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Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967-1968. Their music is characterized by the songs, vocals and flute work of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and guitarist Martin Barre.

Initially playing blues rock with an experimental flavour, they incorporated elements of classical, folk and 'ethnic' musics, jazz and art rock into their music. Below is a history lesson on the making of the band.

Band History

Origin: 1963-1968

Ian Anderson's first band, started in 1963 in Blackpool, were known as "The Blades". By 1966, they had developed into a seven-piece white soul band called the "John Evan Band" (later the John Evan Smash). The band moved to the London area in search of more bookings, basing themselves in nearby Luton. They also traveled to Liverpool. At first, the new band had trouble getting repeat bookings and they took to changing their name frequently to continue playing the London club circuit.

Band names were often supplied by their booking agents' staff, eventually christened them "Jethro Tull" after the 18th-century agriculturist. The name stuck because under that name it the first time a club manager liked their show enough to invite them to return. They were signed to the blossoming Ellis-Wright agency, and became the third band managed by the soon-to-be Chrysalis empire. Their first single, written by Abrahams, was called "Sunshine Day"; on the label the group's name was misspelled "Jethro Toe", making it a collector's item.

Developing Their Own Style: 1969-1971

Album Stand Up, written entirely by Anderson - it branched out further from the blues, clearly evidencing a new direction for the group, which would come to be categorized as progressive rock. It was during sessions for this album that the band recorded their best-known song, "Living in the Past", which was originally issued only as a single. The song reached number three in the UK chart, and though most other progressive groups actively resisted issuing singles at the time, Jethro Tull had further success with their other singles, "Sweet Dream" (1969) and "The Witch's Promise" (1970), and a five-track EP, Life Is a Long Song (1971), all of which made the top twenty.

Progressive Rock: 1972-1976

Around this time, the band's popularity with critics began to wane, but their popularity with the public remained strong. 1974's War Child, an album originally intended to be a companion piece for a film, reached number two on the Billboard charts and received some critical acclaim, and produced the radio mainstays "Bungle in the Jungle" and "Skating Away". It also included a song, "Only Solitaire", allegedly aimed at L.A. Times rock music critic Robert Hilburn, who was one of Anderson's harsher critics.

Folk Rock Trilogy: 1977-1979

The band closed the decade with a trio of folk rock albums, Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch. Songs from the Wood was the first Tull album to receive unanimously positive reviews since the release of Living in the Past. By this time Anderson had moved to a farm in the countryside, and his new bucolic lifestyle was clearly reflected on these albums, as in the title track of "Heavy Horses", a paean to draught horses.

Electronic Rock: 1980-1984

Under Wraps, a heavily electronic album with no "live" drummer was not well received, particularly in North America. However, the video for "Lap of Luxury" did manage to earn moderate rotation on the newly influential MTV music video channel. As a result of the throat problems Anderson developed singing the demanding Under Wraps material on tour, Jethro Tull took a three-year break, during which Anderson continued to oversee the salmon farm he had founded in 1978.

Hard Rock: 1987-1994

The band won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, beating the favourite Metallica and their "…And Justice for All album". The award was particularly controversial as many did not consider Jethro Tull hard rock, much less heavy metal. Under advisement from their manager, who told them they had no chance of winning, no one from the band attended the award ceremony. In response to the criticism they received over the award, the band took out an advertisement in a British music periodical with a picture of a flute lying amid a pile of iron re-bars and the line, "THE FLUTE IS A HEAVY METAL INSTRUMENT." In response to an interview question about the controversy, Ian Anderson quipped, "Well, we do sometimes play our mandolins very loudly."

World Music Influences: 1995- Present

Most recent original Jethro Tull efforts reflect the musical influences of decades of performing all around the globe. In songs such as "Out of the Noise" and "Hot Mango Flush", Anderson paints vivid pictures of third-world street scenes. These albums have reflected Anderson's coming to grips with being an old rocker, with songs such as the pensive "Another Harry's Bar", "Wicked Windows", and the gruff "Wounded, Old, and Treacherous".

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