I've watched all your reactions, a little embarrassed to admit you helped me understand the storyline of Thick as a Brick far more than listening to it for the last 40 years! I've seen Tull or Ian in concert in excess of 90 times since 1978. No music gets my juices flowing like the best of Tull, which in many cases are the deep tracks that have never made it to the radio
@@Tullthedayidie Deep tracks are the best:) I'm going through Tull's discography one album at a time, we'll eventually get to everything. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the videos!
A friend of mine attended a Jethro Tull concert in the early seventies. While waiting for the band to appear onstage there was a janitorial crew going through the front seating area, working their way around the audience and between the aisles as they did some last minute cleaning, sweeping and picking up of litter. When they were finished they climbed up on stage and began tidying up the area, sweeping the floor, dusting the amplifiers and polishing the microphone stands. One of them sat down at the drum set and started playing around, then suddenly they all removed their janitor jumpsuits, picked up their instruments and began playing. It was Jethro Tull.
Seen Tull many times in the early- and mid-'70s....the above description is dead on, and very well-stated! As you might imagine, much, if not most of the audience was oblivious to the goings-on, until the action moved to the stage, and even then, very late until they were actually doffing their janitorial onesies! Another memorable moment was from (I'm guessing) the "TAAB" tour: A red telephone was perched on a small stool, upstage right the entire evening, with no reference made to it the entire concert. After all the encores, and with the auditorium still dark, we finally hear a telephone ring over the loudspeaker. Ian walks over to it, now bathed in a spotlight. He picks up the receiver, and pretends to engage in a brief conversation. Suddenly he places the receiver back down on the stool, leans into the mic, and says........"It's for you," and walks off to thunderous cheers! Ian is never mentioned in the same breath as the other lead singers of superstar rock bands, but for my money, he meets, if not exceeds the athleticism, creativity, sheer musicality, and frontman charisma of Jagger, Plant, Stewart, Tyler, Daltrey, and many others!
@@bradsmack1 I was never lucky enough to see them in concert but when my friend told me about his experience I was really impressed and it stuck in my mind. Then there was the Aqualung album. I'd never heard anything like it before, probably because there wasn't anything like it around before Jethro Tull. The odd, eccentric characters Ian Anderson sang about came to life in the most strange and fascinating way. I recall hearing it said that the members of the Moody Blues considered themselves to be reincarnated medieval minstrels, but Jethro Tull more accurately fits that characterization.
At a show in Tokyo in the early '90s they were playing in basically a large bar (SRO, ~1000 capacity). On the side of the stage was a small divan, a chair, side table and lamp. The crew would pull up two or three people to come sit on stage and watch for a song or two and then they'd bring up a different group. When Martin would be busy doing a guitar solo, Ian would go over, chat with the guests, and pour them drinks.
Only ? Tull had a couple of bands open for them around 1972-73, Gryphon (check out Midnight Mushrumps), and Gentle Giant, who, for my money, were THE best prog band of the 70's. For medieval influences, check out these songs: Experience (In a Glass House), The Advent of Panurge (Octopus), or On Reflection (Free Hand). Gentle Giant had the admiration of both Ian Anderson and... Frank Zappa!
@@benoitdesmarais2948 Gryphon and their folk/baroque/rock fusions are certainly an experience. But if we're talking 1970s mediaevalisms, don't forget Fruup and The Amazing Blondel
I discovered his music a long time ago and it was because of him I learned to play the flute... just like him. Thanks for posting this. This brought a lot of memories back
I saw them in concert a few times: wonderfully theatrical. The show was very rehearsed. Ian Anderson's stage persona was a kind of Shakespearean bad boy. Wonderful flute and vocal skills.
I saw Tull do this live in 1974. Two hours plus of just Thick as a Brick! Did one of the songs from Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary if I recall, as their encore. Not what I was expecting when I went to the show, but there was fabulous jamming. it's still today 48 years later my favorite show I've personally attended. We sat to the right of the stage where I was particularly mesmerized by John Evan's keyboards. Fabulous guitar work by Martin Barre as well. And, as Daniel says, Ian was very much the entertainer. Ian got a phone call in the middle of the show from the Do-No-See-Me Rabbit.
When you said you've never been to a concert...oh man, you have no idea. The excitement and anticipation waiting for those lights to go down and a band like Tull or Yes or ELP or Zep to take the stage...feeling the energy of 15 or 20 thousand people explode as the band starts...the volume, the lights, the music...there was NOTHING like it.
Yes, the whole song expands both sides of the album. You can also hear him talk/singing through his flute playing. I would say he is the best frontman, with the fact he is non stop, flute playin' ,singing, guitar playin', gyrating at every nuance of the music-yeah, non stop!
I only had the pleasure of seeing one Jethro Tull live show. At the start of the show Ian Anderson walked out to the mike by himself and apologized to the crowd saying in a very serious tone, "I'm very sorry ladies an gentlemen to have to inform you that Jethro Tull could not be here tonight. A buzz rippled through the crowed and you could hear some groaning. At that point, he says, although Jethro Tull could not be here tonight my name is Ian Anderson and I'm hear to entertain you. He played a solo acoustic song before the band came on stage and joined him. Throughout the evening Ian Anderson played every instrument in the band providing a break for every band member... he played every instrument! Ian was the last one to leave the stage to close out the evening. Amazing talent with endless energy.
Ian Andersen - famous for playing the flute whilst standing on one leg! On stage a highly flamboyant and top of the league musician and terrific entertainer. Offstage, a highly intelligent and educated guy with a posh English accent and I believe is a really nice person. Also, very business savvy.
unfortunately i did see a faux pas at one of their concerts...missed a chorus on crossed eyed mary...the crowd gasped and growned in horror...Ian knew it and gave us an extra encore...saw them 5X..wish could have been105...best live shows ever period
i love the band jethro tull -- i just wanted to give you a small fact about ian anderson that not tooo many people may know. after he stopped touring so much he went back to scotland where he owned land on a loch. he built a fishing factory there with the money he had made so that the people in the area would have jobs. he has a good heart and soul.
