Jethro Tull

jonnyburgo

What's not to like?

hubobulous

I love Aqualung and the older prog stuff, but Crest of a Knave was the first album of theirs that I really heard.

I still think 'Said she was a Dancer' is the most Knopfler-esque non Knopfler song I've ever heard. :-)

chillidoggy

I love Jethro Tull. English eccentricity at its musical best. Bit like a souped-up Bonzo Dog band. Anderson was a charismatic stage performer, and who'd have thought the flute could be used to such effect!

Basher

Big fan here. Have seen them live something like 30 times over the years.
Came in at the Broadsword LP, which was so different to the typical hard rock I'd been into prior to that (Rainbow, Whitesnake etc.). Loved the blend of the folk (flute/mandolin/acoustic guitar) with the electronic (keyboard, vocoders, Barre's staccato chopped chords and sustained single lines) so that LP is a favourite.
Also love the Songs/Heavy Horses/Stormwatch trilogy. Minstrel is a cracker, as is Warchild. Benefit has a brilliant 60s pop/rock/blues vibe. Of the deep prog LPs, I still think Passion Play is a masterpiece but not everybody would agree. I even like the oddball synths of "A" and the almost universally reviled Under Wraps. The 20th Anniversary and Nightcap compilations showed the standard of stuff that didn't get on the LPs - Jack Frost, Broadford Bazzar, Small Cigar etc. etc.

Anyway, I'm rambling and ranting. Loved them for many years. Can't bring myself to watch the latest low-rent incarnation. I can see that Ian is constantly wanting to change personnel and is an absolute control freak. Reluctantly accepted the consequences when the material was as strong as it was but now his voice has gone and it just seems like a sad way to go out.

ICBM

chillidoggy said:

I love Jethro Tull. English eccentricity at its musical best. Bit like a souped-up Bonzo Dog band. Anderson was a charismatic stage performer, and who'd have thought the flute could be used to such effect!

http://www.tullpress.com/images/ad89.jpg

Published after Tull won a Grammy in 1987 for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album with Crest Of A Knave, beating Metallica's And Justice For All. While I like Tull a lot, and Metallica not that much, I'm still not sure why anyone would think Crest Of A Knave was even a hard rock album, let alone metal...

Phil_aka_Pip

Heavy Horses is my favourite EllPee at this time of the year. Songs from the Wood at Christmas. Excellent music

Basher

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Heavy Horses is my favourite EllPee at this time of the year. Songs from the Wood at Christmas. Excellent music

How odd!

A few friends and myself also associate Tull, and the Heavy Horses album with autumn, sturdy boots, woolly hats and getting together for a few dark beers. It's usually just an excuse for the latter but funny that others have the same association!

ICBM

I think I know what you mean, although not all of the songs are autumn-like... Moths in particular is an early summer song, and Journeyman is a winter song.

I think Stormwatch is more of an autumn album.

Basher

@ICBM, I think the whole "Heavy Horses =  Autumn" is just a general feel thing that we seem to get rather than an actual theme. Like I said, it's usually just an excuse for a few bottles of barley pop.

I've always thought of Stormwatch as the winter album though! Possibly more because of the cover. I think there's a staggering beauty to tracks like "Home" and "Flying Dutchman". 

Cirrus

I really enjoy the best of... cd but the only album I've heard in its entirety, thick as a brick, was slightly mental for my tastes.

ICBM

Basher said:

@ICBM, I think the whole "Heavy Horses =  Autumn" is just a general feel thing that we seem to get rather than an actual theme. Like I said, it's usually just an excuse for a few bottles of barley pop.

Yes, I would definitely agree that Tull are a beer band. Probably real ale…

Phil_aka_Pip

stonevibe said:

But to me their music kicks ass.

fixed

Chuffola

One of my favourite bands.

Thick As A Brick, Aqualang, Minstrel, Warchild for me, but it's all good up to Crest. After that, pretty pants and really are just Ian Anderson solo albums with a backing band.

Live they have been great any time I've seen them - like others, Crest Of A Knave tour was my first tour. 

racefaceec90

have seen them a few times.they are bloody fab 

the last time was at salisbury civic centre i think (7-8 years ago).had a front row seat .

jaymenon

Fabulous fabulous band...

By 1987, Ian Anderson had pretty much lost his voice. The crest of a Knave album was musically excellent, but he could no longer sing.

IMO, the Folk period (Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses etc) was probably their best music, though I do love, Stormwatch and The Broadsword and the Beast). Bursting Out - of course...

Tannin

Pretty fair thread bump there Jaymenon!

MY TOP 10 TULL  ALBUMS IN ORDER:
1: Benefit (1970)

2: Aqualung (1971)

3: Living in the Past (1972)

4: Thick as a Brick (1972)

5: Songs from the Wood (1977)

6: Minstrel in the Gallery (1975)

7: Stand Up (1969)

8: Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976)

9: Heavy Horses (1978)

10: This Was (1968)

1968 through to 1977, so ten extraordinary years of sustained creativity .... followed by 40 years where they he failed to sustain my interest. 

I've seen Tull live three times. The first two were great. The last time was in the mid 1980s. Anderson had lost his voice and lost his way. I stopped bothering after that.

The second record I ever bought was Aqualung. I still have it, though I haven't had a turntable for several decades.

Philly_Q

Was the thread resurrected because there was a long documentary about Jethro Tull on Sky Arts on Saturday evening?  All very interesting, although it was a bit out of date - 2008 - and pre-dated the band breaking up then becoming an Anderson solo project.

jaymenon

No - Actually I was in a nostalgia mood and sang a bunch of Tull songs earlier today - and then wound up seeing this thread...

Tannin

Philly_Q said:

All very interesting, although it was a bit out of date - 2008 - and pre-dated the band breaking up then becoming an Anderson solo project.

For all practical purposes, Tull has been an Anderson solo project since at very least the late 1970s; many would say since  the early '70s. 

Tannin

Great stuff! I really enjoyed that Jaymenon.