Post by collan on Feb 9, 2014 1:40:26 GMT -5
Back in 1987, Ian Anderson convinced Chrysalis executives to do a pre-release survey on Crest of a Knave as detailed in the Rolling Stone magazine article quoted and linked below. All of the participants who filled out the surveys were ultimately thanked individually by name on the vinyl release on the back side of the inner sleeve. My sister, who passed away not long ago, got lucky enough to attend the one in Dallas, and she is listed among the 845 names. It's nice to know that she's linked in a small way to Jethro Tull since she loved their music so much.
I've looked around online trying to find this list somewhere but have been unsuccessful, so I dug out my vinyl and pulled the list of names myself. I wanted to find somewhere for this to live online, and this seemed to be the best place. Maybe other members here will remember this and find their own names or those of friends or family. Hopefully this might bring back fun memories of a rather unique experience. The list of names, including the thank you heading, starts after the article.
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You can see the Rolling Stone article online here.
Jethro Tull Pulls A Fast One On Its Company
December 24, 1987 | By JEAN ROSENBLUTH, Rolling Stone
Getting the attention of your record company sometimes can require guerrilla tactics, even if you`re a veteran act.
Take the case of Jethro Tull. Group leader Ian Anderson persuaded executives at Chrysalis Records to undertake an extensive market-research program involving listening sessions for fans around the country, ostensibly to pick the first single from the group`s new album, Crest of a Knave. But Anderson admits he had a hidden agenda.
``I played a little trick on the record company by persuading them to do the survey,`` says Anderson, adding that getting feedback from the people who call themselves Jethro Tull fans was of only tangential importance to him. Foremost in his mind when he devised the survey, he says, was inspiring Chrysalis to support Crest of a Knave more than it had its predecessor, Tull`s 1984 album Under Wraps.
``I took a chance that the audience would come out positive on it, and about 80 percent did,`` Anderson says. ``I was then able to put that in front of the president of Chrysalis and say, `Look, here is evidence that the record you have before you is something worth getting up early on a Monday morning to work on. Make the effort.```
For the survey, Chrysalis asked 12 album-rock stations across the country to invite Jethro Tull fans to take part in listening sessions. Those who responded to the recruiting call, about 60 people in each city, were assembled in hotel rooms where they were played the album and asked to fill out a questionnaire on which songs they liked best and which they thought would receive the most airplay.
Crest of a Knave made its debut at No. 175 on Billboard magazine`s Top Pop Albums chart, 37 places lower than Under Wraps, but then leaped to No. 80 the following week.
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Ian Anderson would sincerely like to thank the following for their involvment in the making of this record (click the thumbnail)
I've looked around online trying to find this list somewhere but have been unsuccessful, so I dug out my vinyl and pulled the list of names myself. I wanted to find somewhere for this to live online, and this seemed to be the best place. Maybe other members here will remember this and find their own names or those of friends or family. Hopefully this might bring back fun memories of a rather unique experience. The list of names, including the thank you heading, starts after the article.
**********************************************
You can see the Rolling Stone article online here.
Jethro Tull Pulls A Fast One On Its Company
December 24, 1987 | By JEAN ROSENBLUTH, Rolling Stone
Getting the attention of your record company sometimes can require guerrilla tactics, even if you`re a veteran act.
Take the case of Jethro Tull. Group leader Ian Anderson persuaded executives at Chrysalis Records to undertake an extensive market-research program involving listening sessions for fans around the country, ostensibly to pick the first single from the group`s new album, Crest of a Knave. But Anderson admits he had a hidden agenda.
``I played a little trick on the record company by persuading them to do the survey,`` says Anderson, adding that getting feedback from the people who call themselves Jethro Tull fans was of only tangential importance to him. Foremost in his mind when he devised the survey, he says, was inspiring Chrysalis to support Crest of a Knave more than it had its predecessor, Tull`s 1984 album Under Wraps.
``I took a chance that the audience would come out positive on it, and about 80 percent did,`` Anderson says. ``I was then able to put that in front of the president of Chrysalis and say, `Look, here is evidence that the record you have before you is something worth getting up early on a Monday morning to work on. Make the effort.```
For the survey, Chrysalis asked 12 album-rock stations across the country to invite Jethro Tull fans to take part in listening sessions. Those who responded to the recruiting call, about 60 people in each city, were assembled in hotel rooms where they were played the album and asked to fill out a questionnaire on which songs they liked best and which they thought would receive the most airplay.
Crest of a Knave made its debut at No. 175 on Billboard magazine`s Top Pop Albums chart, 37 places lower than Under Wraps, but then leaped to No. 80 the following week.
**********************************************
Ian Anderson would sincerely like to thank the following for their involvment in the making of this record (click the thumbnail)
