Customer Reviews

20 Year of Jethro Tull [VHS]

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Released in celebration of the group's 20th anniversary in 1988, this video contains a lot of precious moments, but the chronology is scattershot, and one wonders how the producers chose the running order of the concert clips, videos, and interviews. Those looking for a coherent history of Jethro Tull will be disappointed, but much of what is on display here is very good. Tull's songwriter/singer/multi-instrumentalist Ian Anderson is his usual erudite and witty self in the interview segments, but one wonders why no other band members were given screen time to air their thoughts (the subsequent 25th Anniversary video would rectify this glaring omission). There is some great concert footage and brief interviews with some fans, as well. Definitely worth owning if you are a fan, but one hopes that there will be another video documentary produced to bring things up to date (yes, Tull are still going strong!), and with any luck a better effort will me made to weave all the elements together more successfully.

I purchased this video in 1989 when I first became a Jethro Tull fan. As a new fan, I was happy to have any video on Tull because I knew so little about the band's history and there wasn't a lot of stuff out there on the band (this was before amazon.com and eBay). Watching this video again after listening to Tull for most of the past 14 years, it is disappointing. The music videos and clips are in odd order (at the beginning it jumps from an old late 60s concert clip "To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be" to 1977's "The Whistler"). Of the band members, only Ian Anderson is interviewed. I would have enjoyed hearing from John Evan or Barriemore Barlow, etc. People instrumental in helping Tull get gigs and a record deal are interviewed. I think some extra time for more videos would have been gained if former manager Terry Ellis was left off (he takes quite a long time to make his points). Because this video came out during the Crest of a Knave period, many of the song clips are from that album (She Said She Was a Dancer, Budapest, Steel Monkey, Jump Start). Good points are that you get the cool music video for "Too Old To Rock and Roll" as well as "Heavy Horses" and "The Whistler." I like the "Lap of Luxury" video, but it only offers the first part. That was very disappointing. There is concert footage for "Aqualung", "Thick As a Brick" and "Songs From the Wood" but I find the music videos more interesting because I have a feeling they are harder to find. Anderson's interview segments and lip syncing in his private studio was very nice and you get to see the beautiful country scenery near his home in Scotland (with him on a motorcycle). Fans are also interviewed in a pub. One fan mentioned he hopes the band will go on another twenty years. It's scary to think that another 20 years is almost here!

Every time I see something done by Ian Anderson be it concerts, CD's,Album his talent has gotten better with time. The first time I seen Jethro Tull in concert was at the 13th hour it was a psychadelic club underneath an old shopping center store in Evansville, Indiana. Then in 1972 the "thick as a Brick" tour It Was unbelievable concert so when I saw this video I wasn't surprised at just how the best just keep getting better.Ive watched this group for about 30 years an they are truly something to be- hold I highly recommend you go see them anytime that you get to, you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Very nice collection of Tull on video from the beginning. A must-have for fans. My only negative comment is the video for "Lap of Luxury" was cut-off at about 1/2 way thru....would have liked to have seen the whole thing again.

As fragmented as this set is, it contains portions of what is considered one of the two "Holy Grail" concerts: full, uninterrupted versions of Thick as a Brick, Aqualung, and Songs From the Wood ( MSG, 1978 ). A different, full version of Aqualung is available on the 25th Anniversary DVD ( from the other landmark show, BBC Sight & Sound 1977 ). Since these vintage shows apparently won't be released anytime within the foreseeable future ( ditto this video being released on DVD ), this is as close as we're going to get to pristine footage of what I call the Mark II lineup of Jethro Tull. I don't know if it's "legalize", bad blood between former members of JT and Ian Anderson, or simply that IA wants only footage of the current lineup of JT released. But, for now, this is apparently as good as it gets for the Tull fan.

I expected a comprehensive history of the band. There is some good live footage from 1978, and decent interviews with Anderson and Tull Fans. But a great amount of the songs are the cheezy videos of the 80's and the like. I never knew Tull fell into that crappy promo stuff, but I guess they played those music videos in Britain more than the US. Some reminded me os ZZ top , less the furry guitars !! More live footage, and more historical stuff would be welcomed. It's OK , but not a great overview of Jethro Tull !!