Album review: JETHRO TULL & IAN ANDERSON

JETHRO TULL – Living With The Past (CD&DVD Collector’s Edition Gatefold Digipac)

EarMUSIC/Edel [Release date 20.03.20]

Germany’s Edel/Ear Music continue their ambitious “Classics Range” with a double Jethro Tull whammy. These two boxsets add up to several hours of high quality audio and video. Fans of the band will already be convinced, and novices will find much to enjoy as the music unfolds.

The songs here were born in the seventies. These recordings capture them all grown up, being performed live, thirty years later, at the start of the new millenium.

The sweaty clamour and clang of live performance is not always easy for a producer (and indeed director, as much of the success of these reissues lies with the quality of the DVD/ video) to capture, but here, they succeed in merging past with present. It’s music with an indelible imprint, one that marches to the beat of its own drum.

The “Living With The Past” live CD package reaches across Europe. It includes material spanning Tull’s decades long career, recorded at gigs in the UK, France, The Netherlands and Switzerland. The DVD is not strictly a mirror image. Yes, it includes many of the same tracks, but it frequently plucks them from different gigs, different venues – occasionally from US tours – in order to ensure video/audio integrity.

Two live versions of songs from Ian Anderson’s late nineties’ solo albums are particular highlights.The spicy ‘Habanero Reel’ from the “Secret Language Of Birds”, and the rootsy, Celtic flavoured ‘In the Grip Of Stronger Stuff’ from “Twelve Dances With God”.

There are numerous value for money extras here, including several out takes and a secret bonus track. ****

IAN ANDERSON – Thick As A Brick Live In Iceland (2CD&DVD Collector’s Edition Gatefold Digipack)

EarMUSIC/Edel [Release date 20.03.20]

Many music insiders considered Tull’s 1972 parody concept album, “Thick As A Brick”, their fifth, to be the first ever “Progressive Rock” album. That accolade stayed with Anderson down through the years, and subsequently the recording’s enduring and widespread popularity inspired him to write and record “Thick As A Brick 2” in 2012, as a continuation of the original story.

That same year, Anderson took his band on the road to perform the complete “Thick As A Brick” saga. The touring version combined music, video and mime to bring the characters created by Anderson to life. This gig, recorded at The Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland in its entirety, spans 2 CDs and a DVD.

Fans will know that the original album was only two long tracks, each filling a side of a vinyl LP. The belated follow-up deploys the more conventional 3 to 4 minute multi track formula, depicting 5 different outcomes for the story’s original, now grown up protagonist.

Anderson trades vocal licks with new boy, Ryan O’Donnell to great effect, essentially promoting the the onstage spectacle as something of a rock’n'roll stage show, not simply as a band performing live. It’s a fine example of great music passing through the generations.

Bonus material includes an always interesting interview with Anderson, and a couple of tracks from the band’s Montreux gig that same year. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)