I'm glad you mention the dynamics -- we get mesmerized by Ian's movements on stage, but the way he manipulates vocal dynamics really pairs with his body movements in a special way -- he is dancing physically as well as vocally. The rest of the band is generally less expressive but John Evan on keyboards with his 'ice cream' suit is a blast to watch!
Beth love your sessions! Have to tell you a story about Jethro Tull gig i went to at Bham Town Hall. ( by the way supporting act Tir na Nog were outstanding) all the roadies when setting up for JT and final adjustments wore brown type lab coats and cloth caps. Without any announcement Ian and the band shuffled on in identical gear, hung up coats and hats on coat stands and started to play without any fuss! Took us completely by surprise!! At end of gig put on costs and caps and shuffled off - brilliantly typical of this band!
One curiosity: by this time Anderson was probably smoking two packs a day, he was a chain smoker. Incredible that he had so much strength with the flute. The sad thing: only six years after this video, his original voice was all but gone. He struggled, and his voice got worse and worse, until it kind of disappeared about ten years ago. And his voice was indeed amazing, absolutely beautiful. Ian Anderson is a complete genius, if he could still sing JT could still be going strong today.
I think what is ignored in all Jethro Tull's performances is the sheer MASTERY of the band as a whole! Complicated rhythms and changing beats and abrupt changes that, for some, might seems impossible. The musicianship of the group as a whole is wonderfully complicated and yet seems effortless. Tull, as a group is just great. Tull, headed by Ian is a force of nature that takes you by the throat and shakes you like a dog with a stuffed toy chewed ragged and shapeless, but still a favorite, treasured object of affection. I discovered Jethro Tull after what seemed like a lifetime of Rock and Roll and their differences jolted me out of an almost boredom with music as a whole. Their double live album is a masterwork I've listened to dozens of times and it always leaves me shaken (not stirred) and alive again.
IN 93, I saw Tull, the Dead, and the Allman Bros in one weekend, freezing cold wet temperatures in my VW van. It was in Albany New York! Peace from Canada!!!
That being said, what is the world coming to when the likes of Sheryl Crow are inducted into the Rap and Roll HOF but Jethro Tull is ignored year after year.
I had the pleasure of watching Jethro. Tell twelve times. But only in five of the seven decades they played. Never a bad show. Phenomenal musicians. Incredible show to watch too. Sounds good. Younger generations are getting to appreciate how incredible these Musicians were. In 2014 I took my sixteen year old daughter to see them. She was blown away by the show. And the music.
Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s were blessed with some of the best musicians you can imagine. The progressive bands pushed envelopes against pop. Even The Beatles pushed it with Sgt Pepper and the following albums. The ability to have music that was not just 3:35 in length freed up bands to explore the possibilities of all the new technologies of the time. Bands like Procol Harum, ELR, Yes, Jethro Tull, Rush, Deep Purple, and performers like Jimi, Janis, Grace Slick and Jim Morrison. They were amazing times.
One of my favourite bands of all time. I love Jethro Tull and especially, Ian Anderson. As a vocalist, I have done numerous covers of their songs over the years and have never lost my admiration and respect for the class and style he brings to a performance. Definitely one of the very best vocalists in the rock genre along with other greats like Ian Gillan and Robert Plant, especially as he is so different in style to the others. He brings a definite folk sound to rock which is so distinctly Ian Anderson. Thanks for a great reaction Beth.
While you seem to prefer live versions, I think Ian’s best vocal performance is Baker St. Muse, and you must listen to the studio version. I highly recommend it.
Yes, Ian would get tired during the concerts (notice all the sweat). I had a seat once that was to the side of the stage and slightly behind, and at a point in the show when Martin was soloing, Ian would be behind the screen sitting down for a break. Which he certainly deserved. (Great fun to see you getting into the music.)
Love that you get Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. Your analysis is pretty damn good. So happy to see you're excited responses to the clip. My favourite band since 1972. Thank you pretty young lady.
There's so much I love about his singing tecnique (not to mention his flute playing) but a pet peeve of mine is dare I say a majority of singers fail to finish words properly if they end in a hard consonant. He digs in and nails it. My personal bias, but that grabs me and makes me sit up.
If you see flute players reacting to his technique, they tend to note that his unorthodox playing style also includes using his vocals to create some of the sounds.
Something else I wanna mention: these musical reactionposts always leads to remembering and sometimes search for the same kind of music as in the clip. Jethro Tull did me think of the flute and in first Focus, a song you already arote about. The next step for me was a renewed listening to one of the most intiguing groups in the Netherlands: FLAIRCK. And now I already listening for two days to all sort of clips of them. I wanna thank you for that! 🙂
I saw Jethro Tull twice at Madison Square Garden in the late ‘70s- early ‘80s. I was in junior high school and was struck by all the “old people” there. They were probably in their early 30s. Forty years later, I’m still a massive fan. How many musicians and bands stand the test of time?
I saw them live in the 70s a few times. Ian Anderson could hop around on one leg like that for a full 45 minutes and I am not lying. He is the master, and if I wanted to learn flute I would learn from him; all others pale and he is the only master.
My freshman year of college, I bought this cassette (what's a cassette?) At the bookstore for $4 and it never left my cassette player for a year. I still have it, even though I have the CD. Even though I got a D in my music theory class, I can play the glockenspiel parts.
Eccentric, Humm, I would call it, anachronistic, Yes that fits. To my mined Ian Anderson fits all we know of the Bards of Old, he personifies that lone traveling thespian of old, singing and dancing, telling of stories and acting out parts for his audience. Always Light and funny. Yes, I would call him the last true Bard.
So glad you got to see this video; your other Tull reaction was a bold choice for a first time. Now it's time to move on to some studio recordings. I'm partial to the mid-/late-70's starting with Songs from the Wood. I also like the live album, Bursting Out, from the same period. I think someone else noted Ian's voice isn't what it used to be (that's being kind). So, while he's a fantastic musician, be forewarned that what you saw here is not what you'd see now (what do you expect after 50 yrs.?).
On the subject of Scottish singers, have you heard the 80s hit The Speed Of The Beat Of My Heart by Horse (a.k.a. Sheena McDonald)? The vocal performance is like a double choc sundae. Silky smooth yet rich and powerful.
If you want to hear a really cool voice listen to Roger Chapman who sang with a group called Family but a song that really gives his voice is called Shadow on the Wall by Mike Oldfield
You should listen by your own the entire Thick as a Brick album. The track they played in this video is an extract from that LP which is covered entirely with one single 43 minutes song.
I always worry about flute abuse. For your own pleasure, you might want to listen through the whole album and find the text of the "St. Cleve Chronicle".
Great reaction, Beth! Love Jethro Tull. And I know that many reactors need to get some income from their channels. I get that. But the annoyance factor of a commercial coming in at 3 times the volume is pretty high.
Beth, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you listen to the "Thick As A Brick" studio album; the live version is just a "little taste" of this classic....
@@Cybercygni I have two CD editions, the cassette AND the original newspaper (1972) with all the pages. I can't understand why they don't reissue that format. It's an UNIQUE album from the cover to the music.
You mentioned that he was wearing a Scottish hat and he was born in Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles (5 km) from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. NOt sure how close that is to you.
I had this newspaper album - every article was matched to another article somewhere in the paper (For Sale: 6 stuffed emperor penguins/Wanted: emperor penguins, stuffed). The premise is that 'Thick as a Brick' is a poem written by a boy LoL. And the front page pic is him and his gf (she's a pregnant older teen) - subversive and sly, witty and the arrangements are tight as heck! Wonderful man. The wordplay and mastery of the music is supreme. It's a whole album of goodness.
Jethro Tull has been playing concerts for a very long time. When I was in high school I took a high school girl on a date to a Jethro Tull concert in 1977. My brother bought the Thick as a Brick Newspaper album in about 1973. 1970s Jethro Tull and 1970s Monty Python had a a lot of overlapping fans. Jethro Tull iis serious music but Jethro Tull was also sort of a silly character joke parody of themselves band. Jethro Tull silliness and Monty Python Silliness are sort of from the same genre of humor. I am guessing that Jethro Tull and Monte Python are are about the same age of young men. Did Jethro Tull influence Monty python or did Monty Python influence Jethro Tull? I went to the movie theater and watched Monty Python and the holy Grail in about 1977 also,.
I'm an old retired woman who works p/t as a cashier for a job I hate. When I'm bored, I'll do the Ian Anderson flamingo thing with my legs. The sales kids look at me like I'm crazy! (I don't care. They already think I am!)
Jethro Tull is one of a kind, I think. They've never been at the top of my musical universe, but always a band I'm glad to hear. A reaction request: Something that I don't think anyone's reacted to before, but that has a 1.1K to 8 ratio of likes to dislikes, and deservedly so! It's an acapella group singing sea shanties and folk, called "Kimber's Men", and the song is "Bamfield's John Vanden": th-cam.com/video/mslmtjVvmDo/w-d-xo.html It's well worth reacting to! ☺
The fact is, if only there were people with great training, such as woman like she, had come out of the woodworking and did this similar cretiqueking of great talents from our baby boomer generation, it would have blown the top hat of many generations before. Back then, at conservative music halls would have packed the place with our great talents of our genre. Instead they packed them with aristocratic nonsense. "Sure these were roughyians from the wrong side of town." These musicians from our times changed the world, I personally never felt more safe. Life was free. It came around ,but once, never be repeated. Now days, most musicians don't even play instruments. All these electronics, ruined music forever ! I personally have nearly 2 hundred vinyls and two turntable and still listen to many of these band. There are currently, a few bands now trying to carry our touch into the future, and l am very proud of that. These were children of our blooming past, who had played our music to the millennial that got stuck in their brains, and I say, I love all you children of the corn, we have taught our children well, and these exceptional kids are carry the torch of true freedom of expression. And to the producers of this music of our past, hail to you, and I hope you that the producers have left majority of the money you made for these talented musians than what you actually took home. Shame on you ! Some Musicians, Neil Young, realized this all should stop and began to have their own labels and kept all of the their wealth in music, and that's, what's called from the mountains, Freedom at last, here at last ,freedom for all, at last. But of course many scoundrel, "producers," continues to this day and practice what was wrong from the past, many just won't learn from their mistakes. Dumb F!!cking jerks !!!
Funny that you mention: "If I would hear it in another language I still would understand it" ... I'm having the same thing with female Tjech-singers like Iva Bittova And yep; there's a Monty Python influence there ... the organ-player showed it very well
It's really sad how he has almost completely lost his voice. I saw him a lot back in the 70's, they were fabulous. I know this isn't a review of the guitar but let's give Martin Barre his due.
He's definitely British, but not English. I have come to a conclusion that for many, but not all English, that their motto is "That'll do." Which in many cases is a compromise instead of a sigh of relief. 🤣 Plus when you play online with a Scottsman into the wee hours of the morning, whoose had at least a six pack of Strong Bow hard ciders, you learn alot. 🤣
seen them a couple of times on opposite sides of the world, the first a treat as we had middle of front row seats and still can visualise Anderson's scary eyes seemingly staring straight into mine, great gig. The second less so as they rose to be the loudest concert i have ever seen, uncomfortably so which ruined the gig. Great band tho
So insightful, Beth. You touched on many aspects of Ian's multifaceted prowess as a performer - the breath control, the self-projection, the dynamics, the lyricism, the theatricality, the sheer virtuosity of his playing and not least, the incredible energy and athleticism - no high-tech laser light shows necessary when Ian Anderson strides to the mike. His moves remind me of a trained ballet dancer. More than one classical flautist/reactor has been gobsmacked by his technique. Not bad for someone with a fairly limited vocal range. And Jethro Tull, exemplary musicians all, stay right with him all the way. Thanks for covering this masterpiece of prog. rock
You ask if Jethro Tull was influenced by Monty Python. Yes, and vice versa. Tull was one several bands to help fund the film “Monty Python And The Holy Grail”!
@BroadSword - George Harrison set up the film company Handmade Films and 3 million pounds, to set the base budget for the Holy Grail. When asked why, he just replied "Because I want to go see the movie". The film was completed on a budget of 4 million dollars US.
@@klevesmith Handmade Films was set up in 1978 to fund Monty Python’s Life Of Brian, not Holy Grail (1975). Ian Anderson was upset that he did not get invited to invest again and has said he felt that George Harrison muscled in on the deal.
It's worth noting that the original plan for what would become "A Passion Play" and "War Child" was to make a musical, and John Cleese was on board as a "humor consultant."
Thick As A Brick is still my all time favorite album. It just shows what a musician can do when they aren't worried about radio play (or Spotify today, I suppose). Poetry, experimentation, and great musicianship.
Fun fact: in an interview Ian explains why he stands on one leg. In early shows he simply would have to use the restroom and would cross his legs to hold it. And it became what he was known for so he kept it. Also, he chose flute because he heard Eric Clapton and realized he wouldn’t be that good and the flute was different and what he could afford so he got it and the rest is history
I saw an interview with IA(I think it's on the Isle of Wight 1970 DVD) where he said he started standing on one leg while playing harmonica, while he held on to the mic stand for balance. But with the flute he couldn't hold the mic stand and play the flute at the same time, so he had to learn to balance without using the mic stand. A legend was born...😁
Really do you have that interview about the standing?And was that not a joke?, i always thought is was just moving with the music, as a singer sometimes it feels good to put up yer leg :)
I was entering high school when this album came out, actually saw them do it live in 72.... A lot of years have past by, a lot of bands have come and gone... Looking back I can appreciate just how great Anderson was, and still is.. How is Anderson and Tull not in the Hall of Fame? There never was and is anyone like him. When you consider everything he did, plus the song writing, he might've been the greatest front man in rock history. And I don't choose those words lightly.
I would certainly agree that he is the greatest frontman in Rock history. Anyone can jump around the stage in a constant 4/4, but Ian is gyrating with every nuance of Tull's music with all it's changes. Then there's his voiice articulating every lyric ,which are gems in themselves, and Rockin a flute that blows away even the most classically trained of flautists. The combination of what he does on stage would leave any other frontman gasping..
I agree 100 percent, same age generation as u, I saw Tull 2 or 3 times in Paris, he even grew as a musician I think, he sort of acted learned the flute a second time around, when I saw him in Concert those twice, I thought he was the best musician I ve ever seen, 76 Rick concerts under my belt, Anderson's the most genius guy
So annoying! Sure we clicked on to hear an opinion, but pausing every 15 seconds with a question or supposition which will either be answered or irrelevant does not make for a very good channel.
Hell, the whole band was the most highly underrated band of the era… some of the most successful bands of the era were in awe of Anderson’s ability to write coherent and highly meaningful lyrics. And, as you noted, his singing and stage craft are equally unmatched. Thanks for the reaction to one of the best bands out there.
It'd be equally shameful how Ian Anderson gets overlooked as a master of fingerstyle guitar -- but at least many folks know his name from his singing & fluting, while only the most saddest, most elderly guitar geeks bother to remember the extraordinary Mr Barre..
I saw JT Tull in Edinburgh 2 years ago (first time since the 80s). He has little range left and relies mainly on showmanship (and flute playing) now. Another band member actually sang Aqualung. I would be very interested to see what you have to say about the techniques he’s using to compensate. I lost my voice for a couple of months after anesthesia and now my vocal chords don’t meet completely and my vocal control, range and force has diminished, so I’d be interested in how much can be compensated with technique.
I would too, but the techniques and insights into the vocal issues themselves. It started when he strained it on the 1984 tour, although was still pretty good through the ‘90s. After that it has really gone downhill. His speaking voice hasn’t been affected nearly as much.
Unfortunately his singing voice has suffered from a few operations so it sounds like he runs out of breath now. But he's still amazing. And I always loved those cataclysmic A/A# chords.
His COPD probably plays a big part in that breathlessness too. It's really quite sad, because he really tries to force himself to hit the notes and the timing suffers from his inability to get where he needs to go musically.
I was hoping to see this pointed out. Beth, if you go see Tull or Ian these days do not expect him to sound anything like what he sounds like in these old videos. Different people's voices age differently, and this particular one has fared badly. Something happened in the late 80s that cause a rather sudden change in style and approach, and he's declined steadily since then. Also, he's had circulation problems in his legs since the 90s, so don't expect him to be a jumping like a sprite anymore either
Yea his copd makes it hard for him, I saw a prefomance a few years ago where he had a younger male singer with him and he handled the high notes and it worked pritty well, it’s impressive that he can still play flute so well all things considered with his illness, it’s an awful disease lost my mum to it. It’s really hard to do alot when it gets past a certain level
@@matthewbrookeart The COPD wasn’t really the problem. He’s had COPD since his twenties and kept it hidden. What did it for his voice was when he overstrained his voice towards the end of the Under Wraps tour in ‘85 and injured his vocal chords. He took a year off under doctors orders and when he returned his voice was noticeably different and he lost much of his vocal range. Over the years it has got progressively worse to the point that when I saw Tull live fir their 40th anniversary he got the lead singer from a Tull tribute band to sing some songs, and when I saw them in October last year he was virtually inaudible. But he still plays really well and still writes fantastic lyrics.
Ian Anderson picked up a lot of his flute playing from jazz virtuoso Rahsaan Roland Kirk, including singing thought he flute. So much so that Tull covered one of Kirk's songs on their first album.
Jethro Tull were one of the greatest progressive rock bands. They put together an incredible series of albums. Thick as a Brick was one of their best, a continuous rock symphony. Ian Anderson was one of the great rock geniuses.
I've heard it said that the intriguing thing about Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson is that they viewed Prog Rock as taking itself too seriously. So, they kept bringing to it a ton of joy, exuberance, fun, winks, nods. Thick as a Brick is supposed to be a bit of a parody (but not really parody) of overly serious concept albums. This 'song' runs for the entire album and is nearly 45 minutes long. Yes, the lyrics are amazing, but also completely bonkers! This version didn't include the 'Biggles' verses, for instance. The young men building castles are arguably the other oh-so-serious Prog Rock bands.
