Customer Reviews

Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is not a Tull album, so don't expect that. The classical elements have always been present in Ian's music, however, and this album proves to be everything "A Classic Case" (David Palmer with the London Philharmonic and cameo roles from Tull) tried to be. Highlights include the spine-tingling "orhestral Aqualung", My God, Budapest, Pavane, "Life's A Long Song" and "Cheap Day Return / Mother Goose". Ian is obviously in a good mood and having fun with the different musicians.
Recommended.

I've got a Jethro Tull problem. I've been an avid Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson fan since 1974 when I got my first record player and promptly went out and bought the "brand new" Warchild Album. Since then I've purchased copies of every single release I could, on both vinyl and later on CD, both authorized and unauthorized (i.e. bootlegs), I've seen the band perform live more than 25 times; I've met the band twice, and I even named my son Ian in tribute to you know who. After more than 30 years of more or less consistent listening, I thought I had just about heard it all - Ian just couldn't surprise me any more.

So, when my copy of IAN ANDERSON PLAYS....arrived from Amazon.com yesterday and I dutifully loaded it in my CD player, expecting another typical concert recording supplemented with some strings - nothing I hadn't heard dozens of times before. For the first few songs it seemed that was exactly what I got. In fact, I could hardly hear the orchestra at all! Mostly, all I could hear guitar, flute and an accordion and I thought "uh-oh!" As the first disc proceeded, the familiar tunes became more lushly orchestrated, though there were few genuinely unique arrangements. So far I gave the release 3-1/2 stars - nice but not quite living up to my expectations.

The second disc started out with PAVANE, a lovely Fauré tune from the CHRISTMAS ALBUM, beautifully performed. Next came the most ubiquitous tune in all of Tulldom: AQUALUNG. I really wasn't expecting anything amazing, but amazing is what I got! At nearly ten and a half minutes, this was a new and completely fresh take on a song that I had long ago written off as a stale - yet obligatory tune for any Tull concert. Starting off with a lovely little oboe and bassoon intro, Ian then comes in on flute with lush strings in an elegiac rendition. Finally the orchestra joins in, along with an amazing guitar solo performed by Florian Opahle, and wonderful drumming by Ian's son James Duncan to make this perhaps the most entertaining and moving version of the song ever performed - no kidding!

Ever the consummate performer and arranger, Ian saved the best bits for last. The final three songs include a stunning version of MY GOD, a fantastic fourteen minute long BUDAPEST and the finale, LOCOMOTIVE BREATH. I can't say enough about how pleased I ended up being with this purchase. Just when I thought I had heard it all, Ian pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat to completely surprise and delight his fans!

Final analysis - five stars plus!

I have always liked Ian Anderson's acoustic side and classical music. The two together seem like a natural fit.
Ian Anderson has always had a folk guitar style of his own.
Many of my favorite songs are from Aqualung and he plays several of them in this collection.
Martin Barre is missing and his expertise on guitar is missing.One thing of note here is the 19 year old prodigy Florian Ophle. He is not as good as Martin Barre but quite capable.
Ian Anderson is showing a more folk or classical style than he has shown in the past.
The highights include "Up the Pool", "Wondering aloud", Cheap Day Return and Mother Goose.
He also does a song that really catches my attention because he uses another flute player to do the song Griminelli's Lament.
The two flutes playing together in harmony shows Anderson at his very best.
He also does a version of "Bouree" that is much more like the way Bach actually did it.
"Boris Dancing is another highlight on the CD, from his Secret Language of Birds CD.
He plays 3 songs from his Christmas album. We Five Kings, Pavane and God rest ye Merry Gentlemen, are well worth listening to.
"My God" and "Budapest" are also done very well.
This is lighter than what you would hear if Tull was on stage, but Anderson is looking for a more classical setting, and frankly I like it.
If you like Jethro Tull or Ian Anderson you need to get this album.

Even though Ian Anderson is one of the very few rock musicians equipped to work well in the rock-classical format, I always cringe when a rock band performs with an orchestra. It's usually the orchestra belching out the rock riffs, with the same tired, static arrangements, with the musicians, both rock & classical, yawning their way to the finish. In other words, such collaborations usually serve neither genre. Happily, this is not the case at all here.

