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Rock Island
Studio album by
Jethro Tull
Released21 August 1989
RecordedEarly 1989
Genre
Length50:21
LabelChrysalis
ProducerJethro Tull
Jethro Tull chronology
20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights
(1988) 		Rock Island
(1989) 		Live at Hammersmith '84
(1990)
Singles from
Rock Island
  1. "Another Christmas Song"
    Released: November 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Classic Rock[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Rock Island is the 17th studio album by the British rock group Jethro Tull, released in 1989. The album continued the hard rock direction the band took on the previous effort, Crest of a Knave (1987). The line-up now included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and drummer Doane Perry in his first full recording with the band, although he had already been a member of Jethro Tull since 1984. Without a permanent keyboard player, the role was shared by Fairport Convention's Maartin Allcock and former Tull member Peter Vettese.

Rock Island went Gold in the UK, with good sales also in Germany, where it peaked at No. 5. "Kissing Willie" was a hit on Rock radio, reaching No. 6 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart.

The staging on the 1989 tour supporting Rock Island featured projected silhouettes of lithe dancers during "Kissing Willie", ending with an image that bordered on pornographic. The song "Big Riff and Mando" reflects life on the road for the relentlessly touring musicians, giving a wry account of the theft of Barre's prized mandolin by a stage-struck fan.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ian Anderson

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Kissing Willie"3:32
2."The Rattlesnake Trail"4:02
3."Ears of Tin"4:55
4."Undressed to Kill"5:25
5."Rock Island"6:54
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Heavy Water"4:12
2."Another Christmas Song"3:32
3."The Whaler's Dues"7:53
4."Big Riff and Mando"5:58
5."Strange Avenues"4:10
2006 remaster bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Christmas Song" (Live)3:06
12."Cheap Day Return/Mother Goose" (Live)3:10
13."Locomotive Breath" (Live)3:38

Personnel

Jethro Tull
Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 20
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[5] 84
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 85
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[7] 26
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 18
US Billboard 200[13] 56

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Rock Island at AllMusic
  2. ^ Ewing, Jerry (December 2006). "Jethro Tull Rock Island". Classic Rock. p. 99. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Jethro Tull – Rock Island" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6595". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jethro Tull – Rock Island" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  8. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – Rock Island" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jethro Tull – Rock Island". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jethro Tull – Rock Island". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jethro Tull – Rock Island". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Jethro Tull | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Jethro Tull Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  14. ^ "British album certifications – Jethro Tull – Rock Island". British Phonographic Industry.
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