Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play: Inside Two Long Songs

“[D]elves deep into the past in this new work to bring us the story of these two albums as well as a painstaking analysis that allows us to see not only the particular genius of Tull but the important role both records played in shaping ’70s rock. . . . Smolko’s passion for the subject matter and ability to wax enthusiastic about the smallest details makes this volume worth reading. . . . A volume that excites with its intelligence and sense of observation, two of the many qualities that will actually find you giv[ing] this book more than one read.”―PopMatters

“[R]ather than offering yet another biography, Smolko takes a musicological―as well as a cultural― approach to just two of Tull’s albums [] an endorsement from such a notebale authority [as Adrian Stone-Mason] surely makes this worth reading for those of a scholarly bent.”―Rock n’ Reel

“Tim Smolko’s book makes a significant contribution to the literature in popular music studies and musicology. Furthermore, it is an important addition to the available literature on Jethro Tull, which―despite their commercial success and longevity―has not been rewarded as of yet with sustained analytical study.”―Kevin Holm-Hudson, author of Genesis and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

“Tim Smolko has written a book that no fan of Jethro Tull should be without, with his analysis of Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play representing the most comprehensive yet of the music of this seminal band. His consideration of similarities between the structure of Tull’s concept albums and Monty Python skits is especially original, and opens up a valuable avenue of inquiry into the relationship between sixties and seventies rock and contemporary visual media.”―Edward Macan, author of Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture

Tim Smolko has written a book that no fan of Jethro Tull should be without, with his analysis of Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play representing the most comprehensive yet of the music of this seminal band. His consideration of similarities between the structure of Tull’s concept albums and Monty Python skits is especially original, and opens up a valuable avenue of inquiry into the relationship between sixties and seventies rock and contemporary visual media.

— Edward Macan