NOTHING IS EASY: LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT 1970

An absolute must for Tull fans!!!!!

I cannot describe my feelings enough as I tried to open up the DVD with my trembling hands , then searching all over the room for that stoooopid remote control that was lying in front of my eyes and try to insert the disc into that damned (and Slow!!!!!!) machine and finally get my heroin fix of Jethro Tull! Not only had I rented a Ferrari to go to the store and come back quicker, but I never climbed the stairs so quick (even when Mrs Stevie Nicks was waiting naked in my bed ;-p ) only to climb all stages of extasy (not even spending the night with Mrs Nicks got me that worked up ;-D ) as soon as I got the first images in my head.

In this DVD , you will see:

- how the Isle Of Wight Festival was actually a fiasco

- Glen Cornick play bass guitar on My God (the Aqualung album was not yet out)

- the Tramp tearing and ripping apart his long tailcoat by stepping wildly on the tail

- Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath fame ) play guitar on the Rolling Stone RNR Circus

- the Clive Bunker technique of tightening his drum skin while soloing

- hear and see Ian talking of his phallic flute

- hear how Tull became original by not being a guitar god

- Ian explain the one-legged stance and its over-use

- feel the extraodinary power of the early Tull

- how Ian anderson is probably the most outspoken and colourful/hilarious character around.

- the light (or the Enlightenment!!!!)

- how quick you orgasm without even thinking of Mrs Nicks

Actually , I melted this DVD, put the solution in a sirynge and injected it intravenously, took out the stolen Ferrari (did you actually think I would rent one?) and went back to the store to buy another copy.

Oh! That was not Stevie Nicks , but even if I do kiss and tell, you would not believe me anyway on the real ID of that lady!!!!! ;-)p)

Ian ANDERSON is insane! Or more appropriately, he is an insane performer! The energy he brings live to stage is nothing short of 'disturbing'. Think Joe Cocker with a weapon (flute) in his hand! Truly Ian ANDERSON is one of the most charasmatic and humourous characters in prog music.

This lovely DVD is not just for TULL fans, although they will no doubt consider this performance at The Isle of Wight in 1970 a masterpiece! Any fan of Prog music NEEDS to see TULL perform live in their 'prime'.

In actuality there are only 5 songs performed by the TULL from the actual Isle Festival (plus 'Bouree' in the form of a small interlude). There is also another performance included from "The Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus" in which the TULL perform 'A Song For Jeffrey' with none other than Tony IOMMI on guitar. The performances here sum up EXACTLY what the TULL are: Ian ANDERSON dominating the stage, backed up by competent performances by the rest of the band (too bad not enough is seen of underappreciated guitarist Martin BARRE, as well as John EVAN on keyboards who is not seen at all!)

The highlight (for me) from this show was Ian's performance of 'My God'. This tune had not yet been released ("Aqualung" not coming out until the following year). Very powerful stuff! However this is the only 'real' prog tune you will be exposed to here from the TULL. Most of the other tunes (while excellent) are from their earlier, bluesy years.

Modern day Ian ANDERSON wittily narrates the entire show, discussing the Isle of Wight Festival, its bands, the atmosphere and politics at the time. But coming in at a mere 1 hour 20 minutes (short for most musical DVD's) and having zero in the way of bonus material, I was left wanting more, more, more! And much to my chagrin, Stevie NICKS is nowhere to be found in this concert. Damn you Hugues! ;-)

So, the performances by TULL are powerful and excellent. It's just that there are only 5-6 of them, and only 1 of these are definitively a progressive tune. Otherwise this DVD would have warranted a masterpiece rating to be sure! Highly entertaining and recommended. TULL fans if you don't have this in your collection, you should be ashamed!

and this is the companion DVD to the live CD.

in short... the performances are incredible. Anderson's flute solo on My God, will have you laughing and shaking your head in astonishment at the same time. The drum solo on Dharma comes alive visually as a meer listen to a drum solo can't. A few complaints unrelated to the acual performances. Another Murray Lerner film which means the soundcheck performance of Bouree is cut into by crowd footage. The show itself has no flow with rememberance by Ian Anderson between each song. For some reason Jethro Tull's performance of A Song For Jeffrey from the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is put between My Sunday Feeling and My God. Though it is GREAT to see Tony Iommi from Sabbath playing with Ian Anderson hahah.. it shouldn't have been stuck on this.. or at the very least, at the end of the DVD. Not every song from the CD is shown here on the DVD as well. While the performances are nothing short of incredible and just plain fun to watch. The DVD as a whole is not the best put together that I've seen.

