William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

To those who do not know, I've picked songs from all of the Jethro Tull eras from beginning to end on Sundays; for me this is the current (13th) era. All of the other previous eras can be found in this blog on songs: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, 142, 149, 156, 163, 170, and 177. In the last 13 Sundays I have covered 13 distinct eras over 40 years. I did this because I really like the band and how their music changes drastically through these eras and at some points doesn't even sound like the same band. This is apparent if you listen to one era and then listen to something from two or more eras away it sounds very different; also this year is the 40th anniversary of the band and was another reason that I did this as well. It will be weird next Sunday to not pick a 'Tull Song. This current era of 'Tull for me goes from '03 to present. The albums that they released during this period was the Jethro Tull Christmas album and Ian Anderson's Rupi's dance , ...

I have been picking a song from each Jethro Tull era on Sundays from their first to their current. For me, this is the 12th era, which consists of two 'Tull albums and two Ian Anderson solo albums; from about '94 to about '02. The previous eras can be found in this blog on songs: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, 142, 149, 156, 163, and 170. This era was best known for the eastern and middle-eastern influences in the music; it's a very creative, artistic era. The album Roots to Branches was a very different album than I had ever heard before from 'Tull and took quite a while for me to warm up to it. It seemed a bit too cynical and dark at times, but it has good messages in the songs and sees a lot of play in my rotation to this day. J-Tull Dot Com was not as different from previous albums when compared to Roots to Branches , so it was a little less difficult for me to get used to. It has a lot of harder songs in it and is a bit more uplifting than Root to Branches in...

For those unaware, I've been picking a song from each of Jethro Tull's "eras" from beginning to present on Sundays. This is what is the 11th era of Jethro Tull for me, the previous eras picks can be found in this blog on songs: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, 142, 149, 156, and 163. I noticed that many bands and artists that started in the 60's and '70s had their "back to our roots" era around this time, (the early '90s); Jethro Tull was no different. The album title Catfish Rising was in reference to the Blues from the early years coming to resurface. Most of the band remained unchanged from the previous era, however a few changes happened in the lineup on keyboard: Foss Paterson, John Bundrick, and Andy Giddings (who would be their keyboardist for the next 15 years) shared duties on Catfish Rising . David Mattacks also filled in on tour on keyboards and some drums. For me this period is from 1990 to about 1994 and consists of only two album...

For the last little bit I have been picking a song from each of the Jethro Tull eras from beginning to end on Sundays. The earlier eras can be found in this blog on songs: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, 142, 149, and 156. For me, this era, the 10th, is known as "the comeback era" and also one of my favorites. For me, it consists of two albums: Crest of a Knave and Rock Island ; from about '86 to 89. Crest of a Knave was their big comeback after the album Under Wraps and Rock Island was the continuation. Most 'Tull fans love these albums, but not as much as other albums, however I like them a lot. During this period Ian's voice was damaged and the music was recorded in a lower key than usual to compensate. During this time there was a lot of movement with personnel. In Crest of a Knave they had two drummers: Doane Perry and Gerry Conway, they also used electronic "canned drums" as well in a couple of tracks; Ian also took over on keyboard playin...

I have picking a song from each of the Jethro Tull eras on Sundays from beginning to end, the other eras are on songs: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, 142, and 149 in this blog. For my 9th era of 'Tull in my opinion there is again one album: Under Wraps ; it is probably their most hated album among fans, to put it bluntly. Very electronic and new wave in a way, the sound is quite different from almost every other album they released; I think that it was because it was an experimental album of sorts. While Under Wraps is different and became alienated by most 'Tull fans, it still has its charm; it is quite similar to the material written by many artists of the time period. Interestingly enough, on this album Ian actually gave up some of the creative process to Peter-John Vettese and Martin Barre. As a side note, Ian Anderson's first solo album, Walking Into The Light was released the same year and is quite similar to this album in many aspects; it is almost a twin to it...

For the time being, I have been picking a song from each of the Jethro Tull eras from beginning to end on Sundays. The other eras are on picks: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, 135, and 142. Each of these "eras" are either a bit different or are night and day from each other. At this point if one listens to this album and then listens to a previous album it sounds like two different bands; but the same soul is still there. This is my 8th era of 'Tull, which is another era to me consisting of one album. I would say that this era goes from somewhere in '81 to around late '83. Many 'Tull fans cut what they like at '79, however in my opinion there is a lot of good music after '79 as well. This era is a throwback to the '70s in sound a bit, however, it is quite different as well. During this time Eddie Jobson did not return for another album, but did play with them at later concerts; Peter-John Vettese took over for him on keyboards. To me his playing and ...

For this, my 7th era of Jethro Tull I decided to pick Crossfire from their 1980 album " A ;" the other eras can be found on song picks: 100, 107, 114, 121, 128, and 135. This was a hard era for me to define, while this album is somewhat similar to the '84 album Under Wraps , which is more dissimilar than alike in my opinion. And then of course there is Broadsword and the Beast from '82 between them, which is completely different from either one. This is an album that was supposed to be an Ian Anderson solo project, but ended up as a 'Tull album for various reasons. The only band members to continue with 'Tull was Ian Anderson and Martin Barre, everyone else quit or died. John Glascock died in November of '79 from complications with a heart surgery caused by a tooth abscess. David Pegg replaced Tony Williams (of Stealars Wheel fame) on bass; (he was filling in while John Glascock was sick). Mark Craney took over on drums, and Eddie Jobson took over k...

