Brilliant interview, Barry. I met Ian in person backstage in 2003 in Tarrytown, NY after a "Rubbing Elbows" show. He couldn't have been nicer and more generous with his time with my buddy and I as hardcore fanboys. I even have a picture with him with both of us standing on one leg! Its one of my fav personal photos to this day. Tull fanatic for life.
What a thoughtful ,articulate speaker Ian Anderson is and what a great worldview-considered and aware without being an ideologue but still with fairly unequivocal views on certain matters.I've always found his lyrics to be first class-in fact I'm struggling to think of a better "rock" lyric writer and its obvious why-top interview.
Another absolute gem of an interview with a still after all these years intelligent and articulate individual! So true what he says about entrenched musical tastes....never ever say never!
Thank you Barry, that was lovely. Loved the conversation about norse history and mythology being «tricky» as a subject (I’m a Norwegian with both Swedish and Danish family and ancestry, and am not a fan of my herritage being hijacked by some types and chastised by yet others). Such a rich vein of lived musical history! Thank you! Now if he could just re-release some of those wonderful booklet box CD sets I missed first time round we’d all be pleased and happy!
Desperately trying to think up a joke on the theme of similarity between interviewer and interviewee but no luck. Anyway, thanks for this suprise! Ian is an intelligent man and it's always nice to hear him talk.
I actually thought Barry WAS Ian for the first couple of these I watched. Even his oft-mentioned allusions to Ian and the band seemed to me to even fortify that belief. ….until I heard Barry’s name mentioned. There is no reference to the interviewer’s name anywhere on the post.
He intimates that another go with Donald Trump will be a dangerous thing...I am 70 y o ...Trump is the only President of my lifetime that didn't drag us into new wars under his guiding hand.
@@classicalbum Really enjoyed listening to this. You really allowed Ian to just talk and not interrupt him, but truly listened. You were so relaxed. This was one of the best conversations I've seen. Thank you Barry!
Ian Anderson, holy shit! You know, this man has made literally my favorite music on this planet. And to hear him be uncompromised like this and just, real... Wow, I'm so glad he can't be bought. I am so proud to have been a fan all these years.
Ian's memory for names, bands, places they played, etc. is remarkable. I'm 5 yrs behind him, but he beats me. I can add one note: Booker T's guitar player - Steve Cropper.
I appreciate the respectfulness you showed to your guest by never interrupting and always asking thoughtful questions. I see why legends such as Mr. A grant you the privilege of interviewing them.
Anderson is without a doubt one of the greatest thinkers-musicians (or would they be musician-thinkers?) alongside Gabriel and Eno. Thanks for this excellent interview. Greetings from Brazil.
@@gideonlapidus8996 Cat Stevens a "great thinker"? I would say he was a freethinker, back in the day. But as Yusuf Islam, he's now sadly just a believer on dogmas.
Anderson's comments about the waywardness of the social lives Peter Green and Syd Barret were interesting. The point I take away from the creative downfall of Barret and Green is that not every talented musician will be well enough grounded to stay in the music business which is a tough place to be in. And after they crashed out and resettled into ordinary life they had people who looked after their music business affairs and cared for them at an every day level.
For so many years I've felt a bit on my own being a huge Morrissey fan as well as being into Jethro Tull. Now I feel so happy that Ian Anderson himself is now a Morrissey fan too! It would be great to hear Morrissey's views on Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. I have a feeling he wouldn't be that complimentary.
I did the same thing about 3 weeks ago! I was also looking for great debut albums. Anyway then i listened to their debut and 'the queen is dead'. Good albums!
Very thoughtful and interesting guy! I think that the word 'woke' can cause issues due to people interpreting it in a myriad of ways - but Ian gives a very nuanced and mindful view on things that doesn't come with the baggage of the other common uses of the word.
Great job Barry - I enjoy any interviews I can get a hold of regarding IA. He is so very intelligent and knowledgeable - Like yourself Barry - two intellects having at it. I think I’d last maybe ten minutes with either of you before you’d nod off. Very much appreciated Barry, thank you - I understand it’s a dangerous undertaking making hero’s of men but he’s a long standing hero of mine.