I am 57, seen Tull 13 times in my life. Most of any band I have watched in Concert. He is the BEST I ever saw live. I have attended concerts I had as much fun, but never as entertained. Never got to see Queen and I wish I had to see the stage show, for me the BEST character on stage. Funny, emotional, and so talented.
Ian Anderson is a musical genius and that's a very small group of individuals in my mind. I just wanted to say he was/is completely sober no drugs/drink although he did smoke when he was younger. Saved every penny he made. They toured with Led Zeppelin and his non interest in their hedonism put him in stern disfavor with Plant and Page. He told the audience this when I took my daughter to see him early 2000s, she was a flute player at the time.
For the Passion Play Concert. Ian had a cooler filled with Heineken behind the speaker. Martin Bear had about 10 shots of something on top of the speaker. They had to keep their whistles wet.
Ian Anderson was a cokehead between around 1968-1970, on "Stand Up" and "Benefit". He quit completely before Aqualung, and was so ashamed of having done that to his brain that he tried to rewrite the past and pretend his coke phase never happened.
Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull, is a self taught flute player, after his daughter stated playing instruments, he found out he held his fingers incorrectly for the flute and learned the correct way, but many times in concert you can see him use his own style. Another cool fact is Ian is the Father-in-law to Andrew Lincoln, the actor who played Rick Grimes in the ongoing hit TV series, "The Walking Dead."
Hi Daniel! I could watch Ian Anderson for 24 hours straight and not get bored- as you said, what a showman! I was always intrigued by his one legged flute playing, so I looked it up years ago- I have no idea where I found the article I initially read, but here's an interesting bit of an interview from 2002: Anderson's trademark stance, playing the flute while standing on one leg, "evolved when I was playing harmonica, hanging on to the microphone stand. It was easy to lift one leg in the air and kind of wiggle about. Then it became noticed by the people who wrote the very first reviews of Jethro Tull back in 1968: 'This guy plays the flute, and he stands on one leg.' They kind of put the thing together. It wasn't that I stood on one leg playing the flute to begin with, it was the harmonica. So I then started to stand on one leg playing the flute, just because that's what people thought that I did, even though I don't think that I did. The press kind of invented it for me, putting one and one together and getting three." Anderson, though, notes that the stance is really a natural one for a flutist: "Playing the flute is an unbalanced thing to do. Playing a side-blow instrument like that, your body is somewhat contorted and off-balance. If you stand on one leg, it forces you to make sure that your body is correctly postured to hold the instrument and to breathe while you're doing it. "Strangely, as I found out many years down the line, it is the pose of the Indian god Krishna who plays the flute to win the affections of the young female goat herders. It is the posture of at least two Indian gods in Central and South America, and many depictions of the god Pan show one foot being raised." www.jimnewsom.com/IanAndersonInterview.html I was amazed and VERY impressed when I read another interview with Ian in which he stated he'd never done drugs; he said they scared him. Wise man! Anyway, sorry if this is too long; I hope you'll find it interesting. Keep up the great videos, and long live Jethro Tull!
"Like a bard" Yes, or... a minstrel. In fact, one of his sobriquets is The Minstrel in the Gallery, both an album of his and a song on that album. I recommend listening to them as well as "To Sing You a Song".
Jethro Tull's live performances were mind blowing. I became a fan after seeing them in 1970 At the Strawberry Fields Festival in Toronto. After they had left the stage, I asked my friends, did you see what I saw and did you hear what I heard?
It's a universal theme of son vs father, changing of fashion (old wave, vs new wave) all presumably written by an 8 year old genius. So, it's a parody of prog rock excesses at the same time having moments of genius insight, great warmth and humor and meaning.
Imagine the FACT that Ian wrote all of the lyrics, song concepts and melodies in the Tull canon. The various lineups worked up the songs with Ian's vision and direction.
The mix is a mess on this version..as if recorded by an audience member....drums mix is horrible and is crucial for this piece to kick ass and highlight the dynamics. The Madison Sq Garden version much better.
I saw Tull for the first time the year after this at the Miami Hollywood Sportatorium and was blown away by their musicianship and performance. They were an extremely tight band.
Wow! You have just opened a new world. Ian Anderson was such a showman. I saw Tull at Tampa Stadium before we even had a football team. Along with Floyd, The Who, Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many other great bands of the time. Who needed a football team?
This is an extremely abridged version of this piece of music. When they toured to support the album, they came out and played the entire piece...1 HR & 15 minutes.... And the I an says " and now, for out second number.... " They are still one of the best live bands I have ever seen!
I really enjoyed your video and your attitude. It is a bliss seeing young people appreciate JT.Being an old and hardcore Tull fan, I do not always watch these 'reaction' videos mainly because they are new and presented by very young people who do not know the artist well or sometimes not at all. However, your video appealed to me when I saw that you also reacted to Yes and Rush, both of which I am also a fan of. Having said that, Tull has always been number one. Thank you so much for your nice presentation. Will keep on watching...
Welcome to the channel, glad you could make it my fellow traveler through the cyberspacian void! Glad you enjoyed the video, if you ever get time to, one of my favorite vids I ever did was a reaction/review of the entire TaaB album. It's over an hour long, but it was really fun to make and that album/song has become one of my favorite things of all time:)
@@DiconDissectionalReactions Wow! Now we are really talking!!! How happy it makes me to know that it has become a favourite of yours. Swell!! Will soon watch the video on TAAB and I would never get bored. Cheers!
"Is he being satirical?" Daniel watched one live performance of the title song from the album and figured out what a swarm of music critics were unable to fathom almost 50 years ago
"...a long time ago...1976" *sigh* I'd been in the US Navy for a year in '76, spent the Bicentennial on the lovely island of Guam, where we crashed the USO show going on at the Air Force Base...Jethro Tull was a routine companion, blaring out of my ship's loudspeakers...not only listening to Armed Forces Radio, but, our own radio-station...amateur DJs from the ship's crew, all of them rockers....
Not really "rehearsed", this is Ian Anderson's stage persona naturally... it's just extemporaneous and flows out of him to emphasize his feelings he wants to project..... you'll see as you dive into other cool live performances. (Cross-Eyed-Mary / Aqualung is a good pair that are related stories)
This was written as a spoof on concept albums... the whole album is one song. It was done so well that it is considered one of the best concept albums.
