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Tell Me About Jethro Tull


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What do I need to know about Jethro Tull? I know a few things about them, but what song or album should I listen to to get a feel of what they are about?

Here is an overview of what I know about them:

1] Ian Anderson plays the flute and hops on one foot.

2] I have heard the song ?Aqualung? and am a tiny bit frightened of it.

3] The won the best hard rock/metal Grammy back in the late 80s and there was a big hoo-ha about them not deserving it.

I noticed that ATC has ordered a CD by them and my best friend recently told me that she is a closet Tull fanatic.

I feel like I should explore their music...I just need some direction. Help me, folks.

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I love Tull. I would never consider them a metal band..perhaps that's why the big to-do over the Grammy.

LOL...Aqualung, huh? Give a listen to the following if you can....Locomotive Breath, Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of A New Day), Bungle In The Jungle, The Third Hoorah, Too Old To Rock and Roll (But Too Young To Die) Living In The Past, Songs From The Wood, to name just a few.

I always liked Tull's Warchild album best of all, but that may place me in the minority.

Ian Anderson is a real showman...great to see live onstage. You'll like the orchestration in his music too.

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"Bouree" is one of my favorite instrumentals.

"Aqualung" is their best album...and the song "Aqualung" has one of the Top Ten guitar solos of all time.

"Cross Eyed-Mary" is an absolutely wicked tune.

Here's the rest of my favorites:

"Locomotive Breath" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"A New Day Yesterday" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Fat Man" :rockon: :rockon:

"Bungle In The Jungle" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Too Old To Rock N Roll" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Teacher" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Thick As A Brick" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: (the 42-minute version is a good song to fall asleep to)

"Wind Up" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Song For Jeffrey" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Hymn 43" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"War Child" :rockon: :rockon:

"Skating Away (On The Thin Ice...)" :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

"Paradise Steakhouse" :rockon: :rockon:

...and a few more that just don't come to mind right now.

Their music can be very long-winded and boring at times, but it's like oysters...you have to develop a taste for them over time.

I saw Ian Anderson solo a few years back, but I never got to see Jethro Tull in full form. I have several of their albums, and I would love to see them live....I just never got around to it yet. Maybe next year.

:afro: :afro: :afro: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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Sitting on a park bench --

eyeing little girls with bad intent.

Snot running down his nose --

greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.

Drying in the cold sun --

Watching as the frilly panties run.

Feeling like a dead duck --

spitting out pieces of his broken luck.

Yeah, it is a bit frightening.

One of the best bands ever IMHO. Martin Barre...top guitarist. Warchild damn good. Lots of good compilations available. Still touring. Living in the Past double album a classic.

Skating away....on the thin ice of a new day ay ay aaaay.

:coolio:

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I agree with Sammy, "Bourée" is very good... it also means "stoned" (with just one "e" if it´s a boy...) in French...

In my teens everybody loved JT. My brother, my friends, even teachers! I never payed much attention to them but my husband is a fan of JT so we have all of their cds. I´d ask him for his advice but he´s asleep...

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My kid sister is a big fan. My mum and dad took us to see them when I was 16, at an outdoor festival in Leeds. I remember they started well, but this festival was a 'real ale' job with allegedly the longest bar in the world. My last clear memory was the main man standing on one leg playing the flute to 'Living In The Past'. I think I tried to emulate the stance as I promptly fell over. I must have had a bad pint, as I woofed and gagged for the rest of the show, only rising occasionally to wipe my chin and see the backs of heads silouetted against the stage lights. They sounded good. Whenever I hear Jethro Tull nowadays I can still taste 'Old Chicken Fettler' or whatever it was made me sick!

Sorry TP, not much wisdom about the band.

Regards

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3] They won the best hard rock/metal Grammy back in the late 80s and there was a big hoo-ha about them not deserving it.

Ah yes, they won a grammy for a genre they didn't play in a year they didn't come out with a new album. Talk about a head scratcher.

Anyways, they are a great band. I first heard them in 8th grade. My dad had one of their CDs, and I had heard the song Aqualung, and though it was really good. The CD I didn't like as much, since it was too folksy for my liking. But my musical taste has expanded since them, and now I'm just getting into them again.

