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Jethro Tull


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My favourite Tull bass player is/was Glenn Cornick. I think he only played on their first three albums. Their music did not have the same appeal for me after Aqualung. My favourite album is their first one.."This Was", which is the only one to feature guitarist Mick Abrahams.

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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1403986280' post='2488369']
My favourite Tull bass player is/was Glenn Cornick. I think he only played on their first three albums. Their music did not have the same appeal for me after Aqualung. My favourite album is their first one.."This Was", which is the only one to feature guitarist Mick Abrahams.
[/quote]

They were, to all intents & purposes, a completely different band on the first album IMO.
I really like Tull but I don't like that first album at all - far too bluesy for me.

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I kept bumping into Clive Bunker and Mick Abrahams many years ago but never actually listened to anything they were working on back then.

About 15 years ago I realised (yeah, it takes me a while sometimes...:D) that if the likes of Gerry Conway, Dave Mattacks, Dave Pegg and Maart Allcock had all been involved in Jethro Tull then I was missing out on something.

Been a fan ever since. :)

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[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1403990185' post='2488405']
They were, to all intents & purposes, a completely different band on the first album IMO.
I really like Tull but I don't like that first album at all - far too bluesy for me.
[/quote]

I agree that it was a different album to most of the others. Being a blues fan, this is why I liked it so much. Having said that, I liked the other albums (up to "Aqualung") [i]almost [/i]as much. After that, my interest declined, though it was obvious that their music was very original.

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1404001387' post='2488509']
I kept bumping into Clive Bunker and Mick Abrahams many years ago but never actually listened to anything they were working on back then.
[/quote]

Abrahams is a bluesman at heart. The main reason he left 'Tull after the first album was that he and Anderson had a difference of opinion as to what musical direction the band should take. No one seems to know exactly why Bunker exited the band a couple of albums after Abrahams left.

He (Abrahams) went on to form "Blodwyn Pig" which were a great band, but never gained the recognition or world wide fame they (IMO) deserved.

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My faves are Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch. Great bass presence and some very intricate and conplex playing from the late John Glasscock, old Brittledick himself.
Although interestingly, due to Glasscock's illness, a fair bit of Stormwatch is actually Ian Anderson on bass. Talented man.
For a very different approach I recommend the Live at the Isle of Wight set from a few years previous - Glenn Cornick playing a Gibson Thunderbird through massive overdriven Hiwatt stacks!

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[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1404052867' post='2488801']
My faves are Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch. [/quote]

I've mentioned in other Tull threads I always consider Stomwatch to be a forgotten classic in their catalog. I too was impressed when I first read that its mostly Anderson on bass, Dark Ages in particuler. He certainly knows his way round a fretboard.

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I've been a Tull fan since I was quite small. Lost count how many gigs I've been to and how many iterations of the line-up - honorable exception to Martin Barre, although even he has fallen out of favour with Mr Anderson.

Too many good tunes to call. But from the show I went to in Manchester last month where the second half was 'Best of..' I'd say check out My God and Farm On A Freeway as well as the above. Some Great accoustic-type songs too e.g. Kelpie.

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[quote name='ead' timestamp='1404129445' post='2489497']
honorable exception to Martin Barre, although even he has fallen out of favour with Mr Anderson
[/quote]

Had not heard about that. What happened ?

It would appear that the same Mr Anderson was/is not the easiest man in the world to work with. According to the "History of 'Tull" DVD, Glenn Cornick found out about being surplus to requirements, out of the blue at an airport while waiting on a flight home after a gig. What really seems to irritate him (Cornick) to this day is that Anderson had not got the courage/decency to convey the news himself, but left it to someone else to do so.

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Barre's been doing his own band mainly focusing on very old Tull tunes for over a year. Not sure of the details but it seems him and Anderson aren't really talking. It's a shame as he's been a cornerstone of the band for so long whilst the rest have come and gone at various times. There's really no difference between Tull and IA solo projects now which is a bit of a shame, as is the state of IA's voice. I could barely watch the last time I saw Tull about 3 or 4 years ago. He takes another singer on tour with him these days, at least for the solo stuff, to help out. It's all got a bit sad. Heard a pro recording of a solo gig on the TAAB2 tour and it was awful.

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[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1404141161' post='2489667']
Barre's been doing his own band mainly focusing on very old Tull tunes for over a year. Not sure of the details but it seems him and Anderson aren't really talking. It's a shame as he's been a cornerstone of the band for so long whilst the rest have come and gone at various times. There's really no difference between Tull and IA solo projects now which is a bit of a shame, as is the state of IA's voice. I could barely watch the last time I saw Tull about 3 or 4 years ago. He takes another singer on tour with him these days, at least for the solo stuff, to help out. It's all got a bit sad. Heard a pro recording of a solo gig on the TAAB2 tour and it was awful.
[/quote]

It seems he blew his voice on the Broadsword tour. He doesn't seem to have suffered a gradual decline - his style changed drastically from then on into a more grumbly half-spoken technique. It's difficult to watch him these days as every note seems like an effort, as if he can barely raise his voice above speaking level. My old singer cites Anderson as one of his greatest influences and he really struggles to listen to him nowadays.
Having said that, I saw them at High Voltage a couple of years back and it was an excellent set, once I'd got over the discomfort of hearing his voice like that. Most of the songs have been heavily rearranged to focus more on the instrumental side of things which isn't all bad as his flute playing is as wonderful as ever.

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Yes I saw HV set as well and it was as well as I'd heard IA sing for a while (shorter set no doubt helped) but seen him since and it had really deteriorated. I'd also heard it went as result of the (long) Broadsword tour but it was still serviceable in a way up to around 5 years ago, maybe a bit more. It really seems to have got noticeably worse since then to me. Like you say the extended instrumentals making up more and more of the set are a dead giveaway. Read in an interview that Barre was getting fed up of keyboards making up more of the Tull sound and there are no keys in his band unless he's changed the lineup.

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[quote name='ead' timestamp='1404129445' post='2489497']
I'd say check out My God and Farm On A Freeway as well as the above.
[/quote]

Farm On A Freeway is superb.
Crest Of A Knave was just one of those rare breed of albums that doesn't have a single 'can't be arsed to listen to this one' track on it.

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[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1404159760' post='2489938']
Love Jethro Tull, but there have been so many line ups I can never remember who plays on each album.
Aqualung still my fave JT album and Locomotive Breath fave track :-)
[/quote]

Aqualung and Aqualung for me, but Thick as a brick is still up there.

Edited by karlfer
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