New Jethro Tull album spring 2023
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I might have a different understanding of "pretentious" than you do, but isn't all art self indulgent? Having said that, I'd rate the Apple streaming version an 8 if this were a poll thread.
Not to quibble over words, overly self indulgent.
Ian said that Rock Flute was originally going to be an instrumental Rock/Jazz album. Too bad Ian didn't stick to that idea.
RökFlöte - There's a great instrumental album hiding behind unnecessary vocals. Away with words, I say.
After just listening to Fuse by Everything But The Girl, with no prior knowledge of the artist beyond their name, and therefore having no baggage at all and just really digging it for what it was... I spun the Atmos mix of RökFlöte.
It was the opposite experience going in—lots of baggage and preconceived notions of Tull/Anderson, etc., and there's just no way that can't color the experience and the reception of the material. I'm waiting to vote in the official poll because I need to work through that bias first and become a little more familiar.
But it did get me thinking... how might this hit someone with a similar disposition to Tull as I had with EBTG? Would that person hear this and think "huh, that's a pretty interesting use of flute... cool songs... this is is pretty great?"
I certainly suppose that's possible since it's so subjective and down to taste. Granted, I've always had a hard time warming up later-era Tull and particularly these last two... I have actually fallen asleep during both of them, weirdly enough.
I think it's certainly as competent as anything comparable. Why doesn't it grip me though? Why does it feel kinda corporate and sanitized? I don't really know and this plays into a larger ongoing discussion I've been having with friends about artists as they age, and those that are able to ride that wave and stay relevant/engaging vs. those that aren't, how much of that is the artist vs/ the audience and their expectations and their own issues, etc.
But if you can find examples of exceptions, and I can, then there has to be something to the nagging feeling. It might be something like, for me at least, listening to a song like "Hammer on Hammer" and thinking "this could fully be used in a Spinal Tap bit with no adjustments, them mugging to it on stage in viking outfits and Gwar-like hammers and axes, and people would think it was hilarious"... but that's definitely not the intent. Hm.
Once again, I say this with no malice and I know not everyone will agree with me nor do I expect them to, these are just the kinds of things I'm thinking about these days (and have been, for quite some time).
It was the opposite experience going in—lots of baggage and preconceived notions of Tull/Anderson, etc., and there's just no way that can't color the experience and the reception of the material. I'm waiting to vote in the official poll because I need to work through that bias first and become a little more familiar.
But it did get me thinking... how might this hit someone with a similar disposition to Tull as I had with EBTG? Would that person hear this and think "huh, that's a pretty interesting use of flute... cool songs... this is is pretty great?"
I certainly suppose that's possible since it's so subjective and down to taste. Granted, I've always had a hard time warming up later-era Tull and particularly these last two... I have actually fallen asleep during both of them, weirdly enough.
I think it's certainly as competent as anything comparable. Why doesn't it grip me though? Why does it feel kinda corporate and sanitized? I don't really know and this plays into a larger ongoing discussion I've been having with friends about artists as they age, and those that are able to ride that wave and stay relevant/engaging vs. those that aren't, how much of that is the artist vs/ the audience and their expectations and their own issues, etc.
But if you can find examples of exceptions, and I can, then there has to be something to the nagging feeling. It might be something like, for me at least, listening to a song like "Hammer on Hammer" and thinking "this could fully be used in a Spinal Tap bit with no adjustments, them mugging to it on stage in viking outfits and Gwar-like hammers and axes, and people would think it was hilarious"... but that's definitely not the intent. Hm.
Once again, I say this with no malice and I know not everyone will agree with me nor do I expect them to, these are just the kinds of things I'm thinking about these days (and have been, for quite some time).
Good read. The last two Tull albums are dead to me. First and last songs are creepy bad on this new Tull in town.
Yeah I mean, far it be from me to suggest artistic direction to any of the titans we discuss here… but to the point you made about the music itself, I absolutely loved “Twelve Dances With God” upon first listen (and still do) as a late(r) career move and was fully behind it. For this latest shift “back” to the Tull name, conceptual themes like this, etc, I find myself asking the eternal question “who is this for?”
