Jethro Tull

Their ubiquity on classic rock radio has diminished the impact of Jethro Tull's music, but their 1971 breakout still stands as a marvel. Singer/songwriter/flautist/bandleader Ian Anderson had settled on an oblique-yet-evocative voice, lead guitarist Martin Barre peeled off roaring licks and the overall mix of hard rock, acoustic folk and that pastoral flute mesmerized listeners on both sides of the pond. The opening title song is, of course, the band's most famous, but its worth it to sit with the entire album from start to finish to really absorb Anderson's intriguing lyrical themes.

Dating from at least the Electric Prunes' Mass In D Minor, rock and religion have evinced an
unlikely affinity for each other. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Peter
Townshend, John Lennon, George Harrison (and let us not forget the Reverend Richard
Penniman) have all at some point dedicated themselves and their music to God in his myriad
varieties. On the heels of Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar, Jethro Tull's Ian An... More >

Ian Anderson is like the town free thinker. As long as you're stuck in the same town yourself, his inchoate cultural interests and skeptical views on religion and human behavior are refreshing, but meet up with him in the city and he can turn out to be a real bore. Of course, he can also turn out to be Bob Dylan--it all depends on whether he rejected provincial values out of a thirst for more or out of a reflexive (maybe even somatic) negativism. And on whether he was pretentious only because he didn't know any better. (Grade - C+)