The Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson Discography

[Evermind]

Not sure, I think Budapest is perfect as it is, although I would definitely be curious to check out the longer version.

Tim, I've never thought about this album being similar to Dire Straits, but I think it makes sense. That actually might be why I love it so much.

[El Barto]

Budapest became a live staple, and the Knopfler side really comes through there. It's always been a favorite of mine, partly for that reason.

[Orbert]

Here's a quickie to keep hold things over until I get a chance to listen to Rock Island a few more times.

20 Years of Jethro Tull (1988)



In 1988, Chrysalis released the first Jethro Tull boxed set, 20 Years of Jethro Tull.  It was available on five LPs, or three CDs, or three cassettes.  The CD and cassette versions were in boxes the same size as the LP version, as were all boxed sets at the time.

The five LPs each had their own titles: The Radio Archives, The Rare Tracks (Released But Only Just), Flawed Gems (Dusted Down), The Other Sides of Tull, and The Essential Tull.  The CD and cassette versions had all the same tracks, but combined them in different ways to fit the formats, and named them slightly differently.  It's actually a very nice collection, with a lot of rarities and some never-heard-before live versions.  If you were a Jethro Tull fan, you probably had this one because of all the nonstandard material.

The Wikipedia article, because I'm not going to recreate it all here.

There was also a 2-LP version with 27 tracks, called 20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights.



The Highlights version on CD was a single disc with 21 tracks.  The highlights of the highlights.

Wiki for the Highlights

[TAC]

Holy shit, another fucking compilation?? They have more compilations than actual albums!

[Orbert]

At any given time, there are always people who've heard of a band but never really dug into them.  There will therefore always be a market for compilations, so record companies cranked them out.  Well, at least until the current downloading singles generation.

Boxed sets were a huge thing in the 80's.  CDs had replaced LPs as the medium of choice, but millions of music lovers still had vinyl collections and weren't going to just replace every album on CD.  Not right away, anyway.  Boxed sets gave most of the hardcore fans most of their faves on CD for the first time, and they still functioned as the primers they always have, at least some of them.  This particular set is a good one, with separate disks for each target area.  It's well thought-out and organized the way I would want a boxed set to be.  Not just a huge compilation.  The CD/cassette version doesn't break things down quite as nicely, but with CDs there's always the Skip button and/or you could program them back then (remember those days?), and I don't know anybody who seriously collected music on cassette.  I'm sure such people exist, but it's pretty niche.

[DragonAttack]

This was a welcome purchase for me when it first came out, and still a prized possession.  I didn't buy the two 'best ofs' or the 'best of the best' 'Original Masters (though I missed out on 'Rainbow Blues' and 'Glory Row' for decades because of those decisions).  Sadly, those aren't included here, along with the vast majority of unreleased songs that didn't see the light of day for another 15-30 years.  Which is a shame, because there were so many gems that have been mentioned before in this thread.

It contains a 24 page color booklet, with its odd out of focus cover pic of Anderson and approximately 100 photos throughout the years.  It provides short details of the songs, and a little 2"x2" mini 'Stand Up' album sleeve, with a 'pop up' of the then members upon opening   A very good intro by Anderson of how the project was greeted with an 'oh well' to a 'I better get involved with this', where it became quite time consuming for all parties involved (you just know he had to have control or final say because.....well, he was always that way).  David Rees, the author of 'Minstrels' gets credit from Ian two times for him and his friend's expert knowledge, and Rees provides the written material throughout.

The band created one new song, 'Part of the Machine' for this release, mentioned earlier as a 'Crest Of A Knave' 2005 CD bonus (it did not chart).  62 songs all together, the vast majority only available at the time in this package.  Just the BBC Session offerings, 'Lick Your Fingers Clean', and the Chateau d'Isaster medley made the $20 spent more than worthwhile to me, my first box set for my first CD player in '88.

some other reviews   https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=10952

[ErHaO]

This is the type of boxset that would even work for me in the current day and age. So much extras. And I am familiar with a good deal of them due to the Steven Wilson remixes. Some of these extra tracks are great. The other collections where just album releases, but this set is much more than that.

