JETHRO TULL – Their Prog Rock Classic ‘AQUALUNG’ Is 55 Today
19 March 2026
British prog rock icons JETHRO TULL (1967–2012, 2017–present) led on one leg
by charismatic Scottish vocalist/flautist/guitarist Ian Anderson, have released their
4th LP AQUALUNG on 19 March 1971, today 55 years ago
The LP has generally been regarded as a concept album with a central theme of
“the distinction between religion and God“. The album’s “dour musings on faith and religion” have marked it as “one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners“. Academic discussions of the nature of concept albums have frequently listed Aqualung amongst their number.
The album’s original cover art by Burton Silverman features a watercolour portrait
of a long-haired, bearded man in shabby clothes. The idea for the cover came from a photograph Anderson‘s wife took of a homeless man.
Anderson later felt it would have been better to have used the photograph rather than commission the painting. Also, he recalled later that he posed for a photograph for the painting.
AllMusic said in retrospect: “In the space of one album, Tull went from relatively unassuming electrified folk-rock to larger-than-life conceptual rock full of sophisticated compositions and complex, intellectual, lyrical constructs. While the leap to full-blown prog rock wouldn’t be taken until a year later on ‘Thick as a Brick’, the degree to which Tull upped the ante here is remarkable.”
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM
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And their not done yet.
