Way back in the mists of time during the late Sixties and early Seventies there were many a long haired bedraggled rock band that strode the patchouli scented stages of the world. Audiences of young men in flares and tie-dye vests (it was principally young men) would get very excited by convoluted time signatures, weird lyrics, and five hour long guitar solos (I should know, I was one of them).
One of the more individual of these bands was Jethro Tull, led by the hugely bearded and extremely animated Ian Anderson, who not only played the flute, but did it standing on one leg (we were easily impressed in those days ). Combine this with concept albums, a song about tramps and then throw cheap drugs and Watneys Red Barrel into the equation and you had a lethal combination of blues-prog that really took off. The Tull were huge back in the day, they were big in Europe but massive in the States.
Anderson has since disbanded the original band, and for tonight’s show he has injected new blood into the line up, he has a new album to promote, and you are going to have to listen to it in its entirety, you want the hits? Sorry son you’re going to have to wait until after the interval.
The new album ‘Homo Erraticus’ you won’t be surprised to hear is a concept album…it ambitiously (or foolishly, YOU decide!) attempts to document significant historical events of these Isles over the last 6,000 years. It’s preposterously silly but typically grandiose and the show is unorthodox to say the least and at times it is more like musical theatre, with role playing, the use of many visually intriguing backdrops combined with exaggerated onstage mannerisms.
It is quite heavy going at times, the music is complex and with much lyrical whimsy, taking in such diverse iconic reference points as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, holiday camps, invasions by Romans, Saxons and Vikings, the flooding of Doggerland, the British Empire and Queen Victoria, it is all very entertaining but a little short on memorable tunes. Although ‘The Turnpike Inn’ and ‘The Browning of the Green’ were both contenders for best new song of the night.
Memorable tunes spotted in abundance after the interval when its time to revisit the past and most appropriately they kick off with the beautiful ‘Living in the Past’ from 1969, swiftly followed by ‘Sweet Dream’ and a tremendous version of ‘Teacher’. An hour goes by all too quickly as the band faithfully recreate ‘Too old to rock n roll’, eagerly received ‘Songs from the wood’ and of course they finish with two of their most popular numbers, the riff happy ‘Aqualung’ and equally boisterous ‘Locomotive breath’.
Plenty of creative fire left in his belly even after all these years, Anderson remains an intelligent, thoughtful rogue, treasure him, ‘Homo Cleverclogginess’ personified.
Words by John Haylock, pictures by Arthur Hughes
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