2 stars. For collectors or Fans of Tull only but what a treat it is....

How could you not love it?

This is a final proof that Ian Anderson is a madman. Full stop. The whole documentary is directed well although there's actually only 5 tracks from the actual performance. If you are a newbie to Tull, these 5 tracks are more than enough to convince everyone that you are facing something extraordinary; savage, raw, young, intelligent and fresh. Parts of an interview with Ian are settled between the songs, Anderson telling interesting stories how all thing started; the atmosphere and problems of the Isle of Wight Festival itself, problems with sound check; phallic savour of his flute and his opinion about god(s).

Beside that you can see Tull's performance on The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus - a rare gem featuring Tony Iommy from BLACK SABBATH playing "Song For Jeffrey".

Their performance was so full of positive energy (despite few minor errors during the play), that one could almost feel it throught the TV screen 30 years later. Highlights are "Dharma For One" with its drum solo and excellent camera (I'm not fan of the drum solos but this is an extraordinary performance by crazy Clive Bunker, one of the most underestimated drummers in business), and "My God", the song that we all know (and love) from "Aqualung" album but, but...nevertheless this is far beyond any description. I could not recommend this DVD enough. This is excellent addition for fans, and the people that will became fans after they see this.

An excellent DVD of Jethro tull's performance at the Isle of Wight in 1970. The performance is diluted with Ian Anderson's interviews in 2004, but this is well made and the master's interventions are interesting when he evokes his debuts with the band and also to understand the concert's context. He also does some short flute demonstrations, proving that he's still skilled. The first half of the DVD is material from the « Isle of Wight » movie but fortunatly the second half offers full unreleased pieces. Jethro Tull did an excellent performance this very night, with a tremendous speed and energy. Most pieces are transcended during this concert, like « My Sunday feeling», or « Dharma for one » which is mind blowing, the most progressive and psychedelic one. A must-have from this great band. Sound and image quality are good as well.

Jethro Tull was already extremely popular in the UK already at the time of the festival so they played on the last day of the festival, rather late at night and pretty close to the top of the bill, just before Jimi.

Their album "Stand Up" reaching even the first spot of the UK charts. Still, their concerts so far were more in clubs (like in the Cavern in August 66 - Liverpool of course), their Marquee debut in June 67 (as opening act) while their truely debut as Jethro Tull there will take place in February 68.

They will even open there for "The Who" on April 23rd, 1968 ! Tull will play a lot there and Ian will mention this on stage at the start of this DVD. He will tell something like :"This is not quite like the Marquee". I bet you ! But no signs of stress or anything. From no one. Just a bunch of young musicians playing live...

They will play both the Fillmore East & West in early 69, and their first big venue will be The Albert Hall, sharing the bill with "Ten Years After". After September 1969, the Tull shows would be mostly sold out (even the Albert Hall in October) and their fame will only grow till this "Live at The Isle Of Wight" show.

For those of you interested in HISTORY, this document is absolutely necessary. You will discovered a young Ian Anderson (aged 23 at time) and already an incredible showman. It is almost on par with The Who (probably the best there) and Jimi's (but that's an emotional comment) performances in this festival : great.

Actually, he is a born entertainer. Such a great sense of humour (already joking a lot about Martin Barre, which he still does actually), such a charism, such a confidence (even when the band is rehearsing for a bit too long during the start of this DVD).

IMO, the greatest moment of this set is "My God". A new song at the time since "Aqualung" will be released in 1971. Ian is fantastic in his flute solo and the audience really appreciates. But what's more important than the tracks is the feeling you get out this set.