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Ian Anderson still tours both solo and with the rest of Jethro Tull. His last solo release was in 2003 with the album Rupi's Dance.

Other solo albums are 1983's Walk into the Light, 1995's Divinities: Twelve Dances with God, and my personal favorite 2000's The Secret Language of Birds.

There is a Jethro Tull Christmas album that came out in 2003. I've only heard bits and pieces but it's interesting to say the least.

But if you are looking for a mix of the best Tull I suggest 1985's Original Masters. It's basically a greatest hits complealtion.

Track List:

Living In The Past

Aqualung

Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young To Die

Locomotive Breath

Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day

Bungle In The Jungle

Sweet Dream

Songs From The Wood

Witch's Promise

Thick As A Brick

Minstrel In The Gallery

Life Is A Long Song

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Ah yes, they won a grammy for a genre they didn't play in a year they didn't come out with a new album. Talk about a head scratcher.

Anyways, they are a great band. I first heard them in 8th grade. My dad had one of their CDs, and I had heard the song Aqualung, and though it was really good. The CD I didn't like as much, since it was too folksy for my liking. But my musical taste has expanded since them, and now I'm just getting into them again.

What's even funnier is that they beat out Metallica for the award, even though Metallica performed that night and was labeled at that time as the quintescential metal band.

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What's even funnier is that they beat out Metallica for the award, even though Metallica performed that night and was labeled at that time as the quintescential metal band.

There was one of those VH1 specials on the other day (another one!) called 'The 40 Least Metal Moments' and at number six on the countdown is...you guessed it, Jethro Tull Wins First Ever Metal Grammy! :laughing: :laughing:

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting on a park bench --

eyeing little girls with bad intent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haha I always thought it was NINE little girls with bad intent. Those evil little girls...

Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ha....I can feel another thread coming on...what lyrics have you misheard for 30 years?....Nice image though...nine evil little girls as opposed to one nasty old tramp...completely changes the sense of the song. Good one :D

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Tull is definitely a unique band.

"Locomotive Breath" :coolio:

"Cross-Eyed Mary" :thumbsup:

"Aqualung" :thumbsup:

"Thick as a Brick" :thumbsup:

"Hymn 43" :thumbsup:

"Fat Man" :thumbsup:

"Teacher" :thumbsup:

"Skating Away" :thumbsup:

"Bungle in the Jungle" :thumbsdown:

Funny story about how they got their name. When they started out, they were such a terribly bad band that they had a hard time getting gigs; in fact, they would actually have to change their name each week just to get re-booked into the same clubs and pretend to be somebody different. Sometimes their agent would forget to tell them their name, so whenever they arrived at the club they'd have to look at the list of bands playing, and whichever one they haven't heard of before, that was their name. The time they got asked back at one of the clubs, they happened to be Jethro Tull that day, so the name stuck. They don't really even like the name that much since it's not original. It was somebody else's name.

BTW, if you think "Aqualung" is scary, get a good look at Ian Anderson's mug ::.

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Tull is definitely a unique band.

"Locomotive Breath" :coolio:

"Cross-Eyed Mary" :thumbsup:

"Aqualung" :thumbsup:

"Thick as a Brick" :thumbsup:

"Hymn 43" :thumbsup:

"Fat Man" :thumbsup:

"Teacher" :thumbsup:

"Skating Away" :thumbsup:

"Bungle in the Jungle" :thumbsdown:

Funny story about how they got their name. When they started out, they were such a terribly bad band that they had a hard time getting gigs; in fact, they would actually have to change their name each week just to get re-booked into the same clubs and pretend to be somebody different. Sometimes their agent would forget to tell them their name, so whenever they arrived at the club they'd have to look at the list of bands playing, and whichever one they haven't heard of before, that was their name. The time they got asked back at one of the clubs, they happened to be Jethro Tull that day, so the name stuck. They don't really even like the name that much since it's not original. It was somebody else's name.

BTW, if you think "Aqualung" is scary, get a good look at Ian Anderson's mug ::.

Jethro Tull is the name of the guy who invented the first seed drill back in the industrial revolution
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