The group's second album, with Anderson (vocals, flute, acoustic guitars, keyboards, balalaika), Martin Barre (electric guitar, flute), Clive Bunker (drums), and Glen Cornick (bass), solidified the group's sound.
There is still an element of blues, but except for "A New Day Yesterday," it is far more muted than on their first album, as Mick Abrahams' blues stylings are largely absent from Martin Barre's playing.
The influence of folk music also began to manifest itself ("Look Into the Sun").
The instrumental "Bouree," which could've been an early Blood, Sweat & Tears track, became a favorite concert number, although at this point Anderson's flute playing on-stage needed a lot of work; by his own admission, he just wasn't that good.
Bassist Cornick would last through only one more album, but he gets his best moments here, on "Bouree." As a story song with opaque lyrics and jarring tempo changes, "Back to the Family" is the forerunner to Thick as a Brick.
The only major flaw in this album is the mix, which divides the electric and acoustic instruments and fails to find a solid center.
The LP comes with a "pop-up" jacket interior.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A New Day Yesterday | Jethro Tull | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square | Jethro Tull | Play | 02:12 | 5 MB | 9 MB |
| 3 | Back to the Family | Jethro Tull | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Look into the Sun | Jethro Tull | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | Nothing Is Easy | Jethro Tull | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Fat Man | Jethro Tull | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 7 | We Used to Know | Jethro Tull | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Reasons for Waiting | Jethro Tull | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | Bour_e | Jethro Tull | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | For A Thousand Mothers | Jethro Tull | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 37 mins | 86 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 206 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Anderson | Arranger, Balalaika, Flute, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin, Mouth Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Producer, Vocals |
| 2 | Martin Barre | Flute, Guitar (Electric) |
| 3 | Clive Bunker | Drums, Percussion |
| 4 | Glenn Cornick | Guitar (Bass) |
| 5 | Jethro Tull | Primary Artist |
| 6 | Andy Johns | Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |