@@DropAnchor1978 They're usually a sort of "family decal" style decoration, representing the family with ducks and ducklings. I love the maturity of this song. "You're all alone, and it's my fault."
Mostly its Ian and good catch by you, but there is occasionally martin on acoustic especially when they layer stuff in the studio. I mean sometimes other people play flute live for flute passages that overlap as well, but its rare (but also worth mentioning).
The line "fly away peter and fly away paul" is a reference to a nursery rhyme that's quite common in the UK, called "two little dickie birds" - and as others have mentioned, the ducks on the wall are normally in threes, so if two of them fly away, what are you left with? One white duck on your wall.
Ian Anderson is such a treasure. What a composer! The reason why Jethro Tull is in my top five GOAT music producers. Compare this album and song to their first or second albums. GREAT on their own but notice the evolution of their music in sound quality (technically speaking) and depth. Their discography IMHO exceeds many more "popular" bands their day.
The one white duck is actually a reference to house decoration in the UK. People would have several clay ducks on their wall, so in the context of the song and what Ian was going through (divorce), it's likely a reference to the family/relationship being split up because there's only one left (or maybe one has been removed from where it once was).
My favorite song by my favorite band. I call Ian Anderson the Shakespeare of Rock and Roll. I love your analogies and I feel right there with you! Thank you for this!
As others have said, Ian is playing the acoustic guitar here. There are only a few songs in Jethro Tull's catalog that Martin played acoustic guitar, usually just playing lead. Ian actually modelled and emulated Roy Harper quite a bit when it comes to the more acoustic Tull songs. They're both from Blackpool and Roy served as sort of an idol for Ian. So much so that Ian not only lists Roy's second albums as one of his favorite albums of all time, but Ian has played on a few of Roy's songs. While not instrumentally that impressive, I'd suggest "These Fifty Years" by Roy Harper if you really want to focus on lyrics. It's a long song with a basic folk chord progression, but Ian Anderson plays the flute between song shifts and Ian is at his peak in terms of flute playing by then.
JP... I think you know by now that you need to do much more Roy Harper... Quite agree with Reece about "These Fifty Years". I know that you've done "The Game" but I would also suggest amongst SO many other Roy songs maybe giving "One of These Days In England parts 2-10" a try. If you don't want another Long Song then please give Hallucinating Light a listen... PLEASE.
One White Duck is perhaps my favorite acoustic Tull song... the vocal delivery is so perfect... but the guitar work complemented by strings both bowed and plucked makes is all magical. And then there is 0^10 = nothing at all. How can you beat lyrics are packed with Anderson's wit? Immaculate! Together this is the highlight of the album.
Now it's time for Baker Street Muse. If you are listening the remixes version the song is splitted in many tracks but it's actually one song. I would also add the ending of the album "Grace", as it is only 30 seconds long, into the next reaction.
I don't like the remix at all. Baker St Muse was written as one epic and should be listened as such (especially because in the remixed version, Mother England Reverie contains Baker St Muse [redux] which also makes no sense). And I agree that Grace should be put together with it for the final MITG reaction.
It used to be common to have white ducks or other things as a decoration on the wall, one for each person living there. One duck signifies being single or alone.
That also explains the Kinks' song "Ducks on the Wall" "I hate this house and I hate you, but More than anything else I hate those Ducks!" "Don't you touch those ducks Norman! They were a present from my mother. Look, Norman, I've had enough of you And your ridiculous fantasies. First of All you wanted to be a painter, then You wanted to be an astronaut, then A footballer and now you're playing at Being a rock singer. If you touch those Ducks I'm leaving!"
The Drummer Doane Perry was a very very close friend of Neil Peart , they have a drummers forum on UA-cam, And he wrote a very nice obituary about Neil ,
It's Ian's iconical flat picking guitar style. Keep it in mind when listening to the next song of the Album where Martin only plays electric guitar. Martin plays the acoustic parts in concert when Ian is on flute or mandolin. In Salamander they both play acoustic guitars where Martin echoes Ian.
The names, Peter and Paul are in reference to a nursery rhyme, called, "Two Little Dicky Birds", with the line, "Fly away Peter, fly away Paul. This post has an avian theme, "One White Duck", dicky birds and that cute duck in your video intro!. Very nice.
Others have pointed out that it is Ian on acoustic guitar here. It is worth noting that Martin is only credited with electric guitar on the liner notes. Ian normally plays the acoustic parts on their songs, although, Martin occasionally does join in. When he does play other than electric guitars, he is credited (see, eg., Stormwatch or War Child)
I’ve said it before, but I think this album is Ian’s best vocal performance. In particular his tremolo where he alters the volume of his voice, rather than a vibrato where the pitch changes. It’s also probably some of his best guitar playing.
