IAN ANDERSON PLAYS THE ORCHESTRAL JETHRO TULL

"Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull" is the debut live album of the Jethro Tull's frontman Ian Anderson, as a solo artist, and was released in 2005. It features the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt Orchestra, conducted by John O'Hara. It was recorded from a live show at the Rosengarten in Manheim, Germany in 2004. This concert was part of a series of concerts with the same name. Anderson and the orchestra toured Europe and USA throughout 2004 and 2006. It was also released a DVD that contains the same songs, precisely in the same order, and also released in the same year.

The line up on "Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull" is Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, bamboo flute and acoustic guitar), Florian Opahle (acoustic and electric guitar), John O'Hara (keyboards and accordion), David Goodier (bass guitar and glockenspiel) and James Duncan (drums and percussion). The album had also the participation of the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt Orchestra. The album has also the participation of three of the members of the orchestra, as soloists, Kathrin Troester (flute), Sibylle Wähnert (basson) and Astrid Cienia (oboe), in some songs on the album.

The Anderson's debut live album leads the charge through 2 CD's of past and present of many Jethro Tull's classics, as well as a few solo favourites from his career, once again following a popular trend of mixing rock with the classical music. Of course, there's no doubt that the music of Jethro Tull would be a perfect fit for this format, and the resulting set is a lot of fun, offering up varying versions of the songs that almost all of us know very well and that we love too.

As you can see by the track list, there are plenty of classic songs here, as well as some of the holiday tunes that Jethro Tull has recorded. From the Jethro Tull's tracks, we have: "Bourée" of "Stand Up"; "Wondr'ing Aloud", "Cheap Day Return", "Mother Goose", "Aqualung", "My God" and "Locomotive Breath" of "Aqualung"; "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" of "War Child"; "Up The Pool", "Life Is A Long Song" and "Living In The Past" of "Living In The Past"; "Budapest" of "Crest Of A Knave"; "We Five Kings", "Pavane" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" of "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album". From the Anderson's solo tracks, we have: "In The Grip Of Stronger Stuff" of "Divinities: Twelve Dances With God"; "Boris Dancing" of "The Secret Language Of Birds"; "Eurology", "Calliandra Shade (The Cappuccino Song)" and "Griminelli's Lament" of "Rupi's Dance".

Anderson is a great showman, and while he may not have the great voice he had 20 or 30 years ago, he still brings what would be a fairly calm orchestral evening to greater heights thanks to his very energetic stage presence and with witty commentaries. I love the version of the classic "Mother Goose", completed with bassoon, oboe, and accordion, as it gave a wonderful flavour to the piece. Of the orchestral tracks, there's a ton of highlights, namely "Budapest", "Living In The Past", "Life Is A Long Song", "My God", "Locomotive Breath", and the holiday's pieces "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "We Five Kings", are especially timely. In short, this is really an excellent live show with great fun too.

So, here we have "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath", "My God", and many other Jethro Tull's favorites that received the orchestral treatment, as do J. S. Bach's "Bourée" and the European Christmas carol "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen". The arrangements are all tasteful and great. They sound perfectly natural given the classical influence that has been a part of Anderson's work for so long. Of course, these performances aren't classical music in the strict sense of the word, but practically all of them are now great progressive rock classic pieces. Joining Ian and the Orchestra we have James Duncan, David Goodier, John O'Hara, who also is the conductor, and Florian Opahle. They form a fine unit, and while they may not be Jethro Tull, they certainly have a handle on the songs and work perfectly well with the Orchestra.

Conclusion: "Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull" is mainly focused on three studio albums of Jethro Tull "Aqualung", "Living In The Past" and "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album", plus several songs that belong to his solo career. All songs are great and magnificently performed. Some songs are only performed by the band's members but most of all are also performed by the orchestra. I must confess that I was deeply surprised by the brilliant production, the excellent sound quality, and most of all, by the incredible re-workings of the old songs, which would be a perfect fit for this format. I also must confess my surprise by the familiarity that we can feel between Ian Anderson, the band members and the orchestra. We can see a huge respect for him. This is highly recommended for all Jethro Tull's fans and as Ian Anderson's recent forays into the classical music. Unfortunately, we can't see some new Jethro Tull's musics, but at least here we have some live, alternate re-editions of some Jethro Tull's classics done up by the leader Ian Anderson, to keep us busy. Here, we are in presence of one of the better "rock meets orchestra" projects available.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)