Customer Reviews

Live at the Isle of Wight 1970

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This Isle of Wight performance is another truly remarkable addition to the Jethro Tull catalogue and a nugget of pure gold. This particular performance took place on the last day of the festival, August 30th, 1970. Tull was one of the last groups to be featured, following a performance by The Moody Blues and directly preceding Jimi Hendrix, who would sadly die only 18 days later.

The set list is familiar to any fan of the early Tull years, featuring songs from their first three albums, and one song (My God) that wouldn't show up on an album until the release of the Aqualung album the following year. For what it's worth, some of these same songs also appear on disc #2 of the Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Box Set, which was recorded on November 4th, 1970 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Taken together, these two performances give a very good picture of the whole Tull concert experience of that era.

The show starts out with a wonderful version of MY SUNDAY FEELING, and other highlights include DHARMA FOR ONE, BOUREE, and the perennial favorite NOTHING IS EASY (the song that has such a hard time coming to an end.)

While the performance is not quite as polished on this disc as it is during the later New York performance, the energy level is perceptibly higher, and Martin Barre is brilliant, as usual. Clive Bunker in particular gives one of his finest drum performances ever recorded, and the album is worth the money for that alone. If you're a fan, you've got to get this album.

Well, it didn't take long for the Tull haters and snobs to crawl out from under their rocks and declare this CD a bust. "The sound is bad, the highs are pinched, blah blah blah..." It's all such pretentious nonsense. The CD was recorded 34 years ago, which (and I'm just guessing here) might have something to do with the less than perfect sound. And anyway, the sound really isn't bad at all. You get 60 minutes of a very young Tull blasting through their early material with fire and unstoppable energy. Sure, it's sloppy in places, but great rock and roll always is. That's the magic of live performance. You can hear the incredible maturity in later live works such as "Bursting Out," but what "Wight" lacks in finesse and polish it more than makes up for with sheer testosterone. This was a band on the brink of superstardom, and you can hear that confidence in every note. Five stars.

This has to be one of the best live rock albums I have ever heard, the energy imparted by the band and the sound quality is amazing, even though the keyboards are a little buried in the mix. Try and see the DVD as well, although the CD has three additional songs that for some unaccountable reason are not included on the DVD. Ian Anderson has to have been one of the most charismatic and exciting performers to ever grace a rock 'n roll stage, and his flute work is exhilirating, as is the instrumental prowess of the rest of the band. Special kudos to Clive Bunker for being one of the greatest but unheraded drummers in the rock universe. From watching the DVD, I think he was using two pedals on one bass drum, correct me if I am wrong on this. His drumming sweeps the band along as they perform songs from their first 4 albums, when they were at their peak. I can't say enough about this release, so I won't.

"Nothing Is Easy" is an historic document of Jethro Tull's power-driven performance at the famed Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. Long available on inferior bootlegs and fan tapes, this concert has finally been given an official release with the original tapes remastered under the supervision of Tull mainman Ian Anderson. The sound quality of the performance is outstanding with the only imperfections being in John Evan's poorly recorded piano. Also, a majority of Ian's between-song introductions have been unfortunately removed and the cross-fades are rather obvious in spots. On the fortunate side, we have some excellent music here displaying the early Tull scorching up the stage with their dynamic musicianship and diversity.
Although Anderson is obviously the focal point throughout the entire performance, all of the Tull members get a chance to grab the spotlight during this concert. Martin Barre displays some excellent guitar playing while keyboardist John Evan (who had just joined the band at the time) shows off amazing virtuousity with his classically-inspired piano and organ work. Glenn Cornick's bass work is some of his best on record while Clive Bunker's drumming is heavy, driven and not too disimilar to John Bonham. His drum spotlight in "Dharma For One" is stunningly breathtaking.
In addition to the remastered sound, Ian Anderson also provides some heartfelt liner notes to the album while giving praise and dedication to Jimi Hendrix (For history buffs, Hendrix also played the Isle of Wight festival which would be his last ever live performance before his death weeks later).
For the die-hard Tull afficianados, "Nothing Is Easy" is definitely a must. Despite some edits between the songs, this disc gives a near-accurate document of Jethro Tull's historic performance at this historic music festival. The band was definitely on-fire during this performance and with it now being officially available on CD for the first time, it can now be listened to and enjoyed over and over again.