Oh my God ... has RökFlöte already been out more than one year! I seem to recall you liked this album, but were not overly impressed with it. That was my first take on the album too, but as I listened to it, it began to take shape. You chided me for saying to listen to it more, as if one should be able to fully grasp music on first listening and there is nothing that changes the more one listens to something. I've had this experience with almost all Tull music, except Aqualung my first album. The music grows. I don't know how Ian does it. Does he plan it this way or have some secret formula? My experience with Tull has been that over time I hear a lot more in the music than when I first got the album, and that goes from This Was to RökFlöte and presumably whatever comes next. Now a year later that I have listened to RökFlöte countless times the songs that I was hestitant about, most hesitant was "Wolf Unchained" and I find myself humming different parts of this song and the rest of the album. Like most Tull albums it has become my favorite in the now, as all of them have been, except maybe a couple. I don't think twice about Ian's voice and those who do just seem silly. I was wondering if you had stopped listening to it, or have given it a few more chances and if your feeling about the album has changed as drastically as mine has. I am crazy about this album now, from when I first heard it and it just sounded like a jumble with broken rythyms, aimless flute solos, buzzing and whatnot ... now I wonder how I missed all the musical genius in this album - it's beautiful!
I absolutely agree about the pronoun “they”: It’s plural. Don’t contort grammar to accommodate your ideology or politics or weltanschauung or anything else. “Gender” is a grammatical term only. Male and female are sexes, not “genders”. (French has two genders; German has three.) People commonly use “sex” as a slang synonym for “coition”, but that doesn’t mean we can’t retain its proper sense.
"They" has been used with a singular meaning literally for centuries. It's used in English all the time to refer to someone in a non-gender specific way.
An act of great courage Barry. After your comment re I.A 's deteriorating vocal prowess in the live arena and the underwhelming previous Tull album (of which i totally concur) i can only assume I.A was not aware of these musings. Interesting interview as always and the new material sounds more promising....fingers crossed.
@@classicalbum I'm sure you are correct but maybe his views on The Zealot Gene maybe on more contentious grounds. However we wait for the next instalment of the Tull discography which i have (guarded) higher hopes
I'm a great Tull and Ian Anderson fan. The Christmas album is one of the finest of the genre and did very well here in the States. It would be difficult to pick my favorite of the sixties/seventies Tull era, but I go back again and again to Stand Up. British folk rock was quite different from ours -- a different folk culture. Interestingly ours steadily morphed into country rock, the Byrds et al. Gene Clark's No Other may well be an example of what I think of as progressive country. No surprise to me that he produced a Steeleye Span lp -- one of my favorite British bands as well. Inspiring to see his famous work ethic continues into his seventies. I would be very interested to hear what Mr. Anderson thought or thinks of American music of that era. Great interview. Too brief...
Great interview, I enjoyed listening to his endeavors and perspective on other topics and musicians. Ian and the band have been a favorite of mine since 1972 and have seen them perform seven different times in my life. Look forward to hear the new Lp. Hooray! 🎶
I suspect that a longer conversation on the topics of politics, social media and knee jerk reactions would reveal more thought, sophistication and gradient of understanding.
Anyone who dismisses people's entire worldview over the use of the term "woke" shows how their simplistic their view of the world is. The same mental simplicity that breeds ageism.
What a great interview - sensible, sensitive and intelligent questions, and coherent answers from the ever-lucid Ian. A real listening pleasure! Thanks.
I enjoy his music, and he’s still very articulate. Disappointing to hear him so locked in some antiquated views, but then, he’s also been an exploiter of animals for years, so perhaps not all that surprising. And the handwringing over the so-called “woke agenda” and “cancel culture” was just sad. I often wonder why someone is more concerned about the overly PC than the overly not. Neither is ideal, but they’re hardly equivalent. But then his politics and taste in photography made me smile. Humans are such complicated animals, aren’t we. interesting interview, Barry. Thanks for posting.
Good interview! I only bought STAND UP a couple of years ago and it is now my 2nd most played Jethro Tull album. Looking forward to hearing the new one this week. Thanks!
Always nice to hear the erudite Ian Anderson. Interesting take on woke culture and his historical perspectives in general. I am mixed on the Tull material today, but I am looking forward to the new album. I like what I have heard to this point. Thank you for the interview.
Agreed- blew my socks of back in 1970 and still sounds great today -the song writing and musicianship is consistently high and the progression from This Was is unbelievablein less than a year.
Excellent interview with a legend! I have to ask though, having a opportunity to chat with a great artist like this who is obviously one of your idols, were you at least a little bit nervous? You handled yourself quite well.
Great to hear Ian talking quite candidly about his new album and loved the ' political' tangents he flew off on. Very open and interested video. On another note: I saw Ian with the Tull at the Moseley Festival last year, the band were decent enough, wish Ian could have played some acoustic guitar as well.( being the big Jansch and Harper fan that I am!).
