The spoken parts on TAAB-1 are just intermittent surreal effects. I tend to agree that in TAAB 2 they go on a bit long,
A bit? Pardon moi = me, it's way too typical Anderson.
He took old music (TAAB1), added a bunch of songs that sound exactly like so many of his other solo albums (retreads), fluffed the latter with verbosity to fill time and takes it on tour.
Not very well according to Glasgow reports.
Anyone remember the endless years of setlists that never changed?
skytzo, I totally agree with your opinion of Dot Com. I think it remains Tull's worse album by far. I never listen to it any more. I saw Tull play it live in Vegas and thought it was a very weak show bc of that material. I think the song "Dot Com' is the worst Tull song ever.
However, we disagree about RTB. I thought that was their worse album until I heard DC. I was actually quite surprised to find out that many fans love it. I know of no one that listens to it amongst my circle of Tullians.
Maybe I was spoiled by my complete immersion of the 70s material as a teen. I was able to enjoy every album from TAAB onward as they were released. I attended every tour since APP.
I was at the UW show in L.A. (at Universal if I'm not mistaken) when Ian's voice went out. It was hell. Ian yelled at the crowd for smoking pot. He exclaimed, "... it gets in my throat and gets in my tits." He then stormed off stage after playing maybe 2 or 3 songs. To me, Tull have never been the same since and for me, all GREAT Tull came prior to that show.
I initially had a similar experience to you regarding 'Under Wraps." While I always loved the signature song, the rest fell flat for me and I shelved it for a good 20 years or more. That is until I heard a live recording of a show from the UW tour. It is available by the way at wolfgangsvault.com. The recording is from a month or two prior to the infamous L.A. show and so Ian still has the grand voice. It was then that I realized how wonderful the songs on that album are.
I think I initially disliked the album largely because of the thin sound created by the drum machine and overall production quality. Why Ian would rush the material out in such a fashion is beyond me. Anyway, upon hearing the songs live with a great Tull band performing and fantastic drumming, I realized what a gem UW is. I think that particular recording is amongst the best live Tull shows ever. Tull fans should check it out as it is fantastic.
Anyway, maybe after all these years I will give RTB another listen. All I remember about the material on that album was that there was too much of an Indian influence for my taste. I also recall not being too keen on Ian's vocals ... and please Ian, no more of that squeezey thing.
I initially had a similar experience to you regarding 'Under Wraps." While I always loved the signature song, the rest fell flat for me and I shelved it for a good 20 years or more. That is until I heard a live recording of a show from the UW tour. It is available by the way at wolfgangsvault.com. The recording is from a month or two prior to the infamous L.A. show and so Ian still has the grand voice. It was then that I realized how wonderful the songs on that album are.
I think I initially disliked the album largely because of the thin sound created by the drum machine and overall production quality. Why Ian would rush the material out in such a fashion is beyond me. Anyway, upon hearing the songs live with a great Tull band performing and fantastic drumming, I realized what a gem UW is. I think that particular recording is amongst the best live Tull shows ever. Tull fans should check it out as it is fantastic.
Not to get off on a side tangent too much from the original topic, but as fas as Under Wraps goes, I also dusted it off for the first time in ages last year. Listening to it with fresh ears, my stance has softened a bit....Ian's singing is excellent on the album, seemingly at the limits of his vocal range on many tracks, which ironically probably contributed to him infamously blowing out his voice on the subsequent tour. There are some decent songs buried under all of the (now) dated synths and gawdawful drum machine...if it had been recorded with proper drums, more traditonal keyboard sounds and more prominent guitar from Martin it could've been a decent album. But, it was state of the art technologically at the time to produce records like that and Ian wanted to experiment with all that - there was no such thing as going for a retro sound back then, which is what happened with TAAB2....love the Hammond organ all over it.
Anyway, maybe after all these years I will give RTB another listen. All I remember about the material on that album was that there was too much of an Indian influence for my taste. I also recall not being too keen on Ian's vocals ... and please Ian, no more of that squeezey thing.
Egads, is he thinking about wearing that cute little codpiece again?
Honestly I haven't listened to the new album that much since I got it. I'm sort of waiting until I'm in the mood to study it, and the mood hasn't struck me yet--so I chose Need more listenings.
I don't think i'll like it better than the original though. I don't think I had to wait for the mood to strike in order for me to tear into that one.
But really I think comparing it to the original will only end in disappointment to most. You end up with too many expectations and leads you to dislike the album for the wrong reasons. Maybe?
But really I think comparing it to the original will only end in disappointment to most. You end up with too many expectations and leads you to dislike the album for the wrong reasons. Maybe?
It's apples and oranges really. Get the whole comparison thing out of your head and judge it as a piece of music on it's own merits. As a contemporary Ian Anderson work, it's surprisingly excellent to my ears, especially considering that I don't really care for any of his solo albums or Dot-Com, so my expectations were extremely low. It's reaffirmed my faith in Ian as an artist and it makes me proud to be a Tull/Ian fan again knowing that at age 64 he still has the ability to put out a great album if he really wants to.
Well I decided to give Roots to Branches another try after almost 2 decades (?) ... Well, what do you know? It's suddenly a fantastic album. The band is killer. I can't believe I discounted it so initially.
Maybe I wasn't used to what was then, Ian's new vocal style. It's possible that I was still in mourning over the loss of the familiar grand vocal style that I so cherished.
I remember the days when his vocals were amongst the absolute strengths of their live shows. IMO, a very underrated vocalist. In fact, I always felt that he and McCartney were similar in their ability to both sing in a soft poetic manner a la Slipstream and a power rock manner as in Cross-eyed Mary/Wind Up. I tend to get quite annoyed when I hear comments that suggest that he was never anything more than an average vocalist.
