Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! is the ninth studio album released by British band Jethro Tull, recorded in December 1975 and released in 1976. It is the first album to include bassist John Glascock who also contributes with backing vocals. Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! is the last Jethro Tull concept album, which follows the story of Ray Lomas, an ageing rocker who found fame with the changes of musical trends.^[1]

Overview

Background

Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson says the point of the album was to illustrate how his style of music may go out of popularity with every other fashion and fad, but he is determined that if he sticks to it, everything comes back around and the style will rise again.^[2]

Ian Anderson explains that the concept came from the turmoil of the rise of punk movement, and not meant to be autobiographical of him as an ageing songwriter,^[2] although "some members of the press took the album as our attempt to 'get with' the punks". Anderson also stated that the basis of the concept is "to point out that this business [music, fashion] is cyclic, and that if you stick around long enough, you do come into fashion again."^[3]

Concept

Originally intended to be a rock musical, similar to the Kinks’ Preservation Act 1 (1973), Preservation Act 2 (1974) and Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975) the story would follow an ageing and retired rock star named Ray Lomas - winning money in a "Quizz" show, trying to commit suicide and waking up years later to find out that the grease fashion has returned. Although much of the album concept is only explained in the cartoons printed in the sleeves, there are changes in the plot or in details between the cartoons and the music.^[1]

A clip of the title track was released in the Slipstream video, which returned to much of the original album's concept.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)^[5]
Melody Maker	(mixed)^[6]
Sputnik Music	^[7]

Rolling Stone complained about the "muddled story" of the album, saying that "Ian Anderson should stick to music, because he most definitely is not a storyteller." Nevertheless, the same review praised Anderson's skill at musical composition, and the guitar solos of Martin Barre.^[8]

Chris Welch, writing for Melody Maker, gave a mixed review, saying that he "long(ed) for the beat of Barriemore Barlow to break free, or the guitar of Martin Barre to swoop", at the same time he praised Anderson's poetics.^[6]

AllMusic's review called the album "one of the minor efforts in the [Jethro Tull] catalogue".^[9]

Charts

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!, as an album, had lower sales than the preceding album Minstrel in the Gallery and following album Songs from the Wood. It reached No. 14 in the United States, No. 25 in Britain, No. 10 in Austria, No. 10 in Norway and likewise in Denmark,^[10] and No. 27 in Sweden. It was Jethro Tull's only album of the 1970s not to achieve Gold certification.^[11]

Releases

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! was remastered in 2002 and the CD version contains two bonus tracks that were cut from the original LP, "Small Cigar" and "Strip Cartoon".

The album has been released in a box set called Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! - The TV Special Edition in November 2015. The box set contains previously unreleased tracks and outtakes of songs from the album, besides an 80-page booklet telling the story of the recording and the video of the special TV show recorded in 1976 and available officially for the first time.^[12]

Track listing

1976 Original release

All tracks are written by Ian Anderson

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Quizz Kid"	5:09
2.	"Crazed Institution"	4:48
3.	"Salamander"	2:51
4.	"Taxi Grab"	3:54
5.	"From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser"	4:09

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bad-Eyed and Loveless"	2:12
2.	"Big Dipper"	3:35
3.	"Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die"	5:44
4.	"Pied Piper"	4:32
5.	"The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive)"	5:32

2002 Remaster

2002 remaster bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"A Small Cigar"	3:39
12.	"Strip Cartoon"	3:19

"A Small Cigar" originally appeared on the 1993 album Nightcap.
"Strip Cartoon" originally appeared on the 1988 album 20 Years of Jethro Tull box-set.

2015 TV special edition

CD 1: Album re-recorded for TV special (Steven Wilson remix)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Prelude"
2.	"Quiz Kid"
3.	"Crazed Institution"
4.	"Salamander"
5.	"Taxi Grab"
6.	"From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser"
7.	"Bad-Eyed And Loveless"
8.	"Big Dipper"
9.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die!"
10.	"Pied Piper"
11.	"The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)"
12.	"From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser" (Bonus - original LP tracks)
13.	"Bad-Eyed And Loveless" (Bonus - original LP tracks)
14.	"Big Dipper" (Bonus - original LP tracks)
15.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die!" (Bonus - original LP tracks)
16.	"The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)" (Bonus - original LP tracks)
17.	"Quiz Kid (Version 1)" (Bonus - Monte Carlo out-take)

CD 2: Associated recordings (Steven Wilson remix)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Salamander's Rag-Time"
2.	"Commercial Traveller"
3.	"Salamander (Instrumental)"
4.	"A Small Cigar (Acoustic Version)"
5.	"Strip Cartoon"
6.	"One Brown Mouse (Early Version)"
7.	"A Small Cigar (Orchestrated Version)"
8.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die! (Demo)"
9.	"Prelude" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
10.	"Quiz Kid" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
11.	"Crazed Institution" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
12.	"Salamander" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
13.	"Taxi Grab" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
14.	"From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
15.	"Bad-Eyed And Loveless" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
16.	"Big Dipper" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
17.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die!" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
18.	"Pied Piper" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)
19.	"The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)" (Bonus - Original album flat transfer)

DVD 1:
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die?" (TV film with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital Stereo)
2.	"TV audio (stereo)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
3.	"Five original LP tracks (5.1 surround and stereo)" (with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 stereo PCM)