[DragonAttack]

I would have enjoyed more 'unreleased' material from the 70s, a couple of the live performances '(Minstrel...', '..Valhalla' were drastically shortened and edited), but it was a good historical overview.  I think there were only a handful of songs where the versions in this boxset were previously (or easily) available. 

North American tour, June ’88, Europe in July, first time in Brazil in August.  Fairport Convention is often the opening act.

Typical setlist (and quite a good one at that)
Cross-Eyed Mary, Nothing Is Easy, Thick As A Brick, Steel Monkey, Farm On The Freeway, A New Day Yesterday, Fat Man, Budapest, The Swirling Pit, Mother Goose, My God (incl. Bourée/Soirée), Pussy Willow/Pibroch (inst.), Jump Start, Too Old To Rock'N'Roll, Wind Up, Aqualung, Locomotive Breath/Seal Driver (inst.)/Black Sunday (inst)/Thick As A Brick (reprise)

Mountain View, California (complete concert, superb audience recording, uploaded in June)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnfeznNdElU

Brazil (uploaded three weeks ago)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7oTFcekGg (average audience recording, Anderson occasionally substituting the flute for vocals)

Sao Paulo video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaS__8F0oto

The tongue in cheek beginning, as Anderson is pushed onstage in a wheelchair in ‘celebration’ of the anniversary tour.  His vocals are still hit or miss (holding his hand to his right ear often).  ‘Locomotive Breath’ is a real struggle, but ‘Fat Man’ is a real treat.  The entire band is ‘front and center’ for this mostly acoustic track….Anderson on mandolin, Perry on bongos, Barre on flute (always enjoyed this type of 'at ease' segment at Queen concerts).  Later on, the fun little ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ intro for ‘Aqualung’. 

[Stadler]

I've got zero complaints about the Tull box set (wait until the 25th Anniversary one....).  This was my entre into the catalogue.  I forget how or when, but if I had to guess, my friend and concert buddy at the time (who I've sadly lost touch with over the years) was into Tull and I heard this through him.   I flipped and ended up getting it myself and it's still a favorite.  On my iPod, I still group those songs together, even if they are from wildly different eras and times.    I saw Tull like three or four times in a succession, including seeing them at the legendary Orpheum Theater in Boston on the acoustic tour.   Good times.

Side bar, but I tend to be that guy anyway.  I'm not a hits guy, and there are several bands for whom I have the odds'n'sods records but none of the more popular releases.  I kind of like when the artists let their hair down or stretch out a bit.   For all the bands I really like - Genesis, Maiden, Marillion, Purple, Dream Theater, Tull - my top whatever list has an over-representation of b-sides and weird stuff.

[LudwigVan]

While Crest of A Knave is certainly better than Under Wraps, I still can’t get fully behind it. Budapest is quite good, but a tad overrated I think. And at times I do feel like I’m listening to a Dire Straits album instead of Jethro Tull. If I wanted to listen to Dire Straits, I’d go to the real thing.

[Orbert]

Rock Island (1989)



Ian Anderson - Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin, Drums, Percussion
Martin Barre - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Dave Pegg - Bass Guitar, Acoustic Bass, Mandolin
Doane Perry - Drums, Percussion

Maartin Allcock - Keyboards
Peter-John Vettese - Additional Keyboards

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Kissing Willie 3:32
The Rattlesnake Trail 4:02
Ears of Tin 4:55
Undressed to Kill 5:25
Rock Island 6:54
Heavy Water 4:12
Another Christmas Song 3:32
The Whaler's Dues 7:53
Big Riff and Mando 5:58
Strange Avenues 4:10

2006 remaster bonus tracks

Christmas Song (Live) 3:06
Cheap Day Return/Mother Goose (Live) 3:10
Locomotive Breath (Live) 3:38

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Doane Perry was hired for the Under Wraps tour, but as DragonAttack pointed out, he was not available during much of the recording sessions for Crest of a Knave, so Gerry Conway returned to play on some tracks, and some were done with electronic drums programmed by Ian Anderson.  I assume that that's why he's not credited as a full member on Crest of a Knave, since Wikipedia seems to think he's been a regular member since 1984.  He makes his studio debut here as a member of Jethro Tull.

