Saturday, January 13, 2007

Ian Anderson Looks Ahead to 2007

Ian Anderson has recently made a diary entry up the Jethro Tull's website and it's quite interesting. Anderson begins by telling us of his intentions for 2007 to be more environmentally aware and reduce his carbon footprint. While his thoughts on the environment are not unique, I was surprised to learn that he had tackled the subject back in 1972: "When I wrote about climate change in the song "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day..." I had the meaning of that song completely wrong. Or, perhaps more correctly, I got something totally different out of it than he intended. Such is music.

He then proceeds to explain why he and Tull have tour with these ladies, Lucia Micarelli and Anne Marie Calhoun:





And will be touring with Anna Phobe:



OK: so why the fixation with violinists as of late, and do they all have to be young and attractive? Well, my relationship with the violin family goes back to 1968 when I recorded A Christmas Song with a string quartet. Throughout the 70’s chamber orchestras decorated and enforced many of my songs on record. In 1974, a string quartet accompanied us on European and US tours while the solo violin as a guest instrument sneaked into Tull and Ian Anderson pieces. Darryl Way, ex-Curved Air violinist performed on the recordings of Heavy Horses and Acres Wild in 1977, Eddie Jobson fiddled fast and furiously on the A album and tour in 1981, Ric Sanders appeared on the Crest Of A Knave album in 1987 and other graduate of the Fairport Convention College for Young Gentlemen, Chris Leslie joined me for the Divinities tours in 1995.

Now while Darryl was kinda pretty in a boys’ school, lads-together-in-the-shower sort of way, the others violinists were not. Sorry, chaps. So, it’s only reasonable that I redress the situation a bit now, isn’t it?


Anderson finishes on a personal note with a brief explanation of his religious views: "In essence, I am somewhere between Deist and Pantheist..." He is usually pretty guarded so it appears he's mellowing in his middle age.

Tull will begin a European tour in March accompanied by Anna Phoebe.

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