Top 10 Greatest Jethro Tull Guitar Riffs (1969-1971) [Guitar Lesson, Song Analysis, Classic Rock] 

Finally, someone giving props to the genius of Martin Barre!

Man, it's nice to see Barre get some attention. As acclaimed as Jethro Tull is, it's still seemingly underrated. In particular, Barre's ability to arrange guitar parts so they're punchy and don't get mushed up into all the piano and vocal riffing can't be understated. Tull puts on an absolute clinic in arrangement up through War Child.

Martin Barre is so underrated. This is awesome!

I've seen Tull many times, seen Ian "solo" 3 times and I've seen The Martin Barre ban twice( great ,great band), Martin is so humble, he and his wife talked to myself and my wife for 20 minutes after a show seeing his band...great guy who is so much better than I think history realizes.

I agree with everyone, Martin is underrated. I just saw him last Friday, at the age of 76 he's still kicking ass!! Love his guitar work in We Used To know.

At the beginning of the concert in 1971. the band was in place in the dark. Ian Anderson came out, walked to down stage center into a spot light, threw his flute about 20 feet straight up, and right when he caught it all the stage lighting and the first kick butt song hit. It was AWESOME !!!!

"To cry you a song" - one of my favorite JT riffs.

Love Jethro Tull. Martin Barre is so underrated that is beyond my comprehension. Thanks for breaking this down, Carl and don't stop, there's people here waiting for more. This channel is a gem.

The solo in Aqualung was one of the handful of guitar parts that made me decide I had to learn to play the guitar. His vibrato and the phrasing is just immaculate.

Have you done an episode on the Anderson/Barre masterpiece “Minstrel In The Gallery?” If not - would love to see that! The guitar playing by Martin is absolutely stunning on that one…thanks for your awesome channel!

The solos on Back Door Angels are some of Barre's best work in my opinion, and that's saying something. You're an awesome player yourself! Amazing!

Fantastic! I also grew up with Tull, so this was gold for me. And I completely agree that both Anderson and Barre are brilliant guitarists that deserve more recognition. Suggestions for more from this period: “For a Thousand Mothers”, “Driving Song”, “Nothing Is Easy”, “Teacher”, “Nothing to Say”, “From Later”.

Dude, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video. Thank you! Jethro Tull is my all time favorite band. I've been listening to them since before I started learning to play guitar. And I've been playing guitar now for over 50 years. Martin Barre is one of my favorite guitarist, if not my absolute favorite! He is so underrated!! And your playing is fantastic! You are nailing all the little nuances that most people miss. As a musician, I know, Jethro Tull's music is difficult to play. So, thank you for this!

Excellent presentation! I'm a big Tull fan and glad Martin Barre is getting some notice! One of my favorite Jethro Tull songs, off Stand Up, is "We used to know" because of Martin's fantastic guitar work. I really enjoyed your lesson and analysis. I hope you will continue with JT guitar riffs part 2!

Brilliant playing! Nice to see Tull, especially Martin, get well deserved recognition. Tab for these riffs and solos is difficult or impossible to find. Martin's new band is restoring the energy of older live concerts, sans flute. Pibroch (Cap in Hand) and sections of Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play feature Martin's powerful contributions to these masterpieces.

Great video, Martin Barre is one of my all time favorite guitarists! It's kind of unfortunate that his contributions to Tull tend to be overlooked a lot. My favorite MB riff would probably be "Minstrel in the Gallery", though it's difficult for me to pick just one. By the way, i'd totally recommend seeing him live if anyone has got the chance!

“To cry you a song” is so very cool!

Mr. Carl B. I am extremely impressed by everything about you and your playing. Just pure excellence across the board.

Love your videos, happy upbeat presentation, great riffs, it's all great. Please keep this going, I believe your audience will grow exponentially. Rock on Carl and watch this channel grow. Awesome. Your personality and approach to all this is awesome.

