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Locomotive Breath And Other Tales

What's the definitive version of a song? Is it what's on the sheet music? Is it a particular performer on a particular night who pounds the plaque away from a musty and hoary standard? Is it encoded into 24bit FLAC to digitally shine from your hard drive indefinitely, so long as FLAC sticks around as a format? Is it a relatively untouched German pressing of a vinyl album? Does the concept of "definitive" even exist, said the psychologist focused on the subjective glamour of perceptual parameters?

Many of the above questions ran through my mind recently, as I opened up the 2-CD/2-DVD "bookcase" version of Aqualung, the classic 1971 album from Jethro Tull. In this bookcase version, you get the following takes on Aqualung:
  • A 2015 stereo remix by contemporary prog god Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, Storm Corrosion, etc.)
  • A flat transfer from the original stereo master in 96/24 LPCM stereo
  • A 2015 5.1 surround remix in DTS 96/24, AC3 Dolby Digital, and 96/24 LPCM stereo
  • A 1974 original 4.1 Quad mix in DTS 96/24 and AC3 Dolby Digital
You also get the Life Is A Long Song EP and assorted ephemera from 1970-1971. In other words, if you're a Jethro Tull fan, this set is built for you from start to finish. And even if you're not a Jethro Tull fan, you'll become one after listening to this slab of brilliance from a band at the height of their skills and abilities, a band able to toggle from pastoral folk to guitar pyrotechnics with alacrity and ease. (If you're looking for another rave, please go here for more.)

And that's really the bottom line, isn't it? The songs stand the test of time, be they showcased with spiffed-up sonics or flat transfers, booming out in stereo or Quad or 5.1, filtered through the mind of Steven Wilson or presented as is, from 45 years ago on a label (Chrysalis) that's lost to the ages. It's something I'd love to see more of as soon as possible, while the artists who made the work are still here to bask in the well-earned acclaim. It's just good shit, and we need more good shit in our ears and our lives.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the rollicking piano intro and guitar response of "Locomotive Breath" is starting, and I don't want to miss a note.

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