When Ian Anderson began treading the boards in the early 1960s, there was never any expectation that bashing out a few blues standards could lead to something like a proper career. Pop stars came and went – even The Beatles thought all the fuss would blow over soon enough. If they were lucky they’d make a few hits, meet a few stars, have a few laughs and bank a few stories to tell the customers frequenting the shop they’d probably open in their settled-down post-pop life.
Well, that might have been the theory back then but somebody must have forgotten to pass the memo on to Anderson. Driven by a fearsome, unrelenting work ethic for more than half a century, the singing flautist and the current incarnation of Jethro Tull are back with their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1681379403/articles/QoW49egaZ1682600956282/8596575651.jpg]
As with his readings around the tenets of Christian religion on The Zealot Gene and before it Homo Erraticus’ criminally underrated consideration on the interaction between migration and culture, RökFlöte is an extended study of a particular subject that’s hooked Anderson’s attention in the past. Mythology, legends and humankind’s deep connection to the pagan Earth itself have all been fertile ground for artists from all disciplines, and over the years Anderson has tilled more than his fair share of important plots in that particular field. Beltane, Dun Ringill, Kelpie, Jack In The Green, A Cold Wind In Valhalla and other numerous folkloric touchstones stand out in the Tull landscape.
RökFlöte’s 12 songs dig into the pagan realm of the Norse gods and the medieval Viking culture that sought their blessing deeper than ever before. At one level it’s an ancient world long gone and far removed from our modern life. Yet vestigial bonds of connection continue to thread themselves into present times through the days of the week: Tyr, Wōden, Thor, Freya – or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, for those who prefer to anglicise the old gods. Anderson goes far beyond such a largely superficial example and one gets the sense that he’s never happier than when researching, burrowing deep and wide into a subject, spurring him on as much as writing the music.
Here, Ginnungagap, Hammer On Hammer and Wolf Unchained all bear the hallmark of classic Tull, hovering somewhere between a metallic-clad cèilidh band with attitude and a professorial chamber rock ensemble delighting in their rhythmic and textural complexity. That is, one could imagine all these tunes being a welcome and substantial all-killer-no-filler addition to the live setlist at almost any point in the band’s history. With all the band pulling their weight, it’s nevertheless worth mentioning that guitarist Joe ParrishJames’ catalysing presence is especially good throughout as he builds slabs of heavy duty riffage on the monumental W...
Well, that might have been the theory back then but somebody must have forgotten to pass the memo on to Anderson. Driven by a fearsome, unrelenting work ethic for more than half a century, the singing flautist and the current incarnation of Jethro Tull are back with their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1681379403/articles/QoW49egaZ1682600956282/8596575651.jpg]
As with his readings around the tenets of Christian religion on The Zealot Gene and before it Homo Erraticus’ criminally underrated consideration on the interaction between migration and culture, RökFlöte is an extended study of a particular subject that’s hooked Anderson’s attention in the past. Mythology, legends and humankind’s deep connection to the pagan Earth itself have all been fertile ground for artists from all disciplines, and over the years Anderson has tilled more than his fair share of important plots in that particular field. Beltane, Dun Ringill, Kelpie, Jack In The Green, A Cold Wind In Valhalla and other numerous folkloric touchstones stand out in the Tull landscape.
RökFlöte’s 12 songs dig into the pagan realm of the Norse gods and the medieval Viking culture that sought their blessing deeper than ever before. At one level it’s an ancient world long gone and far removed from our modern life. Yet vestigial bonds of connection continue to thread themselves into present times through the days of the week: Tyr, Wōden, Thor, Freya – or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, for those who prefer to anglicise the old gods. Anderson goes far beyond such a largely superficial example and one gets the sense that he’s never happier than when researching, burrowing deep and wide into a subject, spurring him on as much as writing the music.
Here, Ginnungagap, Hammer On Hammer and Wolf Unchained all bear the hallmark of classic Tull, hovering somewhere between a metallic-clad cèilidh band with attitude and a professorial chamber rock ensemble delighting in their rhythmic and textural complexity. That is, one could imagine all these tunes being a welcome and substantial all-killer-no-filler addition to the live setlist at almost any point in the band’s history. With all the band pulling their weight, it’s nevertheless worth mentioning that guitarist Joe ParrishJames’ catalysing presence is especially good throughout as he builds slabs of heavy duty riffage on the monumental W...
You're reading a preview of
Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 139