Or maybe more specifically , “if not for me, a pretty darn devoted Tull fan for whom it just isn’t clicking, then who is this for?”
And you know what, Anderson, and folks like him, might just say “it’s for me, you jackass. Like it or not, but this is what I do and I’m gonna keep doing it.” Fair enough and more power to ‘em!
I rather listen to this than Everything But The Girl, at least this has a good Atmos mix. Everything But The Girl did nothing to me musically, and the mix is tame too.
Tame? There are tons of isolated synth and guitar parts in the side & rear speakers, plus discrete elements in the heights (like the chorus vocals in "Run A Red Light" or vocoder effects in "Forever"). I'd say it makes more active and consistent use of the extra channels than Dark Side Of The Moon...
Absolutely. Wish they were called Ian Anderson albums lol.
For sure, best part starring Joe Parrish - Jethro Tull
To me a Atmos mix is about the use of the height channels and apart from the moments you mentions there isn't much up there. They sell this as a Atmos mix, but it is for most of the time a good 7.1 mix.
The same thing happened to me.
For me, Jethro Tull is no more Jethro Tull without Martin Barre. It's just Ian Anderson with his band. (Oops, wasn't it always like this?)
When I was at the 2012 Tour concert Thick as a Brick 1 and 2, I really liked the young companion Ian brought along to sing the most requesting high pitch vocals.
BTW, the band name was "Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson".
For me, the way Ian Anderson is able to sing now is dictating the way he is composing. Monotonous boring melodies, that sometimes seem like he's just reciting. Obviously, Ian cannot sing as in his glorious 70's days, and we can be thankful that he was able to overcome his throat condition in the 80s . But an only instrumental Rock Flute music (like his initial intention) would have been perfect for me. Or at least, a Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos mixing of "Instrumentals"
.In a recent Ian Anderson interview, he said his worst song composition was "Singing All Day". That is a song that I have had as "earworm" many times and I like it. May be that I'm biassed by the great and different music that were Stand-Up and Benefit when I was young. Then, after Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, nothing has moved me so much. Yes, I know there are many more later very good albums, but I'm feeling old and nostalgic like some of you.
Well of course the Jethro Tull of the '70s will always be my favorites, just as @AYanguas mentioned above.
Ian Anderson's comment about "Singing All Day" being the worst song he ever wrote was in the booklet accompanying the collector's edition of Benefit. Not all the band members agreed with his comment at all.
The opening flute riff on "With You There To Help Me" from Benefit still gives me goosebumps. I was once at an impromptu "party" in the woods and someone fired it up at loud volume...the flute echoing through the woods was magnificent.
I once had a gal pal decades ago that was a flute player. She was much impressed with Ian Anderson's ability to play the flute and hum at the same time.
But back to Rock Flute. I don't think it's terrible, I don't think it's brilliant. It's just Ian Anderson at 75.
Ian Anderson's comment about "Singing All Day" being the worst song he ever wrote was in the booklet accompanying the collector's edition of Benefit. Not all the band members agreed with his comment at all.
The opening flute riff on "With You There To Help Me" from Benefit still gives me goosebumps. I was once at an impromptu "party" in the woods and someone fired it up at loud volume...the flute echoing through the woods was magnificent.
I once had a gal pal decades ago that was a flute player. She was much impressed with Ian Anderson's ability to play the flute and hum at the same time.
But back to Rock Flute. I don't think it's terrible, I don't think it's brilliant. It's just Ian Anderson at 75.
https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=335667&title=-U.K.-MIDWEEKS:-A-DUEL-FOR-#1Agust D—the alias for BTS member Suga—could chart at #6 with his debut solo album, D-Day (BigHit), while Jethro Tull’s RökFlöte (InsideOutMusic) is set for #8.
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Very happy to report I just received RökFlöte deluxe from Importcds in perfect condition (it came with a Tipping Point slipcover from SDE and a copy of Invaders From Mars 4K from Ignite Films purchased during their recent sale). May not have time to give it a listen tonight, but it will definitely get some attention tomorrow. This is such a great time to be a surround enthusiast and film lover.
