"And your wise men don't know how it feels..."
Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by Progressive Rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1972. Surprised that critics called Aqualung a concept album, bandleader Ian Anderson sought out to create "the mother of all concept albums" with Thick as a Brick. The album is supposedly an adaptation of an epic poem by a child prodigy named Gerald Bostock, who was disqualified from a poetry competition due to the offensive nature of the poem; in reality, all of the lyrics were written by Ian Anderson. Original copies were packaged with a parody newspaper giving more detail to the concept.Tracklist:
Side One:- Thick as a Brick, Part I (22:40)
Side Two:
- Thick as a Brick, Part II (21:06)
25th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks:
- Thick as a Brick (1978 live version at Madison Square Garden) (11:50)
- Interview with Jethro Tull (16:30)
40th Anniversary Special Edition (Streaming Version) tracklist:
- Really Don't Mind / See There, A Son Is Born (5:00)
- The Poet and the Painter (5:29)
- What Do You Do When the Old Man's Gone / From the Upper Class (5:25)
- You Curl Your Toes in Fun / Childhood Heroes / Stabs Instrumental (6:48)
- See There, A Man Is Born / Clear White Circles (5:58)
- Legends and Believe in the Day (6:34)
- Tales of Your Life (5:24)
- Childhood Heroes Reprise (2:56)
Bonus Disc (40th Anniversary Release):
- Thick as a Brick, Part I (5.1 Surround Mix) (22:44)
- Thick as a Brick, Part II (5.1 Surround Mix) (20:54)
- Thick as a Brick, Part I (2012 Stereo Mix) (22:44)
- Thick as a Brick, Part II (2012 Stereo Mix) (20:54)
- Thick as a Brick, Part I (Original Stereo Mix) (22:44)
- Thick as a Brick, Part II (Original Stereo Mix) (20:54)
- 1972 Radio Ad (1:02)
Thick as a Brick contains examples of:
- All There in the Manual: The fake newspaper packaged with the original album, which provides an in-universe background to the album and effectively serves as the liner notes.
- The "Poem" of much controversy is presented in full within the newspaper and acts as the lyric sheet for the piece.
- Asians Eat Pets: One of the fake stories in the newspaper replicates the urban legend of a couple vacationing in Hong Kong who asks for their dog to be fed, but due to the Language Barrier, the waiter has the dog cooked and served to them.note
- Concept Album: A parody of the genre.
- Epic Rocking: 43 minutes from start to finish, with an interval in the middle to let the listener flip over the record.
- Longest Song Goes First: The album is usually considered a single 44-minute song, but it had to be split in two for the vinyl pressing, and as a result the first half technically counts, at 22:40.
- Packaged as Other Medium: The album cover is an elaborate Affectionate Parody of a rural British newspaper called The St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser.
- Running Gag: Many in the cover newspaper, including penguin hunting and the "non-rabbit".
- Stealth Parody: Of Progressive Rock and Concept Albums, born out of critics mislabeling Aqualung (Jethro Tull Album) as one.
- Springtime for Hitler: It's still praised as one of Progressive Rock's greatest achievements and for some even Jethro Tull's masterpiece. Unlike other examples of this trope, Ian Anderson doesn't mind this at all.
- Title Track: The only track, in fact.note
- Subverted on the streaming version of the 40th Anniversary Special Edition, which includes 8 tracks, none of which are title tracks.
- Word Salad Lyrics: Parodied Trope.
