Sir Steven Wilson (surely he should have been knighted by now for services to music?) did a brilliant job resurrecting and repackaging Jethro Tull’s classic albums, the ones that made us fans fall in love with them, but bowed out after 1982’s The Broadsword and the Beast. That was probably a wise move, because even the most rabid Tull aficionado would accept that few of the band’s later releases before their 2011 split can be considered essential, with the possible exception of 1987’s Grammy-winning Crest of a Knave. But up popped The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord to carry on where Wilson left off, dusting off and boxing up 2003’s pleasant but unremarkable Christmas Album and 1984’s much-maligned Under Wraps.
You’d think Crest of a Knave would be a shoo-in for his next project but no. Instead, he has exhumed 1999’s J-Tull Dot Com, which most of us have forgotten existed. It came out at a time when the internet was seen as a thing of wonder, which explains the title, instead of the cesspit of cyber-sewage that we now know it to be. Musically, it followed on from Roots to Branches, mixing rock and folk with Eastern influences, but it suffered from a paucity of memorable melodies. Ian Anderson’s voice had deteriorated noticeably by that time – it’s one of the reasons why bassist Dave Pegg quit the band after 13 years just before this recording. As his vocal range contracted, so did the melodic content of the songs, resulting in too many tracks that ploughed the same indistinguishable ‘plod-rock’ furrow.
For me, Anderson’s vocal limitations have become excruciatingly clear on the recent ‘comeback’ albums, although I seem to be in a minority as they appear to have been commercially successful. But even back in 1999 Anderson was hinting that he was getting too old to rock and roll – in the folky The Dog-Ear Years, he sang: “Rusted and ropy. Dog-eared old copy. Vintage and classic, or just plain Jurassic… all words to describe me.” That’s not to say there’s nothing on J-Tull Dot Com to enjoy. The title track is a catchy, sinuous pop song with Eastern-influenced flute scales and unearthly backing vocals from Najma Akhtar. Hunting By Numbers sets a tale of murderous moggies against a crunching heavy rock riff, while the stuttering drama of El Niño sounds like a lost Stormwatch out-take.
And this is a real band, unlike the current Ian Anderson backing group that claims to be Jethro Tull. Some of the members even get writing credits, with keyboardist Andrew Giddings providing the brief, contemplative instrumental Nothing @ All and Martin Barre the twisting, jazzy Hot Mango Flush, which Anderson ruins by reciting poetry over the top. I’d love to hear a purely instrumental version of that. Talking about Martin Barre, Anderson once said that without him there would be no Jethro Tull, so it’s great to hear him playing so effortlessly well all over the album. In many ways, it was his last hurrah with Tull, the final time he really got to express himself musically before his services were dispensed with and the band went into a six-year hiatus.
But you probably know all this. The big question is, has Bruce Soord improved this album to such an extent you should open your wallet for yet another version? Both his remix and the original release are included in the box set so you can compare and contrast. Personally, I find it very difficult to spot any differences – the original album was well-recorded, apart from Jonathan Noyce’s bass being a bit too low in the mix, and the remix doesn’t change that.
Perhaps the extra tracks will be worth the money. But even here fans have been a bit short-changed compared to previous box sets. There are just eight bonus studio tracks, one of which was released as the B-side to Bends Like A Willow in 1999 (those were the days when singles had B-sides), another a short acoustic demo of the title track, a third a remix of The Secret Language of Birds from Anderson’s solo album of the same name (it appeared as a secret track on the original J-Tull Dot Com CD). Rest assured that, unlike Stormwatch, the best tracks have not been left in the vaults.
In addition, there are three live versions of album tracks recorded in Katowice, Poland, in 2000. What a shame the entire concert isn’t included. It surely would have been possible to squeeze the extra tracks on to the first two CDs and give us 70 minutes of live Tull from 2000. Of course, there are the surround sound mixes in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos but the record company has not seen fit to include those so I can’t comment on them. Ditto for the informative booklet that usually accompanies these Tull box sets. What another shame.
This is not an essential Jethro Tull release and the final product is a bit underwhelming, a lost opportunity to give the faithful fans a bit more for their money. Will I buy it? Of course I will. If I don’t, its absence on the Jethro Tull box set shelf will irritate me like a missing tooth. But I have to say that this release is for foolish completists like myself who have (slightly) more money than sense.
TRACK LISTING
CD1 J-Tull Dot Com: Original Mixes
01. Spiral (3:53)
02. Dot Com (4:26)
03. AWOL (5:21)
04. Nothing @ All (0:56)
05. Wicked Windows (4:42)
06. Hunt By Numbers (4:02)
07. Hot Mango Flush (3:51)
08. El Niño (4:43)
09. Black Mamba (4:59)
10. Mango Surprise (1:16)
11. Bends Like A Willow (4:54)
12. Far Alaska (4:08)
13. The Dog-Ear Years (3:34)
14. A Gift Of Roses [including hidden track The Secret Language of Birds] (9:37)
Total Time – 60:28
CD2: J-Tull Dot Com: 2026 Remix by Bruce Soord
(Full album as above except ‘A Gift of Roses’ is 3:56)
Time – 56:32
CD3: Bonus Material
01. Aborted Soliloquy (1:11)
02. Dot Com Acoustic (1:51)
03. It All Trickles Down (4:41)
04. Recollection No 5 (5:04)
05. Pipes (Close To You) (4:29)
06. Sad Suit (3:56)
07. Stigmata (4:11)
08. The Secret Language of Birds (2026 Remix) (4:23)
09. Hunt By Numbers (Live in Katowice, 2000) (4:53)
10. Dot Com (Live in Katowice, 2000) (4:33)
11. AWOL (Live in Katowice, 2000) (5:05)
All tracks previously unreleased except (3 & 8)
Time – 44:21
Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound, 24bit Stereo Mixes
Spiral
Dot Com
AWOL
Nothing @ All
Wicked Windows
Hunt By Numbers
Hot Mango Flush
El Niño
Black Mamba
Mango Surprise 2026 Remix
Bends Like A Willow
Far Alaska
The Dog-Ear Years
A Gift Of Roses
– 24bit Stereo
Aborted Soliloquy*
Dot Com Acoustic*
It All Trickles Down
Recollection No 5*
Pipes (Close To You)*
Sad Suit*
Stigmata*
The Secret Language of Birds 2026 Remix
* Previously Unreleased
MUSICIANS
Ian Anderson – Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki
Martin Barre – Acoustic & Electric Guitars
Jonathan Noyce – Bass
Andrew Giddings – Piano, Keyboards, Hammond Organ, Accordion
Doane Perry – Drums, Percussion
~ With:
Najma Akhtar – Backing Vocals on Dot Com)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Inside Out Music
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 14th August 2026
LINKS
Jethro Tull – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp (Inside Out Music) | YouTube | X | Instagram
![Jethro Tull – Stormwatch [40th Anniversary Box Set]](https://theprogressiveaspect.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Jethro-Tull-Stormwatch-150x150.jpg)