Ian plays acoustic on studio recordings. That upstroke he does in the beginning is the giveaway. That's a total Ian technique. This is my favorite Acoustic Tull track. Now I have to check out Cicada. I have one for you.... Artist Jonathan Wilson, Track, Cecil Taylor
One of the best! As others have noted... the entire "B" Side can be treated as one wonderful track. The best of it is about to come. Baker Street Muse and it gets better with each listen! Brings tears to my eyes to watch a new generation discover and react to Jethro Tull.
Masterful Jethro Tull !! Going to keep this short but sweet. Thick as a brick - excellent , A Passion Play - better , Minstrel in the Gallery - best !! IMO , their most complete album. Love it JP 😍
@@Katehowe3010 I never considered Tull very good at very long form pieces, much like Genesis. They just rambled on too much without any direction, which is why MitG is such a good album by contrast.
@@Katehowe3010 yeah I quite like their early output (just to show everyone that I don't despise all post punk/new wave). Has JP done some KJ, or am I hallucinating...?
Ian always says he took up flute because he didn't think he was a good guitarist. I wish I could be that bad at guitar! He's always underestimated his own acoustic six string playing, which is utterly gorgeous.
95% of the time the acoustic guitar is played by Ian Anderson, not Martin Barre. Barre almost always plays the electric guitar. Anderson plays the guitar here. This is my favourite track on the album, and one of my all-time favourite Jethro Tull songs (even though it's really two songs blended into one). Great, great album!
In England, as it goes, you might have a flock of geese or family of ducks on your wall representing your own family members. In this case there were two ducks and once he left only one duck remained.
Around the fire, in the still of the night. The cicadas hummed and sang, with all their might. Eight travelers with empty growling guts, sit and wait in a clearing by a truck with nothing for supper but One White Duck, nothing else to accompany the meal, except water and bad, bad, bad, luck! When you don't plan ahead and prepare, life can really suck! Peace & partridges, and pheasants.
Divorce lyrics back in the day: "Something must be wrong with me and my brain if I'm so patently unrewarding. But my dreams are for dreaming and best left that way and my zero to your power of ten equals nothing at all." Divorce lyrics nowadays: "You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never ever, ever, ever getting back together Like, ever" (apparently?) Anyway, you tell me where humanity went wrong.
I always figured "pull on my old wings" was a reference to Passion Play, his Lucifer wings. "I thank everybody For making me welcome I'd stay but my wings have just dropped off"
I'm a fan of Ciccada, I have their latest (2021) album Harvest which is very good, I may even have got it from Greece. I wish that I could see Martin Barre live at the moment, from what I've seen on youtube it's a great show.
When Ian gets really personal and softens his voice such as One White Duck or Wondering Aloud avuncular is the word that always comes to mind. Another beautiful comforting song from the magical minstrel. You are on another roll Justin!
Hi Mark! You've mentioned Happy the Man a bit - and I always forget to mention another AMERICAN prog band that started in the early 80's that have at least 6 worthy albums. If you don't know Djam Karet - you might want to give them a listen. A little more exotic - with eastern flavor. Also - maybe a bit more subdued - but a good listen.
@@vdggmouse9512 Thanks a lot. It's always great to get a recommendation from you! I was going to message you that Justin started 'Red Queen' but I figured you had already seen it. Thanks again!
@@vdggmouse9512 I just realized where I heard some of their more mellow tracks before. I used to listen to the DTV New Age station once in a while and was surprised at how much they played what could or does fit into the prog category. Kitaro, Robert Fripp and Tangerine Dream to only mention a few. In fact it was the first time I heard Kitaro.
Thanks for that one JP ! One of my favorite Tull numbers. Ian Andersons vocals on this are magical, uses his voice as a beautiful instrument. Love it .
To be honest, I don't care which one is playing the acoustic guitar. I'm sure either one of them can handle it. All I know is I love this song. This whole album is great!
Love the whole side 2 of this album. One Whit Duck fits perfectly as an intro to the suite of songs called Baker Street Muse. What a wordsmith Ian Anderson is! Great tip by the Way. I’ll check them out.
Hey Justin, I just wanted you to know it's been a pleasure sharing your reactions to Jethro Tull. I'd like to give you a recommendation too, 2 songs off of the Living in the Past album are well worth your reacting to. Life's a Long Song and Wond'ring Aloud Again are both terrific. You actually should check out the album as it's full of songs from the '68-'72 period that didn't (mostly) show up elsewhere. Thanks!
As a point of clarification about my last post. The group that JP is recommending is Ciccada. There's also a group called Cicada which appears to be a classical music quartet from Taiwan (which is actually quite nice).
Great duck intro clip, and after I already had the beginnings of the bitter taste of disappointment in my mouth 'cause you said there's no ducks around. hmm oh yeh. great duck clip! I gotta wonder though, waddle you do to top that?!