So, what is Thick as a Brick about? Kind if nebulous, actually. It is quite sarcastic and in a broadly subtle way, it is an attack on music critics. The critics described 'Aqualung' as a concept album and honestly, it appears to be one, but Ian Anderson insisted it was NOT a concept album. But in a 'hold my beer' sort of way, he then released Thick as a Brick which is a 40 minute album consisting of one single song - sort of 'one concept album to rule them all' in LOTR terms. It is satire but also absolutely brilliant music.
Great reaction, thanks! With Tull and Rush you’re entering into the world of prog rock and you’ll be in for a treat. Part from these bands, you’ll love Genesis, especially the theatrical years with Peter Gabriel on vocals (until he left the band in 1975), also here a combination of live and studio versions are very fruitful.😎👍
I suspect that the theatricality of the show came about because there were no big screens, and it was a way to reach the audience esp in a stadium type setting. The theatricality too was common in the 60's where being different, interesting or freaky was appreciated and a way to get noticed. We take it for granted now, but it was a new take on performing back then.
Actually there was a big screen. A large "Tullavision." I saw this show at the L.A. Coliseum. There must have been way over 100,000 people in attendance because all the seats were full as well as the entire lawn area (football field). I can't recall if it was the first time I had seen a big screen but it was definitely special and not typical of the time.
You mention how strong live performers can really further their fan base Two artists from the 70s that come to mind : Peter Frampton and Foghat Both were outstanding live performers whose studio tracks typically paled by comparison. They created two of the best live albums of that era ( perhaps any era ) Frampton Comes Alive - start with the epic Do You Feel Like We Do Foghat Live - 6 blistering tracks - you can pick any one of them and you’re in good shape though I’m sure many will point you to Slowride or I Just Wanna Make Love to You Two great rock recordings you should experience at some point
You trying to imitate Ian was hilarious!😂 I think you should react to "Songs from the wood" or "Valvet green" from the same album, it's has a fantasy atmosphere in there:)
Going to a live concert of a band with fantastic live presence like this band is something totally unmissable. You will never forget it for the rest of your life. It's powerful. It's emotional. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It captures your imagination. It makes you think. It lifts your soul. Start going to concerts. Don't miss out. Yes you hit it totally on the head when you asked 'Is this a parody of something?' After their first album was described by a critic as a concept album (which it totally wasn't), the band decided to give them a 'concept album' for sure. Except it was a parody of every concept album that ever existed, plus much more. There was one track that started on the first side and continued on the other. A one track album, made up of many different parts with links in between. It was written on the fly, a little bit written every day by Ian Anderson over about 6 weeks in the studio. A complete and utter masterpiece. Masterfully written, masterfully played by brilliant musicians. Nobody realised it was a parody - at least not for a long long time. But you can see it in the live performance - he is playing with us the whole way through. It was like he was saying 'Do you REALLY know what I'm doing? Haha I bet you don't!!' Despite all that it is a classic piece of work and amazingly enjoyable. It goes to show how different a lot of music today is compared to music back then. No comparison.
Yes its satire. Critics claimed his previous album (Aqualung) was a concept album which Ian Anderson scoffed at that idea. This album he did as a satirical concept.
Wow! We've got to get you out to some shows when things get back to "normal!" There is still some great live music out there! (although this was the "Golden Age" to me!) Nothing beats the gathering of the parking lot crowd, the buzz of the venue pre show, and finally, the lowering of the lights and......showtime! I drove 2 hrs. to see Tull on the Aqualung tour, 2 hrs back home, arriving at about 2am, and was taking my college entrance exam the next morning at 8am. Worth every minute of it! :)
I got to see the Thick as a Brick one and two concert. Hearing the whole TAAB live was a wonderful experience. Where was Biggles when you needed him last Saturday?
First time I saw Tull was in 79. Saw them 3 or 4 more times over the yrs. I last saw them 4 yrs ago in Seattle. They still sound great and Ian Anderson can still sing very well. Ian Anderson is a very talented man!
Yes, Ian is being purposefully humorous. By 1976, the U.S. had been primed to love the British highly eccentric sense of humor by PBS'a weekly airing of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Surreal, silly, anarchy! I agree with you about listening to the studio recordings first. That's how we first heard these songs, and are the iconic versions. Many performances though, need to be seen to be believed. Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Talking Heads, The B52's, Tom Waits, to name a few (when and if ever you get around to it!). I noticed that this clip had a lot of close up shots. Try: My God (Nothing is Easy - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970). Try also: Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe (Live) the black & white clip. Then chase it, back to back, with the color clip Jimi Hendrix (Hey Joe) Live 1967 Monterey. Both are amazing. Happy Listening!
I'm lucky to have been seeing bands snce 1967ish in clubs, theatres and small halls right up to festivals with 500,000 attending and there is no thrill like a grea band in a sensible sized venue.
I wish your patreon had directed you to the Great live version! Which is from Madison Square Garden, 1977 or 1978, easily found on UA-cam. But this one does the job of conveying the showmanship
What you have to remember about 70's arena shows is that there were no video screens. The over the top performance was because you had to play to the back of the stadium.
Thanks for bringing back a great memory. I saw them that same tour at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Ian Anderson is genius material and the band was top notch.
That was a truncated version. You are going to have field day with lyrics from the studio version. Make sure you use the Steven Wilson remaster for this and Aqualung.
You are young and you’re listening to one of the greatest entertainers in this planet I saw him in 1970 in Michigan city Indiana I have his albums I listen to him daily listen to the lyrics of the songs he speaking of the world we’re living in one comes to mind the Christmas song listen to that song and then think about it what the worlds all about man’s a genius he plays the flute the MaddeleinYou’re looking at history that will never be ever again I was fortunate to grow up with him listen to all his music I hope you enjoyed as much as I have and still do
72 and still recording and performing. If you'd like to learn more about the origins of the band and Ian, there's a great interview he did this year. www.loudersound.com/features/ian-anderson-interview-the-beginning-middle-and-end-of-jethro-tull
18:55 - My dad took me to my first rock concert (ZZ Top) when I was 15. I then took him to his last rock concert (ZZ Top) when he was 68 and the circle was closed. :) Well we went to many concerts in between that time, but my first and his last live concerts were ZZ Top. Which was nice. :)
Not the best video of this song. Definitive version is the Madison Square Garden version from 1978. Also great from that same show is Songs From The Wood and well as Aqualung. Camera work not too great on this version. So many great songs by this group. I have seen them about 40 times. Ian Anderson is the greatest frontman. So engaging you can't take your eyes off him. Also talks to the crowd versus just getting up there and playing the songs.
