A Jethro Tull Flashback
GONE WITH THE REWIND
Two upcoming concerts have me heading back to music from long ago – and not so long ago.
JAN 29, 2006 - AS IS THE CASE WITH MOST OF US who bought way too much music when we were younger and spending our parents’ money – and have since cut down because it’s now our money – I just don’t get the time to dig out older albums all that much. But when I heard that Jethro Tull are coming down to perform in India, my brain triggered off soft-focus musical flashbacks – and I did what I always do when I hear a new old band is coming down to perform in India (“new” because they’re the latest to come down; “old” because they’re from an era when Nos. 1 through 50 on the Billboard charts weren’t automatically filled with hip-hop acts).
So, to give the group a re-listen, I headed for the attic in my rambling mansion. I climbed the creaky stairs. I opened the trapdoor. I waved my hands about to clear the stale air. I brushed the cobwebs aside. I looked around at the piles of LPs. I located the Jethro Tull albums. I picked them up, a smile on my lips, a film in my eyes. I gently wiped away the thin layer of dust. I slipped a record on the turntable, set the needle to play, leaned back on my stuffed mahogany armchair, and lost myself in the music.
Okay, so none of this actually happened – but if it did, wouldn’t it be the most ideally romantic process of rediscovery for music you loved long ago? Besides, it does sound more appropriate than the reality: that I, in my matchbox-size flat, simply leaned over, opened a drawer, and whipped out the CDs (readily accessible because they’re all alphabetised, by genre). Somehow, it doesn’t sound right that music from certain generations be available on Compact Discs – or, horror of horrors, as mp3s on an iPod! (No frayed album cover! No thumbed-through liner notes! Just disembodied bytes of audio files! Yikes! Can that really be called music?)
The mode may have changed, but – small mercies! – at least the music is the same. I started with Aqualung – not just because it’s the group’s best-known album, but because it’s also the one with Ian Anderson’s autograph, which I obtained after a painstaking wait in a never-ending line outside Bombay’s Rhythm House, in early 1994. (I didn’t see him perform there, but I caught a later show at the YMCA Grounds in Madras.) And as soon as I slipped the CD in, I heard what is surely Classic Rock’s answer to the da-da-da-da of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 – the opening guitar riff of the album’s title song. (Now pipe down, you Deep Purple fans; I know you’re saying the guitaring that opens Smoke on the Water is as instantly identifiable and as famous, if not more, but that one has more involved chords; this one just outlines the main tune and – boom! – you’re into the number.)
And I thought: here’s a band that everyone knows because the frontman plays a flute, and yet it’s that power riff that everyone remembers. (This album also has the other famous Jethro Tull riff, the one that – first on the piano, then on the guitar – fuels Locomotive Breath.) After that beginning, the song segues into early-Elton-John poppishness – cheery, plinky-plonk piano runs and all. Then the electric guitar takes over, but not quite with the heavy-duty drive that kicked off the number. Then there’s some very Beatles-esque humming – dee de de de, dee de de de. And then, that opening riff again, followed by Sitting on a park bench, so on and so forth.
What a unique structure! More importantly, what an unpindownable structure! So like the music from that era, when groups put out what they wanted to play rather than what they thought the paying customers wanted them to play – and yet, this number didn’t quite give me the feeling of having heard the Jethro Tull sound. Neither did the follow-up, Cross-eyed Mary, though this one did have hints of that famous flute. Cheap Day Return followed, sounding like something by America crossed with something Cat Stevens wrote for the Harold and Maude soundtrack. I had to wait until Song No. 4 (Mother Goose) till I heard that Jethro Tull sound again: flute bursts over a murmuring Spanish guitar (the real flute flourishes, though, you don’t get to until My God, much later in the album), and vocals that – funnily enough for a rock band – are hushed, almost apologetic in volume, as if scared of waking up the children.
Your definition of the Jethro Tull sound may be different, but what you’ll agree on is that the group’s albums defied any generic definition. That’s probably why Jethro Tull isn’t as iconic a rock band from that era as, say, Led Zep. (Admit it: it is cooler to request a DJ for Dazed and Confused rather than Wond’ring Aloud, isn’t it?) Also, there’s no Jethro Tull USP other than… the music. If you’ve, say, just found yourself the perfect girlfriend and are in the mood for mush that would make Celine Dion shudder, well, you reach for Air Supply. On the other hand, if your best friend just toodled off with your girlfriend and you’re trying to get at the meaning of it all, you OD on Pink Floyd. (“Oh, those poor guys! All those best-selling albums! All those millions. And they still sound tortured enough to slit their wrists. There, I feel much better.”) But what does Jethro Tull offer you but… just great music?