Very impressive to understand as much of the story as you did on a single listen. It is indeed about a painfully failing relationship. Some of the details need a little more context. The "White Duck" half of the song is about domestic life - marriage, building a home, starting a family - with interruptions caused by the singer's (Ian's) travel schedule as a touring musician. It was traditional in English homes at some point to decorate with 3 white ceramic ducks on the wall. Some thing is wrong right away though - there is only *one* duck on her (Ian's wife's Jennie) wall, as he is always traveling, physically and emotionally distant. The bit with the "fingertip ledge of contentment" is a game played with children, where the adults fingertips sit on the edge of the table and they say "now fly away Peter" while removing one. "0^10" is acknowledging the failure of the family. His dreams - a happy family life - are for dreaming. He's not committed to that dream. His real life is on the road, in the music business. And it's not only the business - it's "long restless rustle of high healed boots", the end string of one night stands on the road. He dines on breakfast trays at hotels, occasionally coming home for a Sunday lunch confusion. He is the zero, she is the power of 10, and it doesn't matter. Her attempts to connect just turn into more escape for him. In the end, his emotional life is defined by sex ("love's 4 letter word") whether at home and or on the road, and it becomes empty and meaningless. This album was written in the wake of Ian's divorce from Jennie, and he took unusually little creative input from the band. It was more of a bitter, cynical solo album, and neither Ian nor the rest of the band were enthusiastic about performing songs from it after the initial tour. There was too much pain and negativity, from Ian's life, and between Ian and the band.
Afternoon, Justin. Dave from London, under Grey Skies. These days, I prefer the folkier side of Jethro Tull, so this is one of my favourites tracks from Minstrel. Others have pointed out that this is Ian playing acoustic guitar. Lovely melody, tasteful strings. This almost sounds like a traditional song like She Moved Through The Fair. Looking forward to listening to your Ciccada choice - sounds like my type of music. I have two white ducks on a shelf on my wall in my holiday apartment on the Isle of Wight. In fact I have a whole collection of ceramic birds, some from Africa, others from Germany, that I inherited from my late Mum. P.S. my song ref Grey Skies is by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.
Liking your Ciccada track - lovely instrumentation and some nice Heather Findlay like vocals (in fact, reminds me a little of the early folkier Mostly Autumn, when Heather was in the band). I remember a feature on Ciccada last year in Prog magazine.
This from a forgotten era when music was actually art and not commerce. When a musician had to master his instrument and write songs that had a structure and had meaning. And the best art, in my opinion, is opaque, that is you don't know exactly what it means, you have to work at it, figure it out. And then you have an epiphany, and go "aw so that's what he meant." You are then elevated to a diffrent level, to use a hackneyed phrase, a spiritual level. One more thing, with music of this calibre, you can't just really get it from one listen. I'd say have a dozen times at least Maybe a dozen.
Hey, great reaction, JP! Thanks for the Ciccada reco! Sounds cool, gotta check out the rest of their stuff 👏 I'm absolutely mesmerized by the acoustic guitar as well, one of my very favorite sides of Tull, I have an entire playlist with only acoustic Tull ❤️ I'm sure others have mentioned the bonus tracks on this album, but I just have to say *Pan Dance* is definitely worth your time, one of their finest instrumentals, incredibly beautiful. It's not included on any of the b-side collections as far as I know so that's why I wanna take the opportunity to give it shoutout. *Summerday Sands* is nice as well. And maybe you already know but the very last official track on this album *Grace* is only around half a minute, very beautiful non the less. Hey maybe do *Grace* and *Pan Dance* in one go?
Martin is a great guitar player but I believe that the acoustic guitar is Ian playing. He usually plays it and I've seen him playing it live, it's his style
I liked this one long before I learned the significance of "one white duck on your wall" and that the main subject is Ian's divorce from Jennie. At that point some lyrics become clear and it becomes clear that those which remain unclear are meaningful to him. Knowing the personal aspect makes the whole thing much more poignant. Oh, and on the off chance you haven't noticed anyone else saying so...'tis Ian bossing that acoustic around. His acoustic playing is a major part of Tull's sound.
I think you can only link inside of UA-cam or the whole post will be deleted. That is what I have experienced and others have said. I guess suggesting websites or a search is a good work around as you have done. Thanks
There´s no Morphine lovers in here? "Cure for pain" or "Yes" astonishing albuns? Honey white, Scratch, Whisper, Buena,Thursday songs? Bass and sax super lines? I need it...i´m in pain.
I promise you’ll like Lookin for a Day in the Night -the 1994 album by The Lilac Time. Ironically, this JT track could be it’s Grandpa. I say that as i have an aversion to the Tull Brand, but this was a heartfelt gutwrenchingly protest strumfest. Diolch Justin.
