Great band with a handful of hits. What really set them apart was not just the variety of instruments, but the way Ian used his voice so magically, the way he hit so many varied notes and with such unexpected timing that truly brought the songs to life.....
And the sinuous sinister thread running through pretty much everything - danger, heartbreak, grief threatening from every broken or betrayed dream in the world. The magic is the unapologetically traditional structure of his music. Folk music & fearless poetry go way back.
Are you kidding me??? Brilliant. First, just a voice and acoustic guitar. Then, a xylophone. And a timpani drum. And an accordion. And an electric guitar. And a sitar. And a flute. And drums. And a bass guitar. Listen to how each instrument is brought in one by one, and then they all stay in the song. Mind ******* blown.
Mmmm - and how bout the feeling of restraint giving way to the last layer of drive & depth @3:00 ? Im 75 and this song has been getting me high since the year it came out. Thin Ice had been a thing since Jesse Winchester & was my business name. By the time this came out shifting the metaphor from dancing to skating was electrifying. Im here because i've started every new year with it for decades - on/near my birthday ❤
Pure genius. Just as satisfying 50 yrs on. In my humble opinion no other band comes close. The lyrics alone deserve accolades. Paired with the precision of the band overall I dub thee best for an half century & still performing. Incredible !
This song brings back rotten and lonely memories. Not Ian Anderson's fault or Sean Malone's, just the universe. Still like the song. Great stuff. Well done video.
"Meanwhile back in the year one When you belonged to no one You didn't stand a chance, son If your pants were undone 'Cause you were bred, for humanity And sold to society One day you'll wake up, in the present day A million generations removed from expectations Of being who you really want to be Skating away, skating away, skating away On the thin ice of the new day So as you push off from the shore Won't you turn your head once more And make your peace with everyone For those who choose to stay Will live just one more day To do the things they should've done And as you cross the wilderness Spinning in your emptiness If you have to, pray Looking for a sign, that the universal minds Has written you into the passion play Skating away, skating away, skating away On the thin ice of the new day And as you cross the circle line Well, the ice wall creaks behind You're a rabbit on the run And the silver splinters fly In the corner of your eye Shining in the setting sun Well, do you ever get the feeling That the story's too damn real And in the present tense? Or that everybody's on the stage And it seems like you're the only Person sitting in the audience? Skating away, skating away, skating away On the thin ice of the new day Skating away, skating away, skating away..."
All of the horrifying, obsessive pop love songs in America (or about 3-4 absurd, nihilistic Beatles songs) are nearly balanced by the vividness and lyrical precision of a single song like this one. I suppose well-planned, scientific musical brainwashing is the only defense against well-planned, scientific musical brainwashing. I am extraordinarily fortunate to have been given a Tull tape at a very young age. This allowed me to understand non-barbaric English, and while the gas-lighting was effective for several more decades, it did eventually crumble under the weight of my concrete, consistent observations that all the prestigious academic celebrities chattering around me were almost completely illiterate. They were simply relying on coordinated brow-beating, applied at all times from all angles, to ensure that anyone who tried to think would always feel incredibly small, confused, and pathetic. It finally became obvious that everyone was looking to someone with higher social status for the next move, and any celebrity who wasn't entirely delusional had long since vacated the premises.... Hmmm. I thought that maybe I had a bad attitude, because I always ended up pointing out conceptual errors that arise from faith in popular opinion, elitism, consensus, and voting. In retrospect, I probably was just prolonging the inevitable (inadvertently) by giving them more stuff to build better models. Ah well. I did my best, given that I still thought I was insane just a few weeks ago.
@TheAtmckee I want to read this. MBOT - massive block of type - means fewer people will. There's science, but the bottom line is legibility - eye-brain connection needs room to breathe. For youtube comments, Double-line break every 4 lines, 6 lines max, will increase legibility..which increases comprehension - to say nothing of sustained attention. Not a criticism. Just a situation w choices.
There are quite a few songs from the 70s that absolutely DWARF the accomplishments of modern composers. Modern music pales in comparison to the pure virtuosity and lyrical power of bands and songs like this one. Listen to “we have heaven” by YES, and tell me…what could possibly compare within todays retinue of mediocrity?