The '78 MSG performance had great sound, great camera work, and starts backstage and follows Ian up on stage. That little bit extra really adds to the performance on video.
These live shows were polished and great shows, but they were the short-form arrangements of TAAB. The live shows of 1973 did the entire 50 minutes and were more explosive and unpredictable. Plus Jeffery Hammond-Hammond was on bass in those days!
Thick As A Brick was a parody album released after everybody proclaimed Aqualung was a concept album. Ian just figured he would show people what a concept album was since they didn't seem to recognize one. I saw them twice in the 70's! Always a great show! (1972) Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in March 1972. The album contains a continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is a parody of the concept album genre.
His concerts were themed around his newest albums , Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, A passion Play and as much a show as it was a concert, I saw him when he was doing A Passion Play and was jumping back and forth through a big screen like a Alice in wonderland theme. The visual aspect of a Jethro Tull concert was just as amazing as his awesome music, Second best concert ever after Black Sabbath circa 1970 in a 800 seat auditorium in Dallas. TX opening for Mountain , quite a big impression on a 15 year old as I have heard elsewhere at 65 I still cant get fairies wear boots loud enough.
Jethro Tull wore different costumes on each of their tours. I was recently able to match the year we saw them in concert (1982) based on the costumes they wore that year. Ian Anderson has in fact described himself as a bard.
Jethro Tull is led by vocalist/flutist/guitarist/composer/and musical genius Ian Anderson. He said he played guitar until he heard Eric Clapton play, so he taught himself to play the flute. Don't do Aqualung, everybody else is doing Aqualung. As a fan for over 40 years, I suggest the album "Heavy Horses" from 1978. I think it's their best, musically and lyrically.
For years they would travel across the pond and play the New Haven Colosseum on Halloween ... People dressed in costume .. good times... Always a great show..
I saw a show in the Thick as a Brick tour in (I think) early 1974. Two hours plus of that one song. Filled with long, fabulous jams. Encore was one of the Aqualung songs, possibly Cross-eyed Mary if I recall. To this day, it's still by far the best show I've seen.
most people have no idea the amount of work that goes into this kind of show (former stage hand/roadie here). musicians are some of the hardest working people around.
I think I heard you say in one of your videos that you were 16 which surprised me as I thought you were older than that. The first concert I ever attended was Jethro Tull in 1971 when I was 16. I've seen them a total of 7 times, the last an all acoustic concert 15 years or so back in a small 1000 seat theater. It was a year or so after Ian Anderson had throat surgery. Still incredible.
Here's a link to my reaction to the entire studio album: ua-cam.com/video/Pje32Upt1oc/v-deo.html
Live at Madison Square Garden is BETTER ....
Try Uriah Heep . ua-cam.com/video/jqRtjzGiCVg/v-deo.html
I've watched all your reactions, a little embarrassed to admit you helped me understand the storyline of Thick as a Brick far more than listening to it for the last 40 years! I've seen Tull or Ian in concert in excess of 90 times since 1978.
No music gets my juices flowing like the best of Tull, which in many cases are the deep tracks that have never made it to the
radio
@@Tullthedayidie Deep tracks are the best:) I'm going through Tull's discography one album at a time, we'll eventually get to everything. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the videos!
A friend of mine attended a Jethro Tull concert in the early seventies. While waiting for the band to appear onstage there was a janitorial crew going through the front seating area, working their way around the audience and between the aisles as they did some last minute cleaning, sweeping and picking up of litter. When they were finished they climbed up on stage and began tidying up the area, sweeping the floor, dusting the amplifiers and polishing the microphone stands. One of them sat down at the drum set and started playing around, then suddenly they all removed their janitor jumpsuits, picked up their instruments and began playing. It was Jethro Tull.
LOVE that story. They are almost the ant-Zeppelin band, among others.
Seen Tull many times in the early- and mid-'70s....the above description is dead on, and very well-stated! As you might imagine, much, if not most of the audience was oblivious to the goings-on, until the action moved to the stage, and even then, very late until they were actually doffing their janitorial onesies!
Another memorable moment was from (I'm guessing) the "TAAB" tour: A red telephone was perched on a small stool, upstage right the entire evening, with no reference made to it the entire concert. After all the encores, and with the auditorium still dark, we finally hear a telephone ring over the loudspeaker. Ian walks over to it, now bathed in a spotlight. He picks up the receiver, and pretends to engage in a brief conversation. Suddenly he places the receiver back down on the stool, leans into the mic, and says........"It's for you," and walks off to thunderous cheers!
Ian is never mentioned in the same breath as the other lead singers of superstar rock bands, but for my money, he meets, if not exceeds the athleticism, creativity, sheer musicality, and frontman charisma of Jagger, Plant, Stewart, Tyler, Daltrey, and many others!
@@bradsmack1 I was never lucky enough to see them in concert but when my friend told me about his experience I was really impressed and it stuck in my mind. Then there was the Aqualung album. I'd never heard anything like it before, probably because there wasn't anything like it around before Jethro Tull. The odd, eccentric characters Ian Anderson sang about came to life in the most strange and fascinating way. I recall hearing it said that the members of the Moody Blues considered themselves to be reincarnated medieval minstrels, but Jethro Tull more accurately fits that characterization.
At a show in Tokyo in the early '90s they were playing in basically a large bar (SRO, ~1000 capacity). On the side of the stage was a small divan, a chair, side table and lamp. The crew would pull up two or three people to come sit on stage and watch for a song or two and then they'd bring up a different group. When Martin would be busy doing a guitar solo, Ian would go over, chat with the guests, and pour them drinks.