Well, there’s one other thing: some great cover art. Aqualung had that Fagin-like creature glaring evilly at… something, someone, perhaps an off-screen Oliver. Thick as a Brick – yeah, the album named after the number containing that immortal ode to romance: “Your sperm’s in the gutter/your love’s in the sink” – has the title as a screaming newspaper headline. And I just love the art on Songs from the Wood – there’s that stump of a sawn-off tree, the age rings making the surface look like a tan-coloured LP, and a gramophone needle rests on the circumference. (Get it? Songs from the… wood!) And after all this brilliance, let’s just forgive the artwork on Heavy Horses, shall we? After all, to compensate for the fright of seeing an unshaven Anderson raising his arms, wearing what seems like glitter panties and a medieval court jester’s top, there is that classic, Acres Wild!)
Yet, it’s very likely that crowds are going to be more pumped about the other international singer scheduled to perform around this time – Bryan Adams. For one, he’s the man behind Summer of ’69, which is now old enough to be officially categorised under Classic Rock. (It’s also a bit of a personal favourite because it came out when I was in school, and it brings back memories of other not-cool-now bands I used to listen to – Pet Shop Boys and Modern Talking. Cheri Cheri Lady is playing in my mind’s ear as I type this.) But what else has he done? Oh yes, there was that cheese-fest on the soundtrack of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the one that went Everything I Do… And that led to a cheesier-fest on the soundtrack of The Three Musketeers… But let’s be nice now. I’m sure he’ll put on a fun-enough show. Besides, how many of us care about psychedelic cover art or life-altering lyrics or for-the-ages power riffs anymore? Music now is just about having a good time, right?
Jethro Tull will play in Mumbai on January 31 and February 1, and in Bangalore on February 3. Bryan Adams will play in Mumbai on February 4, and in Bangalore on February 5.
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1. Two reasons for this particular instance of Blogical Archaeology (along with the posts on the Stones and U2). One, re-seeing Love Actually and flashbacking to The Pointer Sisters’ Jump For My Love, a one-time earworm whose synth chords actually hurt the ear today
Two, hearing Joe Cocker’s You Can Leave Your Hat On this morning on the radio — and I remembered a time I used to write more music pieces. So there.
2. I remember being terribly embarrassed about the second paragraph when the piece came out, the bit about the rambling mansion and the mahogany armchair, but reading it now brought no such mortification. I guess, as you grow older, you become more forgiving of the follies of youth
3. And yes, that is my cassette-album cover, the one with the autograph on the reverse.
I thought Pet Shop Boys is still considered cool. I got a recent album of theirs where they remade the music for Battle Potemkin and that sound great (and techno).
Ah…Tull and Floyd will remain special for many of us!! They bring back so many memories. I still remember my first recorded cassette (in the unaffordable pre-CD days) in college was Aqua Lung!! Later when I got the CD, it also included bonus tracks like my fav Bouree.
Those were the days…
PS: I also watched them in concert in 1999 and Ian Anderson was mystifying as usual!!
Rangan - I just love it when you “brush the cobwebs aside” and bring out an old write-up. It’s uncanny how sometimes the write-up is exactly on what’s on my mind. Just yesterday I was cleaning up the house and found my old Tull cassettes and CD. Spent the whole day listening to them.
Shankar - Count me in those “many of us”. Tull and Floyd will remain special for me as well…
Tull and Floyd were mostly the names that were thrown around during college days by some guys who thought it was “cool” to tell the rest of the world that they listened to only these two. Typical desi showoff
What nostalgia to begin the week with.. thanks, BR! ‘Skating Away On The Thin Ice of the New Year DaY’ is among my personal Jethro Tull favourites, apart from some of the ones you have written about.
Thanks for digging out these archives.
On a related note, wonder how long will college hostels pass on the legacy of great music (read non-hip-hop/techno/rap/all other post 80s genres) to succeeding batches..
The Pet Shop Boys were, are and will forever remain the epitome of Cool.
Vijay, actually Tull and Floyd are two names from a vast number of bands that we all used to listen to and enjoy in college. It would take more than this page to list down all the classic, progressive and alternative rock bands I listen to and enjoy. Of course, many of us were also hardcore fans of Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, RD Burman etc and several other forms of music. Like I’ve said before…each to his own. People listen to music because they liked it and not to show-off, atleast where I studied.
