The Broadsword and the Beast is the 14th studio album by rock band Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1982. The album is a cross between the dominant synthesizer sound of the 1980s and the folk-influenced style that Jethro Tull used in the previous decade. As such, the band's characteristic acoustic instrumentation is augmented by electronic soundscapes, provided by new keyboardist Peter-John Vettese. The electronic aspects of this album would be explored further by the band on their next release, Under Wraps. In the liner notes of the remastered version of the album, Ian Anderson opines that Broadsword contains some of Jethro Tull's best music. Album information The cover art is by artist Iain McCaig, a longtime fan of Jethro Tull. The art was made after discussions with Ian Anderson, and was illustrated to capture the concept of the music. McCaig has stated that he intentionally drew hidden "easter eggs" in the album art. The edges of the cover art feature writing in the runic alphabet used by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit, and translate to the opening verse of the song "Broadsword": "I see a dark sail on the horizon, set under a black cloud that hides the sun. Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman." The album was going to be called Beastie, corresponding to the first track on side one. But during production, the band deliberated over the preference between Beastie and Broadsword, the first track on side two. In the end, they decided (as on Aqualung) to give each side its own title and thus its own identity, and this time to combine both in the album title. As the artwork also puts much more emphasis on Broadsword, many owners and fans also refer to it as the Broadsword album. Release In 1984, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab issued a half-speed mastered edition of the album (MFSL 1-092) which was a minor seller at the time. The 2005 CD reissue of the album was heavily expanded to include eight bonus tracks recorded during the Broadsword sessions, but not included in the original 1982 album. Live performance The tour for Broadsword was the last of the band's to be exceedingly theatrical. It included the entire stage being decorated to look like a pirate ship, which Ian Anderson, as he said in the liner notes for the remastered