The Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson Discography

[Orbert]

Yep.  I consume albums these days the way most people consume songs.  I put on an album I like, and let it play.  If it's one I know from years ago, sure, I can tell you everything about it.  But if it's newer, I couldn't tell you the names of the individual songs, or maybe just the ones that stuck out so much that I made the effort to find out.  I just like the album, and it provides somewhere between 40 and 80 minutes of music while I work, or workout, or play.

[DragonAttack]

All positive reviews from   http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=3810

Really well done.  Acoustic and mandolin make all of these sound as if they could be inserted into a 70s album.  By this time, one was used to the 'gentler' vocals.  There's nothing 'heavy' or prog included, so there can be a 'sameness' type of feel, but it is yet another well composed and performed effort. 

'The Habenero Reel' jumps out simply because it's a tad more upbeat and different. 

[Orbert]

The Very Best of Jethro Tull (2001)



Living in the Past (Anderson, Terry Ellis; Non-album single, later from the album of the same name) 3:39
Aqualung (Anderson, Jennie Anderson; from Aqualung) 6:35
Sweet Dream (Non-album single, later from Living in the Past) 4:02
The Whistler (from Songs from the Wood) 3:28
Bungle in the Jungle (from War Child) 3:35
The Witch's Promise (Non-album single, later from Living in the Past) 3:49
Locomotive Breath (from Aqualung) 4:24
Steel Monkey (from Crest of a Knave) 3:36
Thick as a Brick (Edit #1) (edit of the first 3 minutes of the song; from the album of the same name) 3:00
Bourée (Anderson, Johann Sebastian Bach; instrumental; from Stand Up) 3:44
Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die (single edit; from the album of the same name) 3:54
Life Is a Long Song (from the EP of the same name; later from Living in the Past) 3:16
Songs from the Wood (from the album of the same name) 4:51
A New Day Yesterday (from Stand Up) 4:08
Heavy Horses (edit; from the album of the same name) 3:19
Broadsword (from The Broadsword and the Beast) 4:59
Roots to Branches (the CD pressings had mistaken the name of the song as "Root to Branches"; from the album of the same name) 5:11
A Song for Jeffrey (from This Was) 3:17
Minstrel in the Gallery (single edit; Anderson, Martin Barre; from the album of the same name) 3:49
Cheerio (from The Broadsword and the Beast) 1:10

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Another compilation.  Apparently the big draw here is that Ian Anderson selected the tracks himself, and approved the new edits necessary to fit 20 songs onto a single CD.  The cover is kinda cool.

[Orbert]

Jethro Tull toured in 2001, performing songs from throughout their history as well as some songs from Ian Anderson solo albums.  In 2002, a double CD and a DVD, both titled Living with the Past, were released.

Living with the Past (2002)



Intro 0:22
My Sunday Feeling 4:00
Roots to Branches 5:34
Jack in the Green 2:40
The Habanero Reel 4:03
Sweet Dream 4:54
In the Grip of Stronger Stuff (Instrumental) 2:57
Aqualung 8:20
Locomotive Breath 5:26
Living in the Past 3:27
Protect and Survive (Instrumental) 1:01
Nothing Is Easy 5:16
Wond'ring Aloud 1:54
Life Is a Long Song 3:32
A Christmas Song 3:05
Cheap Day Return 1:12
Mother Goose 1:57
Dot Com 4:28
Fat Man 5:06
Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You 4:13
Cheerio 1:36

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Disc One of the CD version of Living with the Past is live material from the Hammersmith Apollo show on November 20, 2001 (track listing above).  Disc Two is yet another compilation of earlier material.

The DVD is quite different from the CD.  It is not a concert video, but instead a retrospective look at the band, with includes historical footage and interview snippets as well as live footage.  The good news is that the live performances aren't broken up; they are included in their entirety.  It's just that you get interviews and stuff in between.  "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You" is from a one-off reunion concert from the original lineup (Mick Abrahams, Ian Anderson, Clive Bunker, Glenn Cornick).

I couldn't find a YouTube link to the album on CD, but I did find what appears to be the complete DVD posted in multiple parts.

Living with the Past, Part I
Living with the Past, Part II
Living with the Past, Part III
Living with the Past, Part IV
Living with the Past, Part V
Living with the Past, Part VI
Living with the Past, Part VII

I like the DVD.  You hear a lot from the other members of the band, and their impressions, instead of just Ian all the time.

