Aqualung (Steven Wilson Mix)

The Artist

Jethro Tull is a British rock band formed in Luton, England in 1967, built around the singular vision of Ian Anderson — flautist, vocalist, and principal songwriter whose wild-eyed stage presence became one of rock's most recognizable images. The band blended hard rock, folk, classical, and blues into a sound that defied easy categorization, with Anderson's flute playing lifting them far above the blues-rock pack of the era. Their lineup in the early 1970s — Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre, keyboardist John Evan, bassist Jeffrey Hammond, and drummer Clive Bunker — was a remarkably tight unit capable of both delicacy and brute force. Aqualung, released in 1971, sits at a pivotal moment: commercially their breakthrough and artistically the work that announced their ambitions on the grandest scale.

The Album

Recorded at Island Records' studios in London in late 1970, Aqualung was produced by Terry Ellis and the band, with Ian Anderson taking an increasingly dominant creative role. Steven Wilson — frontman of Porcupine Tree and a celebrated remixer of classic prog albums — revisited the original multitrack tapes for this 2011 stereo remix, separating instruments that had been buried in the original mix and restoring a sharper, more dynamic listen. Wilson's touch gives Martin Barre's guitar a rawer edge and allows Anderson's acoustic and electric arrangements to coexist with greater clarity. The album splits loosely into two halves: one built around the figure of a homeless man named Aqualung, the other engaging skeptically with organized religion. Thematically it is Anderson at his most combative, wrestling with faith, society, and hypocrisy across twelve tracks.

Listen For

Martin Barre's Guitar Work. Barre delivers some of his finest playing here — listen to how his electric riffs anchor "Aqualung" and "Cross-Eyed Mary" with a crunching, almost menacing weight. Wilson's remix brings his tone forward in a way the original mix never quite did.

Anderson's Flute as Lead Instrument. On "Cheap Day Return" and "Wond'ring Aloud," Anderson uses the flute not as decoration but as the melodic and emotional center of the piece. Notice how he shifts between breathy intimacy and piercing aggression depending on the mood.

Acoustic-Electric Dynamics. The album constantly pivots between delicate acoustic passages and full-band electric explosions — most dramatically in the title track, where a fingerpicked intro gives way to one of rock's great riff entrances. Wilson's remix makes this contrast feel sharper and more intentional than ever.

A Vocal and Lyrical High Point. Anderson's delivery on "My God" builds from a near-whisper to something approaching a howl, with the choir arrangement lending it an almost blasphemous grandeur. The line "you always were the soldier" lands with particular venom in context.

Themes of Outcasts and Institutions. The album's first half uses the homeless Aqualung as a lens for examining society's cruelty and indifference — "Locomotive Breath" then widens that anxiety into something existential and unstoppable. The second half, particularly "Hymn 43" and "Wind Up," turns that critique directly on the church and organized religion.