Thank you this expose was very generous of you! Jethro Tull was one of my favorite bands when I was a teenager. I saw them twice at the Montreal forum. The first show was Thick as a brick the second was Passion play. Both shows were fantastic. Ciao

Wish I could understand half of what you were saying, no background in music, but I love Jethro Tull and Martin Barre's guitar work. It was a joy to listen to you talk about the wonderful music.

Carl, you are some kind of player. I almost feel as if I'm listening to Martin and he's my all-time favorite guitarist. You hit just about everyone of my favorite Martin riff's on those first 3 Tull albums. Except for "For A Thousand Mothers" and "Locomotive Breath," you nail them all. I love your Gibson Sunburst and the Marshall amps. I'm a vest man myself, but I wish I had your hair. It's nice to see someone else appreciate Martin's legendary playing. I've always loved that barking sound he gets out of his guitar. By the way, that "Coin A Phrase" is some kind of great song. I love the Tull feel to it. Nice going, Carl, that was really fun to watch. I'll be playing all 3 of those albums tonight in my "Rock Session" sitting outside.

Thanks for this. What is amazing is that both Martin Barre and Ian Anderson were only in their early to mid-twenties when these albums came out.

the solo on hymn 43 is one of my favorite Martin Barre solos can't get enough listening to it I think is one of the best solos short and sweet.

The song Sweet Dream wasn't on the Stand Up album, but on Living In The Past. That quibble aside, I absolutely loved this video. Tull has been one of my favorite bands all my life, and it was very cool to see some of Martin's great guitar work featured this way. Thanks!

Martin has always been kind of overlooked as a great guitarist. The complexity of the music and the flute took center stage. The guitar in live shows came through a lot more. The solo to Aqualung was one of the best ever. Later albums I noticed the guitar took a bit more to the front. Great video. I just subscribed. Thank you.

Wonderfull ...loved it! The always creative, never repeating (out of over 20 albums), and often complex riffs and/or dramatic melodies of Ian Anderson & Martin barre are the best. This vid really pulls them out and highlights them perfectly. Thank you so much for doing this!

Martin Barre is a fantastic guitarist. And Tull was a fantastic band, shame on the so called rock and roll hall of fame, these guys should’ve been in years ago.

We saw Martin Barre Band last summer on Vancouver Island Canada and at 72 (me) I have to say it was one of THE most memorable I’ve seen in a long time. I just never realized how good he is as is the whole band..and he had Clive Bunker with him for the entire Aqualung segment. His energy is amazing for then 75 years of age…talk about memorable riffage.

Arrrggghhh! I was hoping "Teacher" would be here. While not as "crafty"(?) a riff, it was the one that most drew me to Tull, I think. Just something about it... 🙂

Another great job Carl! Jethro Tull was my very first concert, I was 12 and my cousin took me to the Boston Garden and it was life changing! The lead in Aqualung is one of my all time favorites! It’s epic! Please keep them coming and I’m sharing your channel with everyone I know!

Great presentation Carl! You are so talented and thank you for breaking it down. I've been an Ian Anderson fan since I was very young. The guitar riff "To Cry You A Song" is excellent! Aqualung is an all time favorite too! My God is a beautiful song. Hymn 43 is another great one! Passion Play is my favorite album, it takes me back to my childhood days.

For 50 years there have been two albums that are ALWAYS with me - especially on road trips 1) Benefit 2) Quadrophenia. Thank you, Carl!

Great content, big Jethro Tull fan here much appreciated

I remember 'Minstrel in the Gallery' from Abraxas days and how much you loved Martin Barre, but I was so singularly 'Pagey' at that time that I could barely comply. It is so great to see you literally "letting your hair down" in this phase of life! You are helping me more than you know. But at the end of the day, that is what you do...!

Thank you Carl another brilliant episode. Martin Barre is one of the all time greats isn't he, very modest humble man and brilliant guitarist. Saw Tull live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1978 what a concert, shortly after Heavy Horses was released. Looking forward to more Tull from you, suggestions for some of Martin's riffs, Black Sunday, Minstrel in the Gallery, Hunting Girl, No Lullaby. Keep up the great work Carl, will check out Collinwood Yards, sounds very interesting and right up my street.

