Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2014

Most people associate the term “rock opera” with groups like The Who and their epochal Tommy, but the “court jester” of that era’s rock scene, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, could probably make a case that his 1972 effort Thick as a Brick qualifies, especially since it was written with a touring performance clearly in mind. The original Thick as a Brick album was famous for only featuring one track that spanned both sides of the LP. Some 40 years after Thick as a Brick topped the charts globally, Ian Anderson, puckish as ever, revisited his concept and released Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?. This invigorating 2012 performance in Iceland (a place Anderson has made a regular stop on his tours) offers both albums as one complete theater piece. Anderson has always been one of the more theatrical rock stars of his generation, and this multimedia presentation offers weird little Andersonian snippets of video, mime and, of course, fantastic music. Why this relatively recent offering should have only been shot in standard definition is another matter entirely, but Eagle Vision is at least to be commended for its “up front” way of labeling this release as a so- called “SD Blu-ray”.

Anderson is joined by John O'Hara (keys, accordion), David Goodier (bass guitar), Florian Opahle (guitar), Scott Hammond (drums and percussion) and Ryan O'Donnell (vocals, dance and mime) on the following songs:

• Thick as a Brick (entire original album)
• From a Pebble Thrown
• Pebbles Instrumental
• Might Have Beens
• Upper Sixth Loan Shark
• Banker Bets, Banker Wins
• Swing It Far
• Adrift and Dumbfounded
• Old School Song
• Wootton Bassett Town
• Power and Spirit
• Give Til It Hurts
• Cosy Corner
• Shunt and Shuffle
• A Change of Horses
• Confessional
• Kismet in Suburbia
• What-Ifs, Maybes and Might-Have-Beens

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in both 1.74:1 and 1.78:1 (the live concert footage is in the former aspect ratio, while some of the interstitial material is in the latter). Why this relatively recent performance wasn't captured in high definition is a debate for another day, but what's here is about what should be expected from an upconvert. Close-ups are at least reasonably decent looking, with okay color and a smattering of fine detail. Midrange and wide shots are often little more than blobs of inchoate color. Black levels are somewhat variable as well, and contrast is middling. You came here for the music anyway, right?

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland features both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and an LPCM 2.0 option, and both offer excellent fidelity and very clear reproduction. My one niggling qualm with the 5.1 mix especially is that the extra oomph in the lower registers sometimes tends to slightly bury Anderson's and (especially) O'Donnell's voices. Otherwise, though, there's a lot of nice separation and good hall reverb on the 5.1 mix, and it's especially fine in reproducing the huge gamut of instruments (including some vintage ones) that Anderson exploits during this concert.

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Ian Anderson (1080i; 14:16)


• Ian Anderson and Claude Nobs Workshop: 'Someday the Sun Won't Shine for You' offers the rare sight of Nobs trying to play an instrument. (1080i; 9:32)


• Live at Montreux 2012: 'Upper Sixth Loan Shark' and 'Banker Bets, Banker Wins' (1080i; 7:12). (This one does not look like an upscale).

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Anderson is still as spry and winning as ever, and he's in top form here, chatting with the audience and leading the band through its paces with aplomb. It's a real head scratcher why this ended up in standard definition, and so prospective consumers need to come to this with expectations firmly in check, at least with regard to the video quality. Sonically things are much better here, though some may feel (like I do) that the voices could have been prioritized a bit better in the mix. Still, it's a joy to see this "theater piece" in all its weird but enjoyable glory. Recommended.