📖 Get your signed copy of my album Fable here: www.bethroars.com/shop ☀ Pre-save my first single "Power Of The Wolf" 🐺 on Spotify (it really helps me out!): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bethroars/power-of-the-wolf 🥁 Become a Patreon Supporter: www.patreon.com/bethroars
I saw them in about 1973, yes I'm that old. His best story telling was during the Passion Play tour The Hare Who Lost His Specticles. Such a fantastic show.Locomotive Breathe may have changed me a little bit, as a human being.
I’ve followed Jethro Tull since 1972, I fell in love with Ian Anderson listening to Thick as Brick. He had so much energy but had so much breath left to play the flute! As a former singer I can really appreciate that. There’s no one like him. It’s so devastating that his vocal cords are damaged, and he has severe asthma plus other throat problems I’ve heard.
This takes me right back to the late sixties/early seventies. Imagine us first being introduced to this rather madman (in such a good way,) and his/their folk/jazz/rock sound that had never been done before. I've had the pleasure and honor of seeing Tull (and Ian,) twice in later years, and he's still pretty-much the character and as dramatic as he was fifty-some years ago! We were in the balcony of the Chicago Theatre, and we were all stomping to "Locomotive Breath" to the point that I wasn't sure the balcony was going to hold up, but it was a night. If you can get those tickets, I don't think you'll be disappointed!!! 😊👍
I absolutely adore this band. My favorite period of them is the 1969-1971 era band. Basically the Stand Up/Benefit/Aqualung albums. Ian's voice was super strong, and the band was firing on all cylinders. If anyone wants to hear a prime early Jethro Tull live bootleg, listen to the Live at Carnegie Hall 1970 concert. It's simply amazing. 👌
Thanks for your review. You really picked up many nuances others miss. I saw them 6 times from 1977 to 1985 and then again in 2015. I see some have given a few of the fun facts but here are a few more. You noticed he sings with his accent. He has shored his disdain for people changing their voice to get rid of their accent. Feels it's not genuine. Also, this was supposed to be a parody of a concept album. So many people accused Aqualung of being a concept album that he said OK, you want a concept album here is a concept album. You caught the silly lyrics right away. However, they are such incredible musicians many people missed it was a parody. Also, despite being accused of doing lots of drugs he in fact never did. He was truly afraid he would enjoy it too much and it would keep him from his music. His best flute IMO is on Locomotive Breath and No Lullaby, the later is very underrated. Also, check him out of Songs Form the Wood's. I think you will like the different texture to his signing on that album. Big rabbit hole to go down. But well worth the trip.
Ian is brilliance! He is the quintessential Scottish Bard:) My Gramma was a Fraser, and when she would tell a story, it was the same with wording, the drama, the wild eyes even, lol. I have been a Tull fan since about 7 years old, have seen them about 5 times. Ian and the band were amazing!
Not only was Ian an enthusiastic compatriot of the Monty Python era and their cultural impact, he was one of the notable artists who helped finance the movie 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
I'm glad you mention the dynamics -- we get mesmerized by Ian's movements on stage, but the way he manipulates vocal dynamics really pairs with his body movements in a special way -- he is dancing physically as well as vocally. The rest of the band is generally less expressive but John Evan on keyboards with his 'ice cream' suit is a blast to watch!
Beth love your sessions! Have to tell you a story about Jethro Tull gig i went to at Bham Town Hall. ( by the way supporting act Tir na Nog were outstanding) all the roadies when setting up for JT and final adjustments wore brown type lab coats and cloth caps. Without any announcement Ian and the band shuffled on in identical gear, hung up coats and hats on coat stands and started to play without any fuss! Took us completely by surprise!! At end of gig put on costs and caps and shuffled off - brilliantly typical of this band!
One curiosity: by this time Anderson was probably smoking two packs a day, he was a chain smoker. Incredible that he had so much strength with the flute. The sad thing: only six years after this video, his original voice was all but gone. He struggled, and his voice got worse and worse, until it kind of disappeared about ten years ago. And his voice was indeed amazing, absolutely beautiful. Ian Anderson is a complete genius, if he could still sing JT could still be going strong today.
That's True, you are 100% right, my heart bleeds for 40 Years, Voice is lost and died ❤
Greetings from Berlin.
I love, love, love when your eyes and smile really say more than anything.
I think what is ignored in all Jethro Tull's performances is the sheer MASTERY of the band as a whole! Complicated rhythms and changing beats and abrupt changes that, for some, might seems impossible. The musicianship of the group as a whole is wonderfully complicated and yet seems effortless. Tull, as a group is just great. Tull, headed by Ian is a force of nature that takes you by the throat and shakes you like a dog with a stuffed toy chewed ragged and shapeless, but still a favorite, treasured object of affection. I discovered Jethro Tull after what seemed like a lifetime of Rock and Roll and their differences jolted me out of an almost boredom with music as a whole. Their double live album is a masterwork I've listened to dozens of times and it always leaves me shaken (not stirred) and alive again.
Bigoted anti Scot’s loon who has no understanding of music
IN 93, I saw Tull, the Dead, and the Allman Bros in one weekend, freezing cold wet temperatures in my VW van. It was in Albany New York! Peace from Canada!!!
That being said, what is the world coming to when the likes of Sheryl Crow are inducted into the Rap and Roll HOF but Jethro Tull is ignored year after year.
Rightly said.
You're so right!!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I had the pleasure of watching Jethro. Tell twelve times. But only in five of the seven decades they played.
Never a bad show.
Phenomenal musicians.
Incredible show to watch too.
Sounds good. Younger generations are getting to appreciate how incredible these Musicians were.
In 2014 I took my sixteen year old daughter to see them. She was blown away by the show. And the music.
Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s were blessed with some of the best musicians you can imagine. The progressive bands pushed envelopes against pop. Even The Beatles pushed it with Sgt Pepper and the following albums. The ability to have music that was not just 3:35 in length freed up bands to explore the possibilities of all the new technologies of the time. Bands like Procol Harum, ELR, Yes, Jethro Tull, Rush, Deep Purple, and performers like Jimi, Janis, Grace Slick and Jim Morrison. They were amazing times.
you forgotten much more Bands, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and many moore.
