Jethro Tull: 40 Years of Brick

Jethro Tull's 1972 album, Thick as a Brick, will be re-released this fall in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The band's singer and flute player Ian Anderson wrote the lyrics for the album, but credited them to the fictitious child character, Gerald Bostock, whose parents supposedly lied about his age.

Looking back, Anderson tells us, "I think a lot of people did listen to it and took it quite seriously. Maybe somewhere along the line they were tipped off that there is no Santa Claus, you know, in the equivalent sense, and probably felt a little embarrassed that they'd taken it seriously. But that doesn't matter..."

The 40th anniversary collection will feature numerous mixes, the newspaper that came with the original version, rare photos, recording and touring mementos and much more, all contained in 104-page hardback book. It will also be available as a two-LP vinyl set. It will be out in November. Earlier this year Anderson released Thick as a Brick 2, and he starts the U.S. leg of his tour in support of it on September 18th in Miami with dates through November 5th in Newark, Ohio.