Glad to see that their informal, friendly attitude as a band had remained after all those years.
The world's first, only, and greatest medieval rock band.
Led by a guy who, for a while anyway, wanted to be a cop! He traded a whistle for a flute!
Only ? Tull had a couple of bands open for them around 1972-73, Gryphon (check out Midnight Mushrumps), and Gentle Giant, who, for my money, were THE best prog band of the 70's. For medieval influences, check out these songs: Experience (In a Glass House), The Advent of Panurge (Octopus), or On Reflection (Free Hand). Gentle Giant had the admiration of both Ian Anderson and... Frank Zappa!
@@benoitdesmarais2948 Gryphon and their folk/baroque/rock fusions are certainly an experience. But if we're talking 1970s mediaevalisms, don't forget Fruup and The Amazing Blondel
@@benoitdesmarais2948 Somebody seems to have forgotten Steeleye Span and Silly Wizard. Not to mention Fairport Convention's "Liege and Leaf" album.
I can't picture life without Jethro Tull.
I discovered his music a long time ago and it was because of him I learned to play the flute... just like him. Thanks for posting this. This brought a lot of memories back
Watching this video tonight brought back why I used to love Jethro Tull,live this group was so dynamic live.
Thanks to the person who gave you this link. I've only heard the "Bursting Out" live version before this.
I was 16 in 1976 I heard this on the radio I was hooked .A fan for life
I've seen them many times since 82, fantastic performance live, what a show !!!
I am from Tampa and was at this concert, aged 21. I saw Tull live 3 times and they were consistently excellent. Life was good in 1976.
Cool reaction to a band that blew me away live way back when. Lucky enough to see them in a smallish venue (1000) back in the day❤️
Frrst time i saw Jethro Tull in 1974 in Montreal and last time in 2013 after 7 concerts tours, it always the greatest band .
Voice, classical, jazz, performance saw them in New Orleans, 1970’s small theater, was awesome!
I saw it live. I wish the younger generations could have seen it. But time marches on. That's life.
I saw them in concert a few times: wonderfully theatrical. The show was very rehearsed. Ian Anderson's stage persona was a kind of Shakespearean bad boy. Wonderful flute and vocal skills.
Saw Tull live six times. Each one virtuoso performance.
I saw Tull do this live in 1974. Two hours plus of just Thick as a Brick! Did one of the songs from Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary if I recall, as their encore. Not what I was expecting when I went to the show, but there was fabulous jamming. it's still today 48 years later my favorite show I've personally attended. We sat to the right of the stage where I was particularly mesmerized by John Evan's keyboards. Fabulous guitar work by Martin Barre as well. And, as Daniel says, Ian was very much the entertainer. Ian got a phone call in the middle of the show from the Do-No-See-Me Rabbit.
When you said you've never been to a concert...oh man, you have no idea. The excitement and anticipation waiting for those lights to go down and a band like Tull or Yes or ELP or Zep to take the stage...feeling the energy of 15 or 20 thousand people explode as the band starts...the volume, the lights, the music...there was NOTHING like it.
Right out of the dark forrest. Grew up on this stuff. Wonderful!!!
Yes, the whole song expands both sides of the album. You can also hear him talk/singing through his flute playing. I would say he is the best frontman, with the fact he is non stop, flute playin' ,singing, guitar playin', gyrating at every nuance of the music-yeah, non stop!
YETHRO TULL was a famous British agriculturist who lived from 1674 till 1741, that,s what the band is named after...
I only had the pleasure of seeing one Jethro Tull live show. At the start of the show Ian Anderson walked out to the mike by himself and apologized to the crowd saying in a very serious tone, "I'm very sorry ladies an gentlemen to have to inform you that Jethro Tull could not be here tonight. A buzz rippled through the crowed and you could hear some groaning. At that point, he says, although Jethro Tull could not be here tonight my name is Ian Anderson and I'm hear to entertain you. He played a solo acoustic song before the band came on stage and joined him. Throughout the evening Ian Anderson played every instrument in the band providing a break for every band member... he played every instrument! Ian was the last one to leave the stage to close out the evening. Amazing talent with endless energy.
My first JT show was "Tullivision" 76'. I was 12. Went with my older brother. Excellence!!
Ian Andersen - famous for playing the flute whilst standing on one leg! On stage a highly flamboyant and top of the league musician and terrific entertainer. Offstage, a highly intelligent and educated guy with a posh English accent and I believe is a really nice person. Also, very business savvy.
Scottish, from Dunfermiine.
Jetho Tull is the quintessentially technically perfect band. I have never heard a faux pas by this band...they are THAT good !
unfortunately i did see a faux pas at one of their concerts...missed a chorus on crossed eyed mary...the crowd gasped and growned in horror...Ian knew it and gave us an extra encore...saw them 5X..wish could have been105...best live shows ever period
Glad you like it mate, people like you give me hope for the future
The Fantastic and Spetacular Jethro Tull!!!
i love the band jethro tull -- i just wanted to give you a small fact about ian anderson that not tooo many people may know. after he stopped touring so much he went back to scotland where he owned land on a loch. he built a fishing factory there with the money he had made so that the people in the area would have jobs. he has a good heart and soul.
He is a kind and benevolent Lord of the Manor
I am 57, seen Tull 13 times in my life. Most of any band I have watched in Concert. He is the BEST I ever saw live. I have attended concerts I had as much fun, but never as entertained. Never got to see Queen and I wish I had to see the stage show, for me the BEST character on stage. Funny, emotional, and so talented.
Ian Anderson is a musical genius and that's a very small group of individuals in my mind. I just wanted to say he was/is completely sober no drugs/drink although he did smoke when he was younger. Saved every penny he made. They toured with Led Zeppelin and his non interest in their hedonism put him in stern disfavor with Plant and Page. He told the audience this when I took my daughter to see him early 2000s, she was a flute player at the time.
For the Passion Play Concert. Ian had a cooler filled with Heineken behind the speaker. Martin Bear had about 10 shots of something on top of the speaker. They had to keep their whistles wet.