[DragonAttack]

Thanks for putting all the youtube links together.  I skimmed through various points of a couple, and will certainly check them out at a later date.  Found the 'bar' performances quite enjoyable.  Also wanted to comment and ask your thoughts regarding the stage performances.  'Roots to Branches' was terrific, but that is Ian singing to later material that fit his current limited range.  'Aqualung' and other older material was a tough listen for me, though I knew full well in advance that it would be that way.

'The Very Best of'... yet another compilation. I had searched around for a couple of tracks months ago, specifically the shortened versions of 'Too Old...' and 'Heavy Horses'.  I liked and have used the 'Too Old...' version for my compilations since, as the album version's additional two minutes just kind of dragged for me, and it also meant I couldn't use it due to time restraints.   Meanwhile, as to 'Heavy Horses'.....that was somewhat of an 'ouch'.  No middle section, but suprisingly, no instrumental intro.  All the songs were remastered, and they did have the common sense to use the original 'Aqualung' and not that odd remix used for 'M.U.' and 'Original Masters'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBi1GJaZYlo (a more recent and better 'horse' visuals at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GnJFeKhMu4)

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Going back in time:  I'm will go back to the 'Aqualung' era and insert this into a post, as someone just uploaded this concert a month ago from the LA Forum in June of '71.  Good quality, very receptive audience, and concerts from this era of decent quality are hard to find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9g2se9nT7Q

Support: Fanny, Livingston Taylor (a week later Yes would open in Edmonton...their first North America concert....)
First verified appearence of 'Hard-Headed English General'.
My God (w. flute solo, incl. Bourée), With You There To Help Me/By Kind Permission Of..., Sossity: You're A Woman/Reasons For Waiting, Nothing Is Easy, To Cry You A Song, Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary (w. drum solo), Wind-Up/Guitar Solo, Locomotive Breath, Hard-Headed English General, Wind-Up (reprise)

[TAC]

There's tons of great live Jethro Tull on youtube. I'm not familiar enough to subject myself to an audio boot, but there's so many great videos from way back.

[DragonAttack]

This is the only show I've been able to find of that tour this year that is complete. 

(a Springsteen performance at Joe Louis Arena in '81....that I attended....was uploaded four years ago.  I was in heaven.  I downloaded and saved it, fortunately, as I was going to post the link a few months back in that thread.....but it is no longer available <sigh>)

[Orbert]

Also wanted to comment and ask your thoughts regarding the stage performances.  'Roots to Branches' was terrific, but that is Ian singing to later material that fit his current limited range.  'Aqualung' and other older material was a tough listen for me, though I knew full well in advance that it would be that way.

I love live music.  I love the energy, I love watching people doing what they were born to do and enjoying it, and I can appreciate everything that goes into it.  Maybe it's because I myself am a musician and love to perform live, but I'll watch and listen to just about anything performed live.  My wife and kids are totally baffled by this.  I will literally watch videos of bands and music I don't even like because I'm so captivated by the performance itself.

Ian Anderson is smart, and knows very well his weaknesses and strengths and how to craft a show to emphasize the strengths and downplay the weaknesses.  For as much whining as I've read about his voice in later shows, I've yet to see/hear anything that really turned me off.  Sure, I love hearing a great voice, but the quality of the voice is still not nearly as important to me as the performance itself.  Does it convey nuance and expression, emotion, feeling?  That's what counts.  And it took me a while to warm up to Ian's stage presence; his "character" of the travelling minstrel and his way of making it clear that the performance is exactly that, a performance, kept him at arm's length.  But now that I'm used to it and know what to expect, I thought it's all great.

TAC mentioned that there are a lot of great Jethro Tull videos on YouTube, and I've watched a bunch of them.  I'm blown away every time.  Ian doesn't sound like he used to.  Doesn't matter.  There's someone else up there singing most of the time now.  Doesn't matter.  Is it a good performance?  Does it grab me, do they sell it, is it worth watching?  If I were there, would I be totally digging it?  If yes, then what's the problem?  A good performance is a good performance.  That's all that matters.

[Stadler]

And let's not get too far afield:  it's not as if he was Freddie Mercury or Bruce Dickinson back in '72, either.  He always had a very English, very spoken-word sort of style to his voice.

[DragonAttack]

I was thinking of a couple of those artists after reading Orbert’s comments earlier today.  As well as  LaBrie, Paul Stanley, Geoff Tate, and, of all people, Alice Cooper.

I’ve listened to some/most/all of around a hundred Queen performances.  Freddie had many subpar to poor nights, often due to nodule problems or colds from so many North American tours in the winter.  And I’ll bet 99% of those attending those shows didn’t notice.  LaBrie…for seventeen years of being at DT concerts, I’ve noticed the occasional note or verse being off, and know him and each bandmate have had an occasional off moment or evening, but I’ve never left a show feeling anything other than admiration and elation.

Alice Cooper has somehow managed to stay ‘in the range’ all these decades later.  Not smoking sure helped, unlike Tate, Anderson, and Mercury (whose vocals did rebound once he quit for his last five years).  Looking way back, before ’84 or so when the initial problems occurred, I would have thought Ian would be somewhat ‘Cooperish’ in the 90s and later.  You know, kind of like an uncle (or a Walter Cronkite) whose voice seemed the same for decades, not as similar to Stanley on his last tour (how that man managed all those decades with all the screaming dialogues alone though is amazing). 

Hope that made sense. 

All the band and solo studio LPs from ‘Crest of A Knave’ were solid and enjoyable, the good to very good songs far outweighing the weak track or two, vocal limitations be damned.  He adapted, the songwriting adapted, and his flute playing, which I had always enjoyed, went way up once he learned how to play it 'correctly'.  Wish I could have been so good at doing something 'wrong'.

Only a handful of reviews for ‘Living With The Past’    https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=7169

[Stadler]

I know I'm a fan boy, but while I concede Paul is no longer what he was (remember, he's 68 though) but given the amount of touring Kiss has done over the years, his run of "good voice" from '73 through about 2013 is almost unprecedented.  That's 40 years.

I've seen Kiss more than any other band, and I can't name a show where he was in BAD voice (notwithstanding the 2014 tour, after his surgery). 

By the way, I'm with DragonAttack; I rarely listen to bootleg vids of shows I've gone to, because the vocals (actually, all the performance) are often very different than what I remember.  This isn't a legal negotiation, this isn't a life or death thing; I'm very fine with my flawed perception and my positive memories.   

[Orbert]

Listening to live bootleg recordings to me is very different from watching live videos.  In both cases, the audio and the performances themselves can be imperfect, but if I'm watching it, then there's the visual element as well.  It doesn't "distract" from the audio per se, but it often informs it.  Like if there's a spot where the vocals don't come in quite right; if you're watching, you see the guys running around, jamming off of each other, that kind of thing, then the singer runs up to the microphone and doesn't quite get there in time, but whatever, it's live.  If you're just listening to the audio, you don't know any of that; you just hear the singer come in late and out of breath.  Or if there's a funky bad spot in the guitar solo.  On the audio, you just hear some bad notes, but on the video you see a roadie on the stage trying to fix something and actually bump into the guitarist, and you can laugh at it.

As for watching/listening to video of a show you were actually at, I think the element of "being there" plays into it.  With concerts, the event can be as important as the show itself.  You're there with thousands of people, there's an atmosphere, there's the show, and if they don't get every note perfect, whatever.  But sitting in your living room, those bad notes stick out.  There's nothing to distract from them.  In that case, I would think that the "flawed perception and positive memories" are more important than the band getting every note perfect.

[DragonAttack]

For Orbert and TAC, ‘Something’s On The Move’, Long Beach ’79 (two nights before John Glascock died). 

Just uploaded four weeks ago.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u2qUfjFPOQ

On the ‘pirate ship’, Evans in his parka .  In spite of all the bows and 'thank you good nights' and walking off the stage, this was not the end of the concert proper or the encore, just the end of the thirty minute ‘Stormwatch’ beginning set.  After a long applause and intro by Anderson,  ‘Aqualung’ follows. (I’ll go back and edit an earlier ‘Stormwatch’ post with this and other songs from this concert)

It is videos like this that I can watch and really enjoy.  The camera angles don't change every five seconds, I get to see the stage often, other band members, and not just someone’s hands dancing on a keyboard or guitar while so much else is going on with the lights and other musicians.

[TAC]

Oh wow! That is glorious footage.

[Orbert]

Now that's what I'm talking about.

[Podaar]

Cool footage. I love that you can clearly hear Barre's signature tone, even in concert. Ian sounds great here.

[DragonAttack]

'Dun Rungill' and some comedy, and snow falling on stage in Long Beach '79 (uploaded in May)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY_W-Qesf30  and 'Aqualung'  uploaded last week!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11dOh5vde4 ('jethro tull long beach' search on youtube will bring up the other results).
*********
As to 'Living With The Past', I have had a chance now to check out more than a few minutes of each song, and other than 'Sweet Dream', Ian's voice was OK/good/quite good for the rest. Being able to listen to it loud for a change always helps.   The use of different footage from color to black and white and back was a bit distracting at times, but I understand the reasons for it, and was fine with it.  The performances were really spot on. 
 
The ending cuts between the youtube segments are a bit disappointing ('Aqualung' stopping thirty seconds before the end, then starting the next link)  but I got to watch it for free, the next link would start right off the bat with no commercials, so that's a minor quibble.  I'm saving the interviews for later, though I enjoyed the little bits of banter regarding Doane Perry's 'small bongos' and the 'squeezy (squeegie?) thing    

Being honest.....you know I absolutely loved the 70s material and just generally 'like' and 'appreciate' this era, but this introspective/retrospective offering is really damn good+.

[Orbert]

Yeah, I liked the interview stuff this time for some reason.  Usually, I just want to get back to the live concert footage, but it's so rare to hear from anyone other than Ian that I was really digging it.  I'm sure there's interview footage around from the other guys, but since I don't usually seek out such stuff, I rarely see it.  Since it was here, I checked it out, and found most of it pretty interesting.

[Orbert]

Rupi's Dance (2003)



Ian Anderson - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bamboo Flute, Accordion, Bass, Percussion
Ossi Schaller - Guitar
George Kopecsni - Guitar
Laszlo Bencker - Piano, Hammond B-3 Organ, Mellotron, Keyboards
John O'Hara - Accordion, Keyboard
Andrew Giddings - Keyboards, Bass
David Goodier - Stand-up Bass, Bass Guitar
Leslie Mandoki - Drums, Percussion
James Duncan - Drums
The Sturcz String Quartet

GUESTS:

Doane Perry - Drums on bonus track
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar on bonus track

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Calliandra Shade (The Cappuccino Song) 5:02
Rupi's Dance 3:00
Lost in Crowds 5:37
A Raft of Penguins 3:34
A Week of Moments 4:27
A Hand of Thumbs 4:02
Eurology 3:14
Old Black Cat 3:40
Photo Shop 3:20
Pigeon Flying over Berlin Zoo 4:18
Griminelli's Lament 2:56
Not Ralitsa Vassileva 4:45
Two Short Planks 4:00

BONUS TRACK

Birthday Card at Christmas 3:37

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Another Ian Anderson solo album.  Unlike his previous solo album The Secret Language of Birds, which was largely instrumentals, this one is mostly songs, although each song has instrumental sections, sometimes pretty well developed.  With occassional heavier sections, this one sounds almost like Jethro Tull in parts, but it's pretty definitely an Ian Anderson solo album.  This is what Ian was writing at the time.  With a host of additional musicians and an actual string quartet - often within the same song - this album has a nice variety in sounds and styles.

The "bonus track" is actually a preview for The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, which is why Martin Barre and Doane Perry are on it.  It's the opening track to what would be the final Jethro Tull album.

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Orbert Says:

Sometimes people ask things like "What is the difference between Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson solo, if he writes it all anyway?"  I suppose on the surface, they might sound similar, but hopefully by this point the differences are pretty obvious.  There is a certain sound which Ian considers the Jethro Tull sound.  This delineation got broken when [A] ended up being a Jethro Tull album and not a solo album as he'd originally intended, but with that knowledge, it actually makes the point more clear.  Even though [A] was mostly a band effort, it went in a different direction from previous Jethro Tull albums, and is why Ian thought it was more appropriate to call it a solo album.

In the 90's and 00's, the divide continued, with Ian Anderson still defining what he feels Jethro Tull should be, and basically he just wasn't feeling Jethro Tull any more.  He's said that he wants to continue to create music, but likes that he can actually do it under his own name, not someone else's, and without having to consider whether it fits any preconception.

I know this music isn't everyone's bag of tea, but I encourage everyone to at least check it out, because I think it's all great.

[DragonAttack]

Had never given this a thought before, but, due to your comments, ...well, it was quite good.  Very good, in fact.  There are zero complaints from me regarding Ian's vocals.  In fact, he is in fine voice here, and I enjoyed it more than 'Birds'.  Maybe it's because I needed something to mellow out to after the Ravens loss

I was finally able to listen to the first half of the Tull LA Forum '71 boot that I just came across last week.  So much 'free form' playing.  If there was one tiny little negative to this release, it is the absence of any 6-10 minute tunes.  A very small quibble.  There were more than a few songs that would easily have fit in on the 70s Tull releases as 'mood' or 'flow' changes, due somewhat to the use of the small 'orchestra'.  Took me back to what David Palmer added to those releases. 

