If you are hunting for a gift for Jethro Tull fans, this is the print I made for exactly that purpose: a discography map art print that depicts every credited musician as a named tube line, stopping at each of the twenty-three studio albums they played on.
The stations run in order from the blues of This Was in 1968, through the prog peak of Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, into the folk-rock of Songs from the Wood, and on through the later records, with one-off guests branching off as short spurs. It is a museum-quality Giclée, A2 or A1, unframed or in a black wood frame, from £42.
I researched it album by album from liner notes and session credits, and what follows is what the finished map actually shows. These are the details a fan stands in front of and traces with a finger, which is why it works as a present rather than a poster.
Ian Anderson Is the Only Line That Never Leaves the Map
Anderson's vocals and flute run unbroken across all twenty-three studio albums. From the 1968 debut to the most recent record, his line calls at every single station without a gap.
That is rarer than it sounds. On most of the maps I draw, even the founder disappears for an album or comes back with a different instrument, and the diagram fills up with breaks.
Here you get one continuous route with more than fifty years of churn happening around it. For someone who already owns every album, that contrast is the pleasure of the print.
Mick Abrahams Calls at One Station and Never Comes Back
Original guitarist Mick Abrahams plays on This Was in 1968, then leaves to form Blodwyn Pig. On the map, his line starts and finishes at the very first station.
Martin Barre arrives at Stand Up in 1969, and his guitar then runs across most of the catalogue that follows. One album in, the band swapped its blues guitarist for the player who would define its sound for decades.
It is the earliest and sharpest handover on the whole diagram, and it sits right at the left-hand edge where the eye lands first.
The Bass Seat Changes Hands Four Times
No role on this map moves as often as the bass. Four players hold it, and each handover marks a genuine change in the band's sound.
| Bass player | First station | Last station |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Cornick | This Was (1968) | Benefit (1970) |
| Jeffrey Hammond | Aqualung (1971) | Minstrel in the Gallery (1975) |
| John Glascock | Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976) | Stormwatch (1979) |
| Dave Pegg | Stormwatch (1979) | Runs on into the 1990s records |
Dave Pegg came in from Fairport Convention and kept both jobs, which is the sort of overlap that only shows up when you lay a career out flat.
Stormwatch Is Where Two Bass Lines Meet, and One of Them Stops
John Glascock was seriously ill with a heart condition during the Stormwatch sessions in 1979 and managed only a handful of the album's tracks. Ian Anderson covered most of the bass himself, and Dave Pegg was brought in.
Glascock died in November 1979 at the age of 28. Stormwatch carries his final studio credit.
On the map, that means one station where an arriving line and a departing line touch. It is a quiet detail on a wall, and it is the one I think about most in this design.
Three Drummers, and the Longest Run Is the One Nobody Predicts
Clive Bunker drums from This Was through to Aqualung in 1971, four studio albums, including the one most people own.
Barriemore Barlow takes over for Thick as a Brick in 1972 and stays with Stormwatch in 1979, covering the entire folk-rock stretch. Two drummers, and between them, almost the whole of the 1970s.
Then Doane Perry joins Crest of a Knave in 1987 and simply keeps going, which makes him the longest-running drum line on the map by a distance. Fans who came in through Aqualung tend not to know his name at all until they see how far his line runs.
The Keyboard Spurs: A Twenty-Year Arranger and a One-Album Eddie Jobson
John Evan's keyboards joined Benefit in 1970 and ran through to A in 1980, spanning the band's busiest decade.
Dee Palmer's orchestral arrangements recur across many of the 1970s records, which makes that the longest-serving contributing credit outside the core band. It is the line that explains why those albums sound bigger than they should for five players.
Eddie Jobson, previously of Roxy Music and UK, plays violin and keyboards on A in 1980 and nowhere else, so he is a single-station spur. Peter-John Vettese then carries the synthesiser-heavy pair, The Broadsword and the Beast in 1982 and Under Wraps in 1984.
One rule worth knowing before you buy: on my maps, a production credit alone never earns a musician's line. You only get a line if you are credited with playing or singing something, which is why the diagram stays honest.
Choosing the Right Gift for Jethro Tull Fans: Sizes and Options
Someone who enters via Aqualung will go straight to the middle of the map. A long-haul fan will want to read the later stations where the guest spurs thin out and Anderson's line carries on alone.
The print is a Giclée on 230gsm premium acid-free matte fine art paper, landscape, in two sizes:
| Size | UK (mm) | US equivalent (inches) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | 594 x 420mm | 24 x 18in | From £42 |
| A1 | 841 x 594mm | 36 x 24in | See product page |
With twenty-three stations and this many named lines, A1 is the size I would choose for a milestone birthday. A2 unframed is the sensible way in if it is a first gift rather than a landmark one.
Jethro Tull Discography Map Art Print
Twenty-three studio albums, every credited musician, one tube map. A2 and A1, unframed or in a black wood frame, from £42.
"It is truly amazing."
Bruce Springsteen Archives, Monmouth University, on my discography maps
Related Music Maps
For the same era and the same kind of shifting line-up, my Deep Purple discography map is the natural companion, with its own run of singers and bass players handing over mid-catalogue. For British songwriting of the same vintage, the Kinks discography map covers a catalogue just as long. The full range sits in my Music Wall Art Prints collection and the Prog Rock collection.
Jethro Tull Gift Questions, Answered
How many albums are on the Jethro Tull map?
Twenty-three studio albums, running in release order from This Was in 1968 onwards, each one drawn as a station.
Is Ian Anderson on every album?
Yes. His vocals and flute run across all twenty-three studio records without a break, which makes him the one unbroken line on the print.
When did Martin Barre join?
On Stand Up in 1969, replacing original guitarist Mick Abrahams after the 1968 debut. Barre's line then runs across most of the catalogue that follows.
Are one-album guests shown?
Yes. Anyone credited on a single record appears as a short branch line off that station, which is where names like Mick Abrahams and Eddie Jobson sit.
Does the map show who played what on each track?
Not on this one. Track-level roles appear only on my single-album maps. The discography maps show which musicians played on which albums.
Is it a print or a poster?
It is a Giclée fine art print on 230gsm acid-free matte paper, hand-researched and designed by me in East Sussex, and it ships unframed or in a black wood frame.
The best gift for Jethro Tull fans is the one that shows the whole route.
Five decades, twenty-three albums, and every musician who travelled through them, on one wall.
Not sure which map they would love most? An art print gift card lets them choose.