Thanks for the Cicada recommendation. Another group that feels to me like was influenced by Jethro Tull is a group called Audience. They also fit in the folk/prog rock crossover genre. I know that you've done a couple of reactions to other versions of "I put a spell on you" but the Audience version on their House on the Hill album is worth a listen, as are several other cuts. I's a really good album from the album from Jackdaw to the title cut.
When you finish the album, you can conclude w/ this smoking video of Minstrel In the Gallery. The only drawback would be the cameraman needed to pan out and not focus individually so much. Great performance nonetheless.
The Kinks also wrote a song about ducks on the wall called 'Ducks on the Wall' for their undervalued "Soap Opera" album. This is an upbeat comedy version. ua-cam.com/video/E67sUzqgPzg/v-deo.html
As everyone else has already said, JP, you are going to have to re-evaluate your opinion of Martin Barre's guitar playing cos' this is not him. Great songs but it's the genius of Ian Anderson that makes them so.
I agree Ian means the ducks to be middle class kitsch. Oddly enough, white duck on your wall also works if you think of a blank artist's canvass. This meaning of duck would tie in neatly with " = nothing at all" whether Ian intended it or not.
Cicada seems interesting! So in those acoustic songs (be it on Aqualung, Minstrel or other albums) it is usually Ian who plays acoustic guitar (and sometimes Martin joins with embellishments on the other one). I heard One White Duck has something to do with a common custom of keeping tiny china ducks in a row in middle class English homes - not sure how much relevance it has to the overall meaning of the song. Nothing at all is apparently a breakup song from his divorcr period with first wife
Ciccada has the Tull-like instrumentals, but lacks the unique and wonderful voice of Ian Anderson that makes Jethro Tull much more than the sum of it's parts.
Ciccada is great! Another amazing fusion/prog band that I highly recommend to all of you fellow instrumental fusion/prog lovers (if you haven't heard them already) is Consider The Source. Go check 'em out...the music shall speak for itself.
wow, I was raised on Peter Paul and Mary... CD on the way, "ten years together"... my goodness that is so sad... don't do reactions just listen to it. it is a real quick listen, kinda of a staple for folk music. All the best
Acoustic in Tull is _generally_ played by Anderson, not Barre. There are exceptions of course.
Yes, Ian is the troubadour in the group.☺️
Yes. Ian played acoustic guitar and Martin played electric guitar.
And he's so fucking good at it. (the little intricacies) - He inspirues!!!
I'M JUST A BAKER STREET MUUUUUUUUSE!
you gotta listen to it all the way through!
I though it was due last week?
This song is about Ian's divorce from his first wife. The "white ducks" are traditional British decorations, usually in groups of 3.
Thanks for this insight. I never knew the significance of the decorations as a group. Knowing that there is only one now is poignant.
Pottery, ornamental ducks
@@DropAnchor1978 They're usually a sort of "family decal" style decoration, representing the family with ducks and ducklings. I love the maturity of this song. "You're all alone, and it's my fault."
JP; that's not Martin: The acoustic work on Jethro Tull is always Ian :)
Well, it's almost always; but the songs here are certainly Ian.
Mostly its Ian and good catch by you, but there is occasionally martin on acoustic especially when they layer stuff in the studio. I mean sometimes other people play flute live for flute passages that overlap as well, but its rare (but also worth mentioning).
Usually when you hear complex solo acoustic parts it is Martin (the Budapest acoustic part for example)
The line "fly away peter and fly away paul" is a reference to a nursery rhyme that's quite common in the UK, called "two little dickie birds" - and as others have mentioned, the ducks on the wall are normally in threes, so if two of them fly away, what are you left with? One white duck on your wall.
Yep, that's about it!!
Ian Anderson is such a treasure. What a composer! The reason why Jethro Tull is in my top five GOAT music producers. Compare this album and song to their first or second albums. GREAT on their own but notice the evolution of their music in sound quality (technically speaking) and depth. Their discography IMHO exceeds many more "popular" bands their day.
The one white duck is actually a reference to house decoration in the UK. People would have several clay ducks on their wall, so in the context of the song and what Ian was going through (divorce), it's likely a reference to the family/relationship being split up because there's only one left (or maybe one has been removed from where it once was).
My favorite song by my favorite band. I call Ian Anderson the Shakespeare of Rock and Roll. I love your analogies and I feel right there with you! Thank you for this!
As others have said, Ian is playing the acoustic guitar here. There are only a few songs in Jethro Tull's catalog that Martin played acoustic guitar, usually just playing lead. Ian actually modelled and emulated Roy Harper quite a bit when it comes to the more acoustic Tull songs. They're both from Blackpool and Roy served as sort of an idol for Ian. So much so that Ian not only lists Roy's second albums as one of his favorite albums of all time, but Ian has played on a few of Roy's songs. While not instrumentally that impressive, I'd suggest "These Fifty Years" by Roy Harper if you really want to focus on lyrics. It's a long song with a basic folk chord progression, but Ian Anderson plays the flute between song shifts and Ian is at his peak in terms of flute playing by then.
