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Post by TM on May 5, 2014 18:48:02 GMT -5
I just listened to side 1 (tracks 1-4) and the sound of that vinyl just blew me away! Better sound than the DVD, and that's with a high end player. Ian's vocals just transcend the music. What a great mix, I'm just so glad I got the vinyl. Nice to hear Geoff. I picked up the box set after all so I'll have to give the 5.1 a listen soon. |
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Post by Geoff CB on May 11, 2014 21:44:16 GMT -5
Except I haven't listened to any more vinyl! Only the mp3 in the car (Monaro with Alpine system).
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Post by TM on May 15, 2014 11:35:55 GMT -5
I want to say congrats to Ian as Homo is doing very well on Amazon.com. It's still ranks respectably after 40 something days since it's release.
My favorite song at the moment is Pax Britanica believe it or not. Even though it is a direct rip-off of Mayhem Maybe and Last Man at the Party, I enjoy this song much more than the others, and I also enjoy that Ian is able to sing this without struggling which means it should work well live.
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Post by Mix on May 15, 2014 12:07:52 GMT -5
Yes TM, Pax Britanica was his best HE vocal for me at Birmingham.
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Post by TM on May 17, 2014 20:53:50 GMT -5
Whennnnnnnn I was young....I used to love making Tull montages, but having just an ordinary cassette deck they never came out very well.
But here's a Homo instrumental montage that I think works pretty well and clocks in at only 2 minutes and 30 something seconds. Please have a listen and leave your comments. i think it captures the new album nicely.
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Post by Biggles on May 17, 2014 23:32:27 GMT -5
Holy shit, that's really good. Has sort of a RTB feel. Ian, have you heard this?
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Post by Misteman 4 on May 24, 2014 20:58:22 GMT -5
has anyone else noticed that the first few seconds of the song "Heavy Metals" from the new album sound exactly like the first few seconds of 1982's "Broadsword" from the "Broadsword and the Beast" album???
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Post by TM on May 25, 2014 11:00:19 GMT -5
has anyone else noticed that the first few seconds of the song "Heavy Metals" from the new album sound exactly like the first few seconds of 1982's "Broadsword" from the "Broadsword and the Beast" album??? I never picked up on that but having just listened it, you're absolutely right. I wonder if Ian even knew? |
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Post by Morthoron on May 25, 2014 13:38:50 GMT -5
has anyone else noticed that the first few seconds of the song "Heavy Metals" from the new album sound exactly like the first few seconds of 1982's "Broadsword" from the "Broadsword and the Beast" album??? I never picked up on that but having just listened it, you're absolutely right. I wonder if Ian even knew? Paul, as we discussed previously, HE is a veritable potpourri of out-and-out Tull-culling. I can't listen to "Pax Britannica" without hearing "Mayhem, Maybe" over and over. So, yes, I would say Ian knew what he was doing. |
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Tullabye
Ethnic Piano Accordian-ist
Posts: 113
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Post by Tullabye on May 25, 2014 16:03:06 GMT -5
I don't hear Broadsword at all when playing Heavy Metals but then again I haven't thought of Mayhem Maybe once when listening to Pax Britannica. I get more of an Old School Song vibe when listening to PB but it really doesn't bother me at all. It's amazing when picking up my guitar and playing songs like Nursie and Wondering Aloud just how similar in chord structure that they are. When you've written and composed hundreds of songs it bound to happen here and there. There's only a handful of people capable of composing so many quality songs so a big time "hats off" to Ian. By the way... I really like Pax Britannica.
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Post by dooovall on May 25, 2014 16:34:18 GMT -5
Enter the Uninvited has emerged as my favorite track. I've listened to the whole album maybe eight times across the past four weeks, and I periodically put track 3 on a repeating loop on the ol' CD player -- something about the vocal melody commencing after the "sorry - we're coming in" bit really stirs my inner muse and makes me happy. The gestalt of the instrumentation in this song is particularly catchy.
In other Homo Erraticus news, I almost always skip over track 2 (the only weak link on the album to my ears).
