Strawbs, Jethro Tull News
Date: Saturday, May 05 @ 21:51:54 UTC
Topic: Band News (tours, comings/goings, etc)


The Strawbs will be playing a series of East Coast dates this June, including BB King's in NYC on June 27, two shows at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival on June 30 and July 1, and two shows at Hugh's Room in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

EMI-CAP is making available the Best Of Acoustic Jethro Tull album, which has a release May 8. The album -- as well as the entire EMI Tull catalog (29 albums including Aqualung, The Very Best Of, Thick As A Brick) -- has been selling quite well on iTunes.

Best Of Acoustic Jethro Tull was compiled by Ian Anderson and includes 24 tracks representing the band?s finest acoustic work across their 39-year career, including two new live recordings making their release debut.



While Ian Anderson's flute is one of the most recognizable trademarks of Jethro Tull's identity, what also distinguishes Tull from most other bands is the frequent use of a vast array of acoustic instrumentation. For The Best Of Acoustic Jethro Tull's tracklist, Anderson selected tracks from the band's best-known acoustic work as well some of his own personal favorites, presenting a variety of styles, tempos and moods in chronological order, with the exception of "Jack Frost," which was recorded in 1982, but not released until 1988.

"The dynamics and juxtaposition of electric with acoustic has been the inspiration for decades of humble fumbles," says Anderson in The Best Of Acoustic Jethro Tull's liner notes essay. "The hushed playing of an old Martin guitar or whispered flute in many a hotel and motel room (lest I annoy my fellow guest and weary traveler) seemed then and now so simple and natural."

Many Jethro Tull songs feature acoustic instruments alongside their electric brethren. The song "Aqualung" includes extended acoustic sections delicately poised in the midst of rock riff mayhem, while on the Thick As A Brick album, there are several interlaced passages of acoustic guitar-led meanderings.

Mandolins, bouzoukis, balalaika, mouth organ, acoustic piano, harpsichord, accordion, celeste, glockenspiel, marimba, bongos, tabla, assorted kit drums and percussion, saxophones, solo violin, acoustic bass and the perhaps more obvious flutes and whistles have all made their mark on the Tull and Ian Anderson catalog. Recently, as well as historically, many instruments of the symphony orchestra have added a broader, richer color to the songs.

"The subtle slipping and sliding of humanly-executed music from fretboard and keyboard are still exciting," says Anderson. "The flute, like the violin, is never going to be perfectly in tune. But the induced expression, vibrato, tone colors and dynamics are what make it all come alive."

THE BEST OF ACOUSTIC JETHRO TULL (Digital Album and CD)

Song Title (Orig. Album, Orig. Year)

1. Fat Man (Stand Up, 1969)
2. Life Is A Long Song (Living In The Past, 1972)
3. Cheap Day Return (Aqualung, 1971)
4. Mother Goose (Aqualung, 1971)
5. Wond?ring Aloud (Aqualung, 1971)
6. Thick As A Brick (Edit No. 1) (Thick As A Brick, 1972)
7. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day (Warchild, 1974)
8. Cold Wind To Valhalla (intro) (Minstrel In The Gallery, 1975)
9. One White Duck/Nothing At All (Minstrel In The Gallery, 1975)
10. Salamander (Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!, 1976)
11. Jack-In-The-Green (Songs From The Wood, 1977)
12. Velvet Green (Songs From The Wood, 1977)
13. Dun Ringill (Stormwatch, 1979)
14. Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow (20 Years Of Jethro Tull, 1988)
15. Under Wraps No. 2 (Under Wraps, 1984)
16. Jack-A-Lynn (20 Years Of Jethro Tull, 1988)
17. Broadford Bazaar (Nightcap: The Unreleased Masters 1973-1991, 1994)
18. The Water Carrier (Ian Anderson) (The Secret Language of Birds, 2000)
19. Set-Aside (Ian Anderson) (The Secret Language of Birds, 2000)
20. Rupi?s Dance (Ian Anderson) (Rupi?s Dance, 2003)
21. A Christmas Song (The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, 2003)
22. Weathercock (The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, 2003)

BONUS TRACKS (newly recorded material)

23. One Brown Mouse (new recording, 2007)
24. Pastime With Good Company (live in Denmark, 2006)

[Source: Anne Leighton PR]







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