Dave Pegg's old Fairport Convention bandmate Maartin Allcock plays keyboards on two tracks here, and Peter-John Vettese returns to play on four more.

Rock Island continues primarily in the Hard Rock (but not Heavy Metal) vein established on Crest of a Knave.  A couple of songs, however, make it a point to start with acoustic guitars and/or mandolins and flute, so as with most Jethro Tull albums, it's a mix of electric and acoustic, Rock and Folk.

Ian seems embarassed now by the lead single "Kissing Willie", full of double entendres and with a video that MTV refused to play because of its blatant sexual imagery.  "The Rattlesnake Trail", "Heavy Water", and "Another Christmas Song" were all singles as well.

Overall, Rock Island didn't do as well as Crest of a Knave either critically or commercially, though it did go Gold in the U.K.

----------

As much as I love working from home and not having to commute, I do miss the solid 30-40 minutes in my car twice a day to listen to tunes.  That's when I'd normally be listening to these albums, with nothing to distract me.  I'd be able to get much more in depth on the individual songs and especially the instrumentals.  At home, I'll sometimes put an album on and at some point realize I'm only half listening to it.  I've tried to listen more "actively", especially to the albums with which I'm less familiar (or not familiar at all), but I put it on, and almost immediately start surfing the web or checking my phone.  A lot of songs, the lyrics mostly blow past me, except for the occassional witty line here or there, or where it reaches the point where Ian just repeats the title over and over.  (There seem to be a lot of those, and it's probably the thing about Jethro Tull that bothers me the most.  This album is no exception.)

This album seems to be ranked relatively low amongst Tull fans, but I like it.  I know, I just said that I haven't listened as actively as I've liked, which is why I needed time to give this one a few more spins.  Well, I've been listening the entire time I've been writing this, and I think it's solid.  I haven't felt the urge to hit the Skip button, and the music has caught me and demanded my attention many times.  Sometimes even the lyrics.  This is the 17th studio album by Jethro Tull, and I honestly haven't found a single one that I don't like.  Some didn't grab me at first, and some flat out surprised me (Under Wraps, for example), but every one of them has a lot of good music and playing.  And that's all the matters.

----------

Ian says:

"The antidote to the more cheerful Crest Of A Knave, it's mostly dark subject matter of alienation and desolation, except for the absurd Kissing Willie – an all-too-regrettable, unsubtle piece of saucy innuendo. Benny Hill would have been proud of that one. But the song Strange Avenues is still a favourite of mine. And Another Christmas Song too, which talks of origins and cultural identity. 'Everyone is from somewhere, even if you’ve never been there.'"

From Every Jethro Tull album in Ian Anderson's own words

[DragonAttack]

I give you a ton of credit for all of these repeated listens.  I bought the CD when it came out, and was very underwhelmed.   There are some good moments, but it gets rather repetitive, without anything really standing out to me, though Barre shines once again throughout. 

I believe the 'live' cuts were actually done in a dressing room in Zurich.  Certainly different.

[TAC]

I thought the album was pretty good. There were times where it suffered from the "80's sound", but overall, I thought it was pretty solid. I think I'd lean to Crest between the two, but I was more than pleasantly surprised with both of these albums

The Knopffler style vocals are still present. Does Anderson ever regain his range?

[Orbert]

The Knopffler style vocals are still present. Does Anderson ever regain his range?

Only a bit.  The strength he once had never fully returns, but he learns to be more expressive in other ways.

[DragonAttack]

I thought the album was pretty good. There were times where it suffered from the "80's sound", but overall, I thought it was pretty solid. I think I'd lean to Crest between the two, but I was more than pleasantly surprised with both of these albums

The two are certainly better than the other '80s offerings IMO, but I just can't get past the 80's sound, and so I miss out on whatever the lyrics may hold as well.  It wasn't just Tull that had that affect on me at the time.  I think back to Rush's albums that often seemed to have two to four 'standout' tunes, with the rest just being 4-6 minute fillers (and now I'll duck from the bricks to come my way  )

Oddz and sodz related to Rock Island......

