Song Review: Jethro Tull - “Aqualung” (Live, Nov. 15, 2008)

Jethro Tull - or most of it - is on. Ian Anderson is off.

It’s that dynamic - a struggling frontman and a killer band - that dominates Tull’s Nov. 15, 2008, version of “Aqualung,” a performance now out on pro-shot video as the band continues rolling out standalone songs from its long-ago Baloise Session in Switzerland.

Sound Bites’ reviews of the previous releases can be found here.

Playing acoustic guitar and commanding the stage with his unique form of showmanship, Anderson is nevertheless beginning to show the vocal distress that is now just a part of his performances. At this point in his career, Anderson still sounded a bit like his younger self, but overcompensated for the incipient problems, making his vocals prominent for the wrong reasons and causing him to veer in and out of time with the music.

Given “Aqualung” is perhaps Jethro Tull’s best-known track, there are scads of superior versions available. That reality makes this rendition utterly unnecessary.

Grade card: Jethro Tull - “Aqualung” (Live - 11/15/08) - D+

Some guitarists swear by improvising and feeling out their solos, others prefer composing them. No matter what your particular preference is, though, you probably wouldn't want someone to desperately try to get your attention while you're laying one down.

Such, however, was the situation that Jethro Tull's Martin Barre found himself in when cutting the solo for the band's now-classic tune, Aqualung.

In a recent interview with Guitarist, Barre recounted how none other than Jimmy Page came close to derailing him just as he was weaving some spontaneous magic.

“[Aqualung's] solo was all done on the fly,” Barre said. “I think it was take two – and if I hadn’t got it in two then it would have been a flute solo. But that’s when Jimmy Page, who was recording with Led Zeppelin in the basement of Basing Street Studios, came up to say hello.

“He was in the control room window, waving madly. I was in the middle of the solo, and I thought, ‘Sorry, but I can’t stop.’ And I didn’t. I just turned my back. Which was a bit rude. But that was the solo on Aqualung.”

Welcome to another Saturday Shuffle, where I put my Rumbelle/ general writing playlists on shuffle, grab a song, and ramble about how it inspired a story I wrote! 🎶

This Week's Saturday Shuffle:

"Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell On You)" by Aqualung (2005)

Where It Came From: This song came into my life when I was in high school. The album was one of the first I remember feeling like no one else had ever heard of in my circle, so it felt "mine." The other song from this album widely recognized, though, is "Brighter Than Sunshine," whose piano sheet music I spent my hard-earned after-school paycheck on. The sheet music at the time was not available for this song, or I would have gotten it, too.

What I Used It For: This was the "song with words" for the More story Maidensweet, in which Belle consumes a rare, poisonous herb in her homemade tea that is tasteless to women. The song is more vibes than a direct correlation to anything happening in the fic. At this point in the series, Rumple has admitted to himself that he does hold a candle for his little maid, so I imagine the lyrics align with a level of pining he's starting to experience as he "socially" takes tea with her for the first time (and quickly realizes she's unwittingly poisoning herself).

Time Moves Slow - Aqualung

Living on a smile There's nothing you need to explain Where no one knows your name And that suits me fine

Once I was young, I was stupid And sure of myself The truth is the word that Gets harder and harder to spell