Great interview Barry. Been a Tull fan since the delicate age of 13 in good old 1982, thanks to the local lending library that had a record section and nearly the whole Tull catalogue, up to that time. I really enjoyed The Zealot Gene, best Tull album for many a year and am really looking forward to Rok Flote.
Ian Anderson and RIP Neil Peart were on another level. These men were well read and were wordsmiths! They wrote lyrics from our history unlike the mental midgets we have today.
Over the years I think Ian has lost even more of his humour that he had little of to begin with, he just sounds bored, he also seems to know nothing of the history of "the viking age" it was much much more than rape n pillage.
Well, I laughed when you mentioned Metallica. What a nice surprise to wake up to this day! Thanks. I recently reread Kim. It is such a wonderful read and, though perhaps condescending, seemed a real love letter to India. It was/is a great jumping off point for a real and nuanced discussion of colonialism. Nehru's favorite book, I heard. An interview with Dee Palmer would be a coup.
I saw Tull just over a week ago, and he/they put on a very good show, working within Anderson's now limited vocal range. With this in mind, the more recent songs actually worked better than the older ones, because he wasn't straining to hit notes beyond his reach. As for his views on woke...why would you expect a 75 year old Englishman to share the views of an adolescent college student from California? Because he's a rock musician?
Hi Barry always a great interview. A man I would pay to hear him talk. I wonder what the hold up with ztge Broadsword box set. God Bless Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull and Classic Album Review.
Tull and early Genesis will be continually discovered by the future generations, I saw David O'List a few times with the Nice, Emerson made a mistake breaking up the Nice and then reproduced the best of the Nice with 'Rondo and America, with ELP I would not dare to contradict Ian, but as for the best guitarists, yes Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jimmy page, Rory Gallagher and so many others but the best was Hendrix!
Excellent interview! Very interesting to hear Ian Anderson reflect on Peter Green and Syd Barret. And not least his thoughts on girls' schools and pronoun nonsens.
His snotty quip about what the f**k a girl who actually identified as a boy was doing in a girls school was rather odd. Does he think the kid would have a choice about what school they were sent to?
Guitarist for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates was Mick Green, though it was a Scot, Joe Moretti who played on Kidd's signature hit 'Shaking All Over', a tune penned by Kidd and covered by the liked of the Who and the Guess Who when they were Chad Allen & the Expressions. Green was also part of the rock 'n' roll quintet Paul McCartney assembled for a few gigs some years back that also included David Gilmour, Deep Purple's Ian Paice and keyboardist Pete Wingfield. As noted elsewhere below, Steve Cropper was guitarist with Booker T & the MGs. He also co-penned numbers classic soul hits including 'Knock on Wood', 'Dock of the Bay', 'Midnight Hour' and others, as well as playing on just about every soul classic on Stax records. He also was part of the Blues Brothers and worked with a wide range of major names as a player and producer, with one notable record he produced being the 'The Jeff Beck Group' (aka the 'Orange' album), which was the second release by the Jeff Beck Group Mk II (i.e. w/Bobby Tench singing). Cropper was much revered by the likes of Beck and the Beatles for his economical, tasty yet snappy playing. Anderson's observations on players are objective and well rationalised, as notes by his articulate appreciation of Peter Green's playing. As a songwriter/singer his sensitivities likely don't differ much from others in the same function. Indeed, what the big names want from their musicians is often quite contrary to what the musicians want from themselves, which all too often is to play faster, harder and louder. There is a discussion on that matter that still needs to be made.
7:04 - "I only make minimal reference to raping, plundering, and looting ... in one song". LOL, sound like Basil Fawlty saying "Dont mention the war. I did, but I think I got away with it."
Lots of sense spoken, especially on the woke. Maybe needs to be a little more critical of the West when it comes to the current altercation with the little man in Russia. I've also started listening to Morrissey for the same reasons and come to the same conclusion about his music and songwriting which had passed me by all these years. Looking forward to listening to the new Tull album in it's entirety. The releases have been a mixed bag for me so far, needs a bit more bite! But that can be problematic in an age of technology and super smooth digital recording techniques?
Great interview,IA always a pleasure to listen to,looking forward to Rök Flöte, have had The Zealot Gene on pretty high rotation since getting it as a present last Christmas...is this a late,late career renaissance from Ian and Tull?