I just bought this CD and was blown away with the performance and the sound quality. This concert was much better than the Carnegie Hall concert (which can be found on the 25th Anniversary Box Set).
The standout track for me was Dharma For One. The energy of the band and Ian's voice are amazing.
I highly recommend that every Tull fan pick up this amazing CD. It will make you think about better times from the past.

More oomphf than you can imagine, or convey. The mixture of originality, musicianship, and a devil may care boldness unfolds a rare expression in music.

This is Martin Barre, Ian Anderson, John Evans and the whole crew in one of their best moments. This is a never released material that dates from 1970, in the Isle of Wight, this location got it's popularity for being the last place Jimi Hendrix played.

Of course there was a lot of other bands playing on the festival, and Tull was one of them. This is a fine performance made by a band with only 3 albums released, and Ian Anderson loaded of ideas in a very inspired day.

The unforgettable flute of Ian floats sweet and angry beyond the numbers, giving us the magic of a real rock menestrel that he are!

If you are a Tull fan, you can't miss this historical presentation.

The sound quality is definitely poor overall, but seems to vary according to instrument and even according to song.

Someone below says there were no photos of the band members except Ian Anderson on the jewel case, the CD itself, or in the bookcase. On close inspection, for what its worth, I discover in the booklet one small photo each of Clive Bunker, John Evan, and Glenn Cornick and one small photo of Martin Barre and one shot that includes both Ian Anderson and Martin Barre's head. There are sixteen photos of Ian Anderson altogether.

I find the liner notes entertaining, if a bit nonsensical, and I wonder how anyone familiar at all with Ian Anderson's prose style could doubt their authenticity.

Another vote here for a Thick As A Brick concert recording: St. Louis, Seattle, wherever.

The energy and passion in the performance contained on this CD will set the adrenaline pumping for any Jethro Tull fan. The live performance of Cry You A Song is worth it alone, as it crackles with energy, excitement and volume. The other tracks are also terrific and filled with the kind of live energy that good bands project on stage and that can rarely be captured in the studio. With You There To Help Me, We Used To Know and other "killer" tracks from the early Tull playlist are here and you will want to hear them with the volume turned up. After hearing the snippets available online I purchased this immediately and loved every minute of it. Buy this now!

Quite a find! The only footage I'd ever heard from this set was the edited "Nothing Is Easy" featured in the Isle of Wight film. I had almost forgotten how rich and soulful Ian's voice was in those days. And Glen Cornick is still my favorite bassist in the history of Tull. Of course, Barre, Bunker and Evan also shine throughout, although Evan's piano was not recorded well.

Anyway, here's the rundown: Before playing "My Sunday Feeling" Ian proclaims that "Martin listened to the record!" (since original member Mick Abrahams was the guitarist on the first LP). The song REALLY KICKS--BIG TIME. Next is my favorite, an early version of "My God". It features the original lyrics, some of which were later adjusted before inclusion on the 'Aqualung' LP. In the instrumental break on "With You There to Help Me" you can actually hear the "birth" of "Locomotive Breath" being worked out onstage! Following is "To Cry You A Song", then "Bouree", "Dharma for One", the aforementioned "Nothing is Easy", and the performance closes with a medley of "We Used to Know"/"For A Thousand Mothers." All are quite heavy, and the sound is decent and in stereo. If you're a long-time Tull fan, I'll bet you're as excited as I am. [OPEN LETTER TO IAN: We 'old-timers' eat these releases up. Thanks for this one.]

Not to be greedy, but perhaps at some time in the future, we'll get the Madison Square Garden 1978 (first televised transatlantic concert) DVD, although a previously released video clip from that show was in mono sound. But for now, this CD will sure do! Enjoy! (NOTE-Please see our reviews of 'Aqualung' and the DVD 'Living With the Past'...Thanks for reading, all!)
Peace, Ant