Out Now: Jethro Tull, 50 FOR 50 / 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

On February 2, 1968, London’s famed Marquee Club played host to the very first live performance by Jethro Tull. That’s the band Jethro Tull, mind you, rather than the inventor of the seed drill, who was reportedly not much of a singer to begin with and was certainly at a serious vocal disadvantage by that point, anyway, having been dead for 227 years. But here we are digressing again when we’re really here to tell you that, seeing as this is the band’s 50th anniversary, Rhino has opted to compile and release two new best-of sets by Jethro Tull to commemorate the occasion: 50 FOR 50 and 50TH ANNIVERSARY HITS.

50 FOR 50 is a collection of – you guessed it – 50 songs from throughout Jethro Tull’s career, and they’ve been specifically chosen by the band’s founder and frontman, Ian Anderson, to include selections from all 21 of their studio albums to date. Meanwhile, 50TH ANNIVERSARY HITS is a decidedly more streamlined version of Jethro Tull’s career, but it’s a solid one, spotlighting 15 tracks on the CD version and 10 tracks on the vinyl version. 

If you’ve never picked up a Jethro Tull best-of collection before, you can’t go wrong with either of those, as they provide options for the tentative new fan as well as the super-excited new fan who wants to do a deep dive as quickly as possible. 

Here’s the full track listings for all of the versions:
 
50 FOR 50
Track Listing:

1. "Nothing Is Easy" - Stand Up (1969)
2. "Love Story" - This Was (1968)
3. "Beggars Farm" - This Was (1968)
4. "Living In The Past" - Living In The Past (1972)
5. "A Song For Jeffrey" - This Was (1968)
6. "A New Day Yesterday" - Stand Up (1969)
7. "The Witch's Promise" - Benefit (1970)
8. "Mother Goose" - Aqualung (1971)
9. "With You There To Help Me" - Benefit (1970)
10. "Teacher" - Benefit (1970)
11. "Life Is A Long Song" - Living In The Past (1972)
12. "Sweet Dream" (Studio) - Stand Up (1969)
13. "Aqualung" - Aqualung (1971)
14. "Minstrel In The Gallery" - Minstrel In The Gallery (1975)
15. "Critique Oblique" (Steven Wilson Remix) - A Passion Play (1973)
16. "Weathercock" - Heavy Horses (1978)
17. "Cross-Eyed Mary" - Aqualung (1971)
18. "Bouree" - Stand Up (1969)
19. "Dun Ringill" - Stormwatch (1979)
20. "Heavy Horses" - Heavy Horses (1978)
21. "Hunting Girl" - Songs From The Wood (1977)
22. "Bungle In The Jungle" - War Child (1974)
23. "Salamander" - Songs From The Wood (1977)
24. "Pussy Willow" - The Broadsword And The Beast (1982)
25. "Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die" - Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die! (1976)
26. "Songs From The Wood" - Songs From The Wood (1977)
27. "The Whistler" - Songs From The Wood (1977)
28. "Really Don't Mind/See There A Son Is Born" - Thick As A Brick (1972)
29. "Moths" - Heavy Horses (1978)
30. "One White Duck / Nothing At All" - Minstrel In The Gallery (1975)
31. "Cup Of Wonder" - Songs From The Wood (1977)
32. "Ring Out Solstice Bells" - The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003)
33. "Skating Away" - War Child (1974)
34. "A Christmas Song" - The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003)
35. "One Brown Mouse" - Heavy Horses (1978)
36. "Rare And Precious Chain" - Roots To Branches (1995)
37. "Kissing Willie" - Rock Island (1989)
38. "Rocks On The Road" - Catfish Rising (1991)
39. "Fylingdale Flyer" - A (1980)
40. "Paparazzi" - Under Wraps (1984)
41. "North Sea Oil" - Stormwatch (1979)
42. "Steel Monkey" - Crest Of A Knave (1987)
43. "Black Sunday" - A (1980)
44. "European Legacy" - Under Wraps (1984)
45. "Budapest" - Crest Of A Knave (1987)
46. "Broadsword" - The Broadsword And The Beast (1982)
47. "Dot Com" - J-Tull Dot Com (1999)
48. "Farm On The Freeway" - Crest Of A Knave (1987)
49. "This Is Not Love" - Catfish Rising (1991)
50. "Locomotive Breath" - Aqualung (1971)

50th ANNIVERSARY HITS
CD Track Listing:
1. "Love Story"
2. "Living In The Past"
3. "Life Is A Long Song"
4. "Sweet Dream"
5. "The Witch's Promise"
6. "Aqualung"
7. "Dun Ringhill"
8. "Cross-Eyed Mary"
9. "Bouree"
10. "Bungle In The Jungle"
11. "Steel Monkey"
12. "Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll"
13. "Ring Out Solstice Bells"
14. "Farm On The Freeway"
15. "Locomotive Breath"

50th ANNIVERSARY HITS
LP Track Listing:
Side One
1. "The Witch's Promise"
2. "Sweet Dream"
3. "Life Is A Long Song"
4. "Living In The Past"
5. "Cross-Eyed Mary"
Side Two
1. "Aqualung"
2. "Bouree"
3. "Bungle In The Jungle"
4. "The Whistler"
5. "Locomotive Breath"