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but it is part of a dialogue that began on this thread. Bottom line ... Roots to Branches rocks ... and like college it only took me a couple of decades to get it done.
Its easy to under-appreciate the vocals until you attempt to sound the same way and find Ian somehow visited two tonal zones in the space of one word! We enjoyed R2B for something like 7 straight months almost exclusively and could argue it is the very best album. The title track is so powerful I sometimes even have to wait on it... sheesh. Ok back to the topic here
Its easy to under-appreciate the vocals until you attempt to sound the same way and find Ian somehow visited two tonal zones in the space of one word! We enjoyed R2B for something like 7 straight months almost exclusively and could argue it is the very best album. The title track is so powerful I sometimes even have to wait on it... sheesh. Ok back to the topic here
Just to throw my two cents in, I think RTB has four of the greatest post-1980 Tull songs, including the title song, Rare and Precious Chain, Valley and Dangerous Veils. DV might be their hardest rocking song ever, it's right up there with Back to the Family and Nothing is Easy in that department. These four songs are just magnificent all around.
Then there's Out of the Noise, which is musically superb, very inventive, adventurous song......I just can't really get into the lyrics.
Stuck in the August Rain, I love so much about the song, but I don't know......I'm always left with the feeling that it could have been even better.
Besides Myself - I know many people like it, and I do too, but I just don't think it's that great....something about the lyrics I don't like, but I do love how they do it live.
This Free Will - I don't like the song very much, not that crazy about the melody or the way it is sung.
At Last Forever - I like it, especially the way it was performed live, but it's too long. It lasts forever.
Wounded Old and Treacherous - I like the humor of it, but on this one I don't like the spoken words way he sings it. Having said that, it was surprisingly great in concert, as was the whole album. All of the RTB songs sounded even better live than they did on the record. Great tour.
Another Harry's Bar - I just don't like this one. Cliched lyrics, a lot of flutey filler and too long.
truely i like both of the albums about equally. The original was not my favorite by quite a bit. Actually over-all "A Passion Play" was my favorite tull record. TAAB 2 is so good I believe because it does have a "seventies" feel to it. I am a product of the 1970's as I was born in 1958. Musically for me, the seventies cannot be compared to as a genre of rock. Ian and the guys have done really great music after that decade, but productivity wise the 1970's was the time. I think "Wootton Basset Town" is destined to be a modern classic. Also "A Change of Horses", Banker bets Banker wins", "Swing it Far" are all really great tunes as well. Ian's ability to remain creative and relevent at say 65 is very impressive.
truely i like both of the albums about equally. The original was not my favorite by quite a bit. Actually over-all "A Passion Play" was my favorite tull record. TAAB 2 is so good I believe because it does have a "seventies" feel to it. I am a product of the 1970's as I was born in 1958. Musically for me, the seventies cannot be compared to as a genre of rock. Ian and the guys have done really great music after that decade, but productivity wise the 1970's was the time. I think "Wootton Basset Town" is destined to be a modern classic. Also "A Change of Horses", Banker bets Banker wins", "Swing it Far" are all really great tunes as well. Ian's ability to remain creative and relevent at say 65 is very impressive.
Hi, James
Thanks for dropping in. I've been liking Brick 2 well enough. There's nothing that's really weak on it, and I agree about Wooten Bassett song. I love those lyrics, and also Old School Song. I love the lyrics to the entire album, actually, and I think in that respect it may surpass the original. The lyrics, story and concept, and how it all ties into the original, for me, are the best things about the album.
I don't feel that way about the music, though, in my opinion the original Brick is Tull's greatest album, along with Stand Up. Brick 2 is very good though!
I know we have to get off of RTB, but I have to defend a couple of songs.
Out of the Noise lyrics are very clever. "Some towns I know he could end up in restaurant, wrong side of a table for two." Ouch! And it really pulls out all the stops at that point with the organ wailing away too.
Beside Myself - includes one of the greatest anthemic riffs ever. A real cranker.
This Free Will - beautifully melodic to me, especially the "but you could almost remember my name" line. I also love the sudden insertion near the end of an extra line that wasn't there before "oh let's be children still," and it's almost unendurable (in a good way) pleading delivery. Also, how many syllables can we cram into one short word? "Shaking my fai-a-a-aith in this free will." Whew! Just powerful stuff to me. Odd how everyone reacts so differently to the same piece.
I agree on the Harry's Bar cliches. An okay song, but very predictable, and sounds like it should have been on Catfish Rising, my least favorite Tull album.
Certainly RtB is a triumphant return to the epic Tull after the disappointing Catfish and Rock Island (both of which I still routinely listen to anyway). __________________
Back to TABB2 After my fourth or so thorough listen to TAAB2, I now place it musically as just about the best thing since Stormwatch. And that's saying a lot! My first listens I thought it merely an okay IA solo album not quite as good as SLOB. I think the latter day Anderson compositions have to grow on you for a while, then they suddenly gel and you really like them.
Also, no matter how good, nothing will ever again impress us quite the same way music did when we were 17. I'm not sure why that is. It's a little sad. But TAAB2 does do it for me at least in a number of its moments.
Also, no matter how good, nothing will ever again impress us quite the same way music did when we were 17. I'm not sure why that is. It's a little sad. But TAAB2 does do it for me at least in a number of its moments.
"Familiarity Breeds Contempt" Also, being 17 is like experiencing everything for the first time. The years go by and life becomes more predictable. Until you hit 55 and TAAB 2 comes out! Now I feel 17 all over again.
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