976 ( Jethro Tull - Dark Ages )

976 ( Jethro Tull - Dark Ages )

I have two reasons that I am picking this song today other than I like it: 1. since I am doing my experiment of how long it takes me to post a blog I figured I should choose an "epic" track to represent the extreme end, and 2. I noticed that I have not chosen a track off of Jethro Tull's 1979 "Stormwatch" album yet.
I remember about five years ago this song kicked my butt for about a week whilst trying to learn it; I finally prevailed. It's not that the song is super hard to play, but the changes and distinct sections made it a bit of a trial; plus it was really the first time I was trying to learn how to play lines in the jig style.
This song is really the centrepiece of the album, which is the final album in Ian Anderson's trilogy of albums themed to man's relationship with nature. This album is one of the darker 'Tull albums because it is Ian's vision of what the consequences might be concerning man's disregard for nature. This song's subject matter in particular is about resources running out, society's collapse, and an impending storm, which will herald in a new "Dark Age;" Ian Anderson is as eloquent as ever with his imagery and prose.
The song does take a bit get going, but the build-up is done quite well for when it gets going. One thing that I noticed about this song that was a nice touch was a four note riff throughout that is somewhat similar to the "death knocks" from Beethoven's 5th; with Ian Anderson being a fan of his work it is probably not a stretch to make a connection. Another little piece of trivia concerning this song as well as the majority of tracks on this album is that Ian Anderson actually played the bass guitar in the studio, this was because of John Glascock's illness.

Here is a studio recording on YouTube.
Here is a live performance from '79 with a classic band lineup on YouTube; it also contains some lyrics that were deleted from the final album release.


My song pick a year ago today: The Blind Boys of Alabama - Amazing Grace
My song pick two years ago today: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - From The Beginning

As for my week-long experiment of how long it took me to post: about 22 minutes.

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