NOTHING IS EASY: LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT 1970

'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*)

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