LOS ANGELES – Jethro Tull’s first five studio albums introduced a band that would radically redefine the boundaries of rock, blending blues, folk, classical, and hard rock into a singular progressive vision. Rhino High Fidelity captures the meteoric rise and creative peak of that era in a new audiophile vinyl boxed set, Jethro Tull 1968-1972. It arrives today, along with a reel-to-reel edition of the band’s biggest album, Aqualung. 

The Jethro Tull 1968-1972 (Rhino High Fidelity) boxed set includes This Was, Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, and Thick as a Brick, all cut AAA from the U.K. analog master tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal in Germany. The set is housed in a leatherette slipcase. Each album comes in a glossy gatefold jacket with new liner notes featuring commentary from Ian Anderson. The set is limited to 3,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively at Rhino.com and select Warner Music Group stores internationally. 

Aqualung (Rhino High Fidelity R2R) was duplicated in real time from a 1:1 copy of the original U.K. analog master tape. The result is a master-quality listening experience that captures the full dynamics of the recording. The 15 i.p.s. half-track 1/4” tape is produced to the IEC equalization standard on premium RTM LPR90 tape stock and stored on a 10.5” metal reel. The Reel-to-Reel edition is limited to 350 copies worldwide and available exclusively at Rhino.com.

In just five years, Jethro Tull evolved from a club-circuit British blues band into a global stadium headliner, completely reshaping their musical identity with every record. Led by visionary frontman, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ian Anderson, the journey began with the jazz-tinged blues of 1968’s This Was. The arrival of guitarist Martin Barre for 1969’s Stand Up prompted a shift toward intricate English folk melodies and classical structures—a formula that sent the album straight to #1 in the U.K. By 1970’s Benefit, Anderson expanded the band’s sonic textures further with keyboardist John Evan, leaning into darker, heavier rock arrangements that laid the groundwork for their mainstream breakthrough.

That success came in March 1971 with Aqualung, a multi-platinum milestone featuring new bassist Jeffrey Hammond. Driven by the enduring rock radio staples “Locomotive Breath” and the title track, the album balanced blistering hard rock with delicate acoustic poetry, solidifying the band as international stars. When critics labeled Aqualung a concept album, Anderson subverted the entire genre with its follow-up, 1972’s Thick as a Brick. Introducing Barriemore Barlow on drums, the single, continuous 43-minute epic combined symphonic ambition with satirical wit, earning Jethro Tull their very first #1 album in the U.S. It capped an extraordinary five-year run, launching a legendary, Grammy® Award-winning career that still thrives today through more than five decades of global touring, continuous recording, and over 60 million albums sold.

1968-1972

5LP Track Listing

LP One: This Was

Side One

1. “My Sunday Feeling”
2. “Some Day The Sun Won’t Shine”
3. “Beggar’s Farm”
4. “Move On Alone”
5. “Serenade To A Cuckoo”

Side Two

1. “Dharma For One”
2. “It’s Breaking Me Up”
3. “Cat’s Squirrel”
4. “A Song For Jeffrey”
5. “Round”

LP Two: Stand Up

Side One

1. “A New Day Yesterday”
2. “Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square”
3. “Bourée”
4. “Back To The Family”
5. “Look Into The Sun”

Side Two

1. “Nothing Is Easy”
2. “Fat Man”
3. “We Used To Know”
4. “Reasons For Waiting”
5. “For A Thousand Mothers”

LP Three: Benefit

Side One

1. “With You There To Help Me”
2. “Nothing To Say”
3. “Alive And Well And Living In”
4. “Son”
5. “For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me”

Side Two

1. “To Cry You A Song”
2. “A Time For Everything?”
3. “Inside”
4. “Play In Time”
5. “Sossity; You’re A Woman”

LP Four: Aqualung

Side One

1. “Aqualung”
2. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
3. “Cheap Day Return”
4. “Mother Goose”
5. “Wond’ring Aloud”
6. “Up To Me” 

Side Two

1. “My God”
2. “Hymn 43”
3. “Slipstream”
4. “Locomotive Breath”
5. “Wind-Up”

LP Five: Thick as a Brick

Side One

1. “Thick As A Brick”
2. “Really Don’t Mind/See There A Son Is Born”
3. “The Poet And The Painter”
4. “What Do You Do When The Old Man’s Gone?/From The Upper Class”
5. “You Curl Your Toes In Fun/Childhood Heroes/Stabs Instrumental”

Side Two

1. “Thick As A Brick”
2. “See There A Man Is Born/Clear White Circles”
3. “Legends And Believe In The Day”
4. “Tales Of Your Life”
5. “Childhood Heroes Reprise”

Aqualung

R2R Track Listing

1. “Aqualung”
2. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
3. “Cheap Day Return”
4. “Mother Goose”
5. “Wond’ring Aloud”
6. “Up To Me” 
7. “My God”
8. “Hymn 43”
9. “Slipstream”
10. “Locomotive Breath”
11. “Wind-Up”