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March 9, 2010
Foreigner, Jethro Tull, Kansas and Styx Prep For Summer Tours
As the Sun begins to banish the bitter winter chill and eat away at the snow here in the northeast, the newswire continues to deliver word of more classic rock groups who are set to offer their U.S. fans another opportunity to catch them live.
Three classic rock powerhouses – Foreigner, Kansas, and Styx have teamed up for something they are calling the “United We Rock” tour. All three groups are well-known for their fair share of hit singles that blared from countless car stereos during the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Today, classic rock radio stations continue to pump out those same hits, keeping those classic favorites alive, and bringing a new generation of fans into the classic rock fold. Although the crowds at these up-coming shows will likely feature a good number of graying heads (for those of us who still have hair!), there are sure to be many fans who were not yet born when these groups were at the top of their game, and packing stadium-sized venues full of screaming fans.
Although only a handful of dates have been announced so far, the summer tour dubbed “United We Rock” is set to open on June 3rd in Kansas City. This one should be one of the top classic rock tickets of the summer. The tour heads west after the debut show to finish out the month of June, and more dates will be announced soon, including stops in Boston and Chicago.
A press release from the tour quotes Styx guitarist James “JY” Young as saying “These three bands represent the more rocking side of the classic rock genre. With the countless great rock songs each band will be performing, this is going to be a guitars-a-blazin’ good time had by all.”
British rock veterans Jethro Tull are said to be planning a new album in addition to a summer U.S. tour. Starting on June 11th in Miami, the tour will then take the group north to Boston, Chicago and Toronto, among others.
Tull’s plans for a new album will end an 11-year drought for the group, one that is remembered for iconic hits such as “Aqualung,” “Locomotive Breath,” and “Living In The Past.”
Regarding the new album, enduring frontman Ian Anderson says, “I have sent material over to America where the band are working on it. That’s kind of how it works these days but they seem to like what I am doing.”
No release date for the new material has yet been announced, but it is probably a bit too early in the process. Perhaps there’s a chance they will showcase a taste of their new work while on tour.
So far it looks like the summer of 2010 is looking pretty good for classic rock fans. It is probably reasonable to assume that more tour news is on the way. The market is obviously still hungry for the genre, and other recent reunion plans are bound to translate into more live shows for classic rock fans across North America.
More on these tours is available at Live Daily.
October 19, 2009
Jethro Tull Live At Madison Square Garden 1978
Tomorrow marks the release of the new Jethro Tull live CD/DVD set. From their Heavy Horses tour, the video and audio was recorded during a performance at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden and beamed around the world live via satellite. Something of an event in the days before satellite communications became so commonplace. In fact, the show had to be broken up into three segments due to the lack of broadcast time that was available on the satellite at the time, with the middle portion being shown on television.
The set consists of a single DVD and a single CD. The DVD includes just the audio for the first segment of the show which is comprised of three songs.
The middle portion of the show was televised and the resulting 50 or so minutes of video footage is included on the DVD. Eight songs are performed for the middle segment including hits like “Aqualung” and “Thick As A Brick.” Fans should not expect to see video footage presented in wide-screen “movie” format since the show was being shot for broadcast on television, and as we all know, there certainly was no HD in 1978.
The final segment on the DVD features the audio from three more songs, including “Cross Eyed Mary” and an encore of “Locomotive Breath.”
I had not seen Jethro Tull perform live before this, but I can say without any hesitation that they were certainly not a boring group to watch. Ian Anderson’s energy is extraordinary, and I’m not quite sure the man stood still for a single second during the entire performance. There is little doubt that both Anderson and the rest of the group poured every ounce of energy and ability at their disposal into that show.
Although the group took liberties with the arrangements of some well-known material, as one might expect during a live show, none of the changes diminished the quality of the performance for me. As is typically the case, the frontman got the lion’s share of the face time, and although some of us might have appreciated a little bit more attention directed at some of the other musicians, that appears to be the nature of show business and is not unique to this recording.
As anyone who has read my reviews of live albums in the past will know, my main sticking point is always the sound. I freely admit I am a bit of an audio snob, and I am often disappointed with live albums due to the mix, the acoustics, the microphone placement or any number of other circumstances I might be find disagreeable.
I’m happy to report that the sound quality of this live set is quite good. Especially when one considers that it was recorded 31 years ago! Kudos to Robin Black and Peter Mew, two gentlemen who were responsible for the mixing of the original recording and the newer 5.1 Dolby and stereo mixes respectively. Those are the names that most fans probably never notice among all the others in the liner notes, but they contribute enormously to the quality of the finished product. It really is a superb live recording.
Although I’ve been a fan of Jethro Tull since the 1970’s, I’m not sure I ever listened as carefully to their arrangements as I might have before receiving this new set. Certain passages are almost fusion-like to my ears, and reveal an impressive quantity of talent on that stage that I may have never fully appreciated before.
The CD that accompanies the DVD contains all the audio material from the DVD with the exception of the encore performance of “Locomotive Breath” and a few short non-musical segments like band introductions and such.
Although it is probably obvious by now, I would not hesitate to recommend this set to any Jethro Tull fan. As rare as it may seem coming from me, the quality of this recording elevates its status to one that is worthy of listening to for the audio alone.
Ian Anderson is currently on tour here in the U.S. Having finished up for the remainder of this month with a show yesterday in Connecticut, he will next appear in Phoenix at the Dodge Theatre on November 3rd.