DVD 2: Associated recordings and others
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Salamander's Rag Time" (with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 stereo PCM)
2.	"Commercial Traveller" (with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 stereo PCM)
3.	"A Small Cigar (Acoustic Version)" (with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 stereo PCM)
4.	"Strip Cartoon" (with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 96/24 stereo PCM)
5.	"Quiz Kid (Version 1)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
6.	"One Brown Mouse (early version) (Original Master Mix)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
7.	"Salamander (Instrumental)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
8.	"Strip Cartoon (Original Master Mix)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
9.	"A Small Cigar (Orchestrated Version) (Original Rough Mix)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
10.	"Too Old To Rock'n'Roll: Too Young To Die (Demo)" (in 96/24 stereo PCM)
11.	"A flat transfer of the original 1976 Quad LP Production Master with DTS 4.0 and Dolby Digital AC3 4.0 surround sound."
12.	"A flat transfer of the original 1976 LP master at 96/24 stereo PCM."

Personnel

Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson – vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, harmonica, occasional electric guitar and percussion
Martin Barre – electric guitar
John Evan – pianos, keyboards
Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion
John Glascock – bass guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

David Palmer – saxophone on track 5, piano on track 11
Maddy Prior – backing vocals on track 8
Angela Allen – backing vocals on tracks 2 & 7

Orchestrations by David Palmer. Orchestra conducted by David Palmer.

Additional personnel

Robin Black - Sound engineer
Michael Farrell - Cover Design, Illustrations
David Gibbons - Design, Illustrations

References

^ ^a ^b "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!". Jethrotull.com. 23 April 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull". jethrotull.com.
^ "Jethro Tull Press: Guitar World, September 1999". tullpress.com.
^ William Ruhlmann. "Too Old to Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ [1] Archived 4 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b "Jethro Tull Press: Melody Maker, 8 May 1976". Tullpress.com. 8 May 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ "Jethro Tull reviews, music, news". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ McGee, David (26 August 1976). "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ William Ruhlmann. "Too Old to Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ http://danskehitlister.dk/?song_id=2374
^ "Album artist 51 - Jethro Tull". Tsort.info. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ http://jethrotull.com/too-old-to-rock-n-roll-too-young-to-die-40th-anniversary-edition/

External links

[jethrotull1-1] "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!". Jethrotull.com. 23 April 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[jethrotull.com-2] "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull". jethrotull.com.

[3] "Jethro Tull Press: Guitar World, September 1999". tullpress.com.

[4] William Ruhlmann. "Too Old to Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[5] [1] Archived 4 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[tullpress1-6] "Jethro Tull Press: Melody Maker, 8 May 1976". Tullpress.com. 8 May 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[7] "Jethro Tull reviews, music, news". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[8] McGee, David (26 August 1976). "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[9] William Ruhlmann. "Too Old to Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[10] ttp://danskehitlister.dk/?song_id=2374

[11] "Album artist 51 - Jethro Tull". Tsort.info. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

[12] ttp://jethrotull.com/too-old-to-rock-n-roll-too-young-to-die-40th-anniversary-edition/

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v t e Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson David Goodier John O'Hara Scott Hammond Joe Parrish Mick Abrahams Clive Bunker Glenn Cornick Tony Iommi Martin Barre John Evan Jeffrey Hammond Barriemore Barlow John Glascock Dee Palmer Dave Pegg Mark Craney Eddie Jobson Gerry Conway Peter-John Vettese Paul Burgess Doane Perry Don Airey Maartin Allcock Andrew Giddings Dave Mattacks Jonathan Noyce Florian Opahle
Studio albums	This Was Stand Up Benefit Aqualung Thick as a Brick A Passion Play War Child Minstrel in the Gallery Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! Songs from the Wood Heavy Horses Stormwatch A The Broadsword and the Beast Under Wraps Crest of a Knave Rock Island Catfish Rising Roots to Branches J-Tull Dot Com The Jethro Tull Christmas Album The Zealot Gene RökFlöte
Live albums	Bursting Out Live at Hammersmith '84 A Little Light Music Jethro Tull in Concert Living with the Past Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 Aqualung Live Live at Montreux 2003 Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 Live at Carnegie Hall 1970
Compilations	Living in the Past M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull Repeat – The Best of Jethro Tull – Vol II Original Masters 20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights Nightcap The Best of Jethro Tull – The Anniversary Collection Through the Years The Very Best Of The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull The Essential 50 for 50
Boxed sets	20 Years of Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Box Set
Videos	Slipstream 20 Years of Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Video Living with the Past A New Day Yesterday Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 Live at Montreux 2003 Jack in the Green Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 Live at AVO Session Basel Around the World Live
Songs	"Sunshine Day" "A Song for Jeffrey" "Love Story" "Living in the Past" "Bourée" "Sweet Dream" "The Witch's Promise" "Teacher" "Aqualung" "Cross-Eyed Mary" "Mother Goose" "Hymn 43" "Locomotive Breath" "Life Is a Long Song" "Bungle in the Jungle" "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die" "The Whistler" "Songs from the Wood" "Heavy Horses" "Dun Ringill"
Related	Discography Members A Billion Hands Concert The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus A Classic Case Thick as a Brick 2 Jethro Tull – The String Quartets
Category