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Post by Nonfatman on May 27, 2014 15:11:28 GMT -5
I don't hear Broadsword at all when playing Heavy Metals but then again I haven't thought of Mayhem Maybe once when listening to Pax Britannica. I get more of an Old School Song vibe when listening to PB but it really doesn't bother me at all. It's amazing when picking up my guitar and playing songs like Nursie and Wondering Aloud just how similar in chord structure that they are. When you've written and composed hundreds of songs it bound to happen here and there. There's only a handful of people capable of composing so many quality songs so a big time "hats off" to Ian. By the way... I really like Pax Britannica. I think Heavy Metals is very similar to the acoustic portion of The Power and the Glory from TAAB2. I think the meter of the verse is exactly the same, with Ian singing one syllable per musical note, and for the most part the melody is very similar. I like the background humming in Heavy Metals, and humming in general in rock music, (such as on Looking for Eden and Strip Cartoon). Jeff |
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Post by My God on May 28, 2014 9:42:14 GMT -5
Also Pax Brittanica sounds like Last Man at the Party, as well...... shrug
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Post by TM on May 28, 2014 11:25:47 GMT -5
I never picked up on that but having just listened it, you're absolutely right. I wonder if Ian even knew? Paul, as we discussed previously, HE is a veritable potpourri of out-and-out Tull-culling. I can't listen to "Pax Britannica" without hearing "Mayhem, Maybe" over and over. So, yes, I would say Ian knew what he was doing. Whenever I've written songs they've all just evolved into what they ultimately became. Perhaps that just comes from being an extremely limited musician, but I can't imagine Ian setting out to duplicate his past songs - other than the obvious Aqualung reference in TAAB2. |
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Post by TM on May 28, 2014 11:29:32 GMT -5
Holy shit, that's really good. Has sort of a RTB feel. Ian, have you heard this? Thanks Bigs. I think that would make for a good promo of the album. |
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Post by TM on May 28, 2014 11:35:01 GMT -5
Enter the Uninvited has emerged as my favorite track. I've listened to the whole album maybe eight times across the past four weeks, and I periodically put track 3 on a repeating loop on the ol' CD player -- something about the vocal melody commencing after the "sorry - we're coming in" bit really stirs my inner muse and makes me happy. The gestalt of the instrumentation in this song is particularly catchy. In other Homo Erraticus news, I almost always skip over track 2 (the only weak link on the album to my ears). Yes, I like that 'lead-in' to the song and the instrumental parts you're referencing. Heavy Metals doesn't bother me, although I was a bit surprised to find it used again towards the end of the album. |
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Post by Michael Crowe on May 29, 2014 1:51:47 GMT -5
Enter the Uninvited has emerged as my favorite track. I've listened to the whole album maybe eight times across the past four weeks, and I periodically put track 3 on a repeating loop on the ol' CD player -- something about the vocal melody commencing after the "sorry - we're coming in" bit really stirs my inner muse and makes me happy. The gestalt of the instrumentation in this song is particularly catchy. In other Homo Erraticus news, I almost always skip over track 2 (the only weak link on the album to my ears). Yes, I like that 'lead-in' to the song and the instrumental parts you're referencing. Heavy Metals doesn't bother me, although I was a bit surprised to find it used again towards the end of the album. I've found myself remodeling of late, on purpose even, so, whilst painting I had HE going for the first time in a couple weeks and the wife comes in and says, "That's pretty cool. Which Tull is that?" Well I was thinking how fresh it all sounded. I think the bloody thing is still growing on me. I've moved it up to a B plus, at a time when I should be tiring of it all. It's still my favorite music for the spring, well, next to the Disney Sound Effects LP I found in the attic last month anyway. |
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Post by Nonfatman on May 29, 2014 14:55:50 GMT -5
Yes, I like that 'lead-in' to the song and the instrumental parts you're referencing. Heavy Metals doesn't bother me, although I was a bit surprised to find it used again towards the end of the album. I've found myself remodeling of late, on purpose even, so, whilst painting I had HE going for the first time in a couple weeks and the wife comes in and says, "That's pretty cool. Which Tull is that?" Well I was thinking how fresh it all sounded. I think the bloody thing is still growing on me. I've moved it up to a B plus, at a time when I should be tiring of it all. It's still my favorite music for the spring, well, next to the Disney Sound Effects LP I found in the attic last month anyway. I agree, Mike, and I also give it a B+ on the strength of the music. I would score it higher except for the fact that the lyrics to six or seven of the songs are really subpar for Ian, and some are just downright bad, for a variety of reasons that I've discussed earlier in this thread. For example, I hate the lists that he rattles off in some of the songs, lists of different types of guns, lists of of commercial establishments, lists of social media sites, lists of different television shows, etc. Many of the rhymes througout the album are horrible and then