ODK Germany 5 - Sep 1989 (15 weeks) (4 weeks in top 10), Germany 5 - Sep 1989 (7 weeks), Switzerland 7 - Sep 1989 (9 weeks), Norway 14 - Sep 1989 (1 week), UK 18 - Sep 1989 (6 weeks), Austria 20 - Oct 1989 (1 month), Sweden 35 - Sep 1989 (2 weeks), Billboard 56 - Sep 1989 (17 weeks), UK Silver (certified by BPI in Sep 1989)

"Kissing Willie" b/w "Heavy Water"  #6 US Mainstream  Album reviews:  http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2037

Tour:  Aug through mid october 89 Europe, then til early December in North America (warm up band 'It Bites')

Hamilton Copps Coliseum, Canada (video)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRwJ3XLb9tE

Basic setlist:  Strange Avenues, Steel Monkey, Big Riff And Mando, Thick As A Brick, Rock Island, Requiem/Black Satin Dancer (inst.), Cheap Day Return, Mother Goose, Jack-A-Lynn, Another Christmas Song, My God (incl. Bourée/Soirée), The Pine Marten's Jig/Drowsy Maggie, The Whaler's Dues, Budapest, Farm On The Freeway, SeaLion (inst.), Kissing Willie, Nothing Is Easy, Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, The Third Hoorah (inst., incl. The Dambusters March)

May 90, all UK, mostly acoustic and smaller venues to towns they had rarely or never performed.

I searched for the 'Kissing Willie' video, and found the part that MTV edited   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVbjNvyT-2U

[Stadler]

I liked the explanation:  "This is the part of Kissing Willie that was edited out (not so good quality) but you can see Ian Anderson and his genitals." 

[Orbert]

Catfish Rising (1991)



Ian Anderson - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Mandolin, Electric Mandolin, Flute, Keyboards, Drums, Percussion
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar
Dave Pegg - Acoustic Bass Guitar, Electric Bass Guitar
Doane Perry - Drums, Percussion

Andy Giddings - Keyboards (tracks 1, 4, 8)
John Bundrick - Keyboards (track 11)
Foss Patterson - Keyboards (track 10)
Matt Pegg - Bass Guitar (tracks 1, 4, 7)
Scott Hunter - Drums, Percussion (track 5)

----------

This Is Not Love 3:57
Occasional Demons 3:49
Roll Yer Own 4:26
Rocks on the Road 5:32
Sparrow on the Schoolyard Wall 5:22
Thinking Round Corners 3:32
Still Loving You Tonight 4:32
Doctor to My Disease 4:35
Like a Tall Thin Girl 3:38
White Innocence 7:44
Sleeping with the Dog 4:26
Gold-Tipped Boots, Black Jacket and Tie 3:41
When Jesus Came to Play 5:05

2006 remaster bonus tracks

Night in the Wilderness 4:06
Jump Start (live) 7:49

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Ian says:

"A rather good collection of songs, but at a time when Tull weren't exactly in fashion! Some people felt it went back to our bluesy base – maybe too much for one reviewer who referred to it as 'cod blues'. This Is Not Love, Still Loving You Tonight and Rocks On The Road stand out for me. A lot of this was recorded alone in my studio with overdubs from Martin and Dave Pegg. The worst thing about the record was the album cover. Too much black! Too much Spinal! No space to sign autographs with a black Sharpie."

From Every Jethro Tull album in Ian Anderson's own words

----------

This is another one that I wasn't familiar with before, and I've listened to it four or five times recently trying to get a feel for it.  My overall impression is that this is "more of the same", which often carries negative connotations, but that's not always true.  If you like late 80's, early 90's Tull, electric guitar up front, electronica stripped away, occassional flute and keyboards, and Ian Anderson's unique vocals, here you go.  This one sounds very similar to Rock Island to me, but the compositions and arrangements aren't as adventurous.  Not as "prog".  But it's another batch of good songs.

