LIVING WITH THE PAST

".sit back, relax, put your feet up, close your eyes and listen to the music."

The 2002 Jethro Tull live album represents the perfect EQUILIBRIUM between the two other important releases Bursting Out (1978) and A Little Light Music (1992). Living With The Past is the squaring of the circle! both extrovert and introvert, electric and acoustic, with, as always, a great contribution from all the musicians: Martin Barre, in addition to his mythic guitar riffs returns to play flute very well in the beautiful Fat Man, historic folky song from the 1969 Stand Up album, now taken from the 2 Meter TV session (Holland), October 19th 1999. From this session you can listen also to Dot Com (from the J-Tull's 1999 omonimous album).sadly there's no Najma Akhtar singing!

The SURPRISE in Living With The Past is the 1968 line-up REUNION! The song is Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You, from the 1968 This Was album, with vocal duo by Mick Abrahams, the first JT guitarist, and Ian Anderson, bass by Glenn Cornick and drums by the great "old" Clive (Bunker)! The first half of the album is from the Hammersmith Apollo concert of November 25th 2001: good Intro that fades into an excellent My Sunday Feeling, the best live version and one of my fav JT live tracks ever! Then Roots To Branches, the stunning opener from their 1995 album (peaked at n° 20 in the UK charts). The Habanero Reel is a wonderful "Caribbean" song from the marvellous 2000 Ian Anderson' solo album The Secret Language Of Birds, with that nice joyful lyrics: ".cool in the corner Tom Cat sitting.". After this, another classic one: Sweet Dream, in all its great pompous vein! In The Grip Of Stronger Stuff is an interesting classical instrumental track taken from the 1995 Ian' solo album Divinities. The first part of the live album finishes with an unespected medley Living With The Past/Protect And Survive, this last from the album A (1980). sadly with no vocals! After a great live Paris's exhibition of Nothing Is Easy it's the turn of the acoustic sessions: Wond'rin Aloud and Life Is A Long Song recorded both in January 2002 with a nice string quartet. A Christmas Song, Cheap Day Return and Mother Goose recorded in Zurich in the (nowadays) far 1989, featuring Dave Pegg on mandolin and bass guitar.

At last, an excellent live album! Great musicianship!