{{Short description|2012 album by Ian Anderson}} {{use British English|date=May 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}} {{Infobox album | name = Thick as a Brick 2 | type = Studio | artist = [[Ian Anderson (singer and musician)|Ian Anderson]] | cover = Ian Anderson - Thick As A Brick 2.jpg | alt = | released = 2 April 2012<ref name=PopMatters/> | recorded = March 2011, November 2011 | venue = | studio = | genre = [[Progressive rock]] | length = 53:45 | label = [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]/[[EMI|EMI Records]]<br><small>50999 6 38726 2 0<br>F2-38726</small> | producer = [[Ian Anderson]] | prev_title = [[Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull]] | prev_year = 2005 | next_title = [[Homo Erraticus]] | next_year = 2014 }}
'''''Thick as a Brick 2''''', abbreviated '''''TAAB 2''''' and subtitled '''''Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?''''', is the fifth studio album by [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] frontman [[Ian Anderson (singer and musician)|Ian Anderson]], released in 2012 as a sequel album to ''[[Thick as a Brick]]'', Jethro Tull's 1972 parody [[concept album]]. It entered the Billboard chart at No. 55.
==Concept overview== According to Anderson, ''TAAB 2'' (which he pronounces {{IPAc-en|t|æ|b|_|ˈ|t|uː}}) focuses on Gerald Bostock, the fictional boy genius author of the original album, forty years later. "I wonder what the eight-year-old Gerald Bostock would be doing today. Would the fabled newspaper still exist?"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/02/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-on-thick-as-a-brick-2-the-grammys-and-more/ |title=Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson On ''Thick as a Brick 2'', the Grammys And More |work=American Songwriter |date=2 February 2012}}</ref> The follow-up album presents five divergent, hypothetical life stories for Gerald Bostock, including a greedy [[investment banker]], a homosexual [[homeless]] man, a soldier in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghan War]], a sanctimonious [[Christian evangelism|evangelist preacher]], and a most ordinary man who (married and childless) runs a [[corner store]]; by the end of the album, however, all five possibilities seem to converge in a similar concluding moment of gloomy or pitiful solitude.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jethrotull.com/discography/taab2/stonemasonreview.html |title=New CD Release by Ian Anderson Revives the Prog Genre |date=11 April 2012}}</ref> In March 2012, to follow the style of the mock-newspaper cover (''The St Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser'') of the original ''Thick as a Brick'' album, an online newspaper was set up, simply titled ''StCleve''.
==Reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/thick-as-a-brick-2-mw0002314038 |title=IAN ANDERSON Thick As A Brick 2: Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock? |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |work= Allmusic }}</ref> | rev2 = [[PopMatters]] | rev2Score = 5/10<ref name=PopMatters>{{cite web |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/157417-jethro-tulls-ian-anderson/ |title=Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As a Brick 2 < PopMatters |first=Sean |last=Murphy |date=14 May 2012 |work=popmatters.com |accessdate=5 September 2012}}</ref> | rev3 = Sputnik Music | rev3Score = 4.0/5<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/52800/Ian-Anderson-Thick-as-a-Brick-2/ |title=Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick 2 (album review ) |publisher=Sputnikmusic |date=2012-10-22 |accessdate=2015-12-27}}</ref>
}} [[AllMusic]] gave three stars to the album, calling it: "cleaner and streamlined, not as indulgent or idealistic as [Anderson's] younger work, boasting a more sensible structure, yet it still bears all of his signatures from the flute to rambling folk-rock".<ref>{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/thick-as-a-brick-2-mw0002314038 |title=Thick as a Brick 2 - Ian Anderson {{pipe}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |date=2012-04-10 |accessdate=2015-12-27}}</ref>
The album debuted at No. 55 on the ''Billboard'' chart, at No. 13 in the German Albums Chart,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Ian+Anderson/1102/longplay |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120914025157/http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Ian+Anderson/1102/longplay |url-status= dead |archive-date= 14 September 2012 |title=Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de |work=musicline.de |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> at No. 12 in the Finnish Album Chart,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=finnishcharts.com – Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 |work=finnishcharts.com |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> at No. 19 in the Austrian Album Charts,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 – austriancharts.at |work=austriancharts.at|accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> at No. 30 in the Norwegian Album Charts,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=norwegiancharts.com – Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 |work=norwegiancharts.com |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> at No. 31 in the Swiss Album Charts,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 – hitparade.ch |work=hitparade.ch |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> at number No. 74 on the [[Canadian Albums Chart]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627062005/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 June 2015 |title=CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts |website=canoe.com |date=2015-04-21 |access-date=2015-12-27}}</ref> at No. 35 on the UK charts,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/Thick+As+A+Brick+2|title=The Official Charts Company – Thick As A Brick 2 by Ian Anderson Search |date=6 May 2013|publisher=The Official Charts Company}}</ref> at No. 76 in the Dutch Album Chart<ref>{{cite web |url= http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=dutchcharts.nl – Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 |work=dutchcharts.nl |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref> and at No. 99 on the Spanish charts.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://spanishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Jethro+Tull%27s+Ian+Anderson&titel=TAAB2+%2D+Thick+As+A+Brick+2&cat=a |title=spanishcharts.com – Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson – TAAB2 – Thick As A Brick 2 |work=spanishcharts.com |accessdate=17 May 2012}}</ref>
