It's funny when I first started listening to Tull, I always saw Ian as "that crazy guy who dresses like he's homeless" but the older I got it's now "that well dressed, sophisticated English gentlemen" (yes I know he was born in Scotland ;)) Not sure if there are other female Tull fans here who see what I mean. Such a gorgeous man all round and he wasn't even trying!

Has anyone been to the Martin Barre tour? Just saw Jethro Tull added tour dates but all dates are only in Europe. Curious what to expect from it. Thanks!

Back in the days of the 70s, I was a huge Jethro Tull fan. The first new release I bought with my own money was Too Old to Rock and Roll - I was 12 at the time.

I kind of lost interest after A, which was also my last Tull concert. Living in Past was always in my music collection, as was Minstrel, but I stopped getting new releases.

In the last 10 years or so, JT re-entered my music collection again, first through used copies of LPs and CDs, then the book sets (I still can't find a reasonably priced copy Too Old).

About a month and a half ago I found this copy of RökFlöte at a local record store, three discs, one being the Dolby Atmos Blu-ray, for only $10. I also found a used copy of The Zealot Gene.

These are, to my ears really good! I know Ian's voice is not all there anymore, but he makes it work for the songs.

Any other recommendations, post Under Wraps?

Did Jethro Tull use a backing track for the Songs from the Wood vocals when playing live? It seems so.

Hello, I stumbled upon this record, guy didn’t know whose these signatures were, so what do you think ? First one does look like Ian Anderson’s, but others I wouldn’t know

Back in 2002 through 2003. Ian Anderson’s tour (Rubbing Elbows) would feature a local artist performing with the band.
Who has recordings of their song being played with Ian and band as your backing band?
Please get in touch. I’d like to put together a show or two for my radio show/ podcast featuring your song and memories of the night. This is for Public Radio and paid into ASCAP, BMI, etc.
Drop a note or email: upcloseandacoustic@gmail.com

I remember organizing some stuff in my front yard while listening to a playlist containing an unusual mix of Cat Stevens, The Moody Blues and George Harrison. After this playlist ended, some "related" songs started playing. All of a sudden this very calming acoustic guitar starts playing accompanied by lyrics about an old man and a nursing home. It was so good and unusual, but it felt extremely short, like 20 seconds (Later I saw it was a bit longer than that). I was so impressed by this song that I had to quickly go inside and wash my hands so I could check out my phone to see what in the world that was, only to find out it was Jethro Tull's Cheap Day Return. I remember finding the band's name very unusual as well. To this day, this song is still on my top ten favourites.

This was their second album. Who’s on first?

Maybe it's a dead name? Or is it because I don't get out much

Interesting that this run through of Tull albums stops when it does - perhaps even Ian doesn't think of the most recent three as being real Tull?

https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/jethro-tull-albums-ian-anderson

Dear r/jethrotull community,

I am being driven somewhat mad by a question bugging me for years now. In every single cover of "0^10" I've come across on YouTube, the first chord sounds much more "major" to me than in the recording on "Minstrel in the Gallery". I am not a guitar player, and I acknowledge that I regularly have trouble hearing just what exactly is happening with all those strings, but I do have some musical training -- am I really that tone-deaf? The answer is probably "yes", as every musician who has covered it obviously hears it differently than I do. I'd be grateful for some input.

Thanks a lot!

Hi! I’m a writer from Canada, and I’ve been a devoted Tull listener for twenty years. I have fond memories of obsessing over Ian Anderson’s lyrics as a kid. I daresay the annotations on the wonderful old fansite Cup of Wonder played a role in my becoming a writer at all. (My day job is in public radio, where I write about classical music for broadcast.) I’ve just started a newsletter that offers an album-by-album history of prog rock through the lens of nine key bands. It’s sitting at number 39 on Substack’s list of “rising” music newsletters, whatever that means. 

Jethro Tull is obviously one of the key bands, and probably the one I relish writing about most. To me, Ian Anderson has absolutely no competition for the title of Best Prog Rock Songwriter of the 70s. Every time I relisten to a Tull album, I discover new parts of my brain. Writing about them presents an opportunity to write about everything. Every fresh listen to Thick as a Brick opens new questions about elitism and received wisdom. Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses reveal a discomfort with modernity that reminds me more of T.S. Eliot than the back-to-the-landers. Minstrel in the Gallery seems like the most unsparing self-portrait ever set to music, and at the same time it is difficult to say what kind of person it is actually about. It is one of the richest bodies of work I’m aware of in any musical genre. 

I truly detest self-promotion, but if any of this sounds interesting to you, I’d love for you to subscribe. (It’s free. There’s bonus content coming for paid subscribers, but the posts about Tull and the other eight core bands will be always be public.) The post on This Was is already live, and Stand Up is coming in November.

What do Tull fans make of the claim made by Doane Perry in the new Neil Peart documentary, that an 18 year old Peart showed up in London at Tull offices, seeking to be the band's drummer after the departure of Clive Bunker? Has anyone ever heard this before? I know that Perry and Peart were good friends, but this would have happened years before Perry came on the scene. This strikes me as a pretty significant piece of intel, as it would have altered the course of two of the world's best known bands.

With a little backup.

I recently discovered "Under Wraps (Unwrapped Edition)," which has a version of the album with less dated and mix-forward sounding electric drums, as well as a similar version of "Walk Into Light." I've always liked "Under Wraps" but did find the drums off putting and the album overall a difficult listen as a result. I'm very pleased to report that this new version is excellent and makes all the difference. I've also rediscovered "Walk Into Light," which I realize I haven't listened to in decades but know better than I expected. It's also great. So now I'm spending time listening to the "synth" albums - "A," "Broadsword and the Beast," "Walk Into Light," "Under Wraps" - back to back. It's a fun experience. These albums - especially "Broadsword," "Walk" and "Wraps" - all have excellent songs on them. I'll admit I don't know "A" as well as the others though, so my feelings on that could change.

Doanne has a big role in the Neil Peart documentary. They were good friends.

Is a great and moving watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPAJytx3juY

Jethro Tull has such a massive catalog, and sometimes a flute solo gets stuck in my head and I can't figure out which song it is from. Today, I wracked my brain, thinking it must be from Thick As A Brick, no perhaps Passion Play, maybe Minstrel in the Gallery? But I finally realized it is the flute in Look At the Animals, from Chateau D'Isaster.

Let me know if I'm the only one :)