This is awesome you're bringing me right back to my day Martin Barr even today continues to mesmerize as do you continue cranking out the tall sounds wonderful

That little sparkle on the A chord. I love it. you can make a 5 chord in first position using all strings from the A down. there is a similar E chord with sparkle from first position which works well. they really sound great as a slow down stroke strum. G sparkle in first position is a nightmare though.

Finally! Lol. Like many in the audience, I had the vinyl and wore them out. Thanks again.

Ah just commented on your Ten Years Gone and now this one . . .another of my favourite bands and tracks from my favourite period of Tull. Back in the nineties living just a couple or so of miles from Martin Barre I was able to ask talk to him about his guitar playing. Like several others on here I've always thought that Martin Barre has been underrated. Another great tutorial. I'm old enough to have heard these albums in my teens.

This was great - hoping to see Part 2... and beyond!

OK... so I can see what I am doing this weekend. I will never forget the summer of 1970 as my turntable was endlessly cranking out the BENEFIT album

Thanks Carl I have always been a huge Martin Barre fan,seen hm a couple times with his own band.

One helluva Renaissance Rock festival idea. These guys were a big part of my young life and I'm estatic that you did a lesson on Tull. I'm sure a lot of young people have never heard of them so my hats off to you Carl.

“Sweet Dream” might be a good one for the next video. Thanks, Carl!

I can still drift away with this riff and also Aqualung.

Sir Carl- one of your best episodes to date. Best regards from ATX.

No se tu nombre. Pero no tengo ninguna duda de que las canas producen un sentimiento mas potente. Mucho mas imaginativo e inspirador. Gracias por rejuvenecer mi alma.

Check out Martin Barre's albums "Order of Play" and "50 Years of Jethro Tull". He has rearranged versions of dozens of Jethro Tull Songs, without any flutes :). He is also great to see live.

Love this. Tull one of if not the greatest and both Anderson and Barre so unique. Great job by you for sure.

Awesome! Very well done. Greatest guitar player ever is Martin Barre.

Maaaaannnnn, please, do a part 2, pleaaaaaaseeeeee! Love so much!

Carl, excelente es tu interpretacion en guitarra del sonido de Jethro Tull. Para mí es la mejor banda de aquella época. Desde Argentina te felicito por enseñarnos a tocar como Barre.

Thanks Carl! I know when I first found your channel I asked about doing some other artists (like Martin Barre) and I just really need to say thank you!!!!!!

I was leaning Jethro Tull on an Acoustic guitar back then, I wasn't an electric guitar player, although you do have to stretch your learning from the acoustic to tackle those power ideas. As you remarked about the guitar playing style of Ian Anderson, it isn't like playing other songs. The picking and upward strumming makes his ability a little more difficult to get sorted, which it is sad to say, very few I have seen can pull off Jethro Tull. I use to pay at universities as a solo playing acoustic guitar, once a friend on bass joined me, he had a great ear, but I pulled off most of the classic Tull acoustic songs till I joined a full rock band as keyboard, and acoustic guitar. The band would never learn a Jethro Tull song, I think they were afraid. Thank you for reminding me of such great Tull songs, and riffs. Most people won't dig in here and try to learn these correct methods. Although I shared this video to my friends on Facebook, 3 or 4 might appreciate it.

Like you, I grew up with Jethro Tull’s music. I finally met Martin earlier this year at a small gig he was playing with his band in Scotland. Your video has made me appreciate even more what a genius was, and remains to this day. Thank you so much!

Top tier quality video, Carl! Love the guitar tone throughout on this one. Makes me want to revisit Tull!

Barre,s contribution on thick as a brick and minstrel in the gallery was also incredible. As far as i know sweet dream didn't appear on the English release of stand up.