It’s a pity you had to classify them as “cool” in order to appreciate them!! I guess you’ll never get the point…
Thanks for the nostalgia - I actually used to have those albums on vinyl, long gone; should try to get a CD… But Brangan, how could you mention Modern Talking in that context? What a faux pas, what blasphemy!
As to smoke on the water: I almost didn’t believe my ears, when I heard that riff in Aamir’s “Akele Hum Akele Tum” …
@Shankar
Bourrée is also a favourite of mine.
I really wish, I could listen to a Jethro Tull Album right now!
On another “note”: Does anyone remember the one-hit-wonder Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty? That saxophone solo also is a classic for me.
vinod: At last, something brings you out of the woodwork
Shankar: I think Vijay’s made this point earlier too, when I reviewed Guru and mentioned Citizen Kane in passing. He was wondering whether “their” films (or, for that matter, “their” music) can truly be appreciated by “us,” which again, is a debate that has no end.
Aditya: Freaky coincidence, what?
Vijay: So there isn’t any Western band you care for? Just wondering…
Satish: Yeah. Perhaps in a few years, we’ll have college campuses OD-ing on hip-hop?
Jabberwock: Of course. But do you know of many people that listen to PSB anymore?
bollyaddict: Oh, the Modern Talking reference had to do with Bryan Adams. And vinyl? What’s that?
Oh, sorry, seems we only say that in German? I meant the old, black LPs, played on a record-player as mentioned in your introduction. The black material is called vinyl (at least in German), so if we want to make clear it’s not a CD, we use that word. I assumed it was an internationally used expression.
bollyaddict: Oh, it is an internationally used expression. I was just kidding. In the sense, who talks about vinyl anymore? I thought the smiley made that clear. Clearly Jabberwock is on to something when he says emoticons serve no purpose
LOL @ brangan-bollyaddict-banter.
Baddy, I can appreciate a debate on “truly” liking western music but that doesn’t mean that you can just trash people who do listen to them. That sounds quite presumptuous to me…just like it would be if I said that Vijay just doesn’t get “their” music and hides behind the facade of “cool” and trashing those who do!!
Dear BRangan:
Thanks for the article - went on a trip down the memory lane!!
Got into pop/rock music becuase of one album when I was in school - MJ’s Thriller! But then bought about 300+ cassettes with my parents money before coming out of IIT/Kanpur! From not so cool Pet Shop Boys, New Kids on the block to one hit wonders like Venilla Ice/Informer to evergreen U2, Bon Jovi, Eagles - Blues, Reggage (Marley), Country - bought everything that appealed to me!! Though the one hit wonders fadded away from memory quickly- there were LIFE-ALTERING lyrics and music from the rest! JT’s Aqua Lung and Thick as a Brick - were my favorites!! Got them all back in my IPOD (4000+ songs!) now!!
BTW, me too do not buy that much (maybe one album a month!) since it’s MY MONEY now!!
“I thought the smiley made that clear. Clearly Jabberwock is on to something when he says emoticons serve no purpose :-)”
Ohoh, I wasn’t sure how to interpret the smiley - I guess, I made a fool of myself, now I would need a blushing emoticon!
Actually, there still are those (few) people, who think, LPs sound better, more “authentic”, yada, yada, yada … I hated scratchy records!
@Bollyaddict - Was the Smoke on the Water riff used in Akele Hum Akele Tum? I only remember riffs from Child in Time in ‘Aisa Zakhm Diya Hai”ongs. I think Smoke on the Water was lifted for some other sng from some other film, which I can’t remember now.
But do you know of many people that listen to PSB anymore?
What’s that got to do with anything? People are stupid. And don’t get me started on emoticons now…
APALA: I hear you about Thriller. And Bad too, for that matter. What highs - and what a fall!
@ Aditya Pant - You’re absolutely right, it was Child in Time! Now I’ll have to figure out, in which film I heard Smoke on the Water.
Bloglines throws up these old posts of your’s, wonder why.
Yennywez, here’s another reason to read you. Tull … too many reasons, too many memories. Aqualung and Thick as a Brick may be their most popular albums, perhaps deservedly so. My personal favourite is Hunting Girl on the live album Bursting Out.
And for melancholy rainy day listening by the window, Too Old to Rock’n'Roll, One White Duck, Skating Away …
J.A.P.