The xmas song 'bonus' was obviously done as a sales pitch.  I found the listening experience better on my second go round by skipping over it. 

Very favorable reviews at    https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4296

[ErHaO]

Secret Language didn't do much for me, but Rupi's Dance is very good in my opinion. A nice surprise, especially because somehow it's ugly cover set expectations low  And I agree, the vocals are notably nice on this one. I like Lost in Crowds and Photo Shop in particular.

Haven't checked out Dot Com yet, will probably combine that with the next one.

[Orbert]

Less than a month after the release of Ian Anderson's solo album Rupi's Dance, Jethro Tull released what was to be their final album, though no one knew it at the time.

The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003)



Ian Anderson - Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Piccolo, Percussion
Martin Barre - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Andrew Giddings - Keyboards, Accordion
Jonathan Noyce - Bass Guitar
Doane Perry - Drums, Percussion

James Duncan - Additional Drums and Percussion
Dave Pegg - Additional Bass Guitar and Mandolin

The Sturcz String Quartet:
Gábor Csonka - 1st Violin
Péter Szilágyi - 2nd Violin
Gyula Benkő - Viola
András Sturcz - Cello (Leader)

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Birthday Card at Christmas (Ian Anderson) 3:37
Holly Herald (Instrumental medley arranged by Anderson) 4:16
A Christmas Song (Anderson) 2:47
Another Christmas Song (Anderson) 3:31
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Trad. instrumental arranged by Anderson) 4:35
Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow (Anderson) 3:37
Last Man at the Party (Anderson) 4:48
Weathercock (Anderson) 4:17
Pavane (Instrumental, Gabriel Fauré, arranged by Anderson) 4:19
First Snow on Brooklyn (Anderson) 4:57
Greensleeved (Trad. instrumental based on "Greensleeves". Arranged by Anderson) 2:39
Fire at Midnight (Anderson) 2:26
We Five Kings (Instrumental "We Three Kings", Rev. J. Hopkins, arranged by Anderson) 3:16
Ring Out Solstice Bells (Anderson) 4:04
Bourée (Instrumental J. S. Bach, arranged by Anderson) 4:25
A Winter Snowscape (Instrumental, Martin Barre) 4:57

Starting in 2009, a second CD with the live recording Christmas at St Bride's 2008 has been included.

Weathercock (Ian Anderson) 4:41
Introduction: Rev. George Pitcher / Choir: What Cheer (William Walton) 3:32
A Christmas Song (Anderson) 3:19
Living in These Hard Times (Anderson) 3:44
Choir: Silent Night (Traditional) 3:06
Reading: Ian Anderson, Marmion (Sir Walter Scott) 2:17
Jack in the Green (Anderson) 2:33
Another Christmas Song (Anderson) 3:56
Reading: Gavin Esler, God's Grandeur (Gerard Manley Hopkins) 1:50
Choir: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful (Traditional) 3:50
Reading: Mark Billingham, The Ballad of The Breadman (Charles Causley) 3:33
A Winter Snowscape (Martin Barre) 3:39
Reading: Andrew Lincoln, Christmas (Sir John Betjeman) 3:12
Fires at Midnight (Anderson) 3:38
We Five Kings (Instrumental "We Three Kings", Rev. J. Hopkins, arranged by Anderson) 3:19
Choir: Gaudete (Trad. arranged by Anderson) 3:39
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen / Thick as a Brick (Trad. arranged by Anderson / Anderson) 10:25

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First things first:  Yes, this is a genuine Jethro Tull album.  It rocks, it lays back, sometimes it jams, and sometimes it stays more inside the lines.  The arrangements are Tull.  And it's also a Christmas album.  Contemporary arrangements of traditional Christmas songs and other "seasonally appropriate" songs from the Jethro Tull repertoire.  No recycling, though; these are new versions of "A Christmas Song", "Another Christmas Song" and all the rest.  "Bourée" has gone through many changes over the years -- it's different in every live Tull recording I've heard -- and it's different again here.  And the addition of the live second CD makes this a very nice set indeed.