JP... I think you know by now that you need to do much more Roy Harper... Quite agree with Reece about "These Fifty Years". I know that you've done "The Game" but I would also suggest amongst SO many other Roy songs maybe giving "One of These Days In England parts 2-10" a try. If you don't want another Long Song then please give Hallucinating Light a listen... PLEASE.
Yes, I think Martin played more marimba than acoustic guitar. Haha
Ian's playing style is also very unique, so easy to pick up on
One of my favorites by Tull, and a reminder of what a great voice Ian had.
One White Duck is perhaps my favorite acoustic Tull song... the vocal delivery is so perfect... but the guitar work complemented by strings both bowed and plucked makes is all magical. And then there is 0^10 = nothing at all. How can you beat lyrics are packed with Anderson's wit? Immaculate! Together this is the highlight of the album.
Now it's time for Baker Street Muse. If you are listening the remixes version the song is splitted in many tracks but it's actually one song. I would also add the ending of the album "Grace", as it is only 30 seconds long, into the next reaction.
Yesss YES! Baker Street Muse. :D
I don't like the remix at all. Baker St Muse was written as one epic and should be listened as such (especially because in the remixed version, Mother England Reverie contains Baker St Muse [redux] which also makes no sense). And I agree that Grace should be put together with it for the final MITG reaction.
Don't worry, he knows ;-)
It used to be common to have white ducks or other things as a decoration on the wall, one for each person living there. One duck signifies being single or alone.
Thanks for this insight. I never knew the significance of the decorations as a group. Knowing that there is only one now is poignant.
That also explains the Kinks' song "Ducks on the Wall"
"I hate this house and I hate you, but
More than anything else I hate those
Ducks!"
"Don't you touch those ducks Norman!
They were a present from my mother.
Look, Norman, I've had enough of you
And your ridiculous fantasies. First of
All you wanted to be a painter, then
You wanted to be an astronaut, then
A footballer and now you're playing at
Being a rock singer. If you touch those
Ducks I'm leaving!"
Ian's voice was so good on this album.
Can't wait for Baker St. Muse - hope you do it all at once
The Drummer Doane Perry was a very very close friend of Neil Peart , they have a drummers forum on UA-cam, And he wrote a very nice obituary about Neil ,
Peart lived in London for a short time as a young man, before he returned to Canada and joined Rush. I wonder if that’s where he met Perry.
Ian Anderson is my favorite acoustic guitar player... Love the tone of his capoed parlor guitars.
How about "Skating way on a thin Ice"? Superb.
OK, Knowing that I love the song, omg, the man has the most memorable and sweet voice.
It's Ian's iconical flat picking guitar style. Keep it in mind when listening to the next song of the Album where Martin only plays electric guitar.
Martin plays the acoustic parts in concert when Ian is on flute or mandolin. In Salamander they both play acoustic guitars where Martin echoes Ian.
Martin Barre, Steve Howe, and Steve Hackett? You couldn't pick three more diverse guitarists from one another. Well done!
I'm pretty sure that's Ian Anderson playing the acoustic guitar on the song, but everything you've said about Martin is also true
Awe acoustic track from a Great album.
The names, Peter and Paul are in reference to a nursery rhyme, called, "Two Little Dicky Birds", with the line, "Fly away Peter, fly away Paul. This post has an avian theme, "One White Duck", dicky birds and that cute duck in your video intro!. Very nice.
Another easy listening Gem by Ian & Tull !! : D
My favorite song from this album. Thanks Justin!!!
Got chills twice on this one
Others have pointed out that it is Ian on acoustic guitar here. It is worth noting that Martin is only credited with electric guitar on the liner notes. Ian normally plays the acoustic parts on their songs, although, Martin occasionally does join in. When he does play other than electric guitars, he is credited (see, eg., Stormwatch or War Child)
I’ve said it before, but I think this album is Ian’s best vocal performance. In particular his tremolo where he alters the volume of his voice, rather than a vibrato where the pitch changes.
It’s also probably some of his best guitar playing.
Great album, great songs… nice to see something about music than all the bad news of the day.
Ian's guitar playing is very tasteful!!
Ian plays acoustic on studio recordings. That upstroke he does in the beginning is the giveaway. That's a total Ian technique. This is my favorite Acoustic Tull track. Now I have to check out Cicada. I have one for you.... Artist Jonathan Wilson, Track, Cecil Taylor
One of the best! As others have noted... the entire "B" Side can be treated as one wonderful track. The best of it is about to come. Baker Street Muse and it gets better with each listen! Brings tears to my eyes to watch a new generation discover and react to Jethro Tull.