With these sensitive, intelligent re-workings, even the newest songs here sound extraordinarily different. And some of the old warhorses sound positively reborn! Aqualung has now morphed from a classic-rock staple into an almost Wagnerian epic (well, if Wagner played guitar like Bo Diddley). Cheap Day Return and Mother Goose have truly gorgeous, understated orchestrations, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman sounds like Count Basie, as Ian himself comments.

If I had to pick my absolute favorites from this set, I'd have to say Griminelli's Lament & Budapest. The orchestration on Griminelli's Lament adds a Baroque grandeur to what was already a heartbreakingly beautiful piece. Budapest, which may very well be Anderson's greatest song, is given its definitive reading, with funk being added to it's fusion of classical, folk, rock, jazz & Bartok-like melodies. Truly an incredible performance!

I know we live in an age of hyperbole, and the term is so overused, but I really do consider Ian Anderson to be a musical genius. He has such an incredibly diverse body of work, yet his personality is stamped on all of it. And, for what it's worth, I sincerely hope that he continues giving us his music for a long, long time.

After seeing Jethro Tull live in concert last fall, and hearing the first half of the show performed acoustically, I must say that I love this album. I'm a fan of all Tull's music, and I enjoy orchestral pieces just as much - blending the two is a natural extension of Ian Anderson's talent on flute and I'm very happy they released this album.

Being both a rock and a classical music fan, I loved this new release! Ian Anderson has rethought his canon of songs in a most brilliant way. Some of his newer stuff sounds quite similar to the studio recordings, but even those songs are fresh. I am not one of those fans who think JT should play Aqualung at every concert, but this retelling is brilliant. Who would have thought it could sound so- well, classical? Ian Anderson just gets better with each passing year. I own all of JT's albums and think every one is great except "Under Wraps". If you are a Tull fan, you cannot live without this one. I am just waiting for the DVD of this to be released.

Originally I only intended to order the book "Game of Shadows" about the various steroid abusers in sports, but when Amazon.com offered me "free shipping" for a little bit more, I selected this album and am glad I did.

I like what I heard when Ian Anderson was joined with an orchestra on the song "A Raft Of Penguins" from Rupi's Dance, so I figured this album would be more of the same. I agree with previous reviews I have read by G-Dexter and Michael Wheeler "Stratocaster" on this site as well.

There are only a few things I can add that they didn't say in their reviews. My favorite song on the album is the last one: "Locomotive Breath" which runs for 6:42. I've always felt that Anderson was never quite satisfied with the original version on the album "Aqualung" where about 3/4's of the way through, you hear that annoying buzzing sound of a loose wire or a short in the system.

In this version, Ian gives it his all singing the vocal, but what I enjoy the most is his flute playing mixed with the orchestra. At about 5:09 of the song, where it would normally end, he adds this great flute solo that I've never heard before on any Tull album. I've played it over and over and like it more than the original which is a rarity. It's also nice to be able to hear the music played before a very polite audience. I can understand the words a lot better than I ever could before, and, I must say as an aside, Ian looks a lot better in that lighter colored headpiece than the black one he usually wears.

Last but not least is the usual Tull fans lament, of which I am no exception. I wish he had done "Moths" from the "Heavy Horses" album which I think would have sounded great with a live orchestra and Ian singing it minus the hoarseness that he had in the early `80's. True to form, we no sooner finish listening to this latest offering and the words "More" come out of our greedy mouths. Therefore, I'd have to say I enjoyed it. Hope you do as well.

a wondrous coalescence between rock and classical that features the one who originally composed the music. Few bands would have lent themselves so nicely to two genres of music. This brings everything full circle.

We saw Ian Anderson in concert and loved the show. I bought this CD for my husband for Christmas and it is very well done. Just like being at the show again. I would highly recommend it to any Jethro Tull fan.

If you like Tull you'll like this. Plenty of music on two discs. Overblown at times but there are some nice takes on some Tull classics. More laid back of course with the orchestra, but entertaining nontheless!