| Jethro Tull | |||
| Jethro Tull is a progressive
rock band which technically started in February 1968 but whose origins
reach back a little bit before that. Though they have sometimes been
criticized as being too folksy and “out there” or "beyond their time" they
have an extremely loyal and wide-spread following. Despite being the butt
of numerous media jokes and jibes, their careers have been enduring and
strong, and they are one of the very few groups to endure from the sixties
to today. Even if their sound is not to your liking, I would suggest that you read the lyrics as poetry. There are some very beautiful and moving images and messages there, and most – if not all – are as valid today as they were when originally written. The band’s unusual name is derived form that of an 18th century agriculturalist and inventor who created the seed drill using parts from an old church organ. Story goes that in the band’s early history, they were not terribly good. This being the case, they found it necessary to change names often (pretending to be a different group each week) to get booked often enough to make a living. It just so happened that in February 1968, their agent (apparently a history buff) chose the name of Jethro Tull. Well, unfortunately, that is also the week that London’s Marquee Club offered them the Thursday night residency. Hence, they were stuck with the name: a fact Ian Anderson has never been terribly proud of. Ian Anderson is the leaping, hollering, whooping, frolicking “front man” flautist and while he is often considered synonymous with the band, this has often led to some confusion: many people over the years have thought that Jethro Tull was actually Ian’s name and that the band was simply his accompaniment. Though this is not such an issue anymore, it was – in the early 70’s – far more common. Ian Anderson is responsible for flute, vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin and whatever else he can get his hands on while Martin Barre plays Electric guitar, Doane Perry plays drums, Andrew Giddings plays keyboards and Jonathan Noyce plays bass. In truth, while Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, and (until recently) Dave Pegg have been the core members, others have come and gone over time as the requirements, focus, and sound of the band have changed. The band hires drummers and keyboard players as needed for studio and live work. Which all leads one to wonder there have been so many changes in line-up over the years. There have been many reasons for the various changes, but in truth, the single best answer is this: virtually any creative organization that is 40 years old is going to see a change in the line-up. Some of the members left to get married, some to settle down, and others to form their own bands or pursue solo projects. Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, for instance, left to be a painter and John Glascock died of heart disease. Some have been fired, but most have left on good terms. Personally, I think of Ian Anderson as the creative force and well-spring of the group. In 1973, there was a rumor that Jethro Tull disbanded following a bad reviews of "A Passion Play", but this was not the case. The manager at the time had contrived the story as an ill-conceived publicity stunt after the review, but the band was both ignorant about the plan and furious over it once discovered. Ian once said in an interview that reading that cover story was about as shocking as reading your own obituary. Tull has never disbanded Jethro Tull has remained constantly unique but ever pertinent, and they achieve this because of the band’s philosophy of always looking forward. The band sees current trends and events and responds to them, though they do not simply change with the wind. Progressive, to them, is a creative paradigm, not simply a marketing hook. Ian Anderson has a wife and two children, five cats, two dogs and some horses and chickens. He lives in an eighteenth century English country house on 400 acres of land roughly 100 miles west of London. While he is a sporting arms enthusiast, the UK government has made that hobby all but impossible to pursue. His own musical tastes lean towards Beethoven and Indian Classical and pop music.
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||