Masterful Jethro Tull !! Going to keep this short but sweet. Thick as a brick - excellent , A Passion Play - better , Minstrel in the Gallery - best !! IMO , their most complete album. Love it JP 😍
@@Katehowe3010 I never considered Tull very good at very long form pieces, much like Genesis. They just rambled on too much without any direction, which is why MitG is such a good album by contrast.
@@Katehowe3010 yeah I quite like their early output (just to show everyone that I don't despise all post punk/new wave). Has JP done some KJ, or am I hallucinating...?
@@Katehowe3010 ah yes, there we go! No need to call the doctor now haha
Agree . This is my fav album. Benefit my second love the hippie feel of it .
One of the best Tull songs. Beautifully sung and played and arranged.....Love it!
This is the song that got me into Tull.
Ian always says he took up flute because he didn't think he was a good guitarist. I wish I could be that bad at guitar! He's always underestimated his own acoustic six string playing, which is utterly gorgeous.
No kidding. No man should be that talented. Ian's a true triple threat. Vocalist, wordsmith, and musician and excels at all three.
95% of the time the acoustic guitar is played by Ian Anderson, not Martin Barre. Barre almost always plays the electric guitar. Anderson plays the guitar here.
This is my favourite track on the album, and one of my all-time favourite Jethro Tull songs (even though it's really two songs blended into one). Great, great album!
Wow. Thanks for the Ciccada recommendation. Part Tull, part Renaissance.
Sounds great.
And Ian’s voice on One White Duck is as SMOOTH as silk.
In England, as it goes, you might have a flock of geese or family of ducks on your wall representing your own family members. In this case there were two ducks and once he left only one duck remained.
That’s Ian on guitar. Almost always when you hear acoustic it’s Ian.
Around the fire, in the still of the night. The cicadas hummed and sang, with all their might. Eight travelers with empty growling guts, sit and wait in a clearing by a truck with nothing for supper but One White Duck, nothing else to accompany the meal, except water and bad, bad, bad, luck! When you don't plan ahead and prepare, life can really suck! Peace & partridges, and pheasants.
Divorce lyrics back in the day:
"Something must be wrong with me and my brain if I'm so patently unrewarding.
But my dreams are for dreaming and best left that way and my zero to your power of ten equals nothing at all."
Divorce lyrics nowadays:
"You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever, ever, ever getting back together
Like, ever" (apparently?)
Anyway, you tell me where humanity went wrong.
A very nice tune, one of my favorites on the album. Actually, the whole album is fan- tastic 👍🏻
I always figured "pull on my old wings" was a reference to Passion Play, his Lucifer wings.
"I thank everybody
For making me welcome
I'd stay but my wings have just dropped off"
Zero ducks, that's about right.
English term or phrase: one white duck on the wall
Selected answer: couple has broken up (one is left).
Love this number. Ian is such a great acoustic player.
enjoyed the tune, been a while since I listened to this LP. enjoyed your reaction as always. thanks
I'm a fan of Ciccada, I have their latest (2021) album Harvest which is very good, I may even have got it from Greece. I wish that I could see Martin Barre live at the moment, from what I've seen on youtube it's a great show.
When Ian gets really personal and softens his voice such as One White Duck or Wondering Aloud avuncular is the word that always comes to mind. Another beautiful comforting song from the magical minstrel.
You are on another roll Justin!
Hi Mark! You've mentioned Happy the Man a bit - and I always forget to mention another AMERICAN prog band that started in the early 80's that have at least 6 worthy albums. If you don't know Djam Karet - you might want to give them a listen. A little more exotic - with eastern flavor. Also - maybe a bit more subdued - but a good listen.
@@vdggmouse9512 Thanks a lot. It's always great to get a recommendation from you! I was going to message you that Justin started 'Red Queen' but I figured you had already seen it. Thanks again!
@@vdggmouse9512 I just realized where I heard some of their more mellow tracks before. I used to listen to the DTV New Age station once in a while and was surprised at how much they played what could or does fit into the prog category. Kitaro, Robert Fripp and Tangerine Dream to only mention a few. In fact it was the first time I heard Kitaro.
Yes, indeed, I liked the ciccada sample!
Something must be wrong with me and my brain…. Love that lyric
Thanks for that one JP ! One of my favorite Tull numbers. Ian Andersons vocals on this are magical, uses his voice as a beautiful instrument. Love it .
To be honest, I don't care which one is playing the acoustic guitar. I'm sure either one of them can handle it. All I know is I love this song. This whole album is great!
Love the whole side 2 of this album. One Whit Duck fits perfectly as an intro to the suite of songs called Baker Street Muse.
What a wordsmith Ian Anderson is!
Great tip by the Way. I’ll check them out.
Ian Anderson plays the accoustic Guitar! Martin Barre does the electric.
Hey Justin, I just wanted you to know it's been a pleasure sharing your reactions to Jethro Tull. I'd like to give you a recommendation too, 2 songs off of the Living in the Past album are well worth your reacting to. Life's a Long Song and Wond'ring Aloud Again are both terrific. You actually should check out the album as it's full of songs from the '68-'72 period that didn't (mostly) show up elsewhere. Thanks!