Great stuff Carl!Thankyou for your really informative videos.

What can I say about those three albums? I have always loved those albums with every fiber of my being. I saw the Warchild tour. I also love The Minstrel In The Gallery, Songs from The Wood, Too Old To Rock ‘n Roll and Heavy Horses. And never forget Living in the Past.

Baldy, this is amazing! This could possibly be your best video! Amazing lesson and insight! Thank you, sir!

Oh as a side note glad you love the Benefit album to. Also my fave Tull album not a bad song on it. Criminally overlooked in my opinion. As a bassist myself love Tulls bassists great bass lines.

I like your humility. Your obviously a professional musician but it seems to be a labor of love to help us amateurs. I'll definitely check out your album

Another amazing masterclass Carl. Perhaps you should add a 'Donate' button. Your lessons are gold,

Most underrated guitar player! You said it, he never plays the same thing twice! AMAZING!

Bringing out all the Tull heads dude - awesome show!

Once again... Another great rendition of Classic Rock Dope from Mister Carl!... I'm glad you did this because you reminded me of songs I've forgotten or haven't heard since I was an impressionable teen in the late 70's early 80's. Absolutely love the tones your gettin'.. And nice to see the "Storied Les Paul" gettin some just due love!. Love that guitar! Martin Barre is totally underrated. I truly believe him. Leslie West and Tony Iommi gave the world the crunchy guitar sound besides maybe Link Wray. I've been thinking of some tunes you might like to cover.. A personal favorite is "Green Eyed Lady" by Sugarloaf... I also really love "Black Knight" Early DP. How about Nazareth "Hair of the Dog" And "Midnight Moses and Faith Healer by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. I would also throw in "Snake Bite" And Mick Jones of Foreigner has made some great riffs as well... "Gotta Keep a Runnin' by the Godz (Rock and Roll Machines)... Okay... I''ll shut up now... Awesome sauce , Dudeus!

Excellent presentation!!! I to think benefit is my favorite JT album.. This video shines a light on how brilliant Ian Anderson was as a composer and Martin was as a guitarist… Thank you totally enjoyed it.. MY GOD 😂

Fantastic lesson, as usual. Thanks, Carl!

Martin is and was an amazing musician. The song My God is an unbelievably epic piece , Tull and that line up was was sooo damn good.

Hi Carl, you are a great guitar intructor and by the way the best dressed rock guitarist on the net.

I saw Tull twice 1971. I was 17 years old. Killer concerts. I had the Aqualung album and listened to it for hours.

I think it is important to remember that Ian Anderson wrote these songs...and most likely, the dominant riffs of the songs. I read in an interview from long, long ago that Ian would compose a new riff every day. That being said, Martin Barre's playing injected the right energy with incredible technique and power.

Well done and I am also a teacher of Jethro Tull music Richard N. Fustino

Just discovered your work you show a true passion for Martin Barre my favorite guitarist after Jeff Beck!

Great stuff! The beginning of Son's riff is strangely reminiscent of "Smoke on the Water". Two years before "Machine Head" album.

Some of my favorite music ever...and you cover it brilliantly 👍man your playin is so great, not to mention your explanation.. This was,Stand up, Benefit and Aqualung 😉...to cry you a song, oh yea!..My God, such a great explanation..love the candles

Nice job giving Mr. Barre some credit for the Tull sound. Add to the fact that he is a really nice gent also. Ever catch the Martin Barre Band?

Thanks !you’re awesome . Love your Tull videos!

This just popped up in my feed and I'm happy it did! Thank you from a new subscriber. I saw and interview with Martin, where he said he had 3 chances to get a good take on a guitar solo. If it didn't, it became a flute solo 😅

Impressive presentation, great teaching style. Thanks

Excellent

Tull! Are you kidding me? So nice to know there’s interest in this music. I loved it back in the day.

Tull is one of the best. Ian is an educated maverick.

Amazing! Love the half step demo!