Fantastic energy (have a look at "Dharma" which is over-extended to over than ten minutes but Tull was used to do so), a wild Ian Anderson all the way through and a solid backing band.

Some studio footage and comments from Ian are welcome and will even feature Tony Iommy during "Song For Jeffrey". But he'll only play very little time with Tull and will found Sabath a little later.

Four stars.

As previous previewers have already pointed out, this superbly entertaining DVD will be essential viewing for Jethro Tull enthusiasts, but it should carry a warning: 'Only contains 40 minutes of live performance'. Most of the remainder consists of Ian Anderson reminiscing about the band and the Isle of Wight festival, which he does superbly. When reading Ian's liner notes I often get the impression he sounds too pleased with himself, but there's no trace of that here. At only one point did I think he was being disingenious, namely when he pointed out that he was never 'against Jesus or God', only against organised religion. Really? Is this the guy who once sang (rather memorably): 'Well I saw him in the city / and on the mountains of the moon. / His cross was rather bloody, / he could hardly roll his stone'?

Anyway, I'm glad this concert has cleared up at least ONE mystery. I've always been puzzled by these lines in 'My God': 'And the graven image you-know-who / with his plastic crucifix'. The graven image you-know-who??? This DVD (and the accompanying concert CD, which is also available separately) make clear what Ian must have wanted to sing. (Was he censored by the record company when he eventually came up with the tapes for AQUALUNG?)

It certainly is marvellous to see Mr Anderson in action on stage, so young and wild (the youngest incarnation I used to know was the far more 'professional' Ian from those Madison Square Garden concerts on YouTube) - but what a shame we never see Martin Barre from the front during any of his legendary solos...

I saw this concert film yesterday on TV being broadcasted by a not commercial TV station in my city. I`m not a fan of Jethro Tull but this concert is very good. The video also has some commentaries done by Ian Anderson years later about the start of the band and the general atmosphere of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival which turned a bit violent, as I also saw it in the film of the same Festival called "Message of Love" or something like that (which I also saw on TV years ago). The Hippy Dream was almost over, as Anderson also comments, with the audience`s demands for free musical festivals. As other documentaries show, 1970 was a year on which violence and riots were increasing at rock concerts and festivals. Also the so-called "Establishment" became more violent against all these riots. The Hippy Dream was also over because the ideals of "Peace and Love" were almost over with the promoters of these Festivals taking these concerts more as bussiness than as happy gatherings of young people to listen to music and use drugs. The seventies turned violent against these ideals, and many musicians had to stop writing political songs to avoid that violence.

The line-up of Jethro Tull for this concert was very good, and it shows that Ian Anderson alone wasn`t Jethro Tull. The pasing of time turned this band to be Anderson and his employees, but by 1970 it still was a real band, in my opinion. Anderson is a very smart person who knew how to create the character of the manic flute player-singer-guitarist. He appears dancing, playing with passion, doing funny faces and sounds, and interacting with the audience and the band in a funny way. He also was smart because he knew how to sell this image and promote it to turn Jethro Tull as a very successful band. Every member of this line-up is shown playing with feeling and energy with Anderson who also knew very well how to motivate the musicians in the band. Drummer Clive Bunker also plays a very good drums solo in "Dhama for One" and also shows in every song how good he was as a drummer. This was a very good band which also recorded the very good "Benefit" album in 1970.

I think that there are several examples of good Prog Rock music in the performances of the songs despite the opinion that says that Jethro Tull wasn`t a Prog band then. The best example of this is the song called "To Cry You a Song" from "Benefit" (only shown as background music under the final credits), which in my opinion has some influences of some classical musicinas like J.S. Bach. It is a great song played in a heavy version.

In the video Ian Anderson himself recognizes his lack of talent for playing the guitar, so he says that he found the flute to play it in a Rock band to be at the same time "the worst and the best flute player in Rock" because there were not very much flute players in Rock bands then! Years later he even became a better flute player, guitarist and composer, in my opinion. With similarities to Jon Anderson of YES, Ian Anderson was very smart to have in his band very good musicians who could play in each one in their instruments the ideas of the leader and of the main composer of the band.

