Living in the Past

by

Jethro Tull

Edit

Jethro Tull Fans & consumers BEWARE!! There have been several misleading "Reviews" offered up about this album. BE CAREFUL about which version you are trying to buy.

I've been a Tull fan since about 1972 (when I was in High School); my first Tull LP purchases were "Thick as a Brick" and then "Living in the Past".

When the Tull CD's first came out, I bought almost all of them (naturally), and am now in the process of replacing my earlier versions with the newer "Remixed/Remastered" versions. However, I had bought the U.S. version of "Living in the Past", and chose not to buy the much more expensive "Gold CD"/"Mobile Fidelity" versions; these versions are, however, more "complete" in that they do include all of the tracks from the original 1972 vinyl release.

Many have noted that the one-CD versions of "Living in the Past" have deleted various tracks from the original '72 vinyl release due to "time constrictions", to keep things to one CD. These versions generally do add a track not found in the original ("Inside", from BENEFIT).

However, I recently purchased the UK Import version of "Living in the Past", after reading one of the reviews WHICH SHOULD ONLY HAVE APPLIED TO THE "GOLD CD"/MOBILE FIDELITY version, as it stated that "this is the only complete version available", etc.

Instead, *there are differences in the tracks* between the UK Import version and the apparently now-out-of-print US version (which I already had).

Here are the differences: BOTH one-CD versions (US & UK) omit "Bouree" and "Teacher"; this is not a terribly great loss to most Tull fans, as any Tull fan will probably have these previously-released tracks on another CD--although these are two of Tull's best songs!

BOTH one-CD versions (US & UK) add "Inside" (also previously-released), but which was NOT on the original 1972 vinyl LP.

However, here's the important distinction between the US & UK version: The US version DOES include "Alive and Well and Living In", and also includes "Hymn 43" (another excellent song), but does NOT have "Locomotive Breath" (which can also be found on AQUALUNG).

The UK version DOES NOT have "Hymn 43", but does include "Locomotive Breath" . . .! And again, it does not have "Alive and Well and Living In" (nor "Bouree" or "Teacher").

In a "side-by-side" comparison, and a close examination of the liner notes, etc., it appears that the US and UK one-CD versions are otherwise identical, and have the same recordings/mixes, but you'll get one more track in the US version than in the UK Import; unfortunately the US version now appears to be out-of-print . . .!

What we really need is a new, repackaged (orignial packaging, etc.) two-CD remixed/remastered version of this old favorite, with ALL of the original tracks included on the '72 LP, and which would have "room" for interviews, bonus tracks, or whatnot.

By the way, we need this because this is one terrific album!! A "complete" version would rate 5 stars.