War Child (album)

Recording

The band began recording songs for the album on 7 December 1973, starting with "Ladies". They recorded "The Third Hoorah" along with the outtake "Paradise Steakhouse" on 8 December, "WarChild" and "Back-Door Angels" along with outtake "Saturation" on 16 December, the sound effects from "Bungle in the Jungle", "Ladies", "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" and "The Third Hoorah" along with outtake "Good Godmother" and orchestral piece "Mime Sequence" on 19 December, "SeaLion" along with outtake "SeaLion II" on 6 January 1974, "Queen and Country" on 20 January 1974 and finally "Two Fingers" and "Bungle in the Jungle" along with outtake "Tomorrow was Today" on 24 February 1974. The whole album was recorded at Morgan Studios, in London, except for tracks 6 and 8, which were recorded at the Château d'Hérouville, in France. According to the liner notes on the 2014 Theatre Edition reissue, WarChild was a much more relaxed record to make, compared to the previous album and the Château d'Hérouville sessions. The studio equipment worked, the sound in the studio was very workable, and the atmosphere within the band was very settled and productive.

Music

Much of the music derived from past recording sessions of the band. "Only Solitaire" and "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day" were left over from the summer 1972 writing sessions for what was to have been the follow-up to Thick as a Brick (1972). The basic tracks and lead vocals for those two songs were recorded during September 1972 sessions in France. "Bungle in the Jungle" also shares some elements with material recorded in September 1972. Ian Anderson told Songfacts: "It was actually late '72 or early '73 when I was in Paris recording an album that never got released, although one or two of the tracks made it out in 1974, but that was at a time when I was writing an album that was exploring people, the human condition, through analogies with the animal kingdom." "Two Fingers" is a rearrangement of "Lick Your Fingers Clean", a track from the Aqualung (1971) recording sessions that was not included on that album's original release.

Film

Originally meant to accompany a film project (the album was planned as a double-album set), it was reinstated as a ten-song, single-length rock album after failed attempts to find a major movie studio to finance the film. The "War Child" movie was written as a metaphysical black comedy concerning a teenage girl in the afterlife, meeting characters based on God, St. Peter and Lucifer portrayed as if shrewd businessmen. Notable British actor Leonard Rossiter was to have been featured, Margot Fonteyn was to have choreographed, while Monty Python veteran John Cleese was pencilled in as a "humour consultant".

Packaging

The front cover is a composite photograph featuring a positive color print of Melbourne at night, and a negative print of a studio photo of lead singer Ian Anderson. The back cover of the album contains images of people, including the five members of the band, friends, wives, girlfriends, Chrysalis Records staff, and manager Terry Ellis, all related to the song titles. Anderson's personal touring assistant (and future wife) Shona Learoyd appears as a ringmaster, while Terry Ellis appears as a leopard skin-clad, umbrella-waving aggressive businessman.

Music style and themes

The album prominently features David Palmer’s string orchestration across an eclectic musical set, with the band members, as the two predecessor albums, playing a multitude of instruments. The music is lighter and more whimsical than the dark A Passion Play, with hints of comedy in the lyrics and the music' structure. Although, the lyrics still unleash lashing critiques of established society (as in "Queen and Country" and "Bungle in the Jungle"), religion ("Two Fingers") and critics ("Only Solitaire").

Releases

Tracks slated to accompany the film such as "Quartet" and "Warchild Waltz" were unearthed and released across several Tull compilations, and finally all of them appeared on the 2002 CD reissue.

In 2014, to commemorate the albums 40th anniversary, War Child: The 40th Anniversary Theatre Edition was released; a three-disc, limited edition package, remixed by Steven Wilson containing unreleased tracks, a promo video of "The Third Hoorah", orchestral pieces that were originally written for the film project, a script synopsis and track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson.

Critical reception

The 1974 Rolling Stone review of the album is very harsh, as was the Rolling Stone review of A Passion Play: "Each handcrafted track comes chock-full of schmaltz, strings, tootie-fruitti sound effects and flute toots to boot, not to mention Anderson's warbling lyricism." Concluding, the reviewer said: "Remember: Tull rhymes with dull."

The AllMusic review, by Bruce Eder, recognizes the quality of the album and the musicians, but stated that: "[War Child] never made the impression of its predecessors, however, as it was a return to standard-length songs following two epic-length pieces. It was inevitable that the material would lack power, if only because the opportunity for development that gave Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play some of their power."

Charts

War Child went Gold in the U.S., where it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard pop albums chart. On the other hand, the sales decreased in U.K., where it reached No. 14. In Norway it reached No. 8 and in Denmark No. 9.

Covers

1974 Original release

All music composed by Ian Anderson, except where noted.

2014 The 40th Anniversary Theatre Edition

*Tracks 12-21: orchestral recordings

Personnel