In July 1973 Jethro Tull delivered the follow-up to Thick As A Brick, with expectations of matching the 1972 album’s success. And while A Passion Play did indeed follow TAAB to Number 1 in the US, it generated a split in opinions between fans and critics.
But if everything had gone to Ian Anderson’s original plan, the record would never have existed. It wasn’t the record the band had set out to work on at the Château d'Hérouville in northern France – a property known as ‘the honky château’ by artists who’d recorded there, including Elton John and Pink Floyd.