there's the "cluttering" problem as well. The songs I like the best are the ones with better lyrics. I love Doggerland, because it's melody is so memorable and different enough from any other Tull songs despite the parts that sound like RTB. The lyrics to this song work, you really do get a sense of early man wandering anxiously about, following animals across a then-existent land bridge (similar to Indo-European peoples following the "trail and hoof" of woolly mammoths across the Bering land bridge into North America), and you also get a sense of how, despite all of modern progress, etc., not much has changed about the human condition, with the clever twist at the end where the lyrics refer to "melted mortgages" and "dreams that died." It's a great song, that my kids insist I play over and over. The one that really knocks me out is Puer Ferox Adventus. The music is terrific as far as I am concerned, it's got the trademark slow passages followed by furious interludes of heavy rock, there's a lot going on, it's well-sung and well-played, it's really an epic piece reminiscent of past Tull glory, but very different. I don't mind the sound effects in the beginning because sound effects on H.E. are not overused (the way they were on TAAB 2), and because you kind of need the thunder....it adds to the sense of drama, and conveys the monumental changes that were taking place during that era of history. The lyrics are very strong, with simple rhymes and words that fit the verse and reflect an accurate understanding of history. I've read several biographies of Emperor Constantine, and it is true that he adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire more for pragmatic reasons, having to do with unity, than out of deep conviction, and it's also true that he did not formally convert until he was on his deathbed, as alluded to by Ian. For Constantine, the religious doctrine was not as important as strengthinging the Empire against external enemies. There was a trend anyway, dating back to the second century, whereby the Roman pagan, or more accurately animist, religion, was increasingly gravitating to the idea of a single sun god, Sol Invictus, superior to all of the other pagan gods, so it was not too much of a stretch for Constantine to accept Christianity and the idea of one supreme god. The thing that frustrated him the most were the incredibly hostile divisions that developed within Christianity, particularly between the Arian and Donastic sects, as well as others. He had no patience for minute differences in doctrine or holy books, as reflected by the "what is this book" and "did he really say that thing" lines in the lyrics. So Constantine's belief that adopting Christianity would unify the empire did not exactly work out the way he would have liked. Puer Ferox Adventus is, I would have to say, a truly magnificent song, and I would go so far as to call it a masterpiece, and one of Ian's finest in a very long time. The Engineer....it's terrific musically, a great melody with driving music that sounds very fresh to me, and I've got no problem with the substance of the lyrics (which are very interesting), but again there's the problem of the words not matching the music. It's too cluttered. Still, it's a great song. Cold Dead Reckoning, is another that works both musically and lyrically....a fantastic song, and I love the coda at the end, a brilliant way to end the album. The instrumental piece, too, is terrific, finally breaking the Divinities-type instrumental mold, and I love the way the beginning segues into a jazzy acoustic guitar/flute interlude, and I love the ending too, the way it ends with a "train wreck." New Blood, Old Veins is another good song, at least musically, I like John O'Hara's piano on this, but I've got a real problem with the lyrics on that one. The songs that I can really do without are Enter the Uninvited, which I find annoying, and After These Wars because of the bad lyrics and trite guitar, and Pax Brittanica which is way too close to Mayhem Maybe and Last Man at the Party, so I don't find it listenable, I just skip over it. Heavy Metals is okay, I hate the "lyrical list" of guns and it too-closely resembles the acoustic portions of The Power and The Glory, but what saves it for me is the humming, which I really like a lot. I don't have any problem at all with the reprise that occurs later in the sprightly In For A Pound, I kind of like it, and in general, I would say that the recurring themes on H.E., are far less repetitive than those on TAAB2, where the Banker Bets and Pebbles themes and even the Swing it Far theme repeat themselves way too often. I even don't have any problem with the spoken word piece coming near the end as it does, and again because there is not very much spoken word on H.E. as there was on TAAB2, much of which consisted of pretentious poetry readings. I like the way Ian briefly breaks out into song, and although it goes on a bit too long, I think it is an effective lead-in to Cold Dead Reckoning. Jeff |
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Post by Michael Crowe on May 30, 2014 0:22:20 GMT -5
