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| Jethro Tull - J-Tull Dot Com |
 Released: 1999 Label: Roadrunner / Fuel 2000 (US) Cat. No.: FLD 1043 (Fuel) Total Time: 54:20 | |
Review courtesy John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, February 2000 Exactly one second. That is really all you need in order to know this concerns the brand-new Jethro Tull album. "Spiral" conjures both the unmistakable flute and voice of Ian Anderson out of your speakers. The new album Dot.com contains no fewer than fourteen new songs that all contain the typical Jethro Tull signature. Together with "old" mate Martin Barre and the new threefold Andrew Giddings, Doane Perry and Jonathan Noyce, Dot.com brings you the "self evident" feeling. The title song Dot.com contains a Celtic vibe resulting in more folk than rock. Nice is the extra voice of Najma Akhtar that gives it an extra exotic flavour. Wonderful flute playing (could we expect anything else?) alternating with brilliant keyboard sounds in "AWOL" even if the intro has been listening to Tubular Bells! One of the favourite recipes in the Jethro household is the heavy riff from Martin Barre, on top of which Anderson balances his flute playing, such as during "Hunt By Numbers." The lifelong friendship between Anderson and Barre also gives Ian the opportunity to step aside when necessary so that Barre can "shine" in his own right, such as during "El niño" where Barre can illustrate his talent on both acoustic and electric guitars. Even when there are many millions of singers on this planet we can surely call the timbre of Anderson's voice unique and, like the wine, it gets better with age! Whilst the tone of that voice leans heavily towards folk music it is the combination with the omnipresent flute and the professional backing which creates a music as unique as you can get. I'm not a Jethro connoisseur who is able to whistle every tune the band has ever written but I can truly say Dot.com is one of the band's better releases. When you keep the CD playing after you listened to "A Gift Of Roses," you suddenly get to hear Anderson's voice informing us we are one of the few lucky people able to hear a preview of his soon to be released new solo album The Secret Language Of Birds. Mind you, you are not the only "lucky one" as every album has the same message, but it invites you to some "other" work. As long as the flute playing and the voice remain that unique, it remains damn difficult to draw a line between band and solo effort. Both of them are fantastic and prove once again that Jethro Tull is one of the most shining diamonds in the world of progressive rock. Shine on! [See also Steph's review -ed.] More about J-Tull Dot Com: Track Listing: Spiral (3:50) / Dot Com (4:25) / AWOL (5:19) / Nothing @ All (0:56) / Wicked Windows (4:40) / Hunt By Numbers (4:00) / Hot Mango Flush (3:49) / El Niño (4:40) / Black Mamba (5:00) / Mango Surprise (1:14) / Bends Like A Willow (4:53) / Far Alaska (4:06) / The Dog-Ear Years (3:34) / A Gift of Roses (3:54) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.jethrotull.com Discography
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