If, on the other hand, you found Rock Island disappointing, especially as a follow-up to Crest of a Knave, then "more of the same" is not good news.  But as I've said before (too many times, I'm afraid), I don't think it's possible for a group of musicians at this level to record a bad album.  I might not care for it, but I can't say that it's not good music.  That is subjective.  The songs are catchy and well-produced.  Everything sounds great.  There's just not much that jumps out at me as really groundbreaking.

One thing that caught my ears a few times is the Hammond organ, which I'm guessing is why some people have referred to this album as a return to the classic, more blues-based Jethro Tull sound.

The other thing that caught my ears and which I can't say is a positive thing is Ian's tendency to repeat the title of the song over and over, seemingly when he's run out of words to say, or feels the need to keep singing something when the song might have been served better without vocals at that point.  He seems to do it more often here, even more than on other albums.

There doesn't seem to be much information online regarding this album.  The Wikipedia content is quite sparse, and once again the official Jethro Tull website writeup is essentially a copy-and-paste; that is, also quite sparse.  Both mention that this is the first Jethro Tull album to feature Andy Giddings, but there's not a lot of keyboards anyway, and he's one of three keyboard players on the album, so I don't know if I would consider him "featured".  There are multiple links to Andy Giddings which redirect back to the Jethro Tull main page.  I can't find anything on Foss Patterson, and John Bundrick's Wiki page has quite a list of studio appearances, but Catfish Rising is not among them.

There are also three tracks with Matt Pegg on bass.  Matt is Dave Pegg's son, is an excellent bassist in his own right, and has filled in for Dave for on for both Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention gigs.

And one track with "guest drummer" Scott Hunter.  Collectively, this is the most extensive cadre of additional personnel on any Jethro Tull album so far, but it's also consistent with what Ian himself said about the album.  It was mostly basic tracks recorded by himself, with other parts added later.  All this considered, the album is consistent, and of good if not of stellar quality.

[TAC]

Nice, new album tonight!

So musically, this is pretty cool. Very easy on the ears. I thought the first half was a lot stronger.

I must say the run of Doctor To My Disease-Like A Tall Thin Girl-White Innocence have some God awful lyrics. I feels like they took the first half seriously, and were in full fuck it mode on the second half.

[Stadler]

Foss Paterson worked with Fish as well, if memory serves (and it does; I looked it up, he was there from "Songs From The Mirror" in '93 through "Sunsets On Empire" in '97).


As for the lyrics, this is going to be hard to articulate, but I think Anderson was struggling with his ideas at this point.  The lyrics throughout the 70's and even into the 80's were strong, direct, sometimes biting, but always literate and honest.   The lyrics to me on the last couple records started to become quippy and maybe a shade too clever for their own good. Again, this is just my perception, a feeling, and so it's hard to articulate, but I just think "Doctor To My Disease" and a couple others have the whiff of someone who is falling into cliche kicking and screaming.   

[ErHaO]

I think Rock Island and Catfish Rising are both pleasant albums to listen to. There are not a lot of things that immediately stand out, but I think they are of good quality, I definitely prefer them over Warchild, Broadsword, and Under Wraps.

[DragonAttack]

Charts
Switzerland 12 - Sep 1991 (7 weeks), Norway 12 - Sep 1991 (3 weeks), ODK Germany 21 - Sep 1991 (12 weeks), UK 27 - Sep 1991 (3 weeks), Austria 40 - Oct 1991 (1 month), Billboard 88 - Sep 1991 (5 weeks)
      
"This Is Not Love" b/w "Night in the Wilderness" #14 US Mainstream

EP and single:
"Rocks on the Road" (Live) /"Bouree" (Live, non-album track) / "Jack-A-Lynn" (Home demo, non-album track) /"Night in the Wilderness" (Non-album track)
"Jump Start" (Non-album track)   #47 UK

"Night in the Wilderness" appeared as the B-side to many Catfish Rising -era singles.
The live version of "Jump Start" appeared as the B-side to several single releases of "This Is Not Love".