As a point of clarification about my last post. The group that JP is recommending is Ciccada. There's also a group called Cicada which appears to be a classical music quartet from Taiwan (which is actually quite nice).
So now I've found Cicada.
Thanks! Great recommendation.
Great duck intro clip, and after I already had the beginnings of the bitter taste of disappointment in my mouth 'cause you said there's no ducks around. hmm oh yeh. great duck clip! I gotta wonder though, waddle you do to top that?!
Very impressive to understand as much of the story as you did on a single listen. It is indeed about a painfully failing relationship. Some of the details need a little more context.
The "White Duck" half of the song is about domestic life - marriage, building a home, starting a family - with interruptions caused by the singer's (Ian's) travel schedule as a touring musician. It was traditional in English homes at some point to decorate with 3 white ceramic ducks on the wall. Some thing is wrong right away though - there is only *one* duck on her (Ian's wife's Jennie) wall, as he is always traveling, physically and emotionally distant. The bit with the "fingertip ledge of contentment" is a game played with children, where the adults fingertips sit on the edge of the table and they say "now fly away Peter" while removing one.
"0^10" is acknowledging the failure of the family. His dreams - a happy family life - are for dreaming. He's not committed to that dream. His real life is on the road, in the music business. And it's not only the business - it's "long restless rustle of high healed boots", the end string of one night stands on the road. He dines on breakfast trays at hotels, occasionally coming home for a Sunday lunch confusion. He is the zero, she is the power of 10, and it doesn't matter. Her attempts to connect just turn into more escape for him. In the end, his emotional life is defined by sex ("love's 4 letter word") whether at home and or on the road, and it becomes empty and meaningless.
This album was written in the wake of Ian's divorce from Jennie, and he took unusually little creative input from the band. It was more of a bitter, cynical solo album, and neither Ian nor the rest of the band were enthusiastic about performing songs from it after the initial tour. There was too much pain and negativity, from Ian's life, and between Ian and the band.
One of my favs....
Afternoon, Justin. Dave from London, under Grey Skies. These days, I prefer the folkier side of Jethro Tull, so this is one of my favourites tracks from Minstrel. Others have pointed out that this is Ian playing acoustic guitar. Lovely melody, tasteful strings. This almost sounds like a traditional song like She Moved Through The Fair. Looking forward to listening to your Ciccada choice - sounds like my type of music.
I have two white ducks on a shelf on my wall in my holiday apartment on the Isle of Wight. In fact I have a whole collection of ceramic birds, some from Africa, others from Germany, that I inherited from my late Mum. P.S. my song ref Grey Skies is by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.
Liking your Ciccada track - lovely instrumentation and some nice Heather Findlay like vocals (in fact, reminds me a little of the early folkier Mostly Autumn, when Heather was in the band). I remember a feature on Ciccada last year in Prog magazine.
This from a forgotten era when music was actually art and not commerce. When a musician had to master his instrument and write songs that had a structure and had meaning. And the best art, in my opinion, is opaque, that is you don't know exactly what it means, you have to work at it, figure it out. And then you have an epiphany, and go "aw so that's what he meant." You are then elevated to a diffrent level, to use a hackneyed phrase, a spiritual level. One more thing, with music of this calibre, you can't just really get it from one listen. I'd say have a dozen times at least
Maybe a dozen.
Anderson was going through a divorce during the making of this album, and it shows in many of the songs.
Hey, great reaction, JP! Thanks for the Ciccada reco! Sounds cool, gotta check out the rest of their stuff 👏
I'm absolutely mesmerized by the acoustic guitar as well, one of my very favorite sides of Tull, I have an entire playlist with only acoustic Tull ❤️
I'm sure others have mentioned the bonus tracks on this album, but I just have to say *Pan Dance* is definitely worth your time, one of their finest instrumentals, incredibly beautiful. It's not included on any of the b-side collections as far as I know so that's why I wanna take the opportunity to give it shoutout. *Summerday Sands* is nice as well.
And maybe you already know but the very last official track on this album *Grace* is only around half a minute, very beautiful non the less. Hey maybe do *Grace* and *Pan Dance* in one go?
Martin is a great guitar player but I believe that the acoustic guitar is Ian playing. He usually plays it and I've seen him playing it live, it's his style
I liked this one long before I learned the significance of "one white duck on your wall" and that the main subject is Ian's divorce from Jennie. At that point some lyrics become clear and it becomes clear that those which remain unclear are meaningful to him. Knowing the personal aspect makes the whole thing much more poignant. Oh, and on the off chance you haven't noticed anyone else saying so...'tis Ian bossing that acoustic around. His acoustic playing is a major part of Tull's sound.