Love it Carl. First international band I ever saw live was JT in Sydney australia when I was 14 in 1972. Asked a girl to come with me so I could smuggle in my cassette recorder to capture the whole show. Sadly I could only afford cheep cassettes that didn’t last very long. Loudest show I ever went to. Thanks Carl!!!

Super cool! Glad i found your channel!

Awesome Carl!!

I love Barre's guitar...

Martin Barre has so many amazing riffs on his solo albums as well. A true riff master.

Man, how do you converse so enthusiastically and naturally to camera! It's like sitting in front of the best uni lecturer you (mostly didn't) ever had. 🙏👏👏👍 And it just hit me, you are the Gandalf of the Guitar ! A total compliment. 🙏💪👏

Thanks for the insight and all!

I had a Jethro Tull song book about 40 years ago when I was first teaching myself to play guitar. The standard notation didn't instruct players that the opening guitar motif of Thick as a Brick was played with a capo. I struggled to learn to play it without a capo. Extremely difficult, but excellent practice in finding chord voicings and fingerings. Often the wrong way, the hard way, leads to greater discovery. Same with other open-tuned or capo songs -- like Guinevere by David Crosby, or Old Laughing Lady by Neil Young.

Thanks Carl. Ironically I have been digging deeper into Tull's catalog from the 70's for the past 2 weeks. Was In the middle of Songs from the Wood and your Vid just popped up on my notifications. Great Job! I love all of these songs

Man! We seem to have the same taste when it comes to favorites from these albums!!! Great job!

Amazing explanations. Tnhak you so match!

Happy to see SOMEBODY who totally gets how to live the classic Tull songs. I learned flute back in the 70's because of Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson. I am from a musically talented bloodline and played trumpet in school and became a lead singer in HS then was out in the clubs doing that at age 18. We are also very gifted at voice impersonations so I could all but duplicate Ian's voice (among many others we did). My brother saw a used flute in an old junk shop for $20 and i put $5 a week down until I payed it off. We were NOT wealthy. I had most of Bouree down in six weeks. I Just happen to have some brothers who all learned guitars, bass, fiddle keys and we went though a bunch of drummers(of course). ANYWAY, yeah.. We did (and still do) Aqualung, Cross Eyed Mary, Hymn 43, A New day Yesterday, Nothing is Easy (irony there for sure!), Bouree, Reasons for waiting, Teacher and I personally learned My God, most of Thick as a Brick and we did several other tunes off subsequent Tull Albums. EVERTHING Carl is saying here is spot on. You have to learn to insert little quick counts or better yet, simply have that innate ability to KNOW when to change in many of these songs. Which Carl here most certainly has that! The Martin Barre guitar... hmmm...yeah..tough. Very.. to do it correctly as Carl does. Now try the FLUTE PARTS! Yeah.. You'd buy a book with pretty decent breakdowns of the guitar chords for the songs... leads, (somewhat) and bass, etc. The flute parts would give you a basic melody line here and there... yay!! THEN it would simply say..IMPROVISE! Improvise? That crazy shit?!? SO, I wore out a lot of record needles plopping the stylus down a thousand times and then my little Radio Shack cassette player rewind...play...rewind... play,. I remember being so determined to break that insane style code of Ian's flute parts that I'd play 6,8 and even 12 hours until my lips were blue. NOT joking. And guess what MF'ers....... I NAILED IT! Yeah.. Still playing and still nailing it. Younger folks don't all remember Tull but they come up to me and say" what the hell was that? It was awesome!" Yeah.. greatness, when reawakened, always lives. Mediocrity fades no matter what you do. So there's part of my Jethro Tull journey.. Thanx a lot!

What I am really enjoying about this video(other than the riffs by Mr. Barre) is the great flute riffs by the Master. Ian Anderson.

Smokin hot Carl! Loved it. Your attention to detail really highlights Barre’s rhythmic genius.

Collingwood Yards is very cool. I especially like Secrets, Dark Delusions, and Catharsis. Nice album to add to the collection. 🙂