Reviews:
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2039

https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/39108/Jethro-Tull-Catfish-Rising/

Taken from 'Minstrels', 'Catfish Rising' was mostly written using a mandolin, thus a more 'bluesy' feel ('Sparrow On A Schoolyard Wall' references this).  The band toured Europe and North America for ten weeks, then returned to Europe for a third leg, with a different line up but the same set list.   And some members were notified of their dismissal by letter yet again (when would Anderson ever learn? )

Some individual promotions throughout, including David Letterman in August '91:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FZHZWXs4MY  and the rehearsals  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzo3Xvpqfnc

Tour dates and set lists   http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/setlist/91.htm

'Roll Yer Own' is a fun track, 'Rocks On The Road' is top notch, and 'White Innocence' has the old time Tull instrumental middle, but, those lyrics....

WTW vocal moments in 'Nights In The Wilderness' (almost Alice Cooper-ish at times) and 'Thinking Round Corners' .....already weakening vocals that have an Alvin & the Chipmunks feel.  And the album (CD) feels too long with too much filler.  A 45 minute combo of the best from this and 'Rock Island' would have been quite a good release. 

[Orbert]

So this is where things start getting really sketchy, and the remainder of the discography is going to be tricky to present.  But as they say, nothing is easy.

Over the next 12 years, Jethro Tull would release three more studio albums, then officially disband.  During that same time, there was another official live album, three Ian Anderson solo albums, compilations and live albums of semi-official status, and at least one release which is all of the above: a compilation live album of semi-official status with both Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson solo material.  I'm not kidding.

Since the final Jethro Tull album in 2003, Ian Anderson has released four solo albums, and there have been even more compilations and live albums, but Ian has stuck to his guns; there have been no more Jethro Tull studio albums.

[Orbert]

And now, without further ado...

Jethro Tull in Concert (recorded in 1991, released in 1995)



Maartin Allcock - Keyboards
Ian Anderson - Vocals, Flute, Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Pegg - Bass
Doane Perry - Drums

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Minstrel in the Gallery/Cross-Eyed Mary 4:00
This Is Not Love 4:00
Rocks on the Road 6:30
Heavy Horses 7:33
Tall Thin Girl 3:28
Still Loving You 4:40
Thick as a Brick 7:48
A New Day Yesterday 5:45
Blues Jam 3:00
Jump Start 6:30

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I've included this one and given it something like a real writeup because it's a BBC recording and pretty high quality.  I'm listening to it right now.  It's also the last "real" Jethro Tull live album.  There is an official live recording yet to come, but it was recorded on their 1992 "semi-acoustic" tour.

Even though Jethro Tull in Concert was released in 1995, I've placed it here in the Discography because it's from the Catfish Rising tour.

In the old days, we called these bootleg recordings, although that usually meant that it was illegally recorded by someone who snuck a recording device into the concert (perhaps actually in their boot, hence the term).  This was legitimately recorded by the BBC, presumably for a radio broadcast (though I can't find much information about it), but the "cover art" -- such as it is -- screams "bootleg!" to me.

[TAC]

I listened up through Heavy Horses.

What happened to Ian's voice again? Did it just run out on him? Was there an injury?

I've really enjoyed watching some of the footage of them in the 70's. The band was really cracking. On this, it sounds like a job.

[Orbert]

Basically, he blew his vocal cords out on the Under Wraps tour.  He'd specifically written those songs in a higher register than he normally sings, I'm sure as part of trying to make everything sound more modern and cool and all that, but singing those songs every night did some real damage, and even after taking most of three years off to recover (and have surgery), his voice has never fully recovered.  This is what he sounds like now, or at least did in the 90's.  It's too bad, because I think the band sounds great here.  If anything, Ian puts more into his damn flute now that he can't sing anymore, but I understand if that's no consolation to you.

[Evermind]

If you think he sounds bad here, don't go see him live now. Last time I saw him, which admittedly was around 2014, his voice was completely shot. In fact there was a young guy (I think) who sang most of the parts instead of Ian.

[DragonAttack]

I watched a fan vid on youtube of around that time, and, yes, he was bad when he didn't have the young fill in vocalist singing much of his parts.

btw......I don't think we'll see him perform again, considering he has inoperable lung cancer. 

