Ian Anderson- Early Tull- Interview- Sidebar on Early Albums

[Bill Hart]

I've been a Tull fan pretty much from the beginning, and was fortunate to hear them back in the day, shortly before Aqualung was released. I was just as fortunate that Ian Anderson gave me a little time recently -to interview him about the formative years, when Tull transitioned from blues band to something different and quite extraordinary.
Here is a link to the featured piece: http://thevinylpress.com/ageless-tro...-ian-anderson/


I also wrote a sidebar on some of the early albums here: http://thevinylpress.com/early-tull-on-vinyl/

Enjoy.

[MylesBAstor]

I've been a Tull fan pretty much from the beginning, and was fortunate to hear them back in the day, shortly before Aqualung was released. I was just as fortunate that Ian Anderson gave me a little time recently -to interview him about the formative years, when Tull transitioned from blues band to something different and quite extraordinary.
Here is a link to the featured piece: http://thevinylpress.com/ageless-tro...-ian-anderson/


I also wrote a sidebar on some of the early albums here: http://thevinylpress.com/early-tull-on-vinyl/

Enjoy.

Thank you Bill! That quite possibly was the best piece and interview you've done yet! As another long time Tull fanatic, I truly enjoyed reading it.

As I get more and more into the music, the impact of the blues on jazz and rock is mind boggling. Did you happen to catch the Keith Richard's documentary where he talks about how he and Mick met on a train? They were both carrying some blues artists LPs and they look at each other and say I thought I was the only person listening to this stuff.

Speaking of Tull influences, how about their rendition of Bach's Bouree on Stand Up?

[Johnny Vinyl]

I read it this morning and kudos my friend for securing that interview. How did you manage that?

[Bill Hart]

Thank you Bill! That quite possibly was the best piece and interview you've done yet! As another long time Tull fanatic, I truly enjoyed reading it.

As I get more and more into the music, the impact of the blues on jazz and rock is mind boggling. Did you happen to catch the Keith Richard's documentary where he talks about how he and Mick met on a train? They were both carrying some blues artists LPs and they look at each other and say I thought I was the only person listening to this stuff.

Speaking of Tull influences, how about their rendition of Bach's Bouree on Stand Up?

Thanks, Myles. I find Anderson's music fascinating. He took odds and ends of what was percolating in London during that very inventive period, but made something that, to my knowledge is pretty much entirely unique. I did mention "Bouree" and Bach in the companion piece on the early albums. It's funny, I was never a Rolling Stones fan, but I've come to appreciate that 'golden era', my favorite is in some ways, Let it Bleed. I have never heard a good copy of Exile or Sticky Fingers and have several notable pressings of them. Thing is, a lot of these bands were messing around with the blues when they started, and all of them went in different directions. Free is another great example, - the first album, Tons of Sobs, (you don't want to look at prices for a true first UK- they are shocking) but it is far more bluesy than their later stuff, which is more straight ahead hard rock. There's also something about Ian Anderson's professional persona that is compelling - granted, some of it first class showmanship, but he backed it up with great songwriting, and pretty intense performances. There was a show in Tanglewood from the Aqualung era- bad video is floating around the web. I need to track down a high quality, legitimate copy of that show if it is available for home viewing. I've never entirely understood how so many different kinds of music now fit under the umbrella of "prog" but at the time Anderson & Co. were truly tilling new ground.

[Bill Hart]

I read it this morning and kudos my friend for securing that interview. How did you manage that?

Clean living. Seriously, I've been working at this writing about music history thing for just a year, though having been involved as a copyright lawyer in the industry for 34 years hasn't hurt. I am also a persistent bugger, and have reached out to a fair number of people in the course of doing these pieces. I've been lucky that some of them are gracious enough to give me their time and thoughts. Ian Anderson was very articulate and quite pleasant. Some of the blues scholars I've spoken to--when I was researching late Elmore James tracks- were just amazing. Some of these folks devote their entire professional careers to a single artist- they teach, write, and engage in primary source research. (One of the guys I spoke with had combed through old union records for sessions to figure out who was in the studios and verify when the tracks were recorded). These guys don't really get paid much, if anything. That's kind of what I liked about that whole Canned Heat thing- in the early days, those guys were just crazy blues nuts, record collectors and musicians who toiled out of love of the genre. They wound up finding some of the original, legendary bluesmen and helped them get re-discovered. By those standards, I'm a dilettante but I really enjoy the process.