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Jethro Tull, in the first few years of their career, were one of the most innovative rock bands, thanks to the creative genius of Ian Anderson. However, with Storm Watch, the inspiration has become seriously diminished. (US:22 UK:27)
“A rather disjointed, depressing album that lacks atmosphere, enthusiasm and heart. It has that ‘why are we doing this’ sort of vibe. Treading water? More like paddling here.”
“Stormwatch is not their best recording. Sloppy and disinterested seem to be the best way to describe the quality and their effort. Jethro Tull, as a unit, had made some great long plays, but like many prog rock bands by this time they really had nothing much left.”
“I feel that Tull were getting burnt out because of constant touring and album making, long with the changing musical climate and the death of their bass player John Glascock. Things were hard so I think they needed a drastic change in style. This was a goodbye to their classic straight ahead folk-rock sound. All in all this is just a mediocre album that might have been something great.”
“The musicianship is superior to all but a select few bands, and there are many stunning moments. However, one does notice a perceptible drop-off in energy level from one album to the next.”
“The music is as great as always, with Anderson writing the bulk of the material and the band members doing a splendid job, with Anderson playing the bass parts on top of his usual duties as singer, acoustic guitarist and flautist. The album also includes some elaborate orchestral arrangements, which by that time were an integral part of many prog albums, expanding the sound beyond the usual rock instruments.”
“Stormwatch ends the trilogy of albums dealing with man's relationship with nature. The overall mood of the record, established by the cover shot, is a cold one. Anderson sings point of view of someone watching an approaching storm, as in the character on the cover. Throughout the songs, he is warning everyone to stop abusing nature or they will live in eternal winter and darkness.”
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