Napoleon was an averaged sized 18th century French male…his ‘smallness’ was British propaganda. ‘May you live in interesting times’ is not a Chinese curse…it comes from an obscure English author…
Bruh didn't expect someone like ian to give in to the moral panic about trans people, especially for such a stupid reason (like, the singular they has been used for centuries). Maybe he is just living in the past
THANK YOU for the interview! Big 70's Tull and Ian fan. Glad he's staying away from writing any lyric regarding culture. Definitely could alienate many fans. Thanks again Barry!
I wholeheartedly agree with you sir. The only flaw here is that what Mr. Anderson says here is not interesting at all in terms of freshness. But I like it, with all faults.
Millions would say Ian is their favorite Flute player, but I won't say that, I don't like his playing...... nah, just kidding, he is my Favorite Flute Player too. The man is a legend, for good reason. I love watching Reaction videos to his live shows.... "My God"
Napoleon was 5' 5" tall. He was 1-2" shorter than the average at the time. Still, 2" below average is hardly worth noting, and yet this has been used to caricature the man.
In any case, comparing Napoleon, one of the most brilliant military masterminds in history, to Vladimir Putin is absurd. Putin wishes he was Napoleon. He's just head honcho of a failed state with imperialistic aspirations and zero military experience.
Unfortunately I have to agree. He could make the occasional sarcastic and fun remark in his younger years, but now he comes across as rather extremely stern and self-important. Still, very interesting interview!
the grump-old-man cliche' is a cliche' for a reason. it didn't just pop up out of nowhere. as you go through life the amount of stupidity you encounter begins to add up, to the point where you no longer wish to waste your dwindling years away tolerating it. and at this juncture in time, we're in the supercomputer mode of calculations.
@@independenceltd. On the contrary, I think Anderson was being a bit stupid here with his ignorant remarks regarding transgenderism. I'm sure many LGTB and trans folk will be bitter in their old age after having to deal for years with such nonsense from people who simply don't get it.
Mmm.. admiration for Morrissey but criticism of those 'following in the footsteps of protagonist Roger Waters' and his Palestine rights activism? Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno take note then. Ian is a very opinionated guy himself and seems, here, a bit conflicted by his own 'conservative' thought crimes, perhaps? Living in the past. Anyway, sounds like Syd Barrett's choice to 'drop out' of the music industry rat race and pop stardom fuelled by chemical assistance was, like, Roger's later, brought on by moron audiences. Still I'm interested in hearing Rock Flute but not in denial of my Scandinavian gene marker very common to these islands. Thanks Vikings!
I have a feeling that Palestine rights activism is not currently on the forefront of Waters' agenda, and it's not the reason why he's being (rightly) ridiculed - it's his moronic stance on Ukraine
An Interesting interview in some respects. I only heard a Jethro Tull album for the first time last month. Prog isn't my thing but the album was better than I expected.
The thing about JT to me is that it seems progressive, but the have that folk flavor and meaningful (not spacey) lyrics that makes them unique through the ages.
Great interview. Thank you very much. I am very sorry to hear that Ian still mentions that music critic, after all these years. But I'm not surprised- artists are sensitive people, even though they do not appear that way. That certain music critic's review on TPP album is so hurtful, it is as if he was taking revenge of some sort...either that, or he has no idea whatsoever about the type of music that "touches soul". Or, he has no soul but "emptiness".. (his words are in quotation marks). I've never liked critics of any sort- be it music, art or literature. They can be very disrespectful, and most of the time they are awfully wrong about their judgements. Only true artists can be critics. First produce a work of art yourself, get recognised as an artist, and only then can you appraise another artist's work. Ian might not be angry about being "cancelled out" by cw in 73, but I am furious with these bunch. Then again, I am not an artist, let alone being a genius like Ian...I thank Ian and all the band members past and present for all the joy thay have given us- the ones with the souls who can hear and appreciate. 🙏🌹🌍🌠🏁
Quite disturbing to hear someone of Anderson's stature and intelligence using far right rhetoric. Just shows how effective their program is. I fear for the future.
Bands like Jethro Tull,Deep Purple,Rainbow,Uriah Heep,Black sabbath are world treasures.....people all over the world enjoy there music..............no cancel culture can ever bring them down!!
