Jethro Tull

[helwen]

Yesterday flidaisairmid posted a YouTube of Jethro Tull's Velvet Green, in honor of Beltane, coming up very soon :) Of course I've heard Velvet Green many times, but I'd never seen a performance. Turns out there are quite a few of Jethro Tull's songs online, so I've been enjoying watching some of them, last night and this morning. The group's first album was in 1968, and Ian Anderson at least is still performing. I don't know enough about the group to know if any of the other older members are still there. Over time he's definitely picked up some younger members, and performs both as the group Jethro Tull and as Ian Anderson with other people. A few things that haven't changed about Anderson - he's quite active as a player/singer on stage, and he still plays a killer flute.

Interesting thing is that, even having listened to his music for a few decades, it never really occurred to me to think of his music as particularly speaking out about climate change (although in the 70s the scientists thought that the result of what was happening would be more like a little ice age) or issues with technology, but Skating Away and Heavy Horses do indeed make references to these things (confirmed by his web site). I just thought it was all cool music, and that it was great that we shared similar sentiments about living life :)

This is a later, orchestral piece -- a modernized Pavane, so not typical JT, but fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgM2txqfKgs&mode=related&search=

And a later rendition of Living in the Past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Q13YAdBwQ&mode=related&search=

You can also check out earlier performances from the 70's, Skating Away and Heavy Horses, with a quick search on YouTube.

Comments

[flidaisairmid.livejournal.com]

You may be interested to know that the group released an album in 2005 for Christmas, and it is wonderful ! Ian Anderson has been very involved in different environmental causes in recent years. I only recently discovered that these videos wer on line, through of all things a homeschoolers blog, wondering why homeschool kids could not reform as well as Tull, and linked to a video of The Whistler. One of those delightfully surreal moments

Tull is so wonderfully deep and meaty with messages - and happily a whole new generation can discover them. I fell in love with them way back in the 70's as a teen , and wondered why many others didn't "get" them.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was thinking about picking up the Christmas album -- fitzw mentioned something about it when he was reading stuff from Ian Anderson's web site to me. The Pavane was amazing, which I think has pretty much decided me to get it. It's great that this music is still out there. I'll have to look for The Whistler next!

[freya46.livejournal.com]

That was wonderful! Thank you. My eldest, Northbard, introduced me to Tull and Chris de Burgh in the early 80's. Love them both. Both wonderful storytellers in different ways.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Welcome :) I didn't recognize Chris de B's name at first, so looked him -- I recognized a bunch of the songs :) Thanks!

Tull

[murdersmurf.livejournal.com]

I've been a Tull fan since I was a wee one.

Re: Tull

[helwen.livejournal.com]

It was a part of my early days in the SCA, for sure, and I finally got a CD or two in the past year. It's nice that some other folks still know the name -- last summer I was playing Songs from the Wood and one of our choir members came in and liked the music but had no idea who/what Jethro Tull was... sigh. Granted she's like 9 or 10 years younger than me, but it isn't like the music isn't around any more. Ah, well. Time to educate the next generation, eh?

Re: Tull

[murdersmurf.livejournal.com]

When I was just a little sprat, my aunts liked to listen to Tull, at 7 I thought that "Bungle in the Jungle" was the best.