From: "Grant Penton"
<>
Hey neat to have the polar opposite to Pink Floyd discussed the immediately following
week. I've already mentioned the Songs from the Wood/Animals pair of opposites.
As to the stage performances, Ian's probably got the most dynamic stage performance
of any of the old proggers, at least in the 70's. Although I consider that they peaked
long, long ago with Passion Play, most of their tunes from the later 70's were quite
compellingly arranged with idiosyncratic rhythmic changes and a broad range of
instrumentation. TAAB belongs up there in the top 10 of the genre, and Martin Barre
(in the band for what Ian playfully referred to as 'hundreds and hundreds of years!')
deserves honourable mention for dexterous guitar work, although no extended solo work.
The two keyboardists of the '77-'78 period made those concerts shine with
pretention, and later... well, Ian gets special marks for getting along with fast Eddie
for so many projects. Time to take out the 1rst LP for a 30th anniversary recollection...
From: Mark DiNapoli
<>
I see Tull whenever possible. I saw them with ELP just a few years back and Ian was
obviously still recuperating from whatever it was that I heard almost killed him. I just
saw them again last September at Konocti Harbor up on Clear Lake (the outdoor venue.) From
the 8th row Ian looked GREAT! Bounding all over the stage and singing up a storm he
was way healthy and sounding as good as ever. I mean, whatever he lost during his
illness has returned in full. He sounded beautiful. Their song selection was
surprising. Ian introduced most of the songs and he kept saying, "this is from
another album we recorded in the 80's." They were great prog pieces! Now I
stopped buying Tull around "Songs From The Wood" or "Minstrel In The
Gallery" or somewhere around there and now I'm sorry I did. After seeing that
show I'm gonna complete my Tull collection. The stage setup was intimate. They must
of hung everything from the rafters because just the instruments were on stage. It looked
cool. A tip o' the hat to Martin. One of rock's neglected heroes. Hope to see him in
the Rock Hall of Fame someday. I just love Tull's sound, it's so, I dunno, like taking a
walk with Christopher Robin or something. . . And after all, Hare did have his spare. . .
a pair.
From: Nick Zales <>
I can't let this (very busy) week pass without saying that Jethro Tull was/is not only a
great Prog band, but a band that could play there music just as well live as in the
studio. Backed by underrated guitarist Martin Barre, Tull puts on a great live show. I saw
them in 1974 and 1996 and 1997 with ELP and each time they put on a fine show.
From: Mark Fonda
Interesting post from the GoldTri list (a very rare prog rock note):
>Jethro Tull, huh? I'm going to see them this weekend (sans Ian Anderson,
apparently, so I have no idea what that leaves). I'll let you know what they do.
So what was this like? Was it really Ianless? I had a scrounge round the net and it didn't
seem like he'd left for good, unless it was very sudden (there was no mention of this at
all, but several current/future things that were supposed to be happening, all Ianfull).
Well, I hope it was a false rumour. We need Tull in our lives. Concerned of Reading. Tull
(with Ian) just finished a the last of three short tours in the US and I saw them in
Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sept. 25th. They will be touring Spain in Nov. An Ian solo
album should be out in the spring and a new Tull album in Aug '99. Ian (along with Martin
Barre) *is* Tull and I believe the name 'Jethro Tull' will be retired when Ian stops
touring (no sign of that yet). There's tentative plans for a tour next summer to support
the new album.> I suspect what xxxx went to see is Mick Abrahams' latest tour. Mick is
the original Tull guitarist (for the first album) and wanted to do a 30 year tour of that
album (_This Was_). Unfortunately, the largest text on the posters was "Jethro
Tull" and many people were confused. When Mick found out, he tried to fix it but it
was too late. Hopefully not too many people were upset by the fact that they weren't
seeing Tull as I heard it was a really good show.
From: Jim Johnson
Anyone interested can find info about Jethro Tull at www.j-tull.com
From: "Richard Zywotkiewicz"
<>
Here's a brief description of what I've heard so far on new tull album. I'm a
tull freak, so forgive my enthusiasm. Second song on Tull finished. Pace picks
up but still acoustic. Great keys. Third song kind of like a piano bar piece,
really laid back. Looks like the album will be this way. But nice melodies, not
as atonal as R TO B. so far so good.... fourth song, an amazing throw back to
old tull, ala Thick as a Brick era. Another xmas song, filled with lyric and
beautiful melody. A great song. For tull fans, this album is going to be a dream
come true. fifth song is an all out bluesy rocker. Reminds me of Crest of a
Knave. They're going all over the map on this cd. song 6 is a bit calypso-ish,
with talking vocals aka side two of A passion Play. Nice, nothing outstanding.
song 7 slow and drowsy verse, scorching rock chorus - Martin Barre cuts loose.