==Live performances== {{Main|Thick as a Brick - Live in Iceland}} Anderson performed the entire album live on tour in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jethrotull.com/news/taabtour2012.html|title= "Thick as a Brick" Played in Special 2012 Tour |accessdate=18 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628000646/http://www.jethrotull.com/news/taabtour2012.html |archivedate=28 June 2013 }}</ref> In August 2014, [[Ian Anderson|Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson]] released CD/DVD/Blu-ray ''[[Thick as a Brick - Live in Iceland]]''. The concert was recorded in [[Reykjavík]], [[Iceland]] on 22 June 2012 and featured complete ''[[Thick as a Brick]]'' and ''Thick as a Brick 2'' performances by the Ian Anderson Touring Band.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.burningshed.com/store/jethrotull/product/444/5823/ |title=Jethro Tull |website=Burningshed.com |date= |accessdate=2015-12-27}}</ref>
== Track listing == The original ''Thick as a Brick'' consists of only two long tracks comprising a single song, while ''TAAB 2'' lists 17 separate songs merged into 13 distinct tracks (some labelled as [[medley (music)|medley]]s), although also all flowing together much like a single song. {{tracklist | all_writing = [[Ian Anderson (musician)|Ian Anderson]] | title1 = From a Pebble Thrown | length1 = 3:05 | title2 = Medley: Pebbles Instrumental / Might-Have-Beens | length2 = 4:21 | title3 = Medley: Upper Sixth Loan Shark / Banker Bets, Banker Wins | length3 = 5:41 | title4 = Swing It Far | length4 = 3:28 | title5 = Adrift and Dumfounded | length5 = 4:25 | title6 = Old School Song | length6 = 3:07 | title7 = Wootton Bassett Town | length7 = 3:44 | title8 = Medley: Power and Spirit / Give Till It Hurts | length8 = 3:11 | title9 = Medley: Cosy Corner / Shunt and Shuffle | length9 = 3:37 | title10 = A Change of Horses | length10 = 8:04 | title11 = Confessional | length11 = 3:09 | title12 = Kismet in Suburbia | length12 = 4:17 | title13 = What-ifs, Maybes and Might-Have-Beens | length13 = 3:36 | total_length = 53:45 }}
== DVD ==
The 2-disc edition includes a DVD-9 with the following contents:
*Audio: **5.1 Surround Mix **Super Quality 24-bit Stereo Mix *Video: **TAAB2 "The making of" Video **Studio recording sessions, interviews and more **The Lyric Reading Video (Anderson) *DVD-ROM: **Multilingual Lyric Translations ([[Portable Document Format|pdf]] files) **www.StCleve.com Web Pages (pdf)
==Personnel== ;Musicians * Ian Anderson – vocals, [[flutes]], acoustic guitars * [[Florian Opahle]] – electric guitar * [[John O'Hara (musician)|John O'Hara]] – [[accordion]], [[Hammond organ]], piano, keyboards * [[Pete Judge]] – trumpet, [[flugelhorn]], [[tenor horn]], E-flat [[tuba]] * [[Ryan O'Donnell]] – additional vocals * [[David Goodier]] – bass guitar, [[glockenspiel]] * [[Scott Hammond (British drummer)|Scott Hammond]] – drums, percussion ;Production * [[Steven Wilson]] – mixing engineer * Mike Downs – recording engineer * Ian Anderson – liner notes * [[Peter Mew]] – mastering engineer
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Chart (2012) ! Peak<br />position |- |[[Billboard Top 200]]<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/thick-as-a-brick-2-mw0002314038/awards |title=Thick as a Brick 2 - Ian Anderson {{pipe}} Awards |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |date=2012-04-10 |accessdate=2015-12-27}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|55 |- |[[Top Rock Albums]]<ref name="allmusic" /> | style="text-align:center;"|18 |- |UK Albums Chart<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GTUbBAAAQBAJ&q=thick+as+a+brick+2&pg=PA9|title=MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége |year=2013 |publisher=mahasz.hu |isbn=9781291292961 |accessdate=29 August 2012}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|35 |- |[[MAHASZ|Hungarian Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slagerlistak.hu/album-top-40-slagerlista/2012/34|title=UK Chart Yearbook 2012|website=Mahasz.hu|access-date=2015-12-27}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|2 |}
== See also == * ''[[Thick as a Brick]]'' * ''[[Thick as a Brick - Live in Iceland]]''
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120819085648/http://www.j-tull.com/discography/taab2/iancomments.html Ian Anderson's announcement] * {{YouTube|q7jZMCBEsZM|Promo video for Thick As a Brick 2}} * [http://www.stcleve.com/ Parish Newspaper for St. Cleve, Linwell, and Little Cruddock (formerly St. Cleve Chronicle)] * Smolko, Tim. [http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=806948 Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play]. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013.
{{Jethro Tull}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thick As A Brick 2}} [[Category:Ian Anderson albums]] [[Category:2012 albums]] [[Category:2010s concept albums]] [[Category:Chrysalis Records albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by Ian Anderson]] [[Category:Sequel albums]]