One of my favourite bands of all time. I love Jethro Tull and especially, Ian Anderson. As a vocalist, I have done numerous covers of their songs over the years and have never lost my admiration and respect for the class and style he brings to a performance. Definitely one of the very best vocalists in the rock genre along with other greats like Ian Gillan and Robert Plant, especially as he is so different in style to the others. He brings a definite folk sound to rock which is so distinctly Ian Anderson. Thanks for a great reaction Beth.
Ian is a genius and Jethro Tull was a best band ever 👍good reaction. Ciao from Italy 😊
when you smile, the sun comes up.....love it...
One of my favorite bands back in the seventies and I still love them.
Ian Anderson is a MASTER of his art.
I don't know if I've ever seen anyone have more fun performing than Ian does.
I have this album on vinyl..original Master Recording un-opened.
It's just a plastic disk until you play it. Release the magic.
I was at this show at Madison Square Garden.
It was broadcast live in 70 countries.
While you seem to prefer live versions, I think Ian’s best vocal performance is Baker St. Muse, and you must listen to the studio version. I highly recommend it.
Agreed, although I don't think there's a live version. :)
Baker St. Muse, take 1. (music) Shit, shit, shit. Take 2.
Yes.. Agreed.. Also the whole lyrics is on another level..
@@BKPrice ...bam! bam!.....I can't get out!!!"😜
I❤️ Scotland, although I'm an American 🇺🇸. Beautiful.
Yes, Ian would get tired during the concerts (notice all the sweat). I had a seat once that was to the side of the stage and slightly behind, and at a point in the show when Martin was soloing, Ian would be behind the screen sitting down for a break. Which he certainly deserved. (Great fun to see you getting into the music.)
A great album. 1 song, 2 sides :). It's all about a son who wants to be a painter but chooses to be a soldier like his father. I love this album
Love that you get Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. Your analysis is pretty damn good. So happy to see you're excited responses to the clip. My favourite band since 1972. Thank you pretty young lady.
There's so much I love about his singing tecnique (not to mention his flute playing) but a pet peeve of mine is dare I say a majority of singers fail to finish words properly if they end in a hard consonant. He digs in and nails it. My personal bias, but that grabs me and makes me sit up.
Totally agree! 👍
If you see flute players reacting to his technique, they tend to note that his unorthodox playing style also includes using his vocals to create some of the sounds.
Love your analysis and commentary. Glad you picked Thick.
Jethro Tull was a sight to see live!! These days I think it’s just Ian Anderson and friends, but still not to be missed!!
when Ian grabs the flute the game changes
Another reactor I watch, Helene; calls it "flutter Tongue", but it's basically a trill. She is a classically trained flutist.
Great live show it takes a lot of practice to get that sound thank you.Hello from Australia Beth “ROAR”
Something else I wanna mention: these musical reactionposts always leads to remembering and sometimes search for the same kind of music as in the clip. Jethro Tull did me think of the flute and in first Focus, a song you already arote about. The next step for me was a renewed listening to one of the most intiguing groups in the Netherlands: FLAIRCK. And now I already listening for two days to all sort of clips of them. I wanna thank you for that! 🙂
Ian Anderson, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were investors for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
I saw Jethro Tull twice at Madison Square Garden in the late ‘70s- early ‘80s. I was in junior high school and was struck by all the “old people” there. They were probably in their early 30s. Forty years later, I’m still a massive fan. How many musicians and bands stand the test of time?
Posture means shit!!! I played youth symphony until I was 18. Cello, My "POSTURE" was not like others but I could and can, still carry my shit!!!
I saw them live in the 70s a few times. Ian Anderson could hop around on one leg like that for a full 45 minutes and I am not lying. He is the master, and if I wanted to learn flute I would learn from him; all others pale and he is the only master.
My freshman year of college, I bought this cassette (what's a cassette?) At the bookstore for $4 and it never left my cassette player for a year. I still have it, even though I have the CD. Even though I got a D in my music theory class, I can play the glockenspiel parts.
Awesome!! Long live Tull! Love to hear that other giant of Prog - named Anderson - Jon Anderson of Yes.
Jethro best album..... for me
If you get an opportunity do go and see Ian and the band. They provide a great show.
Eccentric, Humm, I would call it, anachronistic, Yes that fits. To my mined Ian Anderson fits all we know of the Bards of Old, he personifies that lone traveling thespian of old, singing and dancing, telling of stories and acting out parts for his audience. Always Light and funny. Yes, I would call him the last true Bard.
So glad you got to see this video; your other Tull reaction was a bold choice for a first time. Now it's time to move on to some studio recordings. I'm partial to the mid-/late-70's starting with Songs from the Wood. I also like the live album, Bursting Out, from the same period.
I think someone else noted Ian's voice isn't what it used to be (that's being kind). So, while he's a fantastic musician, be forewarned that what you saw here is not what you'd see now (what do you expect after 50 yrs.?).
On the subject of Scottish singers, have you heard the 80s hit The Speed Of The Beat Of My Heart by Horse (a.k.a. Sheena McDonald)? The vocal performance is like a double choc sundae. Silky smooth yet rich and powerful.
Brilliant comment - Monty Python - Jethro Tull. - I think you nailed it! Never would have thought of that!
If you want to hear a really cool voice listen to Roger Chapman who sang with a group called Family but a song that really gives his voice is called Shadow on the Wall by Mike Oldfield
You should listen by your own the entire Thick as a Brick album. The track they played in this video is an extract from that LP which is covered entirely with one single 43 minutes song.
Its called Thick as a Brick, the title of the video is wrong. Amazing album though!
I always worry about flute abuse.
For your own pleasure, you might want to listen through the whole album and find the text of the "St. Cleve Chronicle".
Great reaction, Beth! Love Jethro Tull. And I know that many reactors need to get some income from their channels. I get that. But the annoyance factor of a commercial coming in at 3 times the volume is pretty high.
Ian is the epitome of a prodigy
One of the best lyricists ever
Beth, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you listen to the "Thick As A Brick" studio album; the live version is just a "little taste" of this classic....
This album in particular was most definitely influenced by Monty Python.