Being filmed at an open air Rock Festival, the images are good, but the sound is not as good as in other concert videos. But this DVD is very good for the Fans and not Fans of this very good band.

I got this recently when it became available on special offer. I admit to being a bit disappointed at first to find that it isn't just a live performance but actually a complete ducumentary film including Anderson himself musing about the festival and Tulls part in it.This is okay though as Anderson is a facinating bloke and his comments are always interesting. The performance of all the tracks (when they eventually arrive) is superb. Dharma For One is my favourite. What a great drummer Clive Bunker is! The footage of hippies going on about 'cats' and 'peace' with the obligatory 'man' at the end of every sentence while almost coming to blows is bloody hilarious.There is also bits of an interview with a retired squadron leader (as Anderson refers to him) who seems to have a slight pervy take on all the proceedings. All in all a very entertaining film.

I bought this DVD because I wanted to see some early live footage of this group, just as they were starting to make it big. I have always felt Woodstock was an overrated event (even Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend felt that way, it's little wonder neither destroyed their instruments, the other reason was it was costing them money when they did that, and music stores reluctant to rent their gear to them after hearing their reputation). The Isle of Wight Festival, coined as Britain's answer to Woodstock (although the festival was already held in 1968 and '69, it was 1970 that was their biggest and best known), but to me, it was a much more interesting event. Prog rock groups were featured (I can understand why prog wouldn't be featured at Woodstock, many of those bands were just getting started and were still trying to make it in England, never mind America, but I did see the Woodstock movie and surprised to see someone playing "Beggars Farm" during a sound check), Jethro Tull, ELP, even a little known group called T2. The Doors were there as they didn't make it too Woodstock (I initially believed that Woodstock didn't like the group's dark image, but that wasn't the case), and Hendrix playing his last concert prior to his unfortunate passing. Unfortunately there were lots of uneasy tension going on at the event, as you get to see when you watch this DVD of Tull performing at this festival. This is the same festival that drove Joni Mitchell to tears.

Now for an August 1970 performance, I am really bewildered to no ends why they didn't perform anything off Benefit on this video? It was their latest album, so what gives? It's all Stand Up and This Was material, and they preview "My God" which will eventually end up on Aqualung. Well I found out that the reason no Benefit material ended up on the movie itself was the director apparently ran out of film, so what you see is what you get. Luckily if you have the version with the bonus CD (which is what I have), you get two Benefit songs, "With You There to Help Me" and "To Cry You a Song" that never made it on the film itself. Despite my complaint, these guys put on a great show, despite bad vibes. This was before they were "prog" (as you know from Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play), so maybe the more diehard prog rock fans might not find this entirely satisfying, but Tull fans will definitely go for this! "Dharma For One" is performed in a similar manner to the one on Living in the Past (which that one was from a November 1970 show), that is with vocals and a much more extended drum solo.

Watching this video, you get to see an older Ian Anderson from 2004 sounding all delighted that the era of that festival was the ending of the hippie-era. You also see some of the native inhabitants of the Isle of Wight, all over 50 (likely Tories) complaining about these kids taking over the island and feeling that these shows are there to further their cause. Ian Anderson more sympathized to that over 70 guy who was saying he was opposed to it and he'd rather listen to some Rachmaninoff, even his preludes. I also got a kick off this old lady complaining that there's no use in getting through to these kids. Looks like the generation gap was bad in England at the time. It seems in the late '60s the Isle of Wight was a bastion of conservative, wealthy retirees, and it really showed when you see them on this video and you get to see them clashing here. For the younger side, you can see all wasn't well, you almost wonder if there were going to be riots (this was post-Altamont, after all), with gate crashers, and people running the show saying the audience can't watch Jethro Tull sound check (with Terry Ellis, their manager at the time telling them they have no objection with people watching them). One guy, who seemed to come from Continental Europe complaining to an American girl (who apparently running the event) that she was the "second establishment", and another guy stating it was a "big business trip". If you want to see how the counterculture fell, this is a great document to see why. I got a kick off Anderson stating that the event was something like a cross between Donovan and soccer hooligans.

