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The Broadsword And The Beast
Studio album by Jethro Tull
Released	April 10, 1982 UK
Genre	Rock Folk Rock Electronic Rock
Length	38:49
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Paul Samwell-Smith
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Prog Archives link Progressive World link Rolling Stone link George Starostin link
Jethro Tull chronology
A (1980) Broadsword and the Beast (1982) Under Wraps (1984)

The Broadsword and The Beast is an album released by Jethro Tull on April 10, 1982 (see 1982 in music) and according to Ian Anderson in the liner notes of the remastered CD, contains some of Jethro Tull's best music. It was made during Jethro Tull's electronic period but has a folk-like flavor to it.

The 2005 CD reissue of the album was expanded to include eight bonus tracks recorded during the Broadsword sessions, but not included in the original 1982 album. The main reason for this was the limitation of the LP album format and to release all the tracks would have meant a double-album, something their record label had not contracted them for.

The tour for Broadsword was the last one for Tull to be exceedingly theatrical. It included the entire stage being decorated to look like a pirate ship, which Ian Anderson, as he said in the liner notes for the remastered CD, thought was very silly. Extensive notes on the production of the album and subsequent tour can be found at the official Jethro Tull website. [1]

Video footage of the 1982 tour to support the album is rare but the song 'Broadsword' can be viewed at (now removed) YouTube [2] and a fan-compiled video of free-to-air German and Italian TV broadcasts attempts to recreate the concert in sequential order. [3]

The cover art is by renowned artist Iain McCaig.

The runic symbols around the edge of the cover are from the Cirth rune system used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings. The words are, however, English: the opening lyrics to Broadsword:

I see a dark sail, on the horizon, set under a black cloud, that hides the sun. Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.

Cheerio, the final track of the original release, is to this day normally played as the final encore at Jethro Tull concerts.^{[citation needed]}

(All songs written by Ian Anderson with additional material Peter John Vettese)

1. "Beastie" – 3:58
2. "Clasp" – 4:18
3. "Fallen On Hard Times" – 3:13
4. "Flying Colours" – 4:39
5. "Slow Marching Band" – 3:40
6. "Broadsword" – 5:03
7. "Pussy Willow" – 3:55
8. "Watching Me Watching You" – 3:41
9. "Seal Driver" – 5:10
10. "Cheerio" – 1:09
11. "Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow" – 3:22 (bonus)
12. "Jack A Lynn" – 4:40 (bonus)
13. "Mayhem Maybe" – 3:06 (bonus)
14. "Too Many Too" – 3:28 (bonus)
15. "Overhang" – 4:29 (bonus)
16. "Rhythm in Gold" – 3:08 (bonus)
17. "I Am Your Gun" – 3:19 (bonus)
18. "Down At the End of Your Road" – 3:31 (bonus)

• Broadsword and the Beast (1982) at All Music Guide
• Broadsword and the Beast (2005) at All Music Guide (bonus tracks)