I think back to various Queen forums and bootleg comments.  Freddie often suffered from irritations with his nodules, along with the fact that he smoked like a fiend (much like Anderson).  And both bands tended to tour the States during the fall/winter months.  And both bands toured like madmen without a break. 

Once Mercury quit smoking around '86, his voice held up (and improved) for the latter albums.  Ian continued to puff on cigarettes (or a pipe) well beyond the times of his vocal problems.  And then he never rested.......ego or stubbornness, one doesn't know.

[El Barto]

If you think he sounds bad here, don't go see him live now. Last time I saw him, which admittedly was around 2014, his voice was completely shot. In fact there was a young guy (I think) who sang most of the parts instead of Ian.

This. That 91 show sounded great compared to nowadays. He started touring with Sideshow Cecil when he did TaaB2 in 2013, and they split the vocals 50/50. Honestly, I'd have preferred all Cecil. Dude was engaging and could actually sing. I thought that was was a very good show. On subsequent tours he just used pre-recorded video of Cecil and other people singing much of the parts, which is pathetic. That's when I stopped going to see him. Take along a second singer by all means. Hell, there are a lot of bands that should go that route. Just letting a video do the vocals is a cop out, though.

[ErHaO]

If you think he sounds bad here, don't go see him live now. Last time I saw him, which admittedly was around 2014, his voice was completely shot. In fact there was a young guy (I think) who sang most of the parts instead of Ian.

This. That 91 show sounded great compared to nowadays. He started touring with Sideshow Cecil when he did TaaB2 in 2013, and they split the vocals 50/50. Honestly, I'd have preferred all Cecil. Dude was engaging and could actually sing. I thought that was was a very good show. On subsequent tours he just used pre-recorded video of Cecil and other people singing much of the parts, which is pathetic. That's when I stopped going to see him. Take along a second singer by all means. Hell, there are a lot of bands that should go that route. Just letting a video do the vocals is a cop out, though.

Man, his recent concerts would've been amazing if he just stopped singing. He can talk and entertain really well and he plays the guitar and flute, he has plenty to do on stage in terms of being a frontman. During the Thick as a Brick 1+2 tour the other guy sang a lot, which was nice. But the Homo Erraticus tour had a worse balance (but the second singer was still there) and then later tours it was just Anderson. And Anderson got even worse the last couple of years.

I find it frustrating as everything else about the concerts is real quality.

[Orbert]

In May 1992, Jethro Tull embarked on a "semi-acoustic" tour.  The band was scaled back again, and nearly every song was rearranged at least a little bit, some quite a lot.  This tour was documented with the second official Jethro Tull live album.

A Little Light Music (1992)



Ian Anderson - Flute, Mandolin, Harmonica, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Pegg - Bass, Mandolin
Dave Mattacks - Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Hi-Hat, Cymbal, Glockenspiel, Percussion, Keyboard

George Dalaras - Co-lead vocal on "John Barleycorn"

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Someday the Sun Won't Shine for You 3:59
Living in the Past (instrumental) 5:07
Life Is a Long Song 3:37
Under Wraps (Instrumental) 2:30
Rocks on the Road 7:04
Nursie 2:27
Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die 4:43
One White Duck 3:15
A New Day Yesterday 7:33
John Barleycorn 6:34
Look into the Sun (instrumental) 3:45
A Christmas Song 3:46
From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser 3:51
This Is Not Love 3:53
Bourée 6:06
Pussy Willow (instrumental) 3:31
Locomotive Breath 5:51

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Okay fine, this is the last "real" Jethro Tull live album, not the previous entry Jethro Tull Live in Concert.  I was all set to not like this one, being an obvious attempt by Ian to obscure the fact that he can't sing anymore by focusing on the acoustic side of Jethro Tull, and rearranging some of the more rocking songs.  But I like it.  I like it when artists find other ways to interpret songs, either their own or someone else's, and a musician of Ian Anderson's caliber cannot help but come up with something that I find damned impressive.  Some of the songs are completely redone as instrumentals, and I like them, too.  I like live music, and I can't help but enjoy a performance by top-notch musicians playing great music.

