Bring me a wheel of oaken wood, a rein of polished leather, a Heavy Horse and a tumbling sky, brewing heavy weather.

In 1978 Jethro Tull released their eleventh studio album. Sandwiches between Songs from the Wood (1977) and Stormwatch (1979) it was seen as the second release of a trilogy of folk-rock albums.

The lineup for the album remained unchanged: Ian Anderson, the architect on vocals, flute and acoustic guitar, Martin Barre, their legendary guitarist, John Glascock on bass, Barrie Barlow drums and percussion, John Evans on piano and organ and Dee Palmer, keyboards and pipe organ.

This is one of my favourite albums by Tull and to be honest my enthusiasm for their work began to wane somewhat after this. It felt a natural follow up to Songs of the Wood and certainly more uniquely Tull than folk-rock.

The memorable front cover was heavily influenced by Anderson’s love of a painting by Lucy Kemp-Welch (1869-1958) called The Mangel-Wurzel Wagon which she painted between 1902 and 1907. A painter renowned for her paintings of horses and particularly working horses she is best known for her painting which illustrated the 1915 edition of Black Beauty.

In the booklet to accompany the 40th edition reissue and remix by Steven Wilson Ian Anderson described his deep dissatisfaction with the quality of the photographs taken for the cover but using the painting would prove too costly and difficult.

I have two copies of this album, my well worn original copy and the 40th anniversary remix. The later is a great package; 180g vinyl and a twenty four page booklet with interesting details and interviews with the band around the recording of the album.

Favourite tracks? For me, I would choose Heavy Horses, Moths, One Brown Mouse and Journeyman. Lyrically I have always enjoyed Jethro Tull, this album was heavily influenced by Ian Anderson’s life on his country estate in Buckinghamshire and it weaves through the music. Indeed the album itself is dedicated to ‘the indigenous working ponies and horses of Great Britain’. Lyrically it is darker than previous albums with two of the tracks influenced by old and new literature; Moths was inspired by the John Le Carré novel The Naive and Sentimental Lover (1971) and One Brown Mouse by the Robert Burns poem To a Mouse.

‘Heavy Horses, move the land under me. Behind the plough guiding, slipping and sliding free. Now you’re down to the few and there’s no work to do; the tractor’s on its way’

Heavy Horses: chrysalis Records 1978.