrelevant context of misdiagnosis and derision that dogged it on its original release, the album sounds like nothing less than an Olympian feat of composition and musicianship." According to Modern Drummer reviewer Adam Budofsky, "that it remains so elevated in progressive rock fans' hearts and minds forty years later is a testament to its quality."{{cite magazine |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2012/11/jethro-tull-thick-brick-collectors-edition-review/ |title= Jethro Tull Thick As a Brick (Collector's Edition) |last=Budofsky |first=Adam |magazine=Modern Drummer |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=21 May 2016}} Paul Stump's History of Progressive Rock commented of the album, "The 'concept', a somewhat self-conscious and mannered lionization of individual genius ... against caricatured bourgeois Philistinism, scarcely sees the light of day through the thickets of Anderson's imagery, but this doesn't detract from what, in hindsight, is quite a respectable, if periodically water-treading, stab at advanced extensional technique."{{cite book |last=Stump |first=Paul |title=The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock |date=1997 |publisher=Quartet Books Limited |isbn=0-7043-8036-6 |page=167}}

In 2014, Prog magazine listed Thick as a Brick at number 5 in the list "The 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time", voted for by its readers.{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-100-greatest-prog-albums-of-all-time-20-1 |title=The 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time: 20-1 |last1=Kilroy |first1=Hannah May |last2=Ewing |first2=Jerry |publisher=Future Publishing |date=6 August 2014 |access-date=8 November 2018}} Rolling Stone listed the album at number 7 in their "Top 50 Prog Albums of All Time".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-greatest-prog-rock-albums-of-all-time-20150617/jethro-tull-thick-as-a-brick-1972-20150617 |title=50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time |last=Epstein |first=Dan |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=17 June 2015 |access-date=22 May 2016}} Rush's Geddy Lee has said Thick as a Brick is one of his favourite albums,{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/09210-rush-geddy-lee-interview-favourite-albums?page=6 |title=In The Mood: The Favourite Albums Of Rush's Geddy Lee |author=Middles, Mick |work=The Quietus |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=27 June 2014}} as has Iron Maiden's Steve Harris.{{cite web |url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-10-19/iron-maiden-s-10-proggiest-moments |title=Iron Maiden's 10 Proggiest Moments |last=Ewing |first=Jerry |publisher=TeamRock.com |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=21 May 2016}}

The album has been reissued on CD several times: the first CD release (1985),{{cite web|url=http://www.collecting-tull.com/Hartov/core.htm |title=Core albums 1968 – 1977 |publisher=Collecting-tull.com |date=12 September 1997 |access-date=27 June 2014}} the MFSL-release (1989), the 25th Anniversary Edition (1997), and the 40th Anniversary Edition (2012).

The 40th Anniversary Edition was released in November 2012, and includes a CD, a DVD, and a book. The CD contains a new mix of the album. The DVD contains a 5.1 surround sound mix (in DTS and Dolby Digital), the new stereo mix in high resolution, and the original stereo mix in high resolution. The first pressing of the DVD/CD box contained a faulty DVD with significant audio errors. A corrected replacement edition was issued later, with only a horizontal line beneath the "album duration" note on the disc label to identify it. The album was also re-released on vinyl at the same time.{{cite web |url=http://www.thickasabrickdeluxe.com/ |title=Thick as a Brick 40th Anniversary Editions – Special Collector's Edition |publisher=Thick as a Brick Deluxe.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916070228/http://www.thickasabrickdeluxe.com/ |archive-date=16 September 2013 |access-date=22 May 2016 }} This edition lists part one at 22:45 and part two at 21:07.

For the 50th anniversary, a new vinyl pressing of the Wilson remix, mastered at half speed, was released with the original newspaper cover.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-21 |title=Jethro Tull: "Thick As A Brick" erscheint zum 50. als Jubiläumsausgabe – inklusive dem legendären Zeitungspapier-Einband |url=http://www.warnermusic.de/news/thick-as-a-brick-erscheint-zum-50-als-jubilaeumsausgabe-inklusive-dem-legendaeren-zeitungspapier-einband |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=Warner Music Germany |language=de}} The CD/DVD bookset was also reissued, still titled 40th Anniversary Edition, but with the mastering on all versions of the remix as originally intended by Wilson. It can be differentiated from the original pressing by the copyright dates on the back and by being released on Parlophone instead of EMI.

Section names from the downloadable version of the 40th anniversary edition.

{{track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_lyrics = "Gerald Bostock" (Ian Anderson)

| all_music = Anderson

| title1 = Thick as a Brick" {{plainlist|

• "Really Don't Mind" / "See There a Son Is Born" (5:00)
• "The Poet and the Painter" (5:29)
• "What Do You Do When the Old Man's Gone?" / "From the Upper Class" (5:25)}} "You Curl Your Toes in Fun" / "Childhood Heroes" / "Stabs Instrumental

| note1 = 6:48

| length1 = 22:40

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side two

| title2 = Thick as a Brick" {{plainlist|

• "See There a Man Is Born" / "Clear White Circles" (5:58)
• "Legends and Believe in the Day" (6:34)
• "Tales of Your Life" (5:24) }} "Childhood Heroes Reprise

| note2 = 2:56

| length2 = 21:06

| total_length = 43:46

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 25th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks

| title3 = Thick as a Brick

| note3 = 1978 live version at Madison Square Garden

| length3 = 11:50

| title4 = Interview with Jethro Tull

| note4 = Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Jeffrey Hammond

| length4 = 16:30

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2012 40th Anniversary Special Collector's Edition, CD Side: Steven Wilson stereo remix of the album

| title1 = Thick as a Brick (Part I)

