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Jethro Tull- Stand Up 55th Anniversary- Ian Anderson

"Well the biggest difference was that I was going to have to write all the songs this time," quips Ian Anderson in a bit of understatement when I asked, in this classic rock interview, about the departure of Jethro Tull co-founder Mick Abrahams between their 1968 debut, "This Was", and the much more successful "Stand Up" the following year.

Jethro Tull- Living in the Past- Philadelphia 1987

"Here's a song we loathed for fifteen years!" winked Jethro Tull singer/songwriter/flautist Ian Anderson when introducing the song "Living in the Past" from the stage. The song is a bit of an orphan, written and recorded in 1969 between their second album, "Stand Up", and the follow-up, "Benefit", but appearing on neither one.

Jethro Tull- Stand Up 55th Anniversary- Ian Anderson 7-15

Ian Anderson may indeed stand up a bit more slowly than he once did in 1969, but his memories of those formative days are keen and his wit sharp on the double-nickel anniversary of Jethro Tull's "Stand Up" next Monday July 8.
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Jethro Tull- Thick As a Brick- Ian Anderson

Jethro Tull's March 1972 epic "Thick As a Brick" is the only album in music history to attain #1 sales on Billboard containing only one song...Ian Anderson joins me In the Studio with Jethro Tull's "Thick As a Brick" for one of the greatest progressive albums ever!
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Jethro Tull- Songs from the Wood- Ian Anderson

Realize that "Songs from the Wood" by Jethro Tull, released in February 1977, was already the English folk/progressive rockers' tenth album! There was nothing that sounded remotely like the ancient pastoral songs and instrumentation on "Songs from the Wood" then on the all-important American rock radio. Ian Anderson is my guest In the Studio  for "Songs from the Wood".

Jethro Tull- The Zealot Gene- Ian Anderson

Not since "Aqualung" fully half a century ago had Ian Anderson addressed the historic  characters and iconography of the Old and New Testament Bible this head on, mixed with twentieth century and even current events, as on "The Zealot Gene" by Jethro Tull. Ian Anderson is my guest here In the Studio.

Jethro Tull- Steel Monkey- Philadelphia 11-25-87

This Jethro Tull concert performance is outstanding, from both the standpoints of the band's tight performance and the stellar live broadcast mix from Philadelphia's Tower Theater back in late November 1987. Here is a blistering concert version of "Steel Monkey".
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Jethro Tull- Aqualung- Ian Anderson

Few albums from any time in the Rock Era continue  to satisfy quite so well as Jethro Tull's masterpiece "Aqualung". Ian Anderson smartly wrote songs for all seasons for a superb band, including the timeless rockers "Aqualung","Cross-Eyed Mary","Locomotive Breath," and "Hymn #43", but perfectly paced the album with tasty acoustic classics like "Wond'ring Aloud"and "Mother Goose". On "Aqualung" 's golden anniversary, Ian Anderson is my guest In the Studio.

Jethro Tull- Locomotive Breath- Zurich dressing room 1989

Jethro Tull's singer/ songwriter/ flautist Ian Anderson ( left ) returns here In the Studio  next week for the band's big fiftieth anniversary of "Aqualung", so this should prime the pump with another angle on all of that material. Here's another of the rare "Dressing Room Tapes" performances in the backstage bowels of the concert hall before a Zurich Switzerland 1989 concert with guitarist Martin Barre  ripping a spirited "Locomotive Breath".

Jethro Tull- Minstrel in the Gallery- Ian Anderson

"Light and shade," Jimmy Page once told me, speaking to the secret of Led Zeppelin's universal popularity, and never was that combination more on display than on the title song to Jethro Tull's September 1975 "Minstrel in the Gallery".