Anyone wanna spot me... about US $80, after counting shipping fees?
For a few years there, I didn't think this was actually going to come out. In fact, I think the general tenor was that there wasn't enough material to make it worth releasing. I've been following along with Jethro Tull's large, multi-disc, book-bound remaster series for a while, each one featuring multiple discs worth of bonus tracks - singles, demos, concerts, even radio advertisements in some cases. These are the kinds of remasters that you hope to be entirely complete. They even come with above-CD-quality audio discs that are great for people with e.g. 5.1 surround sound setups. (Those don't really do me a whole lot of good.)
But no, the mad lads, they're actually doing it.
See, for years, my understanding was always that they had nothing extra to add to Under Wraps, the band's infamous 1984 album. They had huge amounts of stuff across the Broadsword and the Beast sessions, because they basically recorded a whole other album in 1981 and didn't release it due to dissatisfaction. Under Wraps was recorded basically right after Ian Anderson recorded his solo album Walk Into Light - which, what's even the difference between an Ian Anderson solo album and a regular Jethro Tull album, am I right - and in very much the same synth-heavy style. It didn't even feature a drummer. Those drums? All electronic. So, I guess they figured out what they could include:
Going over the track list (via finding it on Amazon Music - yes, yes, I know), there are a whopping three extra songs added to Under Wraps, of which one is a demo of leadoff track and only single "Lap of Luxury". Ian must have really believed in this one, huh. Not my favorite from the album, but not bad either. But there is the requisite live concert disc, and maybe more interesting, a 2026 remix by Bruce Soord featuring new drums, which is probably bound to excite some folks, as those drums are the part of the album people have the most beef with. Additionally, Walk Into Light, practically a companion album to this disc, is included (with bonuses - more than Under Wraps!), along with another version with the same drums treatment as Under Wraps.
Before I carry on, though, I need to post the Bruce Soord mix of "Lap of Luxury," the preview track for this reissue.
Okay. Let's talk about those drums.
They're not real (er, acoustic - obviously electronic drums are still a type of "real") but they're some of the nicest facsimiles I've heard, especially for something aiming for a period sound. Seriously, they're well-mixed and -recorded; if I didn't know any better, I might mistake them for acoustic drums roughly of the period. Unfortunately, they're slightly off. This will probably drive some folks up the wall. Then of course, there are the purists who will be mad they sound like this - people who hate them for sounding like this or for still being electronic drums despite the attempt to make them not sound that way (or for being electronic drums at all - for my part, I feel like an acoustic-drums version of Under Wraps would be a little too alien). I suppose you simply will never be able to please everyone, huh. I like it, though. It's better than some of the options - for example, acoustic drums with modern sound would make me upset on a deep level. Listen, it's not exactly a period Tull drummer playing drums for the tracks - it might be impossible to get such from Doane Perry now (though certainly not so impossible as getting such from Gerry Conway, who played on the preceding and following albums) - but regardless of the circumstances, this feels like the next best thing.
Soord's mix seems to have really beefed up the lower end a bit; in the section before the last verse, I noticed a few more distinct notes from the bass guitar. Moreover, the vocal take sounds... slightly different. Not a ton, but I wonder if it's another take, because some bits sound marginally differently-spaced out, like in the last verse. There's also just a little extra detail that seems to have been unearthed - a little more cheer in Ian's declamations that he needs money to sooth his heart (wow, Ian Anderson being bitterly sarcastic? Who could imagine!), for example. I don't know if this is just because the old 2005 mix (which is the one I have the best access to) was just kind of mediocre or what. But I like it. There's also a little effect, maybe not so intentional, where the drum track's clicks add a little jangle to him saying "dangling" that fits nicely. I hope these imrpovements end up applying not only to every other track, but to the original-drums version contained with this package. Well, I guess if that is a diifferent vocal take, maybe that part should not be changed.
I think this is the most excited I've been for one of these packages ever. Not that this one is cooler than most or something - though maybe it will be! - but it is shaping up to be quite a bit more interesting than most. I'm excited to hear what they do with this remix. And maybe, just maybe, someone sees in this album a little bit more of what I do in the end. This is considered their worst album, generally; I feel like one of no more than five people whom this package exists for.