War Child 40th Anniversary Theatre Edition – Coming in November!
The Band’s Ambitious 1974 Album Expanded With Unreleased Tracks
And Orchestral Pieces Along With Rare Video Footage
2CD/2DVD, 1CD, Digital Download: November 24th
Limited Edition Vinyl : January 13th
In 1974, Jethro Tull announced plans for WarChild, a multi-faceted project that was to encompass a feature-length film, a soundtrack album, as well a new album from the band. In October of that year, Tull released a 10-song album that would climb to #2 in the U.S. and the top 15 in the U.K., but the film and accompanying soundtrack were shelved. To commemorate the 40-year anniversary of this ambitious experiment, Parlophone will revisit WarChild with several releases.
WARCHILD: THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY THEATRE EDITION will be available as a limited edition 2-CD/2-DVD set on November 24th.
Highlights from the set include:
– Original album and bonus tracks (three previously unreleased), remixed in 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
– 10 orchestral pieces (nine previously unreleased) written for the film’s soundtrack, 4 of which are remixed in 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
– Flat transfers of the original LP mix at 96/24, and the quadrophonic version (with 2 bonus tracks) in 4.0.
– “The Third Hoorah” promo footage, and footage from a January 1974 photo session/press conference where the WarChild project was announced.
– An 80-page booklet featuring an extensive article on the preparation and recording of the album, a film script synopsis, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs.
In addition a new stereo remix of WarChild will also be released on single CD and digitally on November 17th.
Originally released in 1974, WarChild features one of the group’s most prolific lineups and includes Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evans, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond and Barrie Barlow. Unlike its predecessors – Thick As A Brick and A Passion Play – which featured 40-odd minutes of continuous music, WarChild marked a return to songs of a more conventional length, including the FM-radio staple, “Bungle In The Jungle.” The new Theatre Edition unearths a trio of unreleased recordings: “Tomorrow Was Today,” “Good Godmother,” and a different arrangement of “WarChild” recorded after the version on the final album.
Fans intrigued by the appearance of “WarChild Waltz” on the 2002 reissue of WarChild will finally get the chance to hear the rest of the mostly orchestral music the band recorded for the soundtrack album. About 30 minutes was recorded during sessions in 1973 and 1974. Soon after, the music was consigned to the archives for 40 years – until now.