Fact.👆
Read al text on the cover and you have a good laugh. 🙂
@@Cybercygni I have two CD editions, the cassette AND the original newspaper (1972) with all the pages. I can't understand why they don't reissue that format. It's an UNIQUE album from the cover to the music.
I love your accent.
You mentioned that he was wearing a Scottish hat and he was born in Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles (5 km) from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. NOt sure how close that is to you.
This was the first CD I bought with my own money when I was 10 or 11. I made some questionable choices in my life, but that was a GREAT one:)
Martin Barr is a fantastic guitarist
I had this newspaper album - every article was matched to another article somewhere in the paper (For Sale: 6 stuffed emperor penguins/Wanted: emperor penguins, stuffed). The premise is that 'Thick as a Brick' is a poem written by a boy LoL. And the front page pic is him and his gf (she's a pregnant older teen) - subversive and sly, witty and the arrangements are tight as heck! Wonderful man. The wordplay and mastery of the music is supreme. It's a whole album of goodness.
did you get to go see jethro tull's concert. remember the video you reacted to wasfrom the 70s
Jethro Tull has been playing concerts for a very long time. When I was in high school I took a high school girl on a date to a Jethro Tull concert in 1977.
My brother bought the Thick as a Brick Newspaper album in about 1973.
1970s Jethro Tull and 1970s Monty Python had a a lot of overlapping fans. Jethro Tull iis serious music but Jethro Tull was also sort of a silly character joke parody of themselves band.
Jethro Tull silliness and Monty Python Silliness are sort of from the same genre of humor.
I am guessing that Jethro Tull and Monte Python are are about the same age of young men.
Did Jethro Tull influence Monty python or did Monty Python influence Jethro Tull?
I went to the movie theater and watched Monty Python and the holy Grail in about 1977 also,.
I would love to see you react to Jay Buchanan from Rival Sons. Imo he is THE perfect singer for a rockband. The band overall is simply amazing!
I second that! :)
I'm an old retired woman who works p/t as a cashier for a job I hate. When I'm bored, I'll do the Ian Anderson flamingo thing with my legs. The sales kids look at me like I'm crazy! (I don't care. They already think I am!)
Jethro Tull is one of a kind, I think. They've never been at the top of my musical universe, but always a band I'm glad to hear.
A reaction request: Something that I don't think anyone's reacted to before, but that has a 1.1K to 8 ratio of likes to dislikes, and deservedly so! It's an acapella group singing sea shanties and folk, called "Kimber's Men", and the song is "Bamfield's John Vanden": th-cam.com/video/mslmtjVvmDo/w-d-xo.html
It's well worth reacting to! ☺
It would be nice to hear an analysis of Darma For One a masterful power blast?
The fact is, if only there were people with great training, such as woman like she, had come out of the woodworking and did this similar cretiqueking of great talents from our baby boomer generation, it would have blown the top hat of many generations before. Back then, at conservative music halls would have packed the place with our great talents of our genre. Instead they packed them with aristocratic nonsense. "Sure these were roughyians from the wrong side of town." These musicians from our times changed the world, I personally never felt more safe. Life was free. It came around ,but once, never be repeated. Now days, most musicians don't even play instruments. All these electronics, ruined music forever ! I personally have nearly 2 hundred vinyls and two turntable and still listen to many of these band. There are currently, a few bands now trying to carry our touch into the future, and l am very proud of that. These were children of our blooming past, who had played our music to the millennial that got stuck in their brains, and I say, I love all you children of the corn, we have taught our children well, and these exceptional kids are carry the torch of true freedom of expression. And to the producers of this music of our past, hail to you, and I hope you that the producers have left majority of the money you made for these talented musians than what you actually took home. Shame on you ! Some Musicians, Neil Young, realized this all should stop and began to have their own labels and kept all of the their wealth in music, and that's, what's called from the mountains, Freedom at last, here at last ,freedom for all, at last. But of course many scoundrel, "producers," continues to this day and practice what was wrong from the past, many just won't learn from their mistakes. Dumb F!!cking jerks !!!
Funny that you mention: "If I would hear it in another language I still would understand it" ... I'm having the same thing with female Tjech-singers like Iva Bittova
And yep; there's a Monty Python influence there ... the organ-player showed it very well
It would be great to see you react to Songs From the W99d, if you haven't.
Please react to Christina Perri Jar of Hearts (10th anniversary acoustic) Thank you Beth.
The Bard
It's really sad how he has almost completely lost his voice. I saw him a lot back in the 70's, they were fabulous. I know this isn't a review of the guitar but let's give Martin Barre his due.
Alright dear, Jethro Tull.
I want to see a collaboration of Jethro Tull and Lindsey Stirling. I know it's not possible, though.
I think you've been captured by Jethro Tull, as I was in 1971
He's definitely British, but not English. I have come to a conclusion that for many, but not all English, that their motto is "That'll do." Which in many cases is a compromise instead of a sigh of relief. 🤣
Plus when you play online with a Scottsman into the wee hours of the morning, whoose had at least a six pack of Strong Bow hard ciders, you learn alot. 🤣
The look 18:33
did you get the tickets and see them?
seen them a couple of times on opposite sides of the world, the first a treat as we had middle of front row seats and still can visualise Anderson's scary eyes seemingly staring straight into mine, great gig. The second less so as they rose to be the loudest concert i have ever seen, uncomfortably so which ruined the gig. Great band tho
I would so much love you doing a reaction to "Turn lose the Mermaids" by Nightwish... :-)
So insightful, Beth. You touched on many aspects of Ian's multifaceted prowess as a performer - the breath control, the self-projection, the dynamics, the lyricism, the theatricality, the sheer virtuosity of his playing and not least, the incredible energy and athleticism - no high-tech laser light shows necessary when Ian Anderson strides to the mike. His moves remind me of a trained ballet dancer. More than one classical flautist/reactor has been gobsmacked by his technique. Not bad for someone with a fairly limited vocal range. And Jethro Tull, exemplary musicians all, stay right with him all the way. Thanks for covering this masterpiece of prog. rock
Some of Ian’s best vocals are from the album’s Passion Play, War Child, and Minstrel in the Gallery, so check them out-you’ll be amazed
You ask if Jethro Tull was influenced by Monty Python. Yes, and vice versa. Tull was one several bands to help fund the film “Monty Python And The Holy Grail”!