I've found myself remodeling of late, on purpose even, so, whilst painting I had HE going for the first time in a couple weeks and the wife comes in and says, "That's pretty cool. Which Tull is that?" Well I was thinking how fresh it all sounded. I think the bloody thing is still growing on me. I've moved it up to a B plus, at a time when I should be tiring of it all. It's still my favorite music for the spring, well, next to the Disney Sound Effects LP I found in the attic last month anyway. I agree, Mike, and I also give it a B+ on the strength of the music. I would score it higher except for the fact that the lyrics to six or seven of the songs are really subpar for Ian, and some are just downright bad, for a variety of reasons that I've discussed earlier in this thread. For example, I hate the lists that he rattles off in some of the songs, lists of different types of guns, lists of of commercial establishments, lists of social media sites, lists of different television shows, etc. Many of the rhymes througout the album are horrible and then there's the "cluttering" problem as well. The songs I like the best are the ones with better lyrics. I love Doggerland, because it's melody is so memorable and different enough from any other Tull songs despite the parts that sound like RTB. The lyrics to this song work, you really do get a sense of early man wandering anxiously about, following animals across a then-existent land bridge (similar to Indo-European peoples following the "trail and hoof" of woolly mammoths across the Bering land bridge into North America), and you also get a sense of how, despite all of modern progress, etc., not much has changed about the human condition, with the clever twist at the end where the lyrics refer to "melted mortgages" and "dreams that died." It's a great song, that my kids insist I play over and over. The one that really knocks me out is Puer Ferox Adventus. The music is terrific as far as I am concerned, it's got the trademark slow passages followed by furious interludes of heavy rock, there's a lot going on, it's well-sung and well-played, it's really an epic piece reminiscent of past Tull glory, but very different. I don't mind the sound effects in the beginning because sound effects on H.E. are not overused (the way they were on TAAB 2), and because you kind of need the thunder....it adds to the sense of drama, and conveys the monumental changes that were taking place during that era of history. The lyrics are very strong, with simple rhymes and words that fit the verse and reflect an accurate understanding of history. I've read several biographies of Emperor Constantine, and it is true that he adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire more for pragmatic reasons, having to do with unity, than out of deep conviction, and it's also true that he did not formally convert until he was on his deathbed, as alluded to by Ian. For Constantine, the religious doctrine was not as important as strengthinging the Empire against external enemies. There was a trend anyway, dating back to the second century, whereby the Roman pagan, or more accurately animist, religion, was increasingly gravitating to the idea of a single sun god, Sol Invictus, superior to all of the other pagan gods, so it was not too much of a stretch for Constantine to accept Christianity and the idea of one supreme god. The thing that frustrated him the most were the incredibly hostile divisions that developed within Christianity, particularly between the Arian and Donastic sects, as well as others. He had no patience for minute differences in doctrine or holy books, as reflected by the "what is this book" and "did he really say that thing" lines in the lyrics. So Constantine's belief that adopting Christianity would unify the empire did not exactly work out the way he would have liked. Puer Ferox Adventus is, I would have to say, a truly magnificent song, and I would go so far as to call it a masterpiece, and one of Ian's finest in a very long time. The Engineer....it's terrific musically, a great melody with driving music that sounds very fresh to me, and I've got no problem with the substance of the lyrics (which are very interesting), but again there's the problem of the words not matching the music. It's too cluttered. Still, it's a great song. Cold Dead Reckoning, is another that works both musically and lyrically....a fantastic song, and I love the coda at the end, a brilliant way to end the album. The instrumental piece, too, is terrific, finally breaking the Divinities-type instrumental mold, and I love the way the beginning segues into a jazzy acoustic guitar/flute interlude, and I love the ending too, the way it ends with a "train wreck." New Blood, Old Veins is another good song, at least musically, I like John O'Hara's piano on this, but I've got a real problem with the lyrics on that one. The songs that I can really do without are Enter the Uninvited, which I find annoying, and After These Wars because of the bad lyrics and trite guitar, and Pax Brittanica which is way too close to Mayhem Maybe and Last Man at the Party, so I don't find it listenable, I just skip over it. Heavy Metals is okay, I hate the "lyrical list" of guns and it too-closely resembles the acoustic portions of The Power and The Glory, but what saves it for me is the humming, which I really like a lot. I don't have any problem at all with the reprise that occurs later in the sprightly In For A Pound, I kind of like it, and in general, I would say that the recurring themes on H.E., are far less repetitive than those on TAAB2, where the Banker Bets and Pebbles themes and even the Swing it Far theme repeat themselves way too often. I even don't have any problem with the spoken word piece coming near the end as it does, and again because there is not very much spoken word on H.E. as there was on TAAB2, much of which consisted of pretentious poetry readings. I like the way Ian briefly breaks out into song, and although it goes on a bit too long, I think it is an effective lead-in to Cold Dead Reckoning. Jeff When dealing with a concept I tend to have more grace for the lyrical content, in that I may not like most of it but it is a story line and thus all of the parts are vital. In the end there is not much here that you could lift