| length1 = 22:44

| title2 = Thick as a Brick (Part II)

| length2 = 20:54

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2012 40th Anniversary Special Collector's Edition, DVD Side: Steven Wilson 5.1 surround and stereo remixes, flat transfer of the original stereo mix of the album, 1972 radio ad

| title1 = Thick as a Brick (Part I)

| note1 = 5.1 Surround Mix

| length1 = 22:44

| title2 = Thick as a Brick (Part II)

| note2 = 5.1 Surround Mix

| length2 = 20:54

| title3 = Thick as a Brick (Part I)

| note3 = 2012 Stereo Mix

| length3 = 22:44

| title4 = Thick as a Brick (Part II)

| note4 = 2012 Stereo Mix

| length4 = 20:54

| title5 = Thick as a Brick (Part I)

| note5 = Original Stereo Mix

| length5 = 22:44

| title6 = Thick as a Brick (Part II)

| note6 = Original Stereo Mix

| length6 = 20:54

| title7 = 1972 Radio Ad

| length7 = 1:02

}}

Taken from the sleeve notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Thick as a Brick|publisher=Chrysalis Records|id=CHR 1003|year=1972}}

;Jethro Tull

• Ian Anderson – vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, violin, trumpet, saxophone, accordion, producer
• Martin Barre – electric guitar, lute, flute
• John Evan – piano, organ, harpsichord
• Jeffrey Hammond (as "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond") – bass guitar, spoken word
• Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion, timpani

;Additional personnel

• Dee Palmer – orchestral arrangements{{sfn|Anderson|1972|p=7}}
• Terry Ellis – executive producer
• Robin Black – engineer

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

{{col-break}}

{{col-end}}

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|relyear=1972|artist=Jethro Tull|title=Thick as a Brick|award=Gold|certyear=1972}}

{{certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

In 2012, Ian Anderson announced plans for a follow-up album, Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?. According to the Jethro Tull website, the sequel is "a full length Progressive Rock 'concept' album worthy of its predecessor. Boy to man and beyond, it looks at what might have befallen the child poet Gerald Bostock in later life. Or, perhaps, any of us."{{cite magazine |url=http://americansongwriter.com/2012/02/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-on-thick-as-a-brick-2-the-grammys-and-more/ |title=Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson on Thick As A Brick 2, The Grammys And More |last=Schlansky |first=Evan |magazine=American Songwriter |date=2 February 2012 |access-date=22 May 2016 }}

The follow-up album was released on 2 April 2012. It describes five different scenarios of Gerald Bostock's life, where he potentially becomes a greedy investment banker, a homeless homosexual man, a soldier in the Afghan War, a sanctimonious evangelist preacher, and a most ordinary man who runs a corner store and is married and childless. Thick as a Brick 2 lists 17 separate songs merged into 13 distinct tracks (some labelled as medleys), although also all flowing together much like a single song. To follow the style of the mock newspaper on the original Thick as a Brick, a mock online newspaper was set up.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/thick-as-a-brick-2-mw0002314038 |title=Ian Anderson – Thick as a Brick 2 review|last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=22 May 2016 }}

While TAAB 2 was a follow-up about Gerald Bostock, the 2014 Ian Anderson solo album Homo Erraticus was presented as a follow-up work by Gerald Bostock. In the backstory Anderson created for the album, the now middle-aged Bostock came across an unpublished manuscript by one Ernest T. Parritt (1873–1928), entitled "Homo Britanicus Erraticus". Parritt was convinced he lived past lives as historical characters, and wrote detailed accounts of these lives in his work; he also wrote of fantasy imaginings of lives yet to come. Bostock then created lyrics based on Parritt's writings, while Anderson set them to music.{{cite web |url=http://jethrotull.com/he-lyrics/ |title=Ian Anderson – Homo Erraticus lyrics |publisher=Jethro Tull Official Website |access-date=22 May 2016 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/homo-erraticus-mw0002625345 |title=Ian Anderson – Homo Erraticus review |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=22 May 2016 }} As with the original Thick as a Brick, authorship of each song on this album is explicitly credited to both Anderson and Bostock.

Composer Richard Harvey has covered Thick as a Brick in the special compilation The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Prog Rock Classics.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/plays-prog-rock-classics-mw0002822833 |title=Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Plays Prog Rock Classics |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=22 May 2016 }}

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• {{cite AV media notes|title=Thick as a Brick |others=Jethro Tull |publisher=Chrysalis Records |id=CHR 1003 |first=Ian |last=Anderson |year=1972}}
• {{cite book|title=A Passion Play: The Story Of Ian Anderson & Jethro Tull |first=Brian |last=Rabey |publisher=Soundcheck Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-9571442-4-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/passionplaystory0000rabe}}
• {{cite book|title=Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play: Inside Two Long Songs |first=Tim |last=Smolko |location=Bloomington, IN|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-253-01038-4}}
• {{cite book|title=Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968–2001 |first=Scott Allen |last=Nollen |year=2002 |publisher=McFarland & Company |location=Jefferson, NC |isbn=978-0-7864-1101-6}}
• {{cite book|title=Minstrels in the Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull |first=David |last=Rees |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-946719-22-8 |publisher=Firefly Publishing}}

{{refend}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070406051759/http://www.cupofwonder.com/essays9.html Jethro Tull, Progressive Rock and Thematic Approach], essay by Dave Morris
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043301/http://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/INDEX.HTM Scans of the pages of the LP cover mock newspaper]
• [http://www.collecting-tull.com/Albums/Lyrics/ThickAsABrick.html Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick (1972): Complete lyrics]

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Category:Jethro Tull (band) albums

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