Stormwatch (album)

Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the progressive rock group Jethro Tull, released September 1979. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull (although folk music influenced virtually every Tull album to some extent). Among other subject-matters, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money.

Stormwatch
Studio album by
Jethro Tull
Released14 September 1979 (UK) / (US)
RecordedAugust 1978, February 1979-July 1979
Studio
GenreFolk rock, progressive rock, hard rock
Length45:42 (original release)
46:00 (2019 Remix)
LabelChrysalis
ProducerIan Anderson
Robin Black
Jethro Tull chronology
Bursting Out
(1978)		 Stormwatch
(1979)		 A
(1980)
Singles from
Stormwatch
  1. "North Sea Oil"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Elegy"
    Released: 1979
  3. "Warm Sporran"
    Released: 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Sputnik Music[2]

Stormwatch was notably the last Tull album to feature the "classic" line-up of the 1970s, as drummer Barriemore Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and Dee Palmer all left the band in the months after the Stormwatch tour concluded in April 1980, while bassist John Glascock had died from heart complications in November 1979 during the tour.

In 2004, a remastered version of Stormwatch was released with four bonus tracks. The album was reissued in October 2019 in an expanded six-disc edition with a new stereo remix by Steven Wilson, several unreleased tracks, and a full concert recorded in the Netherlands in March 1980.[3]

Production

Bassist John Glascock, suffering at this point from the effects of a cardiac infection that eventually led to his death, is only featured on three tracks ("Flying Dutchman", "Orion", and "Elegy"). Ian Anderson played bass elsewhere on the album while Dave Pegg played on the subsequent tour.

The instrumental piece "Elegy" was written by Dee Palmer.

Content

Dun Ringill is the historic site of an Iron Age fort on the Isle of Skye, which served as the original seat of the Clan MacKinnon. Anderson once owned and lived in nearby Kilmarie House, until he sold the estate in 1994. A sporran is a type of pouch traditionally worn with a kilt. Other tracks allude to the constellation of Orion, the legend of the Flying Dutchman, and the at-the-time widespread belief in the approach of a new ice age ("Something's on the Move").

Elegy is an elegy to Dee Palmer's father.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ian Anderson except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."North Sea Oil"3:12
2."Orion"3:58
3."Home"2:46
4."Dark Ages"9:13
5."Warm Sporran" (instrumental)3:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Something's on the Move" 4:27
7."Old Ghosts" 4:23
8."Dun Ringill" 2:41
9."Flying Dutchman" 7:46
10."Elegy" (instrumental)Dee Palmer3:38

Bonus tracks
The remastered CD added bonus tracks that were on the 20 Years of Jethro Tull boxed set and extensive liner notes:
No.TitleLength
11."A Stitch in Time"3:40
12."Crossword"3:38
13."Kelpie"3:37
14."King Henry's Madrigal" (instrumental, King Henry VIII)3:01

Personnel

Jethro Tull

Additional personnel
  • Francis Wilson – spoken word (on track 1 and 8)
  • Dave Pegg – bass guitar (on track 14)
  • Robin Black – sound engineer
  • David Jackson – artwork
  • Peter Wragg – art direction

Charts
Chart (1979/ 2019-20) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[6] 121
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[7] 160
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 92
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 8
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[10] 27
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[11] 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 42

References
  1. Eder, Bruce. Stormwatch (1979) at AllMusic
  2. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/Jethro-Tull/414/
  3. http://jethrotull.com/stormwatch-40th-anniversary-edition-announced/
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 155. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Austriancharts.at – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  6. "Ultratop.be – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  10. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 43: del 18.10.2019 al 24.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Jethro Tull – Stormwatch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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