Songs from the Wood (2003 Bonus Track Edition)

While British folk music had been an element of the Jethro Tull sound nearly from the start, that influence was brought to the fore on 1977's appropriately titled Songs from the Wood. As Fairport Convention had done earlier in the decade, Tull took centuries-old styles and blended them with a bit of a progressive rock flavor. Naturally, the flute of Tull mastermind Ian Anderson (always central to the band's sound) fits right in with the album's folk leanings, but when he sings of "lute songs served in chilling ale" on the title tune, he's not just being fanciful—guitarist Martin Barre does indeed chime in with some lute licks on the album. And while Barre concentrates on his electric axe, Anderson offers up plenty of acoustic guitar as well as mandolin to fortify the bucolic feeling. Subsequent Tull albums would mix folky tones with a more modern lyrical approach, but here the words of "Jack in the Green," "Ring Out Solstice Bells," and other tracks match the sound step for step. Of course there are still enough thick electric riffs to keep fans of early Tull from abandoning ship, but they're expertly woven into the woodsy musical tapestry.