Martin Barre Interview: Looking back on Aqualung

[esimms86]

https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/jethro-tull-martin-barre-looks-back-on-acqualung

Yeah, @JohnN, they misspelled it!

 

[JohnN]

https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/jethro-tull-martin-barre-looks-back-on-acqualung

Yeah, @JohnN, they misspelled it!

Funny, I get:
“Aqualung was Ian’s riff. The solo was all done on the fly. If I hadn’t got it in two takes then it would have been a flute solo. That’s when Jimmy Page came up to say hello”: Martin Barre on Jethro Tull, the Aqualung sessions – and supporting Hendrix

 

[esimms86]

Jimmy Page and company lambasted JT for their lack of live improvisation. And then Barre improvises an iconic guitar solo on the first take with Page looking on.

 

[JohnN]

Ex-Jethro Tull Guitarist Recalls UK Musicians Playing US Blues 'Really Badly', Shares Opinion on Prog Icons' 'Odd' Time Signatures

 

[JohnN]

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Shares the Story Behind the Iconic Riff From "Aqualung"

“I compose most of my songs on acoustic, and therefore the way I play the guitar impacts on the way the song sounds.

"I wrote the main riff [to ‘Aqualung’] in a hotel room in New York City. At the time I was trying to write songs that had [single-note] lines that would translate on the electric. I knew the ‘Aqualung’ riff would work well because it pretty much echoes the vocal melody.

"In this case, the riff I played for Martin Barre [Jethro Tull lead guitarist] on the acoustic instantly became the song’s electric part.”