Thanks to the folks at EMI for the review copy of this recording. At the same time, I should also mention that I was not compensated in any way for this review beyond the review copy of the set that I received.
October 14, 2009
Classic Rock Briefs For October 14, 2009
Brian May Hints At Queen on Rock Band
Brainy guitar man Brian May says that there may be a Queen version of the popular video game Rock Band at some point in the future.
"Yes we’re into it, I think it may happen," May said regarding the subject during a BBC interview.
Pink Floyd’s Gilmour To Receive Honorary Degree
Anglia Ruskin University has decided to bestow upon David Gilmour an honorary degree to recognize his “outstanding contribution to music as a writer, performer and innovator.”
The honorary doctor of the arts degree will be awarded next month, according to the Cambridge News.
Acoustic Innovation Keeps Jethro Tull’s Music Engaging
Iconic frontman for Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is another aging rocker who is not quite ready for the rocking chair.
Currently Anderson is working his way through a solo tour that will bring him to the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore tomorrow night.
According to the man himself, “It’s a good idea not to expect anything. "We’re liable to do anything, so it’s a good idea to keep an open mind.”
With the introduction of classically trained violinists and new material woven into well-worn Tull classics, Anderson’s advice seems well worth any ticket holder’s consideration. Read more at the Washington Examiner.
August 28, 2009
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson: Rock Star, Accountant, Travel Agent
Ian Anderson is about as far removed from a typical rock star as one can imagine. The frontman for the venerable Jethro Tull could easily be characterized as a businessman or accountant as well. It’s clear he’s nobody’s fool, and at the same time, someone who cares about the group’s fans, personally deciding the price of concert tickets.
“I prefer to pitch for the middle ground – a little over £20. I want to make sure that a night with Jethro Tull is affordable. Personally, I would baulk at the idea of spending as much as £100 on a ticket, but maybe my trouble is that what I do for a living doesn’t appeal to me – I don’t like loud music; so I would never be in my own audience", he told The Telegraph in a recent interview.
Anderson’s £20 comes out to about $33, which seems like quite a bargain compared to some other groups that will lighten your wallet by a hundred dollars or more to attend one of their live shows.
Although rock stars tend to have garnered a reputation for recklessness with their money, Anderson defies that stereotype as well. He meticulously plans each tour, taking time to negotiate the best deals he is able to for their travel and hotel requirements. It’s all part of Anderson’s plan to maximize the group’s income. Band members and crew are required to pay for “extras” on their own. There are no free booze parties on a Jethro Tull tour.
“Younger members of the band and crew learn quickly that this is a job, not a party,” Anderson says.
He confesses to spending many a spare minute tweaking his Excel spreadsheet, which he derives great satisfaction from, jokingly adding that he would “slit his wrists” if his budget wavered 2pc from its target. Presuming that “pc” indicates “pence,” that would be about 3 cents, but I was hard-pressed to find a definitive definition for “pc” as it relates to British currency.
Anderson also talks about some of his best and worst investments and some involvement he has had running other businesses, such as the fish farm that he ultimately sold which basically left him with break even situation.
Interestingly enough, Anderson has handed control of their personal finances to his wife. Something not terribly uncommon in my experience, and often times a sensible thing to do, although he adds that she runs everything by him. She also handles the band’s accounts and investments. A “bright girl” indeed, as Anderson points out.
Like many other aging rockers, the 62-year-old Anderson does not sounds as if he is planning his retirement quite yet. “There’s something distinctly depressing about collecting a pension – it’s bad enough having a senior person’s Railcard. I would prefer to delay taking a pension until I am using a Zimmer frame [walker],” he says.
Anderson goes on to say: “As a musician life is not over just because you are getting older and so I find retirement a very frightening and dark thought.” Music to the ears of serious Tull fans the world over.
Read the entire interview at The Telegraph.
November 24, 2008
Ian Anderson Rants And Raves On All Sorts of Subjects
Even their name – Jethro Tull – set them apart among their fellow rockers, and their music surely didn’t sound like any rock group I had ever heard. Add to the mix a frontman wielding a flute and it is easy to see that Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson are in a league of their own.
Although the story of how the group wound up with a name like Jethro Tull has been related here before, it does seem to be one of the more common questions asked when Anderson is interviewed, so perhaps it is worth mentioning that it was a name given to them by their manager, and not something they expected to use for all that long. Things don’t 
always end the way you expect them to, I suppose.
But, as it turned out, borrowing the name of the pioneering agriculturist actually fit quite well, given Anderson’s interest in the subject.
As for how Anderson became interested in playing the flute, it was a conclusion he reached as a teenaged guitar player when he heard Eric Clapton play and decided that Clapton was too far ahead of the pack to compete with.
Known as an environmentalist and certainly sounding like a man who doesn’t have a shortage of ideas, Anderson touches on that subject as well and states that, “The question of population management on a planetary basis has got to be something where someone’s got the balls to get up and speak about in public.”
Ian Anderson is not easily mistaken for a typical rock star, and is clearly someone who is not full of himself. When asked how he would like to be thought of during this point in his life, he responds by saying: “I’d like them to have a picture of slightly befuddled confusion. Nothing is black and white and there are so many shades of confusing greys. I rant and rave on all sorts of different subjects, as you may have noticed.”
See The Sun for the full text of the interview with Ian Anderson.
