Jethro Tull (Official Thread)
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Hepcat
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Re: Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson shared songwriting duties with guitarist Mick Abrahams on Jethro Tull's first album "This Was". That is apparently why "This Was" has a bluesier feel than the band's subsequent albums because Mick left the band after this one album due to "artistic" differences.
But I guess that Mick's original contribution was key for me since hearing "A Song for Jeffery" on the radio was what sucked me into a lifetime of Jethro Tull fandom.
Ian Anderson shared songwriting duties with guitarist Mick Abrahams on Jethro Tull's first album "This Was". That is apparently why "This Was" has a bluesier feel than the band's subsequent albums because Mick left the band after this one album due to "artistic" differences.
But I guess that Mick's original contribution was key for me since hearing "A Song for Jeffery" on the radio was what sucked me into a lifetime of Jethro Tull fandom.
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Hepcat
retired
Re: Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson evidently gave up playing the electric guitar when he realized he would never be "as good as Eric Clapton"! Jethro Tull recorded "This Was" after Ian had been practicing playing the flute in a blues rock style for only a few months.
Initially he played the flute using the microphone stand for balance while standing on one leg. When his one-legged style was commented upon in the rock press, he resolved to learn how to do it right, i.e. without the aid of a microphone stand. This he soon mastered as well. Only later though did Ian become aware that Pan and other flute playing gods are traditionally portrayed as using the same one-legged stance as he adopted on a happenstance basis!
But whatever the origins of Ian Anderson's flute playing, the flute and his one-legged stance have become trademarks of the band.
Ian Anderson evidently gave up playing the electric guitar when he realized he would never be "as good as Eric Clapton"! Jethro Tull recorded "This Was" after Ian had been practicing playing the flute in a blues rock style for only a few months.
Initially he played the flute using the microphone stand for balance while standing on one leg. When his one-legged style was commented upon in the rock press, he resolved to learn how to do it right, i.e. without the aid of a microphone stand. This he soon mastered as well. Only later though did Ian become aware that Pan and other flute playing gods are traditionally portrayed as using the same one-legged stance as he adopted on a happenstance basis!
But whatever the origins of Ian Anderson's flute playing, the flute and his one-legged stance have become trademarks of the band.
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Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
Re: Jethro Tull
Maybe I misunderstood your post, Hep, but the label in the video lists Anderson as the sole composer of "A Song for Jeffrey." If that's the song that made you a Tull addict (like the rest of us in this thread), then it looks like Mick had no hand in it.
Ian Anderson shared songwriting duties with guitarist Mick Abrahams on Jethro Tull's first album "This Was". That is apparently why "This Was" has a bluesier feel than the band's subsequent albums because Mick left the band after this one album due to "artistic" differences.
But I guess that Mick's original contribution was key for me since hearing "A Song for Jeffery" on the radio was what sucked me into a lifetime of Jethro Tull fandom.
Maybe I misunderstood your post, Hep, but the label in the video lists Anderson as the sole composer of "A Song for Jeffrey." If that's the song that made you a Tull addict (like the rest of us in this thread), then it looks like Mick had no hand in it.
Hepcat
retired
Re: Jethro Tull
That is correct. "A Song for Jeffery" was an Ian Anderson composition. I meant that Mick's hand in the studio and with a guitar pick may have been a key factor in making me notice Jethro Tull right off the bat.
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Maybe I misunderstood your post, Hep, but the label in the video lists Anderson as the sole composer of "A Song for Jeffrey." If that's the song that made you a Tull addict (like the rest of us in this thread), then it looks like Mick had no hand in it.
That is correct. "A Song for Jeffery" was an Ian Anderson composition. I meant that Mick's hand in the studio and with a guitar pick may have been a key factor in making me notice Jethro Tull right off the bat.
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jeffrey
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Re: Jethro Tull
And I think that is the big point Hepcat. Without the "chemistry" between Mick, Ian, Glenn and Clive on "This Was" and the live concerts at the time, Tull in its later form would not have existed. Had Ian left and Mick taken over the helm then Tull would have more or less been Blodwyn Pig and Ian Anderson would probably have formed the IA Band in 1969 with the musicians from Blackpool such as Barrie Barlow and Jeffrey Hammond. What would have been the makeup of such a band, at that time, is up for conjecture and I pose this question - what part would Martin Barre have played in any venture, if any?That is correct. "A Song for Jeffery" was an Ian Anderson composition. I meant that Mick's hand in the studio and with a guitar pick may have been a key factor in making me notice Jethro Tull right off the bat.
Hepcat
retired
Re: Jethro Tull
Me I'm greedy. I would have voted for Martin Barre joining Jethro Tull without Mick Abrahams leaving.
Me I'm greedy. I would have voted for Martin Barre joining Jethro Tull without Mick Abrahams leaving.
Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
Re: Jethro Tull
Gotcha.
That is correct. "A Song for Jeffery" was an Ian Anderson composition. I meant that Mick's hand in the studio and with a guitar pick may have been a key factor in making me notice Jethro Tull right off the bat.
Gotcha.
Re: Jethro Tull
Hep that image of Ian playing "on one leg" is seared into my memory forever. I am sure I'm not the only one who has seen him play his flute solo live with just him and a strobe light behind him, one of the simplest and most stunning effects I have ever seen in a live concert.
As for all the twists and turns that ended up putting Ian and Martin together, the fact they have stayed together for all these decades seems to speak more than anything else I can add, they were "Destined" to be the heart and soul of Jethro Tull.
Hep that image of Ian playing "on one leg" is seared into my memory forever. I am sure I'm not the only one who has seen him play his flute solo live with just him and a strobe light behind him, one of the simplest and most stunning effects I have ever seen in a live concert.
As for all the twists and turns that ended up putting Ian and Martin together, the fact they have stayed together for all these decades seems to speak more than anything else I can add, they were "Destined" to be the heart and soul of Jethro Tull.
Hepcat
retired
Re: Jethro Tull
The "Aqualung" album cover makes my list of the top twenty album covers of all time:
The paintings were the work of American artist Burton Silverman.
Burton Silverman Website
Whether the old fellow on the cover is modeled after Ian Anderson or not has been a subject of conjecture ever since the album was first released. What's not just a subject for conjecture though is the quality of the music on the album. It's simply outstanding!
Despite this "Aqualung" was only ranked #337 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003! Well what do those drug-addled brain dead hippies at "Rolling Stone" know anyway? It should of course have been well up there in the top fifty.
The "Aqualung" album cover makes my list of the top twenty album covers of all time:
The paintings were the work of American artist Burton Silverman.
Burton Silverman Website
Whether the old fellow on the cover is modeled after Ian Anderson or not has been a subject of conjecture ever since the album was first released. What's not just a subject for conjecture though is the quality of the music on the album. It's simply outstanding!
Despite this "Aqualung" was only ranked #337 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003! Well what do those drug-addled brain dead hippies at "Rolling Stone" know anyway? It should of course have been well up there in the top fifty.
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