Jethro Tull have announced that they will release a newly expanded and remixed edition of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album through InsideOutMusic on December 6.
Newly retitled The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – Fresh Snow At Christmas, was originally released back in 2003, is a new five-disc set that features two live sets - Christmas Live At St. Bride’s 2008, newly remixed by The Pineapple Thief's Bruce Soord, and the previously unreleased The Ian Anderson Band Live At St. Bride’s 2006 - along with the original album and a 2024 remix also by Soord.
A Blu-ray disc also features Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound and High Resolution Stereo Mixes as well as High Resolution Stereo Mixes of both live recordings. The set also features brand new artwork.
As well as this, the album will be released on vinyl for the very first time, as a Gatefold 180g 2LP featuring the 2024 remixes.
“A fresh look at the timeless Christmas album by Jethro Tull," exclaims Tull leader Ian Anderson. "It’s a 4-CD and Blu-ray set with surround and stereo remixes by my pal Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief and with the bonus extra disc of another live concert at St Brides Church in London. So nice to have this revamped package re-released with the added features. Merry Christmas and may the sacrificial turkey feel no pain. Enough mulled wine and you won't either.
"Some of the tracks are not necessarily Christmas songs; they're more seasonal so that gives a broader window," says Ian. "And then there are a couple of them that I quite often play in the middle of summer and say, 'It'll soon be Christmas - it's in the diary. So let's kick it off now.' And that's part of what I've done over the years since October of 1968 when I went into record A Christmas Song. So, yes - it goes back a long way.
"Part of the joy of redoing those things," he says, "is that you can... not necessarily recreate, but you can keep all the essential elements of the song and maybe declutter it a little bit and give it a fresh look, but essentially still staying faithful to the original arrangements."
Pre-order The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – Fresh Snow At Christmas.