Ian Anderson was a cokehead between around 1968-1970, on "Stand Up" and "Benefit". He quit completely before Aqualung, and was so ashamed of having done that to his brain that he tried to rewrite the past and pretend his coke phase never happened.
Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull, is a self taught flute player, after his daughter stated playing instruments, he found out he held his fingers incorrectly for the flute and learned the correct way, but many times in concert you can see him use his own style. Another cool fact is Ian is the Father-in-law to Andrew Lincoln, the actor who played Rick Grimes in the ongoing hit TV series, "The Walking Dead."
Hi Daniel!
I could watch Ian Anderson for 24 hours straight and not get bored- as you said, what a showman! I was always intrigued by his one legged flute playing, so I looked it up years ago- I have no idea where I found the article I initially read, but here's an interesting bit of an interview from 2002:
Anderson's trademark stance, playing the flute while standing on one leg, "evolved when I was playing harmonica, hanging on to the microphone stand. It was easy to lift one leg in the air and kind of wiggle about. Then it became noticed by the people who wrote the very first reviews of Jethro Tull back in 1968: 'This guy plays the flute, and he stands on one leg.' They kind of put the thing together. It wasn't that I stood on one leg playing the flute to begin with, it was the harmonica. So I then started to stand on one leg playing the flute, just because that's what people thought that I did, even though I don't think that I did. The press kind of invented it for me, putting one and one together and getting three."
Anderson, though, notes that the stance is really a natural one for a flutist: "Playing the flute is an unbalanced thing to do. Playing a side-blow instrument like that, your body is somewhat contorted and off-balance. If you stand on one leg, it forces you to make sure that your body is correctly postured to hold the instrument and to breathe while you're doing it.
"Strangely, as I found out many years down the line, it is the pose of the Indian god Krishna who plays the flute to win the affections of the young female goat herders. It is the posture of at least two Indian gods in Central and South America, and many depictions of the god Pan show one foot being raised."
www.jimnewsom.com/IanAndersonInterview.html
I was amazed and VERY impressed when I read another interview with Ian in which he stated he'd never done drugs; he said they scared him. Wise man!
Anyway, sorry if this is too long; I hope you'll find it interesting. Keep up the great videos, and long live Jethro Tull!
OMG! Tull, too! Woo Hoo! I'll be back. (Gonna finish watching all the RUSH videos.)
Ian was one of a kind.. He looked like a mad , medieval wizard , who happened to play the flute and sing.They sure don't make em like that anymore.
Awesome
"Like a bard" Yes, or... a minstrel. In fact, one of his sobriquets is The Minstrel in the Gallery, both an album of his and a song on that album. I recommend listening to them as well as "To Sing You a Song".
My favorite band! Their music just made me feel good back then. It was a great time to be young!!
Definitive GENIUS:
IAN ANDERSON.
HE is the creative mind of Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull's live performances were mind blowing. I became a fan after seeing them in 1970 At the Strawberry Fields Festival in Toronto. After they had left the stage, I asked my friends, did you see what I saw and did you hear what I heard?
It's a universal theme of son vs father, changing of fashion (old wave, vs new wave) all presumably written by an 8 year old genius. So, it's a parody of prog rock excesses at the same time having moments of genius insight, great warmth and humor and meaning.
Imagine the FACT that Ian wrote all of the lyrics, song concepts and melodies in the Tull canon. The various lineups worked up the songs with Ian's vision and direction.
Ian was the Stripper ,but Martin Barre was the pole .:-)
The 1978 performance at Madison Square Garden is even better
i prefer this one, though the '78 show is definitely good
@@Ferretbomber Me too..The Tampa concert is better.
@@stephenbrown7545 I also love the '77 version from the BBC broadcast of their Songs From the Wood tour. That whole show is tremendous.
The mix is a mess on this version..as if recorded by an audience member....drums mix is horrible and is crucial for this piece to kick ass and highlight the dynamics. The Madison Sq Garden version much better.
I saw Tull for the first time the year after this at the Miami Hollywood Sportatorium and was blown away by their musicianship and performance. They were an extremely tight band.
The "one-legged flute player" - just one of Ian Anderson's names. My FAVORITE band/performer EVER. Been to their concerts 5 times.
Theatrical is the word you're looking for.
Exactly! The Brits have deeeep roots in Theatre. So deep, that for many, it's easier for them to tap.
Wow! You have just opened a new world. Ian Anderson was such a showman. I saw Tull at Tampa Stadium before we even had a football team. Along with Floyd, The Who, Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many other great bands of the time. Who needed a football team?
This is an extremely abridged version of this piece of music. When they toured to support the album, they came out and played the entire piece...1 HR & 15 minutes.... And the I an says " and now, for out second number.... " They are still one of the best live bands I have ever seen!
I really enjoyed your video and your attitude. It is a bliss seeing young people appreciate JT.Being an old and hardcore Tull fan, I do not always watch these 'reaction' videos mainly because they are new and presented by very young people who do not know the artist well or sometimes not at all. However, your video appealed to me when I saw that you also reacted to Yes and Rush, both of which I am also a fan of. Having said that, Tull has always been number one. Thank you so much for your nice presentation. Will keep on watching...
Welcome to the channel, glad you could make it my fellow traveler through the cyberspacian void! Glad you enjoyed the video, if you ever get time to, one of my favorite vids I ever did was a reaction/review of the entire TaaB album. It's over an hour long, but it was really fun to make and that album/song has become one of my favorite things of all time:)
@@DiconDissectionalReactions Wow! Now we are really talking!!! How happy it makes me to know that it has become a favourite of yours. Swell!! Will soon watch the video on TAAB and I would never get bored. Cheers!
I saw them at Shea Stadium. People were stomping their feet. The place was shaking. TULL live is INCREDIBLE ✌
"Is he being satirical?"
Daniel watched one live performance of the title song from the album and figured out what a swarm of music critics were unable to fathom almost 50 years ago
Please react to, "Songs from the Wood." It's one of my all-time Jethro Tull favorites. (I've played the flute since I was in 4th grade.)
