On This Day in 1973: Jethro Tull Achieves a Career Milestone as Their Sixth Studio Album Reaches the Top of the Billboard 200 Chart
via Pher Collins / YouTube
A Bold New Chapter for the Band
On August 18, 1973, Jethro Tull’s sixth studio album, A Passion Play, reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. This marked a high point in their US success, making it the second time one of their albums topped the chart. The album had been released in July and quickly climbed to the top.
The band had recorded A Passion Play at Château d’Hérouville in France to avoid the UK’s high tax rates. Their management and accountants pushed for this, citing the UK’s “pretty scary tax regime.” However, recording there proved difficult: the studio equipment failed, food poisoning spread, and band members even joked that the Château was a “Château d’Isaster.”
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From Disaster to Reinvention
Faced with those struggles, the band returned to London and restarted the process at Morgan Studios. Ian Anderson said it was “better to start again and write a whole new album” rather than try to save the broken sessions. With limited time before their next tour, the band wrote swiftly and recorded long sessions through the night.
Musically, A Passion Play pushed further into complex styles. The album weaved intricate time signatures and blended flute, saxophone, accordion, and synthesizer. Its format matched the earlier Thick as a Brick, presenting its music as one continuous concept split across two sides of a vinyl record.
Critical Reaction and Legacy
The album divided listeners. Some critics reacted sharply; Melody Maker called it “a desperate tortuous danse macabre.” Ian Anderson recalled in Record Collector that “We felt betrayed… and a bit bemused, really, as to why they didn’t like it.” Still, the album sold well and earned that coveted number one spot in the US.
Even years later, Anderson admitted “It’s certainly not one of my favourites, although it has become something of a cult album with some fans.” That shows how, even with mixed reviews, the album built a place in music history.
A Milestone of Creativity
The day the record hit number one marked a moment when risk met reward. It showed how moving to France, fighting through recording troubles, and rewriting the whole album could deliver commercial success. A Passion Play reminded fans and critics that Jethro Tull’s ambition went hand in hand with bold musical exploration.
