Late last month, University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music alumnus Tim Smolko took home the "Best Historical Research in Recorded Rock Music" award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. The honor, presented as part of the 2014 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research, was for Smolko's book Jethro Tull's "Thick and a Brick" and "A Passion Play": Inside Two Long Songs (Indiana University Press).
From the Amazon.com description:
Since the 1960s, British progressive rock band Jethro Tull has pushed the technical and compositional boundaries of rock music by infusing its musical output with traditions drawn from classical, folk, jazz, and world music. The release of Thick as a Brick (1972) and A Passion Play (1973) won the group legions of new followers and topped the Billboard charts in the United States, among the most unusual albums ever to do so. Tim Smolko explores the large-scale form, expansive instrumentation, and complex arrangements that characterize these two albums, each composed of one continuous song. Featuring insights from Ian Anderson and in-depth musical analysis, Smolko discusses the band's influence on popular culture and why many consider Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play to be two of the greatest concept albums in rock history.