It seems like forever since I've been at this PC working up a new helping of MusicTAP. I was back in Illinois, checking up on my Mother, who ended up in the ER and the hospital for most of my trip. So I spent a lot of time just trying to get her back to speed and getting educated on Dietary Nutrition. Interesting. But we're back now. We also experienced an email snafu that never really cleared up. I thought that it was originally my server but it turned out to be something else. I've worked around it and so we are getting our mail, just not the way we want to. But now, all mail is being received.

As for our Twitter info that we posted while we were gone, I plan to continue to do so. I'll be sending stuff out much faster than they appear on the site, and stuff that may never get on the site after being Twittered. I like the service a lot and follow my own selection of newsmakers. Talk about instantaneous information. This is especially true if you enable the cell phone feature, which will then send your selected followings to your cell phone as a text. However, you have to select which feeds you want in this way. You may follow 50 but if you only want one to show up on your cell, you can select only the one. I follow major newspapers in this way, as well as sports results. Next month I will remove the applet that you find below and replace it with a button.

Our Jethro Tull Poll was quite a popular one. We received a wide selection of choices showing that Jethro Tull spoke to many people on different levels. That's the calling card of Jethro Tull. They crossed the creative borders time and time again, providing a wide range of maturing music, music that never lost the Tull sound but evolved consistently. That's success on the best level. Let's seque into the results of that Poll.

Jethro Tull had several defining albums, all very tight selections and great arguments for thier "best." This is never more evident than on this Poll where 4 albums battled neck to neck for the the top placement. With the results, it is easy to see that, while Thick as a Brick scored the top position, a few more emails might have changed that. But I prefer to say that Jethro Tull so commanded fans' attention with their solid efforts that they have a subjective allure to them. If you ask me, Jethro Tull is one of our great bands and fans know this, from their best efforts to their worst. Here are the results:

• Thick as a Brick (26) - This album represents Tull as well as the following top selections but just seems to be pure Jethro Tull. With its newspaper cover, its 2-sided 42-minute song, and a solid progressive effort, Thick as a Brick is an unconventional choice with its one extended song, but is so pure that it shines.
• Aqualung (22) - Following on the coattails of Thick as a Brick, many fans are just as passionate bout this album as the band's best effort. Recorded a year earlier than TaaB, it ranks within Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Rock Albums. It yielded the highly memorable "Locomotive Breath," and "Aqualung," amongst a few other classic JT tunes.
• Songs From the Wood (21) - This was my choice for Jethro Tull ALTHOUGH it was, as many of you emailed, a very hard choice to make. I had many selections, all of which represented a different JT. This one was a folkie kind of album, hinting of Thick as a Brick, and followed by Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch. "The Whistler" was a spectacular song although I thought all of the songs spectacular. Who can deny "Jack in the Green," and the title track? Not I. Many of you agree.
• Stand Up (8) - This is a sharp drop off in the voting process. The second album in Tull's library was harder-edged, and an intense satisfaction. Some great songs on here like "A New Day Yesterday" and the flute dominated instrumental "Bouree,"
• Minstrel in the Gallery (7) - Released in 1975, this album produced the great title track as well as the gorgeous "Cold Wind to Vahalla," and the multi-piece "Baker St. Muse." But there is no dismissing the wonder of "One White Duck/0 to the tenth power = Nothing At All."
• Crest of a Knave (6) - Late in the '80s, Jethro Tull released this surprising effort, a return of sorts to the basic Tull sound. As a result, fans loved this "comeback" work. And yes, it was worth the attention. One listen to "Farm on the Freeway" explains all. It is a classic, hard-edged song with the classic Tull sound intact. "Steel Monkey" rocked too.
• Benefit (6) - This album followed Stand Up, ushering Jethro Tull in to the '70s. It was a solid effort by the band that yielded some memorable Tull songs. I'm just surprised that it supplanted Heavy Horses, which got nary a vote. But the sound of this album is so classic of the year's music in which it arrived (1970). And I do like "To Cry You a Song."
• Passion Play (1) - This is a concept album that has its share of fans.
• Bursting Out (1) - As far as Live albums go, this one was as good as a Live Tull show might be (shameful admission - I've never seen them).
• Under Wraps (1) - Released in 1984, this album attempted an evolution of Tull by introducing synthesizers and other such staples that worked for younger '80s bands. Despite some good songs, by and large, Tull fans rebelled. Loved the title track and its two variations.
• This Was (1) - Why this placed as low as it has your guess is as good as mine. This Was represents the entry of JT with a bluesy approach that may not have been solid Jethro Tull, it is a good effort and thus should be acknowledged as such.
• Roots to Branches (1) - This late era release by Jethro Tull was an average album by the band. The album explored other angles of music but was not extremely well-received but hads its fans nonetheless.
• J-Tull Dot Com (1) - Released after Roots to Branches, this tongue-in-cheek, time-refracted, titled album was essentially Tull's last studio effort (not counting the Christmas release). It didn't provide a high note for the band. This is why I firmly believe that the band has a better closure album in them.
• War Child (1) - I liked this album. It had "Bungle in the Jungle," a song that I thought was a good single (ok, not as good as "Living in the Past," which it followed. Yes, it wasn't a strong Tull album but it was better than this placing suggests.
• Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young Too Die! (1) - This album, released in 1976, predates Songs From the Wood. I found it an excellent listen. Conceptual, as many of Jethro Tull albums happen to be, it is another notch in Tull's belt. How can one NOT love the title track.
• A (1) - The voter sending in this vote knew it was a vote that would get him in trouble. But nevertheless, he liked it. While I disagree that this album is a representative selection, it does have some good songs. I'm convinced that Anderson and his core (along with his revolving door band mates) are not capable of creating an album's worth of bad songs.