out for a best of IA/Tull tour without bringing it out of context screaming. TAAB worked in edited form live, APP doesn't, so this one sort of drops in between in that regard. I think Doggerland is the best of the lot on a few levels - good melody as you mentioned, goodish lyrics, accessable to the unfamiliar - typical opener in the vein of Minstrel, Beastie, Steel Monkey, etc., - it caught my attention, but I have a different take on PFA. Musically it doesn't excite me at all. I just feel patience going out the window when I hear it. I can see how it can be of interest lyrically but that sort of thing I find tiring. I find faith more interesting than the secular history. To me Constantine's "conversion" likely lessened, if not ended, Roman persecution of Christians. I've always seen this period of Church history as Satan joining the church - "Christians can't be stamped out, so let's join them and water down and confuse the doctine, and drown it with humanism." The Dark Ages followed, which set the stage an age later for the renaissance and Martin Luther's reformation. The people were soon to read the Pauline epistles for themselves. The Protestant movement and technology ( Printing press ) coming along about the same time seems to me no coinsidence. Paul going west rather than east, Constantine, the age of discovery, the free world. Well, in a somewhat naive nutshell perhaps in part, but IA's sarcastic Deist observations on it's history just doesn't interest me. I like the instumental as a whole too. It has some nice interplay, if not enough, and has the cool ending you mentioned, but the flute improv middle, while a nice lead solo, has backing tracks that become repetative and annoying, to where I lose the flute and only here that redundant phrase underneath, as if Pro Tools has taken over the track. Why couldn't the keyboards do something creative here to break up the drip. Anyway I'm with you on most of the other tunes, especially CDR. The talkie was okay for one play, recognizing it's place in the overall concept, but I skip it now. Have to say I rather like "Pax" regardless of the Mayhem likeness, and Heavy Metals is a nice little break in the action - always been a sucker for a madrigal. At the end of the day it is a concept album that works as a whole very well for me but doesn't have the memorable four or five tunes that stood on their on over the test of time like the Tull we all know. The music is very good for the day, but lyrically, nothing hits me. It was four or five listens before I actually heard any of the lyrics. Ian's music has always been wordy and busy but I just don't think his lyrical style has evolved along the same level with his instrumental prowess, nor do I think the two fit together all that well these days. I've noticed the two elements growing apart more oft than not for some couple of decades now. Mozart occasionally had "too many notes." Ian, too many words. |
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Stjerky
Ethnic Piano Accordian-ist
Posts: 165
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Post by Stjerky on Aug 9, 2014 3:02:36 GMT -5
Listened to HE after a couple of months. Now I like it even more. Songs are great. I like Florian's guitar and John's accordion. The vocals are better than they have been in decades. Ryan does a good job adding to Ian's singing. I like every song. I even like the recited parts, they are like poems.
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Post by Biggles on Aug 9, 2014 15:31:25 GMT -5
Listened to HE after a couple of months. Now I like it even more. Songs are great. I like Florian's guitar and John's accordion. The vocals are better than they have been in decades. Ryan does a good job adding to Ian's singing. I like every song. I even like the recited parts, they are like poems. The performance is good but "Enter The Uninvited" lyrics still bother me. All of that product placement... geez! |
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Post by TM on Apr 26, 2015 9:07:27 GMT -5
A little late to the party but.....For the better part of 50 years, Ian Anderson was the heart and brains of Jethro Tull, although it can certainly be argued that longtime guitarist Martin Barre was both arms. Anderson may have been the writer and arranger of all their music, but Barre gave it a life and interpretation that gave Tull its unique sound.... Homo Review - Fixed Link
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Post by Morthoron on Apr 26, 2015 11:09:16 GMT -5
A little late to the party but.....For the better part of 50 years, Ian Anderson was the heart and brains of Jethro Tull, although it can certainly be argued that longtime guitarist Martin Barre was both arms. Anderson may have been the writer and arranger of all their music, but Barre gave it a life and interpretation that gave Tull its unique sound.... Read more - Album Review: 'Homo Erraticus' by Ian Anderson Paul, I think your link is broken. Which isn't surprising, as you are getting up in age.  |
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Post by TM on Apr 26, 2015 20:05:38 GMT -5
A little late to the party but.....For the better part of 50 years, Ian Anderson was the heart and brains of Jethro Tull, although it can certainly be argued that longtime guitarist Martin Barre was both arms. Anderson may have been the writer and arranger of all their music, but Barre gave it a life and interpretation that gave Tull its unique sound.... Read more - Album Review: 'Homo Erraticus' by Ian Anderson Paul, I think your link is broken. Which isn't surprising, as you are getting up in age. Thanks for the reminder Greg! It's fixed now. |
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