Ian Anderson was born in Scotland, but moved to Blackpool, England, when he was 12. He formed his first band, The Blades, with four friends from school: Michael Stephens (guitar), John Evans (keyboards), Jeffrey Hammond (bass), and Barrie Barlow (drums). Anderson sang and played harmonica, and they played mostly Blues and Soul because it was the 60's and that's what most bands played. They changed both their name and personnel multiple times during the early years. They were at various times Navy Blue, Ian Henderson's Bag o' Nails, and Candy Coloured Rain. It was common for booking agents to "suggest" names for the band, and Ian Anderson recalls one time looking at a poster for a band, only to realize that it was for his band, he just didn't recognize the name. At one point, they were The John Evan Band, mostly because Hammond thought "Evan" sounded cooler than "Evans", and John Evans eventually adopted the name John Evan.
Their big break came when they were booked at The Marquee Club in London. One of the staffers at the booking agency was a history buff, and thought the name Jethro Tull was a good name for a band. Jethro Tull was an 18th Century Agriculturist, but the band didn't know that at the time. They just knew that they were booked at The Marquee and the band was now called Jethro Tull.
According to Anderson, he attended a Cream concert one night and after seeing Eric Clapton play, rather than being inspired to pursue the guitar, he instead realized that he would never be that good. Every blues band had a harmonica, so he decided to trade his guitar for a flute.
The band continued to evolve, and by the time they recorded their first album for Island Records, Jethro Tull consisted of Anderson (vocals, flute), Mick Abrahams (guitar), Glenn Cornick (bass), and Clive Bunker (drums). Anderson and Abrahams were essentially co-leaders of the band, but constantly butted heads over the band's musical direction, with Abrahams wanting to continue in a blues vein, and Anderson wanting to pursue a more eclectic sound. Abrahams ultimately quit the band over these musical differences, leaving Anderson in charge.
Anderson chose the title
This Was (as in "This
was Jethro Tull"), hinting at the changes to come.
This Was (1968)
Mick Abrahams - Vocals, Guitars
Ian Anderson - Vocals, Flute, Mouth Organ, Claghorn, Piano
Clive Bunker - Drums
Glenn Cornick - Bass
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My Sunday Feeling
3:43Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You
2:49Beggar's Farm
4:19Move on Alone
1:58Serenade to a Cuckoo (Instrumental)
6:07Dharma for One (Instrumental)
4:15It's Breaking Me Up
5:04Cat's Squirrel (Instrumental)
5:42A Song for Jeffrey
3:22Round (Instrumental)
1:03----------
A mix of standard blues (with flute in the position typically occupied by harmonica) and jazzy, proto-progressive rock. I've indicated which tracks are instrumentals, because it's interesting how many there were on this debut album. Also, the overall sound is not as dual-natured as one might expect. My first impression was that it sounds like Jethro Tull, but a bit rougher and more heavily blues-influenced. And that's basically what it is.
This Was features the only Jethro Tull song with lead vocals by someone other than Ian Anderson. Abrahams sings lead vocals on "Move On Alone", the only song for which he has sole writing credit. The "band advisors" (presumably booking agents who effectively doubled as managers) had tried to persuade Anderson to both give up the flute and let Abrahams do all the lead vocals. At this point, Anderson was playing rhythm guitar, but as mentioned above, he'd traded in his guitar for a flute, so it would seem that the band did not heed their advice.
"Serenade to a Cuckoo" is a cover of a piece by jazz multiinstrumentalist Roland Kirk. "Cat's Squirrel" is a folk tune arranged by Abrahams. The rest are either band compositions or Anderson solo compositions. "A Song for Jeffrey" was written for Anderson's old schoolmate and bandmate Jeffrey Hammond. The album was received well in the U.K., reaching #10, but didn't do as well in the U.S., peaking at #62 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The 2001 remaster contains three bonus tracks:
One for John Gee
2:06Love Story
3:06Christmas Song
3:06----------
Ian says:"It’s all in the title, isn't it? This was Jethro Tull. That's no accident because when we were recording it, the one thing I felt sure about is that if we were lucky enough to make another album, I knew it wouldn't be like this one: based on blues elements and black American folk culture. That's not part of my life and I couldn't keep doing that – I'd look like a complete twit. The cover had no logo or anything and people were telling me we couldn't do that, but we did it, of course."
From
Every Jethro Tull album in Ian Anderson's own words
Topic: The Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson Discography (Read 37741 times)