I have to admit that I sometimes have a hard time with contemporary Christmas albums.  I'm old, and old-fashioned.  Like many of us, I have fond, hazy memories of Christmases past and the wonderful music that comes with the season.  A lot of times, hearing the traditional songs updated and rocked out just sounds "wrong" to my ears, even as I admire the musicianship and the clever, imaginative arrangements.  When I arrange Christmas music for the various ensembles at my church, I come up with (IMO) some pretty clever stuff, but the overall "feel" is always close to what people are familiar with.  That's at least partly because it's what my audience is expecting; the rest of it is because I don't have the imagination that Ian Anderson does.  Taking "We Three Kings", playing it in 5/8, and calling it "We Five Kings" would never occur to me, yet here it is.  It's brilliantly arranged and executed, and I'm still not sure how much I like it.  Rocking or jazzed-up versions of traditional songs are hit-or-miss for me.

But I also know that most people don't have the prejudice against such things that I do.  A lot of people I know absolutely love hearing rocked-up versions of traditional Christmas songs.  Sometimes I do as well; I'm not going to name-drop yet because I don't want to distract too much from the album at hand, but some of my favorite Christmas music is material released in the past 20 or 30 years.

Two things I'll praise unequivocably are the arrangements and the performances.  This is great stuff.  And it's also Jethro Tull.  So I suppose if you're going to go out with a bang, this is one way to do it.  This album was the biggest seller for Jethro Tull since 1987's Crest of a Knave.

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Ian says:

"When the record company suggested we do a Christmas album, my immediate reaction was no, but I started to wonder if there was a way to do something not altogether cheesy and trivial. So I came up with some variations on Christmas carols, looking at the 'other side' of Christmas. Some Tull material was re-recorded as I already had a few pieces in the repertoire that touched on the spirit of winter. Birthday Card At Christmas is special for me as my daughter’s birthday is on December 22 and it tends to be glossed over in the days before Christmas."

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

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Orbert says:

When I read that, I immediately sympathized.  One of my best friends from the old neighborhood was born on Christmas Day, which means that every year, friends and many family members take the "shortcut" of getting him one present for both Christmas and his birthday.  And it's no one's fault, but something that most people take for granted, celebrating a birthday as your special day, is completely overshadowed by something else, every year.  What a rip-off!  For that reason, I always make it a point to wish him a Happy Birthday on Christmas every year.

[TAC]

I'm planning on getting to this over the weekend.

I know I've been zoning out on the Ian solo stuff, but I do at least want to stay on track with the Tull Proper albums.

[Orbert]

It's worth it.  Plus, this is the last proper album, so you kinda have to.

[TAC]

The Return Of The Weathercock

[jammindude]

Surprised he didn’t recycle Ring Out, Solstice Bells for this one. Based on his description, it seems like the perfect blend for the theme.

[Orbert]

I'd forgotten about that one!  It would definitely fit right in.

[Evermind]

I love this album. It's always in my rotation during Christmas / New Year time. Another Christmas Song and First Snow on Brooklyn are fantastic.

[Stadler]

I have to admit that I sometimes have a hard time with contemporary Christmas albums.  I'm old, and old-fashioned.  Like many of us, I have fond, hazy memories of Christmases past and the wonderful music that comes with the season.  A lot of times, hearing the traditional songs updated and rocked out just sounds "wrong" to my ears, even as I admire the musicianship and the clever, imaginative arrangements.  When I arrange Christmas music for the various ensembles at my church, I come up with (IMO) some pretty clever stuff, but the overall "feel" is always close to what people are familiar with.  That's at least partly because it's what my audience is expecting; the rest of it is because I don't have the imagination that Ian Anderson does.  Taking "We Three Kings", playing it in 5/8, and calling it "We Five Kings" would never occur to me, yet here it is.  It's brilliantly arranged and executed, and I'm still not sure how much I like it.  Rocking or jazzed-up versions of traditional songs are hit-or-miss for me.

But I also know that most people don't have the prejudice against such things that I do.  A lot of people I know absolutely love hearing rocked-up versions of traditional Christmas songs.  Sometimes I do as well; I'm not going to name-drop yet because I don't want to distract too much from the album at hand, but some of my favorite Christmas music is material released in the past 20 or 30 years.

I have some relatively current Christmas songs I like, but generally they are newer songs and not covers of traditional stuff.  I'm sort of with you on this.  I like the IDEA of, say, Gary Hoey doing surf/metal covers of Christmas tunes, but they never seem to satisfy in the listening.   Yet I could listen to Elvis' Christmas Album all day long.   

[Orbert]

It would be nearly a decade before any new studio work was released by Ian Anderson, and it wasn't immediately known whether Jethro Tull was on hiatus again, or actually disbanded.  There was no announcement, and Ian himself did not make it clear until asked several years later.  In the meantime, a number of live releases came out, which can be seen as either cash grabs or some long-vaulted live material finally being released.  I suppose it depends on how big of a Jethro Tull fan you were.

Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (2004)



Ian Anderson - Acoustic Guitar, Flute, Vocals
Martin Barre - Guitars
Clive Bunker - Drums
Glenn Cornick - Bass
John Evan - Keyboards

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My Sunday Feeling 5:22
My God 7:33
With You There to Help Me 10:00
To Cry You a Song 5:42
Bourée 4:36
Dharma for One 10:10
Nothing Is Easy 5:38
We Used to Know / For a Thousand Mothers 10:37

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The famous Isle of Wight gig, from the very early days of Jethro Tull.  Martin Barre had joined the band by this time, and John Evan appears on keyboards even though he had not yet officially joined the band.

Live albums were different back then.  You could have extended jams and solos and other things you can't do today because there's no way to click-track them and synchronize them to your expensive amazing impressive sound and light show.  This early version of "My God" contains an extended flute solo, "With You There to Help Me" has the piano solo, "Dharma for One" incorporates the drum solo, and Martin Barre's guitar solo bridges the two songs which make up the final track.

Sound quality isn't bad, and it's definitely a "warts and all" recording, giving a nice peek into the early live Jethro Tull.  A DVD version with the same title but slightly different track listing was released a few months later, in early 2005.

[Stadler]

Live albums were different back then.  You could have extended jams and solos and other things you can't do today because there's no way to click-track them and synchronize them to your expensive amazing impressive sound and light show.  This early version of "My God" contains an extended flute solo, "With You There to Help Me" has the piano solo, "Dharma for One" incorporates the drum solo, and Martin Barre's guitar solo bridges the two songs which make up the final track.

Word up on that one.  I was watching a couple DVDs of old - early 70's footage - of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, and they just strolled on stage, with the house lights up, took up their instruments and started to play.  No fanfare, no curtain drop, whatever, and the music just flowed.  If Page or Blackmore wanted to vamp for ten minutes during Whole Lotta Love/Space Truckin' (and they usually did) then they vamped.   I kind of miss that. 

[Orbert]

At the other end of the timeline thus far, we have the live recording of Aqualung (the album) from 2004 and released in 2005.

Aqualung Live (2005)



Ian Anderson - Flute, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Martin Barre - Electric Guitar
Andrew Giddings - Keyboards
Jonathan Noyce - Bass
Doane Perry - Drums, Percussion

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Aqualung 7:56
Cross-Eyed Mary 4:34
Cheap Day Return 1:21
Mother Goose 5:39
Wond'ring Aloud 2:00
Up to Me 3:35
My God 8:27
Hymn 43 4:22
Slipstream 0:59
Locomotive Breath 5:19
Wind-Up 6:40
Riffs – Another Monkey 1:27
Recording the Original 2:05
Choosing My Words with Care 1:17
Hummmmmm 43 0:35
A Different Kettle of Very Different Fish 1:02
But is It Any Good? 1:42

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This is an intimate recording before an audience of 40 people at XM Studios in Washington, D.C.  Royalties from the European release went to various charities benefitting the homeless.  It was given away to ticket holders at almost all U.S. concerts in October and November 2005 (presumably because arranging having the proceeds go to charity proved too much of a hassle).  It was eventually released in the U.S. in March 2006.

[Orbert]

In 2004, Ian Anderson embarked on a series of concerts with the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt called "Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull".  The performance on December 8, 2004 was recorded and released on both CD and DVD in 2005.  The concert tour with Ian, the orchestra, and conductor John O'Hara continued throughout Europe and the U.S. from 2004 to 2006.

Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull (2005)



Ian Anderson - Flute, Bamboo Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
James Duncan - Drums, Percussion
David Goodier - Bass Guitar, Glockenspiel
John O'Hara - Keyboards, Accordion
Florian Opahle - Acoustic and Electric Guitar

Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt

Soloists:

Kathrin Troester - Flute
Sibylle Wähnert - Bassoon
Astrid Cienia - Oboe

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Eurology 3:30
Calliandra Shade (The Cappuccino Song) 5:42
Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day 4:03
Up the Pool 3:22
We Five Kings 3:32
Life Is a Long Song 3:34
In the Grip of Stronger Stuff 3:02
Wond'ring Aloud 2:11
Griminelli's Lament 3:10
Cheap Day Return 1:27
Mother Goose 5:46
Bourée 5:17
Boris Dancing 3:31
Living in the Past 4:48
Pavane 4:37
Aqualung 10:24
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 4:58
My God 8:52
Budapest 14:04
Locomotive Breath 6:42

