By my reckoning I saw Jethro Tull three or perhaps four times during the late 1960's and early 1970's. I then took a break of over 30 years before catching them at Newcastle City Hall in 2008 during what was billed as their 40th anniversary tour. A couple of years later I then saw them again in of all places, a marquee tent in South Shields. They were enjoyable but there were already signs that Ian Anderson's voice was not quite what it had once been.
Anderson is now 68 years old, he and long time collaborator Martin Barre have gone their separate ways and to all intents and purposes, Jethro Tull no longer exist as a band. However, Anderson continues to record and perform under his own name and his latest live project is "Jethro Tull - A Rock Opera". It is a concept very loosely based upon the life of the real life 18th century agriculturalist from whom the band took their name. However the story is transferred into modern times to incorporate messages concerning climate change, GM crops and animal cloning. At the mention of the term "rock opera" I didn't exactly recoil in horror, but my recollections of Anderson's failing vocal ability helped me to decide that this show was not for me.
However, a pal offered me a free ticket for Sunday evening's performance at Sage Gateshead and I felt it would be impolite to turn it down. Nevertheless I went along with mixed feelings and certain reservations.
I also came away with mixed feelings and certain reservations. Let me explain.
The stage show makes considerable use of video footage to aid in telling the story of Jethro Tull. The videos also feature a number of "guests" who play the parts of the young Tull, the older Tull and Tull's wife Susannah. As they do a considerable amount of the singing, I feel it is a very clever ploy on the part of Anderson to allow him to deliver a two hour show which I feel certain his voice would no longer be able to sustain. And of course Anderson is also surrounded by a fine group of young musicians. Full marks to him then for ingenuity in coming up with this way round his shortcomings.
Nevertheless despite giving him credit for this, I was left feeling a little short changed as much of what we were hearing was pre-recorded, but I had come to see a live performance. Hence my mixed feelings and reservations.
On a more positive note I have to say that the selection and quality of the music was first class. Anderson tells the Jethro Tull story using older material from the glory days of his former band mixed with a handful of brand new numbers. As expected it was the older stuff that appealed more to me and I gather to the crowd around me. Although usually regarded as a progressive rock band, there was always an element of Jethro Tull's music that was rooted in English folk. Consequently there are many songs with a vaguely pastoral theme that could be utilised to tell the story of an agriculturalist. These included 'Heavy Horses', 'Songs From the Wood', 'Jack in the Green' and 'Farm on the Freeway'. Somehow Anderson was also able to weave in old favourites like 'Aqualung', 'With You There To Help Me', 'Living in the Past' and 'Locomotive Breath'. The links with an agricultural theme seemed tenuous but I had no complaints as these were some of Jethro Tull's finest moments.
The programme was divided into two sets and it was pleasing that the second part featured more actual singing from Anderson himself. The section featuring 'Living in the Past', 'Jack in the Green' and 'The Witch's Promise' was particularly impressive but despite the quality of the musicians on show, it wasn't Jethro Tull.
And perhaps for me, that was the main problem.
Now, where did I put my copy of 'Stand Up'?
If, like me, you are of a certain age, you will remember the precocious 10 year old Gerald Bostock who wrote a poem which ultimately provided the lyrics to the Jethro Tull album 'Thick As A Brick'.
Of course in reality Bostock never existed and the concept was the brainchild of Tull frontman, Ian Anderson. Weary of hearing Jethro Tull referred to as a progressive band, Anderson decided in 1972 to create the mother of all progressive albums. 'Thick As A Brick' was the result and consisted of one piece of music split over two sides of an LP record. It was Anderson's attempt at sending up the pretentious concept albums that were being offered up by other progressive bands of the time such as Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In actual fact, the album was actually quite good though I must say that I played the first side of the album far more than the second side. Perhaps 20 minutes of such stuff was sufficient. Anyway it proved to be popular as the album was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic and Jethro Tull performed the complete album to packed audiences for about a year after its release. Sections of it have also been played regularly in concerts by Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson ever since.
Although 'prog rock' has taken something of a critical battering in the years since the mid 70's, April 3rd 2012 saw the release of the son of 'Thick As A Brick', 'TAAB2' in which Anderson imagines what may have happened to the life of Gerald Bostock in the intervening years. As Anderson himself explains, the album came about through the encouragement of record executive Derek Shulman. If that name sounds familiar to you that will be because Shulman was the lead singer of another rather fine 'prog rock' band, Gentle Giant.
Anderson duly went away and wrote the new album focusing on the various twists and turns that life throws at us and the decisions we make. In so doing, I think he has created a work that may make us baby boomers think about our own lives past. To quote the lyrics, the 'What ifs, maybes and might have beens.' Notwithstanding that, I believe that if you enjoy the work of Ian Anderson or Jethro Tull, or you liked the original album then 'TAAB2' is well worth a listen. Featuring Anderson mainly on acoustic guitar, there are of course examples of his trademark flute playing.
The opening track 'From a Pebble Thrown' fades in with a theme which will be familiar to those who know the original work and this is a recurring motif, linking the original with the new version. Like Bruce Springsteen's recent offering, Anderson takes a pop at everybody's current favourite target - the bankers (Banker Bets, Banker Wins) but he also deals with subjects such as war ('Wooton Bassett Town') and religion ('Give Till It Hurts'). Musically the songs swing from soft ballads to hard rocking band workouts - sometimes within the same song, 'Swing It Far' for example.
Given the current penchant for listening to music in small bites, I wonder how successful this album will be. Although, unlike the original 'Thick as a Brick', this album is made up of seventeen individual tracks, I would encourage anyone to set aside 54 minutes of their time to listen to it from start to finish. The time and effort should be worth it. This could be Anderson's best work for many years and I suspect I may be playing the complete album even more than I did the original.