I am still picking a song from a Jethro Tull era on Sundays from beginning to end. The first 5 'Tull eras can be found on days 100, 107, 114, 121, and 128. Today is the 6th, and one of the most loved era for many 'Tull fans. The era for me consists of three albums from '77 to '79: Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch . In this trilogy Ian was trying to write about man's relationship with nature throughout time. In the album Songs From The Wood , this dealt with man and nature in the past and how man lived in somewhat of harmony with nature; in my opinion no songs on this album are weak at all. The album Heavy Horses , which subject matter wise dealt with man from the Industrial Revolution to present; it's a much darker album, which deals with what man has forsaken in the pursuit of progress and the consequences thereof. In my opinion there are no weak tracks on this album either. The last album, Stormwatch is darker yet and d...

I have been picking songs from each of the Jethro Tull eras from beginning to end on Sundays; The other picks can be found in this blog on songs: 100, 107, 114, and 121. Anyway, the 5th 'Tull era for me consists of one album in 1976; the music from this album was originally supposed to be a musical. The musical was to be about 18 songs long and sung by pop singer Adam Faith and was about people from different walks of life, however it never came to fruition. Ian had all of this music written, so they decided to make it the new album: Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die! It consisted of 12 of the original tracks and they decided to base it around an aging rock star named Ray Lomas. In the story Ray is a '50s-60s greaser that is dutifully keeping up his old image while seeing his compatriots sell out to what is in or settling down. After a motorcycle wreak he comes out of a coma and finds that styles have come back around and he is "in...

  It is another Sunday in my Jethro Tull eras from beginning to end and it took me a bit to decide which song from the 4th era of Tull I should pick. I really did not want to pick something off of the A Passion Play album because it would be a bit too abstract for today; maybe I will pick one in the future. The Warchild album has a few on it that would be good, but I finally decided on Cold Wind To Valhalla off of the Minstrel in the Gallery album. These three albums make up what is for me the 4th era of Tull (from 1973-75), it is considered their big leap into Folk/Progressive Rock or Elizabethian Folk/Rock. My previous picks from the first three eras can be found at: Songs 100, 107, and 114 in my blog. A Passion Play is probably one of my top three Tull albums of all time. It is a Rock/Opera concept album that deals with a concepts concerning life after death that is very abstract; it was recorded in just 17 days. The music and Ian's lyrics are extremely complex and are me...

For my third Sunday of 'Tull eras I am choosing Thick As A Brick . In my opinion the third era consists of their 4th through their 7th albums. Some Tull fans would include albums 7 through 9 as well, but I find these albums to be different artistically and lyrically as well as in feeling. During to this era Glenn Cornick left for personal reasons and Ian's friend Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond replaced him on bass starting on the Aqualung album. Clive Bunker also left the band after the Aqualung album because he did not like the touring lifestyle and he had to get married. He was replaced by arguably their best drummer to date: Barriemore Barlow. Aqualung , on side one is more of a normal album with most songs that have little to do with each other. Side two is mostly is an attack on organized religions' and how they mistreat God. Thick As A Brick was written because critics referred to Aqualung as a concept album, which it was not. He decided to release 'the mother ...

On my second Sunday of Jethro Tull eras, I am choosing this one. We Used To Know is from their second album and in my mind their second era, which in my opinion is comprised of the albums Stand Up and Benefit . With the departure of Mick Abrahams (Guitar) and the addition of Martin Barre (Guitar) on this album and later John Evans (Keyboard) on the third album the band began a Progressive feel to their music further away from Blues. The song itself is actually an autobiography of the early days of the band. It was about Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick living day to day as struggling professional musicians and not even knowing if they would make it. I think that most people who have played in bands have experienced quite a bit of what is mentioned in the lyrics. An interesting side note about this song is that the chord progression and a few other aspects of the song were borrowed by Don Henley of the Eagles and used on the song Hotel California . From what I underst...

Number 100! I have decided on a theme of sorts now that I reached the 100 mark. On Sundays I will pick a song from each of Jethro Tull's "Eras" from beginning to end; Jethro Tull is my all time favorite band I thought that it would be fun to do being it's their 40th year and all. If you listen to them from each one of these different eras, it sounds almost like another band at times depending on the era. This should last about 12 Sundays because, for me, there are about 12 distinct Tull eras. This song is off of their first album from '68, This Was, which was their "blues band" era. Ian intentionally chose the album's title because this was how they sounded and he had plans of changing the sound. This is the only studio album with Mick Abrahams on guitar; shortly afterward Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath Fame) joined the band for a short while and later Martin Barre joined as their permanent guitarist. The song's musicianship is quite good, especial...