I was fooled by the numerous poor reviews of this album (obviously by people who cannot appreciate songs being redone as "semi-acoustic") and also a little bit by the way utility player Dave Mattacks is credited, specifically saying he played Snare Drum, Bass Drum, etc., instead of just saying "Drums".  But what they've really done is point out the fact that he's not playing a regular drum kit, as this is a "semi-acoustic" gig.  (Are you tired of me putting "semi-acoustic" in quotes every time, yet?  Yeah, me too.)

From the opening notes, with Ian ferociously attacking the harmonica, you know that this is going to be different.  "Someday the Sun Won't Shine for You" goes all the way back to the first album, This Was.  Then an instrumental version of "Living in the Past".  Well, you can read the track listing above.  Again, I was surprised at how well it all works, and I really should not have been.

And don't be fooled.  There are a few times when they do rock out.  I was listening, and thinking that it would be cool if they broke loose at least once, and like 30 seconds later, Boom!  That's why it's only a semi-acoustic concert.  Martin plays acoustic and electric guitar.  And once things get going, you have to listen closely to note that Dave isn't playing a full drum kit, just a basic trap set.

Ian even jokes a bit, introducing "Under Wraps" as a song from an album that people didn't like very much.  He talks about how he'd dug into electronics and stuff, when it turns out that all he needed to do was "keep Dave".  Actually, I don't remember now whether he said that on this album or on the bootleg DVD of the entire concert, which is also very good.  The video has the advantage of course of us being able to see the band, which is always nice, and it's a single show.  A "you are there" concert video, warts and all.  A Little Light Music is taken from various shows on the tour, edited together to form a single (and much shorter) concert.  The only real downside to the video is that George Dalaras, a Greek singer who is apparently quite famous over there, wasn't there that night, so they didn't do "John Barleycorn" that night.

Anyway, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this album.  No, Ian can't sing anymore, but that can't be helped.  Instead, he puts more into the instrumentals, and as always, the whole band is on fire.  Thumbs up.  A little different kind of live album, but excellent performances.

[DragonAttack]

Charts:   Switzerland 22 - Sep 1992 (6 weeks), UK 34 - Sep 1992 (2 weeks), Billboard 150 - Oct 1992 (2 weeks)

http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/setlist/92.htm  going through the locations and set lists, one can find information from where the songs on 'A Little Light Music' were performed.  'Aqualung' and 'Thick As A Brick' were part of many concerts, but not included.  David Rees in 'Minstrels' stated that Anderson's voice "was fine some nights, awful on others, and this time it was harder to disguise the vocals with electric bombast from the rest of the band".

prog archives is currently down, but https://kingcrimsonprog.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/jethro-tull-a-little-light-music-review/  and amazon gave the release rather high marks.

So....from Orbert to other reviewers, I'll have to give this a first spin some time this year.

[TAC]

This is a really cool release. I remember liking Bouree from an earlier album, and it's still cool here. It's not the flute playing that bothers me. but as Ian gasps for breath, I personally start to hyperventilate.

The bass playing really stands out on this too.

[ErHaO]

I like it, definitely a live record worth checking out. Vocals aren't really distracting here (and sometimes blend very well with the music approach) and there are a lot of nice extended instrumental sections.

[Stadler]

This is a really cool release. I remember liking Bouree from an earlier album, and it's still cool here. It's not the flute playing that bothers me. but as Ian gasps for breath, I personally start to hyperventilate.

The bass playing really stands out on this too.

He does that a lot in his playing though; there is a lot of breathing.   It's noticeable to me, but not as bad as when singers do it (Graham Bonnet and David Coverdale are two of the worst for this. Like nails on a chalkboard to me.)

[Orbert]

I always took Ian's flute style -- with the exaggerated breathing, overblowing, and kinda singing/screaming into the instrument -- as his way of making it "heavier".  I mean, with a guitar, you can distort the hell out of it and make it sound more intense; you can do the same with an electric violin or any electrifed instrument; even with a harmonica you can overdrive it.

But with a flute, you can have a nice clean tone, or... what?  How do you make it more intense?  You do all that stuff that Ian does. The exaggerated breathing, overblowing, and screaming into the instrument while you play it.