And I believe they've also referred to themselves as Pythonesque, at least once or twice.
@BroadSword - George Harrison set up the film company Handmade Films and 3 million pounds, to set the base budget for the Holy Grail. When asked why, he just replied "Because I want to go see the movie". The film was completed on a budget of 4 million dollars US.
@@klevesmith Handmade Films was set up in 1978 to fund Monty Python’s Life Of Brian, not Holy Grail (1975).
Ian Anderson was upset that he did not get invited to invest again and has said he felt that George Harrison muscled in on the deal.
Ian has stated that the "Thick As A Brick" newspaper cover with all it's humorous articles was influenced by Monty Python.
It's worth noting that the original plan for what would become "A Passion Play" and "War Child" was to make a musical, and John Cleese was on board as a "humor consultant."
Thick As A Brick is still my all time favorite album. It just shows what a musician can do when they aren't worried about radio play (or Spotify today, I suppose). Poetry, experimentation, and great musicianship.
Same - from the fake newspaper story on the record sleeve to the evolving story in both sides of the album itself if's an amazing piece of work.
People thought Aqualung was a 'concept' album. So Ian replied with the mother of all concept albums. 😆
It was a #1 album!!
Those were the days....😢
You have to listen to whole 45 minute album complete Ian's lyrics are what really drew me and Martin is a highly underated guitarist
Martin was never underatead . He just scared the fuck out of em because he made it so easy.
He just used a HiWatt 100w tube amp and a high boost overdrive pedal nothing else and got all those great sounds.
Ian Anderson - best performing showman in all of rock.
Fun fact: in an interview Ian explains why he stands on one leg. In early shows he simply would have to use the restroom and would cross his legs to hold it. And it became what he was known for so he kept it. Also, he chose flute because he heard Eric Clapton and realized he wouldn’t be that good and the flute was different and what he could afford so he got it and the rest is history
I saw an interview with IA(I think it's on the Isle of Wight 1970 DVD) where he said he started standing on one leg while playing harmonica, while he held on to the mic stand for balance. But with the flute he couldn't hold the mic stand and play the flute at the same time, so he had to learn to balance without using the mic stand. A legend was born...😁
Really do you have that interview about the standing?And was that not a joke?, i always thought is was just moving with the music, as a singer sometimes it feels good to put up yer leg :)
I would not believe everything that Ian Anderson said.
@@vanlepthien6768 if ya can not believe him the world is lost....
@@Aethyrs He is not beyond pulling a leg or two.
I was entering high school when this album came out, actually saw them do it live in 72.... A lot of years have past by, a lot of bands have come and gone... Looking back I can appreciate just how great Anderson was, and still is.. How is Anderson and Tull not in the Hall of Fame? There never was and is anyone like him. When you consider everything he did, plus the song writing, he might've been the greatest front man in rock history. And I don't choose those words lightly.
I would certainly agree that he is the greatest frontman in Rock history. Anyone can jump around the stage in a constant 4/4, but Ian is gyrating with every nuance of Tull's music with all it's changes. Then there's his voiice articulating every lyric ,which are gems in themselves, and Rockin a flute that blows away even the most classically trained of flautists. The combination of what he does on stage would leave any other frontman gasping..
I agree 100 percent, same age generation as u, I saw Tull 2 or 3 times in Paris, he even grew as a musician I think, he sort of acted learned the flute a second time around, when I saw him in Concert those twice, I thought he was the best musician I ve ever seen, 76 Rick concerts under my belt, Anderson's the most genius guy
@genestippell1833 I totally agree with you! Unfortunately the Hall of Fame has becoming nothing but a political popularity contest!
Also saw him in 72 and he's never left my library since. Never get tired of Tull.
Nice job. Thanks for actually letting Ian sing without interrupting every 2 seconds like some others do.
So annoying! Sure we clicked on to hear an opinion, but pausing every 15 seconds with a question or supposition which will either be answered or irrelevant does not make for a very good channel.
Martin Barre is a HIGHLY underrated guitar player. He is one of my favorites. Played lots of Tull songs in bands in my youth.
His Aqualung solo is an inspiration!
Hell, the whole band was the most highly underrated band of the era… some of the most successful bands of the era were in awe of Anderson’s ability to write coherent and highly meaningful lyrics. And, as you noted, his singing and stage craft are equally unmatched. Thanks for the reaction to one of the best bands out there.
It'd be equally shameful how Ian Anderson gets overlooked as a master of fingerstyle guitar -- but at least many folks know his name from his singing & fluting, while only the most saddest, most elderly guitar geeks bother to remember the extraordinary Mr Barre..
Rainbow Blues is one of my all-time favorite songs. Beautiful guitar work!
@@VivaLaDnDLogsthat is an understatement for me. Best solo ever.
I saw JT Tull in Edinburgh 2 years ago (first time since the 80s). He has little range left and relies mainly on showmanship (and flute playing) now. Another band member actually sang Aqualung. I would be very interested to see what you have to say about the techniques he’s using to compensate.
I lost my voice for a couple of months after anesthesia and now my vocal chords don’t meet completely and my vocal control, range and force has diminished, so I’d be interested in how much can be compensated with technique.
I would too, but the techniques and insights into the vocal issues themselves. It started when he strained it on the 1984 tour, although was still pretty good through the ‘90s. After that it has really gone downhill. His speaking voice hasn’t been affected nearly as much.
Unfortunately his singing voice has suffered from a few operations so it sounds like he runs out of breath now. But he's still amazing. And I always loved those cataclysmic A/A# chords.
Saw em live in Cork two years ago and you're completely right, the band itself and the performance definitely makes up for it though.
His COPD probably plays a big part in that breathlessness too. It's really quite sad, because he really tries to force himself to hit the notes and the timing suffers from his inability to get where he needs to go musically.
