Monday Music "Broadsword" by Jethro Tull

 

 Man the meme is still rolling along.....

I am continuing my string of "bugaloo" songs.  This discussion was started in the "Monster Hunter Nation, Hunters Unite", back in November of 2019? it is a Facebook group with enthusiast of the ILOH "International Lord of Hate" A.K.A Larry Correia.  We were talking about what song would we use if we looked out of our window or glanced at our security camera and saw this.....

One of the alphabet bois lining up to take down your house...What would be your "Valhalla" song and you would set it up to play as you load up magazines set up the Tannerite Rover and prepare yourself.

 I figured it would scar the alphabet boys if they come busting in and hearing a song about people standing for their beliefs and willing to fight for them no matter the cost, Good Music  unlike that crap they listen to now.  What can I say, My humor is warped....just a bit. Next week will be "Anvil of Crom" by Basil Poledouris, Now that should really cause some psych evals., hehehe, some poor ATF guy trying to explain the attraction to his mother because he is imaging himself as The savior of the American Way"  instead of the initials of a convenience store....But hey it is ATF...and they ain't right.

The Broadsword and the Beast is the 14th studio album by rock band Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1982. The album is a cross between the dominant synthesizer sound of the 1980s and the folk-influenced style that Jethro Tull used in the previous decade. As such, the band's characteristic acoustic instrumentation is augmented by electronic soundscapes, provided by new keyboardist Peter-John Vettese. The electronic aspects of this album would be explored further by the band on their next release, Under Wraps.

In the liner notes of the remastered version of the album, Ian Anderson opines that Broadsword contains some of Jethro Tull's best music.

The cover art is by renowned artist Iain McCaig, a longtime fan of Jethro Tull. The art was made after discussions with Ian Anderson, and was illustrated to capture the concept of the music. McCaig has stated that he intentionally drew hidden "easter eggs" in the album art.

The runic symbols around the edge of the cover are from the Cirth rune system and are the opening lyrics to Broadsword:

"I see a dark sail on the horizon, set under a black cloud that hides the sun. Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman."

The album was going to be called Beastie, responding to the first track on side one. But during production, the band deliberated over the preference between Beastie and Broadsword, the first track on side two. In the end, they decided (as on Aqualung) to give each side its own title and thus its own identity, and this time to combine both in the album title. As the artwork also puts much more emphasis on Broadsword, many owners and fans also refer to it as the Broadsword album.