Nice interview. Fascinating about the Peter Green, Eric Clapton comparison. Such a great surprise to see Ian so amazingly productive - and such high quality. The new album is so clean and crisp sounding, and the videos are so bright and interesting. Interesting that Ian semi met Putin. It's sort of surprising what a flag waver he is against old "Vlad The Bad" when you scratch the historic surface of the situation and see the chronic aggression of the West encircling and constantly strangling Russia, militarily and economically - and since the early 1900 too. Ian should read some Peter Hitchens another British individualistic contrarian I like. Now I see why Ian is rightfully hesitant of drug-taking now. I owe my interest in British folk to Ian touring with Steeleye Span in 1973 on the Passion Play tour. Just waiting for that new album to drop! Guess I won't be reading Kipling or the Old Testament anytime soon. The loony censorship of my country. Really, how often does the NHS cut someone's dick off? Making me think that England must have Fox News too! Thanks. (I've just never understood Captain Beefheart, or much Frank Zappa for that matter, though Zappa was clearly a great musician and his instrumentals were great)
@@Nick-qf7vt Hitchens is great, but recently he was on Twitter trying to make a case that the Nazis were "of the Left", which is positively idiotic. But he and many other studied intellectuals and experts in foreign relations have made a good case that the West provoked this war, and even if they didn't - there were hundreds of oppotunities they had to avoid it or end it. In all honesty, despite the cultures of the West getting bastardized and unequal with a lot of problems, I think compared to the Russia and China, the West still has more personal freedom, though that seems to be deteriorating rapidly. I would not shed much of a tear if Russia was overthrown and changed - in a positive way. The problems are two. 1) It's unlikely that if the West won that Russia would change in a positive way. In the 1990's when Yelzin took over the West was in full economic rape and pillage mode against Russia - so it's more proabably that is what our elites are after as opposed as freedom for Russians or Ukrainians. 2) Even if there was a positive change the West could bring about in Russia and Ukraine -- gambling with the whole world in nuclear war, throwing climate change goals off track, and killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people is not the way to go about it - in fact it was criminal.
@@justgivemethetruth Langsam kenne ich dich immer besser, weil ich seit damals, immer alles von dir lese ,gehe schließlich auch auf alles was mit Tull zu tun hat. . Hast dich ja einfach ausgeklingt, obwohl ich dir ja freundlicher Weise zB Coloseum ( Lost Angeles- Live LP) zum kennenlernen empfohlen habe . Übrigens von mir bekommst du immer die Wahrheit. Denke auch,dass du die Historie von Russland der letzten knapp 40 Jahre, nicht vollumfänglich kennst,bzw nicht entsprechend berücksichtigst. Es ist wie mit der Musik, komplex und tiefgründig, die Mühe es zu erkennen bzw zu ergründen, ist immer lohnenswert. Ich werde vielleicht bald mal '' Leslie Mandoki'' treffen, der hat ja bekanntlich einen der direktesten Drähte zu Ian ,bzw wird von Ian auch als Künstler respektiert. Bleib gesund
Anderson is right about they/them. We all play several roles in life as moms, sisters, daughters, cousins, coworkers, husbands, wives, sons, brothers, etc and we don't call ourselves "they". Essentially, it is f-ing up the language. I want to see where the dust settles after all this trans, non-binary, etc hype passes. If a person is still wanting to go around in diapers wearing a pacifier 20 years from now, maybe I'll start believing they really mean it, and don't just want attention.
@@Trunchis But those examples are in instances when you don't know which specific person you are talking about. This is why when you refer to someone you know as a "they", it confuses the hell out of people. Use something else rather than trying to force this down people's throats.
I disagree with Ian about Roger Waters. Roger Waters just expressed his opinion and showed his attitude, and after that, many of his shows are canceled, banned and stuff went really bad. And tell me is that freedom? Personally I think Roger is right, Russia liberated Europe from Nazism in WW2 (about 20 million Russians died) and this is how most of the Europe say "Thank you" with all the sanctions and other stuff... and all this mumbling about Ukraine is pointless... imagine situation to have nuclear warheads pointed to your country and they are just couple of minutes away from your capital. They (Ukraine) wanted to be part of NATO and they openly demanded to have nuclear weapon!!! If they stayed neutral, nothing of this would have happened I think. It is really sad what is happening in the Europe. I wish for both countries peace and love like it was before.
That is absolutely nonsense and Waters was most definitely wrong about Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine because Putin has imperialistic aspirations and thinks breaking up the Soviet Union was a mistake. Blaming the West or, even worse, Ukraine for the invasion makes no sense. It's gaslighting 101, something the Russians are masters at.
Thank you, Ian, for bringing common sense to the insane "woke" agenda. You are spot on about that. We are on the same page on more social issues than I thought. Always loved your music. My favorite all my life practically.
