Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick (1972)

Thick as a Brick, (Jethro Tull, 1972) is not just one of the best works of Jethro Tull as a band (peaked No.1 on U.S. Billboard Pop Albums Chart), but one of the most unique albums I have come across as well. It comes in a phase in Jethro Tull's life when they're at their peak after a successful Aqualung, and definitely marking a transition into the progressive rock genre, hints of which can be seen from Stand Up (1969) itself.
Being a concept album, it consists of a single track, spanning just under 44 minutes (and the album being progressive in that sense as well), with a vast range of sounds, as Ian Anderson himself says, "sometimes lifting, sometimes soaring". It is most well-known perhaps for its innovation in having a mock newspaper entitled "St. Cleve Chronicle" as an LP cover which help one to get a hint to the extremely complex and mind-boggling lyrics penned by a prodigious eight-year old Gerald Bostock who features on the front page of the "Chronicle" (actually an incarnation of Ian Anderson himself). The lyrics and the sound scheme is extremely complex, and no theme can be pinpointed, like it can be in Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall or The Who's Tommy or Jethro Tull's own most celebrated album Aqualung. It is possibly simply a hodgepodge of the themes dealt with in all the above works.
Possibly, it is an attack on everything mainstream, which is indicated by the first lines: "My words but a whisper - your deafness a shout. I may make you feel but I can't make you think." - beginning with mainstream attitudes towards children to art to war. The words are typically Anderson, reminiscent of Aqualung and Stand Up, full of satire, challenging the mainstream throughout the epic with effects such as "See there! A son is born…". Not only is "The St. Cleve Chronicle" a must read for its cleverness, the album is a must hear for the range in variations in a single track never heard before, impressive jamming in between, all united by the signature Anderson flute. And of course,
"So you ride yourselves over the fields and
You make all your animal deals and
Your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick."

Exceptional. Wholesome. Complete. Satiating.

See also:
Thick as a Brick lyrics.
The 12-page St. Cleve Chronicle.

Bob Dylan: My Back Pages

I think this ought to have come up here a long long time ago, considering I'd been listening to this same track over fifty times each day during my exams.
The song, "My Back Pages" first appeared during Dylan's golden period in the album Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964), in a simpler very typical Dylan harmonica-acoustic version, with him reciting and not singing the song.
But the version that's got to be one of the best and most complete tracks ever is found in the 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (1993), performed by various artists.
Apart from the famous guitar riff by Clapton in the middle, the track is exceptional as it brings together Tom Petty, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds), Neil Young (of Pearl Jam fame), George Harrison and Bob Dylan himself to sing the magical words of My Back Pages, which becomes an anthemic tune, and one of the few songs which one can listen to in any sort of mood. Although there are quite a few well-covered songs of Dylan in the album, this stands out, and is bound to make the listener open his eyes wide and appreciate the magic of Dylan's songwriting every single time.

Must see:
My Back Pages Lyrics.
The Concert version.