Jethro Tull
Thick as a Brick
Thick as a Brick: the opus Sounds called a hollow threat
Released on 3 March 1972 on Chrysalis Records. Sounds critic Steve Peacock dismissed the album on 11 March 1972 as 'a bit of an empty gesture, a hollow threat.' The album topped the US Billboard 200, reached number five in the UK, and is now regarded as a classic of progressive rock.
The verdict at the time
Peacock opened his Sounds concert review by describing Tull's performance as rigidly rehearsed, then took aim at the new album. Thick As A Brick, he wrote, 'sounds to me like a bit of an empty gesture, a hollow threat': a long sequence of songs in which nothing 'hasn't been said before'. The hostile verdict belongs to Peacock and Sounds, not to Echo Mandala.
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Steve Peacock's Sounds review of 11 March 1972. The album's later reputation as a progressive-rock classic is documented by retrospective coverage.