Very nice (with some string backing). Still a little on the "loungy"
side when the guitar is cooking. song 8 is bluesy and sounds like Benefit stuff.
Anderson is taking a trip down memory lane. a short calypso number is song 9.
Bit of mambo trumpet. Only a minute long. song 9 regular tull fare from Crest of
a Knave era. Nice flute and melody. A bit exotic like R to B. Song grows on you.
Actually the best so far. So far most songs are 4 to 5 minute category. Nothing
too complex, actually quite back to the basics, but all songs are very good.
song 10 again sounds like recent tull, but more acoustic. Nice chorus with
Barre's crunching riffs. Jazzy refrain. I really love song 11. A sappy drinking
song, reminds me of Heavy Horses. Brilliant stuff. Again acoustic. Song 12 uses accordion,
lute, and is a throw back to War child. Very nice song. 13 songs exotic again,
lots of flute and female back up. Gotta go now but what a treat this album is so
far...
From: Michael Eisenberg <>
> Female backup voices - that's a first for tull...
No it's not, there was a song called "Stitch in Time" back on the
20th anniversary 3 cd box set that had female backing vocals on it.
From: Salmacis <>
>I would like the opinion of a Tull fan as to what their best albums are.
My fave songs would be Songs from the Wood, Minstrel in the Gallery, Thick as a
Brick. Where to next?
Well, you have many choices. First, I would say you should pick the
"era" of Tull you want to get into first. 1968-1970: Bluesy period -
"This Was", "Stand Up" and "Benefit". 1971-1974:
Prog epics/Concept period - "Aqualung", "Thick as a Brick",
"Passion Play", "War Child" 1975-1978: Medieval/Folky period
- "Minstrel in the Gallery", "Songs from the Wood",
"Heavy Horses" (with "Too old to Rock n Roll" thrown in, in
'76) 1979-1995: "Stormwatch", "A", "Broadsword and the
Beast", "Under Wraps", "Crest of a Knave", "Rock
Island", "Catfish Rising", "Roots to Branches" Along
with the live albums, and compilations such as "Living in the past"...
It's hard to say where you should start exactly, although from the songs you say
you like a lot, I would recommend "Minstrel in the Gallery".
"Heavy Horses" is an excellent album also. For the prog epics, start
with "Thick as a brick". I find "A Passion Play" is one you
have to get into once you are immersed in Tull. As far as the later ones go, I
quite like all of them. To me, Tull is Tull. I saw them in '92 at Massey Hall in
Toronto on the "Little Light Music" tour, and they were amazing.
Beginning with "A" in 1980, they started to get into synthesizers,
which bothered some people. I like it, personally. But I also like the very
first bluesy period. "We Used To Know" from "Stand Up" in
1969 is a brilliant song. And it has long been said that the riff was stolen and
used by the Eagles for "Hotel California". Anyway, try "Minstrel
in the Gallery", "Heavy Horses" or "Thick as a Brick".
From: Peter Abusamra <>
My favorite lps are; Thick As A Brick, Aqualung, Stand Up, Benefit, This Was
From:
Salmacis <>
Picked up the new Tull disc today, "J-Tull dot com". Very impressive.
More of a return to the Tull "sound" than on the previous effort,
"Roots to Branches". I am quite taken with "Spiral" and
"Wicked Windows". Recommended. Tull fans will not be disappointed with
this release. Anyone up for a Tull poll? Some people find polls silly, but I
enjoy seeing the variety in tastes. There is a great Genesis one on the
Paperlate list right now. I'd like to see one, maybe something like this: (my
own answers filled in, of course :o)) Fav. Tull album: Minstrel in the Gallery
Least fav: Rock Island 5 Fav songs: Baker St. Muse, Thick as a Brick, We used to
know, Rocks on the Road, Mother Goose Most underrated songs: Queen &
Country, Crossfire, North Sea Oil Overrated: Locomotive Breath (Tull's
"Roundabout", if you will) Tull should cover: Cream's "White
room" (can't you just hear that?) Other band should cover: Peter Hammill
doing "Fylingdale Flyer" Concerts seen: 1 (A Little Light Music tour,
Massey Hall, Toronto '92) Tull should resurrect live: We used to know How long a
Tull fan? : about 12 years