It seems like everyone started to mellow out when they band actually started to perform.

If you enjoy early Tull, you really can't go wrong with this video. You get a great historic document of the band at the time, and of the coming of the end of the hippie-era.

Review Nº 334

'Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970' is a DVD of Jethro Tull and was released in 2005. It was recorded on the fifth and last day of the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, where Jethro Tull were the second on the bill between The Moody Blues and Jimi Hendrix. It was preceded by their live album with the same name which was released in 2004.

'Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970' contains a film of the Jethro Tull's outstanding live performance combined with a brand new interview with Ian Anderson. It also describes the dramatic and sometimes an almost violent ambient of that festival. In short, it brings to us all the festival moods, both backstage and also in the audience.

In the summer of 1970 it was held The Isle of Wight Festival in five days, between 26 and 30 August, on the Isle of Wight, a small island of the south coast of England, at East Afton Farm. It was the last of three consecutive festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970. It was widely acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time, greater than Woodstock, possibly with 600.000 or 700.000 people. It soon became known as the English Woodstock.

In the 1970 festival of the Isle of Wight following the famous Woodstock festival in the previous year, took part on it names such as Kris Kristofferson, Supertramp, Gilberto Gil, Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour, Chicago, Family, Procol Harum, Shawn Phillips, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Melanie, Donovan, Pentangle, The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen and Richie Evans. As most of us know, many of these bands are progressive or have links with this our beloved genre of music. However, the Isle Of Wight Festival represents also a sad mark to the progressive rock music. It marked the last UK appearance of Jimi Hendrix. Unfortunately, three weeks later he was dead. It was because of that, which Ian Anderson decided to dedicate the album and the DVD to the memory of one of the greatest musicians and guitarists of all time.

However, while the live album has all the live performance of the group performed on that festival, the DVD has only some parts of it. So, on the DVD we have an extract of 'Bour'e' taken from the sound check of the concert, 'My Sunday Feeling', 'A Song For Jeffrey' which is a curious and rare live performance taken from The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968 with the participation of Tony Iommi the guitarist of Black Sabbath, 'My God' which is a new song that only would be released on 'Aqualung' in the next year, a complete version of 'Dharma For One', and 'We Used To Know/For A Thousand Mothers' which is a medley of two songs which were released on 'Stand Up'.

So, in relation to the CD, 'With You There To Help Me' and 'To Cry You A Song' haven't been included, and the medley 'We Used To Know/For A Thousand Mothers' has been shorted and 'Bour'e' represents only a small extract of the sound check. Instead, it includes the complete version of 'Dharma For One' and the extra track 'My Sunday Feeling'.

As for the concert footage itself, it was great to finally see early Jethro Tull in action on stage. The highlights for me are 'My Sunday Feeling', 'My God', and 'Nothing Is Easy'. We get treated to an early Ian Anderson flute solo during 'My God', completed with Ian's signature the famous flamingo like stance while he is playing the flute. Unfortunately, aside from getting a first hand look at an early classic performance by Ian Anderson, we didn't get to see much of the other members of Jethro Tull, unless you count Clive Bunker's drum solo during 'Dharma For One'. However, I must say that I was very impressed with his solo, especially when you consider that they didn't use the big fancy drum kits back then.

Conclusion: 'Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970' brings to us the beginning of Jethro Tull, the pre-'Aqualung' band. It appears in a special and magical era, even if we can't consider it a truly progressive musical era, really. It also appears in a very exuberant time where Jethro Tull was a vigorous band very powerful with their musical roots on blues, Rock'n'Roll and jazz. So, and in short, 'Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970' is a very fine and important musical document of the early Jethro Tull, just approaching to the prime and magical moment of their musical career. For me, the CD and especially the DVD, represents a very significant and nostalgic moment in my life. It also represents the end of a musical era but represents also the beginning of another. 'Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970' is an essential musical document to all Jethro Tull's fans because it shows a band playing superior and complex music in terms of composition, cleverness, adventurousness, maturity and a beautiful naivet', only possible in the beginning of the musical career of a great band. This DVD willn't goes down. It's a big addition to any music library.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)