Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull


I've been a serious Tull fan since 1970, owning almost all of their music and much of Ian Anderson's solo material.  I've had the privilege of attending 4 of their concerts including a small venue where everyone stood but only about 150 in attendance.

I'm intrigued by the style and subject of the music, not your typical love songs or ballads.  The musicality is also some of the best from what is considered a rock band or some would say, progressive rock band.  This is especially shown in some of the early "theme" albums like "Thick as a Brick" or "Passion Play".

I will have to say my favorites however are the solo albums by Ian Anderson.  The album "Divinities" being my all time favorite.  When I want to test the dynamics of a system, Divinities is one I typically use.  The quality of the recording to me is second to none.  Take a listen to "The Pay of Spain" as an example.

Curious to hear if anyone else shares my enthusiasm for this group/soloist.

Tom

bipestuff

@buellrider97 - I was an 'amateur' (only because nobody was paying me for it) concert photographer in the Bay Area through the 70's, and I've got some awesome photos of Pink Floyd at the Cow Palace on the '75 'Wish You Were Here' tour; they were also doing early versions of the songs on 'Animals'. I've got lots of excellent photos of many artists from prog thru punk, but alas, nothing worthwhile from Jethro Tull except for historic value. 

“Christmas Song” from This Was and “Ring Out, Solstice Bells” from Songs From the Wood are my two favorite tracks to play this time of year. Benefit, Songs From the Wood, and the Living in The Past compilation are my favorite Tull albums.

Like everybody here, I have been a JT fan.  My first concert was TAAB.  I lost track at about 15 concerts.  I loved the early albums, but my interest started to wane around the time of Heavy Horses.  For later albums, I really like Roots to Branches.  The last concert I saw was TAAB2 at The Beacon, IIRC.  The other patrons were my age or older and many looked like they could have been the model for the cover of Aqualung. 
 

I’m really disappointed how poorly Aqualung recordings sound.  It’s my favorite album of theirs and it stands out how bad it sounds.  

Another lifelong Tull/Anderson fan with a half dozen shows in my over 1000 concerts in the past 56 years..As I've mellowed a lot in my old age,"Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull" has become a Sunday mourning ritual at my place..

Stand Up has always been my favorite. It's the ideal blend of stylistic influences for my taste. I wish they'd stuck with that approach.