Songs from the Wood

Songs from the Wood
Studio album by
Released11 February 1977
Recorded14 September – 16 November 1976
StudioMorgan Studios, London
Genre
Length41:17
LabelChrysalis
ProducerIan Anderson
Jethro Tull chronology
Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!
(1976)
Songs from the Wood
(1977)
Repeat – The Best of Jethro Tull – Vol II
(1977)
Singles from Songs from the Wood
  1. "Ring Out, Solstice Bells (EP)"
    Released: 22 November 1976[1]
  2. "The Whistler"
    Released: 4 February 1977[2]
  3. "Songs from the Wood"
    Released: 19 May 1977 (Aus and NZ)[3]

Songs from the Wood is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 11 February 1977 by Chrysalis Records. The album is considered to be the first of three folk rock albums released by the band at the end of the 1970s, followed by Heavy Horses (1978) and Stormwatch (1979).[4]

Drawing inspiration from English folklore and countryside living, the album signalled a resumption of the band's wide-ranging folk rock style which combined traditional instruments and melodies with hard rock drums, synthesisers and electric guitars, all laid in the band's complex progressive rock template.[5] The album was the first Jethro Tull album to include Dee Palmer as an official member of the band, who after eight years of serving as the band's orchestral arranger had joined as a second keyboardist in early 1976.

Songs From the Wood was well received by critics who considered it a return to form. The album reached number 13 in the UK and number 8 in the United States. A single from the album, "The Whistler", was also the band's last US Hot 100 chart entry, peaking at number 59. Another song, "Ring Out, Solstice Bells", was released ahead of the album on an EP of the same title for the 1976 Christmas season, peaking at number 28 in the UK.

  1. ^ "Jethro Tull singles". Dutchcharts.com.
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 27.
  3. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ Hughes, Rob (23 January 2015). "Jethro Tull: keeping the folk fires burning". ClassicRock.TeamRock.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AllMusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).