"...a long time ago...1976" *sigh* I'd been in the US Navy for a year in '76, spent the Bicentennial on the lovely island of Guam, where we crashed the USO show going on at the Air Force Base...Jethro Tull was a routine companion, blaring out of my ship's loudspeakers...not only listening to Armed Forces Radio, but, our own radio-station...amateur DJs from the ship's crew, all of them rockers....
Talent density. That’s the secret. Talent per unit person.
Marvellous stuff this. Troubadours of prog 😁
Interesting journey you’re on here. Good luck!
Not really "rehearsed", this is Ian Anderson's stage persona naturally... it's just extemporaneous and flows out of him to emphasize his feelings he wants to project..... you'll see as you dive into other cool live performances. (Cross-Eyed-Mary / Aqualung is a good pair that are related stories)
Ian Andersen was naturally like that he was literally high on life
This was written as a spoof on concept albums... the whole album is one song. It was done so well that it is considered one of the best concept albums.
So, what is Thick as a Brick about? Kind if nebulous, actually. It is quite sarcastic and in a broadly subtle way, it is an attack on music critics. The critics described 'Aqualung' as a concept album and honestly, it appears to be one, but Ian Anderson insisted it was NOT a concept album. But in a 'hold my beer' sort of way, he then released Thick as a Brick which is a 40 minute album consisting of one single song - sort of 'one concept album to rule them all' in LOTR terms. It is satire but also absolutely brilliant music.
Great reaction, thanks! With Tull and Rush you’re entering into the world of prog rock and you’ll be in for a treat. Part from these bands, you’ll love Genesis, especially the theatrical years with Peter Gabriel on vocals (until he left the band in 1975), also here a combination of live and studio versions are very fruitful.😎👍
Rush, Jethro Tull, Steely Dan, you have very good taste in music my young friend, very mature for your years.
Didn't you know this song is. A WHOLE ALBUM 1SONG CALLED THICK AS A BRICK
I suspect that the theatricality of the show came about because there were no big screens, and it was a way to reach the audience esp in a stadium type setting. The theatricality too was common in the 60's where being different, interesting or freaky was appreciated and a way to get noticed. We take it for granted now, but it was a new take on performing back then.
Actually there was a big screen. A large "Tullavision." I saw this show at the L.A. Coliseum. There must have been way over 100,000 people in attendance because all the seats were full as well as the entire lawn area (football field). I can't recall if it was the first time I had seen a big screen but it was definitely special and not typical of the time.
You mention how strong live performers can really further their fan base
Two artists from the 70s that come to mind :
Peter Frampton and Foghat
Both were outstanding live performers whose studio tracks typically paled by comparison.
They created two of the best live albums of that era ( perhaps any era )
Frampton Comes Alive - start with the epic Do You Feel Like We Do
Foghat Live - 6 blistering tracks - you can pick any one of them and you’re in good shape though I’m sure many will point you to Slowride or I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Two great rock recordings you should experience at some point
I believe Ian would refer to you as "A very perceptive young man" Lol
This is the Too Old To Rock & Roll Too Young To Die tour. Simply it's about an aging biker. He's dressed as a biker.
7 years ago I took my 12 year old to see Ian's "Thick as a Brick 2"... Great show... Great memories.
SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE REALLYYYY ENJOYING RUSH, TULL AND KANSAS STUFF TO ME, THAT'S AWESOME DANIEL! :)
Waiting on you to react to more Tull Daniel, there is so much more great material to come!
You trying to imitate Ian was hilarious!😂
I think you should react to "Songs from the wood" or "Valvet green" from the same album, it's has a fantasy atmosphere in there:)
Going to a live concert of a band with fantastic live presence like this band is something totally unmissable. You will never forget it for the rest of your life. It's powerful. It's emotional. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It captures your imagination. It makes you think. It lifts your soul.
Start going to concerts. Don't miss out.
Yes you hit it totally on the head when you asked 'Is this a parody of something?' After their first album was described by a critic as a concept album (which it totally wasn't), the band decided to give them a 'concept album' for sure. Except it was a parody of every concept album that ever existed, plus much more. There was one track that started on the first side and continued on the other. A one track album, made up of many different parts with links in between. It was written on the fly, a little bit written every day by Ian Anderson over about 6 weeks in the studio. A complete and utter masterpiece. Masterfully written, masterfully played by brilliant musicians. Nobody realised it was a parody - at least not for a long long time. But you can see it in the live performance - he is playing with us the whole way through. It was like he was saying 'Do you REALLY know what I'm doing? Haha I bet you don't!!' Despite all that it is a classic piece of work and amazingly enjoyable.
It goes to show how different a lot of music today is compared to music back then. No comparison.
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson was a amazing performer
Nice reaction Dicon Dissectional
Yes its satire. Critics claimed his previous album (Aqualung) was a concept album which Ian Anderson scoffed at that idea. This album he did as a satirical concept.
Wow! We've got to get you out to some shows when things get back to "normal!" There is still some great live music out there! (although this was the "Golden Age" to me!) Nothing beats the gathering of the parking lot crowd, the buzz of the venue pre show, and finally, the lowering of the lights and......showtime! I drove 2 hrs. to see Tull on the Aqualung tour, 2 hrs back home, arriving at about 2am, and was taking my college entrance exam the next morning at 8am. Worth every minute of it! :)
I got to see the Thick as a Brick one and two concert. Hearing the whole TAAB live was a wonderful experience. Where was Biggles when you needed him last Saturday?
First time I saw Tull was in 79. Saw them 3 or 4 more times over the yrs. I last saw them 4 yrs ago in Seattle. They still sound great and Ian Anderson can still sing very well. Ian Anderson is a very talented man!
One of my favorite groups, starting playing the flute because of this minstrel! They were very entertaining live!
I wish you many years of pleasure from this song.
Yes, Ian is being purposefully humorous. By 1976, the U.S. had been primed to love the British highly eccentric sense of humor by PBS'a weekly airing of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Surreal, silly, anarchy! I agree with you about listening to the studio recordings first. That's how we first heard these songs, and are the iconic versions. Many performances though, need to be seen to be believed. Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Talking Heads, The B52's, Tom Waits, to name a few (when and if ever you get around to it!). I noticed that this clip had a lot of close up shots. Try: My God (Nothing is Easy - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970). Try also: Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe (Live) the black & white clip. Then chase it, back to back, with the color clip Jimi Hendrix (Hey Joe) Live 1967 Monterey. Both are amazing. Happy Listening!