I was hoping to see this pointed out. Beth, if you go see Tull or Ian these days do not expect him to sound anything like what he sounds like in these old videos. Different people's voices age differently, and this particular one has fared badly. Something happened in the late 80s that cause a rather sudden change in style and approach, and he's declined steadily since then.
Also, he's had circulation problems in his legs since the 90s, so don't expect him to be a jumping like a sprite anymore either
Yea his copd makes it hard for him, I saw a prefomance a few years ago where he had a younger male singer with him and he handled the high notes and it worked pritty well, it’s impressive that he can still play flute so well all things considered with his illness, it’s an awful disease lost my mum to it. It’s really hard to do alot when it gets past a certain level
@@matthewbrookeart The COPD wasn’t really the problem. He’s had COPD since his twenties and kept it hidden. What did it for his voice was when he overstrained his voice towards the end of the Under Wraps tour in ‘85 and injured his vocal chords. He took a year off under doctors orders and when he returned his voice was noticeably different and he lost much of his vocal range. Over the years it has got progressively worse to the point that when I saw Tull live fir their 40th anniversary he got the lead singer from a Tull tribute band to sing some songs, and when I saw them in October last year he was virtually inaudible. But he still plays really well and still writes fantastic lyrics.
Ian is the greatest all around rocker of all time! As a matter of fact, no one is even close!
One of the greatest musical geniuses, performers, and all-around troubadour! One of a kind!
Ian Anderson picked up a lot of his flute playing from jazz virtuoso Rahsaan Roland Kirk, including singing thought he flute. So much so that Tull covered one of Kirk's songs on their first album.
Yes, what u say is true, but, I believe Ian eventually became an even better player than Kirk!
Jethro Tull does an excellent live show, Ian is charming and he dances while playing the flute.
You could do that as well as he does if only you believed in yourself like we all believe in you!
Yes! Saw them on a double bill with ELP in 1993. 1973 would have been the ultimate double bill. Two bands at their peak.
Jethro Tull were one of the greatest progressive rock bands. They put together an incredible series of albums. Thick as a Brick was one of their best, a continuous rock symphony. Ian Anderson was one of the great rock geniuses.
I've heard it said that the intriguing thing about Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson is that they viewed Prog Rock as taking itself too seriously. So, they kept bringing to it a ton of joy, exuberance, fun, winks, nods. Thick as a Brick is supposed to be a bit of a parody (but not really parody) of overly serious concept albums. This 'song' runs for the entire album and is nearly 45 minutes long. Yes, the lyrics are amazing, but also completely bonkers! This version didn't include the 'Biggles' verses, for instance. The young men building castles are arguably the other oh-so-serious Prog Rock bands.
📖 Get your signed copy of my album Fable here: www.bethroars.com/shop
☀ Pre-save my first single "Power Of The Wolf" 🐺 on Spotify (it really helps me out!): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bethroars/power-of-the-wolf
🥁 Become a Patreon Supporter: www.patreon.com/bethroars
I saw them live about 12 years ago. It was awesome. Had to drive like 4 hours to Chicago. A bit to much flute tho
I saw them in about 1973, yes I'm that old. His best story telling was during the Passion Play tour The Hare Who Lost His Specticles. Such a fantastic show.Locomotive Breathe may have changed me a little bit, as a human being.
I’ve followed Jethro Tull since 1972, I fell in love with Ian Anderson listening to Thick as Brick. He had so much energy but had so much breath left to play the flute! As a former singer I can really appreciate that. There’s no one like him. It’s so devastating that his vocal cords are damaged, and he has severe asthma plus other throat problems I’ve heard.
It was Aqualung for me and of course Think as a Brick, Stand up and Living in the Past
Ian's flute playing was greatly influenced by Roland Kirk.
And Eric Dolphy.
This takes me right back to the late sixties/early seventies. Imagine us first being introduced to this rather madman (in such a good way,) and his/their folk/jazz/rock sound that had never been done before. I've had the pleasure and honor of seeing Tull (and Ian,) twice in later years, and he's still pretty-much the character and as dramatic as he was fifty-some years ago! We were in the balcony of the Chicago Theatre, and we were all stomping to "Locomotive Breath" to the point that I wasn't sure the balcony was going to hold up, but it was a night. If you can get those tickets, I don't think you'll be disappointed!!! 😊👍
I absolutely adore this band. My favorite period of them is the 1969-1971 era band. Basically the Stand Up/Benefit/Aqualung albums. Ian's voice was super strong, and the band was firing on all cylinders. If anyone wants to hear a prime early Jethro Tull live bootleg, listen to the Live at Carnegie Hall 1970 concert. It's simply amazing. 👌
I was lucky enough to see these guys twice. I was out of breath just watching Ian Anderson. He is amazing!
Thanks for your review. You really picked up many nuances others miss. I saw them 6 times from 1977 to 1985 and then again in 2015. I see some have given a few of the fun facts but here are a few more. You noticed he sings with his accent. He has shored his disdain for people changing their voice to get rid of their accent. Feels it's not genuine.
Also, this was supposed to be a parody of a concept album. So many people accused Aqualung of being a concept album that he said OK, you want a concept album here is a concept album. You caught the silly lyrics right away. However, they are such incredible musicians many people missed it was a parody. Also, despite being accused of doing lots of drugs he in fact never did. He was truly afraid he would enjoy it too much and it would keep him from his music.
His best flute IMO is on Locomotive Breath and No Lullaby, the later is very underrated. Also, check him out of Songs Form the Wood's. I think you will like the different texture to his signing on that album. Big rabbit hole to go down. But well worth the trip.
Ian is brilliance! He is the quintessential Scottish Bard:)
My Gramma was a Fraser, and when she would tell a story, it was the same with wording, the drama, the wild eyes even, lol.
I have been a Tull fan since about 7 years old, have seen them about 5 times. Ian and the band were amazing!
Not only was Ian an enthusiastic compatriot of the Monty Python era and their cultural impact, he was one of the notable artists who helped finance the movie 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
So did George Harrison. Musicians at that time Loved Monty Python!
Don’t forget Lee Zeppelin did as well!
I mention that on Led Zeppelin vids@@sandyaw3057
18:00 I believe he says he uses cheap student flutes on stage because of the abuse he puts them through