Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Not enough stars available November 22, 2008
Poddy (Milton Keynes, UK)
I saw Tull at Wembley on the APP tour and was stunned by what I saw. I had never seen them before, yet was totally mesmerized by the album and all the theatrics.
Yes, we all know about how Ian was disappointed to the point of quitting after the music industry seemingly slated 'A Passion Play', but it has stood the test of time as a remarkable piece of music. Everything blends so well, it is has some of the most incredible interplay (Anderson particularly on soprano saxophone is a brilliant alternative to the usual Jethro sound).
I have loved this album since first hearing it, and could never understand why, it seemed that, everyone else hated it. I'm just glad that time has caught up with me for once!! Okay, it's not an easy listen, but then all good music demands your time. Buy a copy and be enthralled.
 A complex and challenging work September 15, 2008
Cartimand (Hampshire, UK.)
As a Tull fan since my schooldays (first getting into Thick As A Brick when I was around 13), I can never decide which is my favourite album of theirs. It's usually the one I'm listening to at the time (with the exception of the bland disposable syntho-pap of Under Wraps). The same rule holds good for A Passion Play ....... but only just. Whilst superficially similar to TAAB, and even half-reprising a couple of the themes of that masterpiece, APP is certainly not an easy album to get into.
I recently bought the enhanced CD, as my old vinyl copy had become so scratchy as to be almost unplayable. The clarity of sound, the bonus video of the Hare Who Lost his Spectacles and the sumptuous packaging, containing some quite illuminating notes penned recently by Ian Anderson, were absolutely first class.
On my long drive into work each day, I've been playing the CD several times (yes, even the Hare bit!). Last night I woke up with the music so stuck in my head that I couldn't sleep for hours. Yes! A quarter of a century on, I had got into APP all over again! Never mind the somewhat pretentious concept and the downright morbid motif, just listen to the virtuoso performance as themes merge and intertwine in magical fashion. Heavy, almost Black Sabbath-like guitar assaults you from the left, swirling flute and sax from the right, atmospheric keyboard sounds and pounding, mesmeric drums punctuate everything, whilst Ian Anderson's vocals have rarely conveyed such passion.
For a pleasant chill-out session I would certainly plump for almost any other Tull album (notably Songs From the Wood, TAAB or Heavy Horses), but for a profoundly moving and ultimately highly satisfying musical appreciation, there is little to compare with A Passion Play.
I couldn't quite bring myself to award the maximum 5 stars, simply because the intensity of this piece precludes too frequent listening, and the whimsical humour of "Hare" grates after a while (the CD does not permit the listener to skip that track). However this much-maligned album remains an essential purchase for anyone interested in this most cerebral of classic Brit rockers.
Stunning, greatly underrated work by one of the biggest bands of the early seventies. August 10, 2008
I. Mustafic (UK)
I can only support what the glowing reviews already say here. I was a big Tull fan in 1973 and this album was the pinnacle of Tull's work at the time. It reached new heights of musical inventiveness, instrumentation, mood, atmosphere and sheer drama. I remember being surprised by Anderson's use of saxophone. Up until then, he had been inextricably linked with the flute, but the addition of saxophone to the sound pallette just gave this album more value. I was devastated to hear about Anderson's response to the critics. All the Tull fans I knew at the time loved it. Unfortunately, after this album I felt that subsequent Tull albums never reached the heights of this classic. Highly recommended.
Beyond superlatives. January 24, 2008
Mr. C. J. Waldron
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First time I heard this, I honestly didnt know what to think. After a few more listens, it all starts to become familiar and you almost feel like you've gained entrance to an exclusive club. The more you listen to this album, the better it gets. Yes its a bit mad, yes its a bit weird at times, and yes its complex stuff ..... but what a musical ride! As a complete album I would go as far to say that it is musically stronger than "Thick as a Brick" and much more fun. All I can say is - "I absolutely love it!" and feel my life is that little bit better for being able to enjoy the madness of the Passion Play whenever I need a lift. Brilliant!
You'll either love it or hate it! August 9, 2007
Lucas Biddle (Gold Coast, QLD Australia)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
No-one likes this album: they either love it or they hate it. It polarises people.
Upon first listening to A Passion Play I was quite disappointed, especially when compared with Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull's previous concept album. 'Why did I buy this junk?' I thought. My second listen felt a little better. By the third listen I was addicted.
It's fairly similar in structure to Thick As A Brick, though much darker in feeling. Brilliant chord progression and licks. I love the little intermission where "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" is told, backed with amazingly suitable music and other effects.
I absolutely love this album. It's a very close second to Thick As A Brick for me.
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