Can't wait for the break down of the full song
I'm lucky to have been seeing bands snce 1967ish in clubs, theatres and small halls right up to festivals with 500,000 attending and there is no thrill like a grea band in a sensible sized venue.
YOU ARE SO CUTE. FIRST TIME SEEING THE GENIUS FOR THE FIRST TIME. JULIE 😊
I wish your patreon had directed you to the Great live version! Which is from Madison Square Garden, 1977 or 1978, easily found on UA-cam. But this one does the job of conveying the showmanship
I may do that one as well:)
@@DiconDissectionalReactions do it! Infinitely better in every sense
What you have to remember about 70's arena shows is that there were no video screens. The over the top performance was because you had to play to the back of the stadium.
I’ve seen them ten times. The best live act I’ve ever seen
Thanks for bringing back a great memory. I saw them that same tour at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Ian Anderson is genius material and the band was top notch.
That was a truncated version. You are going to have field day with lyrics from the studio version. Make sure you use the Steven Wilson remaster for this and Aqualung.
ESPECIALLY Aqualung. That one and Benefit became considerably better sounding albums under Wilson's remixing.
You are young and you’re listening to one of the greatest entertainers in this planet I saw him in 1970 in Michigan city Indiana I have his albums I listen to him daily listen to the lyrics of the songs he speaking of the world we’re living in one comes to mind the Christmas song listen to that song and then think about it what the worlds all about man’s a genius he plays the flute the MaddeleinYou’re looking at history that will never be ever again I was fortunate to grow up with him listen to all his music I hope you enjoyed as much as I have and still do
Honey I'VE SEEN HIM 5 TIMES. YOU JUST WAIT. JETHRO TULL IAN ANDERSON
72 and still recording and performing. If you'd like to learn more about the origins of the band and Ian, there's a great interview he did this year. www.loudersound.com/features/ian-anderson-interview-the-beginning-middle-and-end-of-jethro-tull
18:55 - My dad took me to my first rock concert (ZZ Top) when I was 15.
I then took him to his last rock concert (ZZ Top) when he was 68 and the circle was closed. :)
Well we went to many concerts in between that time, but my first and his last live concerts were ZZ Top.
Which was nice. :)
Really glad you liked this. Try the live version at Madison Square Garden a few years later. It's even better. By the way, his name is Ian Anderson.
IAN WAS ONLY 29!!!
GENIUS!!
Not the best video of this song. Definitive version is the Madison Square Garden version from 1978. Also great from that same show is Songs From The Wood and well as Aqualung. Camera work not too great on this version. So many great songs by this group. I have seen them about 40 times. Ian Anderson is the greatest frontman. So engaging you can't take your eyes off him. Also talks to the crowd versus just getting up there and playing the songs.
Absolutely. The '78 Madison Square Garden performance had just about the best sound you'll ever hear live.
Steve Jacobson Agree - the quality of sound and recording on the MSG performance is far superior.
The '78 MSG performance had great sound, great camera work, and starts backstage and follows Ian up on stage. That little bit extra really adds to the performance on video.
I prefer this version to the '78 show, and I like the '77 'Songs From the Wood' broadcast on BBC better as well. The '78 show is definitely very good.
These live shows were polished and great shows, but they were the short-form arrangements of TAAB. The live shows
of 1973 did the entire 50 minutes and were more explosive and unpredictable. Plus Jeffery Hammond-Hammond was on bass in those days!
Thick As A Brick was a parody album released after everybody proclaimed Aqualung was a concept album. Ian just figured he would show people what a concept album was since they didn't seem to recognize one. I saw them twice in the 70's! Always a great show! (1972) Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in March 1972. The album contains a continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is a parody of the concept album genre.
His concerts were themed around his newest albums , Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, A passion Play and as much a show as it was a concert,
I saw him when he was doing A Passion Play and was jumping back and forth through a big screen like a Alice in wonderland theme.
The visual aspect of a Jethro Tull concert was just as amazing as his awesome music, Second best concert ever after Black Sabbath circa 1970
in a 800 seat auditorium in Dallas. TX opening for Mountain , quite a big impression on a 15 year old as I have heard elsewhere at 65 I still cant get
fairies wear boots loud enough.
Jethro Tull wore different costumes on each of their tours. I was recently able to match the year we saw them in concert (1982) based on the costumes they wore that year. Ian Anderson has in fact described himself as a bard.
Jethro Tull is led by vocalist/flutist/guitarist/composer/and musical genius Ian Anderson. He said he played guitar until he heard Eric Clapton play, so he taught himself to play the flute. Don't do Aqualung, everybody else is doing Aqualung. As a fan for over 40 years, I suggest the album "Heavy Horses" from 1978. I think it's their best, musically and lyrically.
A good suggestion but Aqualung is so classic. I really love Stand Up....my first introduction to Tull in 1970 for my 17th birthday.
Personally, I would like him to do a chronological journey, but I thought this would be a good way to get him on the hook ;-)
For years they would travel across the pond and play the New Haven Colosseum on Halloween ... People dressed in costume .. good times... Always a great show..
I saw a show in the Thick as a Brick tour in (I think) early 1974. Two hours plus of that one song. Filled with long, fabulous jams. Encore was one of the Aqualung songs, possibly Cross-eyed Mary if I recall. To this day, it's still by far the best show I've seen.
My first Tull live show 76 ,,Hartford Civic center I think,,,but this tour,,,thnx
i saw this show ,,lol fantastic kid ty
most people have no idea the amount of work that goes into this kind of show (former stage hand/roadie here). musicians are some of the hardest working people around.
I think I heard you say in one of your videos that you were 16 which surprised me as I thought you were older than that. The first concert I ever attended was Jethro Tull in 1971 when I was 16. I've seen them a total of 7 times, the last an all acoustic concert 15 years or so back in a small 1000 seat theater. It was a year or so after Ian Anderson had throat surgery. Still incredible.