This track was on their best compilation CD, The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull. Again I say, Living in the Past (album and single) next, please
It's not Martin Barre on the acoustic ,it's Anderson....that's his sound
He's no Danny Koulak and the Knappen Street Allstars but he will do I guess. Guess I am just in a banjo mood today.
This is one i often play and sing for my own amusement. Great album.
So now that you realize the guitar was played by Ian......er uh oh.
@@Katehowe3010 .
@@Katehowe3010 No, just a friendly full stop! 😉
I think Ian was playing the guitar. Not martin.
A bit hung over so this was nice.
Got carried away talking to a friend.
Gonna be a long day…
I can't believe you haven't got into Richard Thompson yet. (I say that to everyone, though.)
I will never understand UA-cam comments. Posted a link to the nursery rhyme and it was instantly deleted. WIki - "Two Little Dickie Birds"
I think you can only link inside of UA-cam or the whole post will be deleted. That is what I have experienced and others have said. I guess suggesting websites or a search is a good work around as you have done. Thanks
Great job JP!
If your looking for quality Tull in concert footage, check out live from Tampa Stadium 1976. TULLAVISION!!!
This isn’t Martin playing but Ian Anderson.
Ever heard of the Band IQ. Great prog rock/metal band.
There´s no Morphine lovers in here? "Cure for pain" or "Yes" astonishing albuns? Honey white, Scratch, Whisper, Buena,Thursday songs? Bass and sax super lines? I need it...i´m in pain.
I promise you’ll like Lookin for a Day in the Night -the 1994 album by The Lilac Time.
Ironically, this JT track could be it’s Grandpa. I say that as i have an aversion to the Tull Brand, but this was a heartfelt gutwrenchingly protest strumfest. Diolch Justin.
Thanks for the Cicada recommendation. Another group that feels to me like was influenced by Jethro Tull is a group called Audience. They also fit in the folk/prog rock crossover genre. I know that you've done a couple of reactions to other versions of "I put a spell on you" but the Audience version on their House on the Hill album is worth a listen, as are several other cuts. I's a really good album from the album from Jackdaw to the title cut.
Saw them live in2004 when they reformed , howerd worth brilliant .
A song (album?) full to the brim with references to British culture makes it hard to get an accurate interpretation JP.
When you finish the album, you can conclude w/ this smoking video of Minstrel In the Gallery. The only drawback would be the cameraman needed to pan out and not focus individually so much. Great performance nonetheless.
This is so good.. Please try John Butler, Oceans. UA-cam has a brilliant live solo that is out of this world.. Trust me JP 👍
The Kinks also wrote a song about ducks on the wall called 'Ducks on the Wall' for their undervalued "Soap Opera" album. This is an upbeat comedy version. ua-cam.com/video/E67sUzqgPzg/v-deo.html
Oh sorry, 2nd comment, this is not Martin Barre playing, this is Ian Anderson. Martin did the heavy electric, Ian did the intricate acoustic.
If you like Martin Barre listen to his solo Albums. ATrick Of Memory, The Meeting or Stange Left all great albums
Speaking of Guitarists, I wish you would do more Steve Vai
Is that Martin bar or Ian Anderson on that acoustic guitar?
As everyone else has already said, JP, you are going to have to re-evaluate your opinion of Martin Barre's guitar playing cos' this is not him. Great songs but it's the genius of Ian Anderson that makes them so.
Love the intro
I agree Ian means the ducks to be middle class kitsch. Oddly enough, white duck on your wall also works if you think of a blank artist's canvass. This meaning of duck would tie in neatly with " = nothing at all" whether Ian intended it or not.
Cicada seems interesting! So in those acoustic songs (be it on Aqualung, Minstrel or other albums) it is usually Ian who plays acoustic guitar (and sometimes Martin joins with embellishments on the other one). I heard One White Duck has something to do with a common custom of keeping tiny china ducks in a row in middle class English homes - not sure how much relevance it has to the overall meaning of the song. Nothing at all is apparently a breakup song from his divorcr period with first wife
Ciccada has the Tull-like instrumentals, but lacks the unique and wonderful voice of Ian Anderson that makes Jethro Tull much more than the sum of it's parts.
Ciccada is great! Another amazing fusion/prog band that I highly recommend to all of you fellow instrumental fusion/prog lovers (if you haven't heard them already) is Consider The Source.
Go check 'em out...the music shall speak for itself.
Ciccada seems like a lot of fun. Added it to my "To Listen" list. Thanks for the rec, Justin!
Don't anyone embarrass Jason by saying Ian was the acoustic player.
Sorry, but it's Ian on the acoustic guitar.
wow, I was raised on Peter Paul and Mary... CD on the way, "ten years together"... my goodness that is so sad... don't do reactions just listen to it. it is a real quick listen, kinda of a staple for folk music. All the best
......" So there "