Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull

For some reason the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame has shunned the band.  Go figure?

I have a great many Tull albums all the way back to Stand UP many of which are reissues. Some are European DMM remasters others Steve Wilson remasters and a low numbered Analog Productions UHQR of Aqualung that reveals, as seems to be the consensus that it wasn’t the best recording in the first place. I do have an early repress of Minstrel in the Gallery that is meticulously produced and engineered and sounds wonderful.

Aqualung was my first exposure to Jethro Tull when I found the LP in my brother’s record collection when I moved into his house at the age of 15. Locomotive Breath was a thrill with all it’s underlying innuendos that were kind of taboo at the time and My God sort of became a mantra of sorts to me and the crazy world I was living in at the time.

Back in the bootleg days during the advent of CD trading there used to be guy who was the “seed” for trading live Jethro Tull concerts.  If I remember correctly, he was confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed for much of his upper body.  Used joy sticks for working on the computer. 

But, back to the story.  He seeded a boatload of Tull concerts, from the early days into the 8o’s, I believe.  I have a bunch of them. Maybe 40-50 concerts.  Some sounded like soundboards, and some like really bad audience tapes.

I got to really tell the difference between good Tull shows, and just going on the road shows.  Not all shows were pretty. 

I loved the way Tull started out as a blues band, but after a while they became fairly predictable with their songs.  Songs played like the album tracks.  They never really improved like I would have expected from such talented musicians.  I heard Ian admit that they were not that kind of band.

Don’t get me wrong.  I own every LP up to War Child or Songs from the Wood, which ever came second.  But Stand Up, Benefit, This Was, those are real gems.  Never get tired of them.

I was fortunate enough to have seen Tull at the Filmore East in what might have been their first US appearance, but I can’t swear to that. For me, I liked their direction at that time better than anything that came after. Amazing band. 

One of the best Hard Rock / Heavy Metal bands in the late 80’s …😎