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By 2004, you could feel Ian Anderson looking for ways to expand beyond Jethro Tull, yet somehow still embrace the name recognition which came with it.  This was one of the results.  Tull fans of course knew that there was no Jethro Tull without him, but more casual audiences didn't necessarily know the name Ian Anderson.  So you have this rather unwieldy name for a concert series, CD, and DVD.  Note that the track listing actually starts off not with a Jethro Tull song, but an Ian Anderson solo track, one of several in the set list.  In addition to the orchestra, which doesn't actually join until Track 6, Ian is accompanied by a small band, essentially a substitute "Jethro Tull Lite" (guitar, keys, bass, drums).  So Ian was fine with the orchestrations, but still felt the need to have a band as well.

The link above is to the DVD, ripped into individual tracks.  The audio quality is fine, but I hope that the DVD has better video quality than this, and that the YouTube version is the result of poor video compression.

[DragonAttack]

Will edit and add some content to this post later....curr

In the meantime, being somewhat of a numbers geek, I'll touch on the record charts briefly for the recent album listings.  'The Very Best of Jethro Tull' actually went Gold in the UK (only the third one on the Isles....six others went Silver per Wiki).  This was their first certification there since 'Rock Island'. 

'Living With The Past' went Gold in the States and Canada.  Thirteen of the first sixteen official releases went Gold in the States, and this was the first since 'Crest of A Knave'. 

I'm only familiar with the original one 'Christmas' disc, which has been an annual December for the past decade.  I do prefer the original 'A Christmas Song' and 'Ring Out Solstice Bells' (and 'Weathercock'  )  but these revisions fit in and work.  'Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow', from the 'Broadsword' sessions, was my favorite of that 'album' (though it was not released until the 20th anniversary box set.  Without the 80s percussion mix, it is even better.  This LP is a  truly enjoyable listen.

'Nothing Is Easy':  finally heard it this year.  Damnit.....a shame it wasn't available decades ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Wight_Festival_1970

The night that Tull performed: Kris Kristofferson, Free, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen,  Donovan, The Moody Blues, Hendrix, Richie Havens, and others....

(time to go back and listen to a VH boot)

[Orbert]

I have to admit that I sometimes have a hard time with contemporary Christmas albums.  I'm old, and old-fashioned.  Like many of us, I have fond, hazy memories of Christmases past and the wonderful music that comes with the season.  A lot of times, hearing the traditional songs updated and rocked out just sounds "wrong" to my ears, even as I admire the musicianship and the clever, imaginative arrangements.  When I arrange Christmas music for the various ensembles at my church, I come up with (IMO) some pretty clever stuff, but the overall "feel" is always close to what people are familiar with.  That's at least partly because it's what my audience is expecting; the rest of it is because I don't have the imagination that Ian Anderson does.  Taking "We Three Kings", playing it in 5/8, and calling it "We Five Kings" would never occur to me, yet here it is.  It's brilliantly arranged and executed, and I'm still not sure how much I like it.  Rocking or jazzed-up versions of traditional songs are hit-or-miss for me.

But I also know that most people don't have the prejudice against such things that I do.  A lot of people I know absolutely love hearing rocked-up versions of traditional Christmas songs.  Sometimes I do as well; I'm not going to name-drop yet because I don't want to distract too much from the album at hand, but some of my favorite Christmas music is material released in the past 20 or 30 years.

I have some relatively current Christmas songs I like, but generally they are newer songs and not covers of traditional stuff.  I'm sort of with you on this.  I like the IDEA of, say, Gary Hoey doing surf/metal covers of Christmas tunes, but they never seem to satisfy in the listening.   Yet I could listen to Elvis' Christmas Album all day long.   

I like Elvis' Christmas Album because he's basically singing the songs "straight".  Not rocking them up, not trying to do anything fancy with them, just singing them with feeling and that glorious voice.  That approach always has a better chance with me.

Some of the less traditional yet mostly awesome music of recent years is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  Pretty obvious, yeah I know.  Most people know "Sarajevo" (the one based on "Carol of the Bells") and some of the others.  We went ahead and bought all the albums, and most of it's really good.  "Carol of the Bells", despite being a capella, has a certain intensity to it that somehow translates well to a heavy metal treatment.  I think that's why it works for me.  The "feel" is the same even if the setting is not, and they didn't mess with the timing or the melody.

I also like Brian Setzer's rockabilly/big band Christmas stuff.  He brings something new and different to it, but also respects the source material.