Is anyone around ? Can someone tell me. Long ago I was at a Tull Concert. At the End of Concert a phone was ringing maybe 4 min. In this big Deteoit hall Then Anderson Comes out and Picks up phone and says ,, it's for you Anyone know what show it was. Passion play ??? Not sure.
Sadly because of an idiot in Philadelphia during Thick as a Brick someone threw a drink on Ian. Just a heads up was ending,To be a thick,bam. He looked at the guy. As a fuckin brick like you. He then said where are we. Philadelphia. We’re skipping this place next year. They most definitely did
Saw Passion Play in 1973, New Orleans....I will never forget it, AMAZING...what an experience it was. I can't understand the critics on this one at all!!
I saw this tour and the follow up which I guess was to promote Passion Play. As Wm. Shakespeare wrote “Much Sound and Fury signifying nothing.” But it was massively entertaining. What sticks with me is Martin Barre’s guitar work, John Evans, Jeffrey Hammond, in the zebra suit, and the stage presence of the entire group. One of the best concerts I ever saw? Probably not, but massively, massively entertaining and so silly. It made the Genesis “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” performance I saw a year or two later seem pretentious and dull. Or to put it more succinctly, as thick as a brick.
This was the concert at Shea Stadium where Ian Anderson was doused with urine from above by a spectator. He pissed into his empty beer cup, then poured it on Ian as he walked onto the stage 🙂
The greatest of all is Aqualung. Stand Up and Benefit are all very well, and so is Passion Play and Thick as a Brick, and even The Broadsword and the Beast, when it comes to pop music. But Aqualung is the best ever.
The stage show for Passion Play was spectacular. Ian's guys could not only play complex music but do it while putting on a show. No one else was close to that level of skill in the 1970s. They made you laugh, too, with their oddball, ironic Brit humor! They were sui generis.
I would put The Tubes in that category, though obviously not in the same league. Very theatrical, all great musicians with great production on the music, but whereas Tull's showmanship was English quirky comedic and absurdism with a Monty Python influence, The Tubes were more in your face, satirical comedic - basically burlesque. That said, Tull's "prog" years giving way to rock and then an English "folky" rock from 1972-84 produced a long string of amazing albums and live shows. The Tubes albums, excepting their live album, which is fantastic, were all good but their album Remote Control is their only truly brilliant studio album. Their Completion Backwards Principle album is excellent and their live show on that tour was some of the best rock "theater" I've ever seen. All in all, Tull was a heavyweight live arena act in the golden age of touring rock music acts with a lot of activity going on on stage for the audience to experience. The Tubes were slick, tight, high energy, and typically hilarious on top of their great playing, but in the era they would be touring theaters and college venues whereas Tull was regularly filling arenas as matter of course.
I was there, as much for Carmen as Tull. Carmen's albums were fab, as they were themselves, so original, talented, great songwriters, and produced by mainman Tony Visconti.
I saw Tull in October 1972 on the "Think As A Brick Tour." I am 70 years old and have seen ALL of the Rock greats. That stands to this day as the greatest concert I have ever seen. I met Ian Anderson in the late 90s and told him that and asked him if they filmed any of those shows and sadly they did not. I would give anything for a Hi Def DVD with state of the art sound of one of those shows.
Decades later it continues to be one of my favorite pieces of music. I saw it live at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. in the early 70’s. It was, despite the absence the quality of then sound systems, quite an extravagant program…
This is a fantastic doc, very clever use of such limited and naturally decaying footage. Hats off, it’s a perfect format for such an odd and essential album. What a treat to discover with a pint of ale after a brutal week of combat in the trenches of the film industry.
I saw that tour the rabbits were left over from “passion play tour” I have the Lp still it had a fake newspaper. It was the end of an era. When British bands dominated the radio. I took my daughter to see Tull at the fair in 2000. They did a “thick as a”melody Tull never did a great Lp after. My first concert was the benefit tour with Mick Abram’s on guitar I never missed a tour up to Thick in 73
After years and years of not listening to this album.. being a big Jethro Tull fan.. I stuck it on and listened to the entire album about a year ago. No bueno! Of course.. there is no doubt or argument to be made as far as Talent goes because these guys are fantastic musicians, but I just do not find this album appealing. I also was not thrilled with Ians vocal quality on this album, being kind of thin and without a real punch. There's some good moments. The intro is somewhat interesting, but comparing to think as a brick, not even close. For once, I have to fall on the side of Robert Hilburn, music critic from the LA Times and say that Ian Anderson's endeavors on this album was overreaching and in my opinion, almost silly and boring. I remember when I first bought it at about 13 years old or so and I was just hoping this album was a joke and the real album release by Jethro Tull would come out a week later😢.. it is definitely not something I would want to hear in concert for 45 minutes. Thick as a brick on the other hand is still a masterpiece that I love. I just played it for a friend of mine who is now only in his early 30s and he absolutely loved that album upon his first hearing. So it looks like that one stood the test of time😊❤
Great post. This not only arguably my favorite albums ( Ian, artists of your caliber don't have apologize for anything !), being a young teen in Detroit, but this tour was actually the very first concert I went . A friend showed up right before they went bringing " honey oil", an amber cannabis distillete, getting way high. So when they started the pulse then the filmed ballerina rising, you could fell they entire audience freaking out. But the best part of that intro was , at the two hits by the band coming in, on the first a puff of smoke ( old timey 1920's film craft) and the bassist jumps out and through it from behind the amp stack. The second puff( you can see smoke before Ian skips on , that's why !) and Barre pops out, like mystical characters who then move around, eccentrically, like you see on film. One of the best concert openings ever, was a stoned out freshman in high school watching this unfold, and they played their asses off, with soloing interspersed with singing. When they mention not having film ( except for this one clip from Dallas seen years ago) about this tour....
I attended the TB2 show in Boston and was pleasantly surprised, although Ian had to share the mic. I've seen a couple Tull shows in recent yrs that he did so, plus his solo act...BUT In the TB2 show, it began with TAAB, and it was EXACTLY like the original studio album. Including "cats are on the upgrade...UPGRADE!". That's nuance baby!
I took super 8 sound films from Boston Gardens in the 1975-1979 era. The Video was consistent with that time period. It brings back memories of my youth. Any lapses in these old films are filled in with my memories. I was lucky that I got to see Ian and the Tull boys 33 times. I had a few stories over the years, one of them made the Lend me your ear fan book that i enjoyed reading . Thanks for the these memories.
the level of Ian’s genius at this point was immense. There is no one today who could possibly make such an album. JT had recently toured with Gentle Giant before Passion Play, and Giant’s influence can be heard in many sections of Passion Play. John Evan’s keyboard parts dound very much like Kerry Minnear.
Jethro Tull toured Australia. I didn't get to see them because I was only 12. My elder brother brought home the Aqualung LP. In the many years since when I run into an Aussie lucky enough to have seen them the universal response is BEST CONCERT THEY HAVE EVER SEEN 👍