This ends the polling. I have to admit that I'm a tad frustrated that Heavy Horses, Broadsword and The Beast, and Catfish Rising were completely ignored because they are better albums than this Poll reflects. But it is sure that many Tull fans believe that the best that the band has is found in the first three big vote getters. Now...who has next?

However, the albums and songs of the '60s and '70s, when our wars and economies were worse than they are now (US speaking), their music rich in protest and disgust, was a topic ignored. I did received some emails on this but not enough to bring bring us back to a time of greater awareness. I'm going to leave the old paragraph (seen below this) to see if it might push a few more buttons. I'd really like to hear from you.

There was so much important music made back in the '60s and '70s, much of it that that looked at a failing war (Vietnam), and the worsening ecology (yes, even then some of us thought about it). While I can think of a hundred titles and songs that are just as lyrically prevalent today as they were back then, none impact me as much as What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. There were three hits on this album - click titles for lyrics -, all emotionally charged works that look at our ridiculous involvement in a useless foreign war ("What's Going On," with lines like "brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying" and "father, father, we don't need to escalate. you see, war is not the answer..."), our abuse of our own lands on "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," with lines like "where did all the blue skies go" and "What about this overcrowded land" and many more thoughts); and the despair of a human trying to get ahead on "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" with lines like "Inflation, no chance to increase finance, bills pile up sky high, send that boy off to die" and "This ain't livin'" and "Make Me Wanna Holler the way that do my life"). The rest of the album is filled with more songs along these lines (on "What's Happening, Brother," Gaye sings "War is Hell, when will it end," and "Can't find no work, can't find no job, my friend, money is tighter than it's ever been." In short, the times we live in now replicate somewhat the times past. This album was recorded in 1971 during a bad period of time when a recession was stifling the lives of our parents and families, and a senseless war was at its peak. I'll not spout off my personal political beliefs here but my point here is that there is a lot of great historic music that is just as important today as the day they were released. Marvin Gaye's unmatched What's Going On is one of them. Now, for fun and the importance of such choices, email your pick for an album or song that is just as prevalent today as the day it was released. I want to be reminded just how conscious we were back in those days during our bad times and how more so we need to be now. Send me your selections here at this link.

We'll be back on Wednesday with a full post.

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

Flashback Records will reissue three Cheech and Chong favourites in both Edited and PA (Parental Advisory) versions. These titles are Big Bambu, Wedding Album, and the S/T album. These are planned for May 19.

Laface Records will release the new Ciara album in several forms (includes a Deluxe Edition) on May 5. The album is called Fantasy Ride.

Masterworks Broadway will reissue a strong selection of classics Broadway Original Cast Recordings soundtracks on May 5. Those titles include: A Chorus Line; Annie; Bye Bye Birdie!; Cabaret; Company; Fiddler on the Roof; Gypsy - 50th Anniversary Edition; Hello Dolly; My Fair Lady; Next to Normal; South Pacific; and The Pajama Game.

Razor & Tie has two Joan Baez 2CD expanded reissue titles on the slate for April 28. The albums are Gone From Danger (1997), and Ring Them Bells (1995). Each album will contain bonus materials from the sessions with 6 unreleased songs for Ring Them Bells, and a concert performance and a duet for Gone From Danger. These Deluxe packages will be slip-cased by an O-Card.

Wind-up Records will release a Developing Artist album by Pilot Speed called Wooden Bones. It arrives on April 28.

Christopher Hawley and his Rollers band has crafted an album that the artists himself is quite sure of. The Roots of the Tree contains tracks, both Live and Studio, many with the raw edge of rock and roll, southern style. But there is much more going on here that deserves to be paid attention to.

The Library is making some very exciting music, showcased on their preceding 4-track EP whilst they cook up the real deal full length. But from what we've heard, we're gonna like the upcoming album quite a bit, maybe even more than that. Check out their music on MySpace (link in the review).