The Jethro Tull Discography: The Zealot Gene (2022)

[ErHaO]

I will repeat what I said earlier in this thread, that official Jethro Tull book from last year, The Ballad of Jethro Tull, from the same publisher, is excellent.

And I will order A la Mode for my dad, good timing for another birthday gift, so thanks for the heads up 

[ErHaO]

So I was listening to A La Mode for a bit before I gift it to my dad and to my ears it for sure sounds a lot better.

Live concert is actually really cool as well. A lot of 80's synths and stuff with altered versions of songs and all, but in this case I like it.

I think this version of Locomotive Breath is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXIGdOZ7uBg I really like it when the guitars kick in (around 1:10 onwards) and the performance is energetic.

[jammindude]

Just picked up A La Mode last week and I haven't even had to chance to spin it yet.  But I'm throwing it on my music player so I can spin it at work this week. 

Really looking forward to the live material.   Maybe I'll even get the chance to watch Slipstream before the night is over.  I haven't seen that since it aired on MTV (or was it Night Flight?) probably 35 years ago.

[DragonAttack]

I believe these are new links, from youtubes posted in the past six months.  Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAuWojfQf6o  Zurich May 16 1976  new download (?) Sept 17 2021

somewhat of a 'raspy' staticky vocal 

0:00 Introduction 0:18 1. Thick As A Brick 13:45 Introduction 14:45 2. Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die 20:58 Introduction 21:42 3. To Cry You A Song (Ian misses the first few lyrics) 24:25 4A. A New Day Yesterday 27:38 5. Flute Solo (incl God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Bouree) 33:44 6. Living In The Past Instrumental 34:46 7. Thick As A Brick Instrumental 35:29 4B. A New Day Yesterday (reprise) 36:29 Introduction, "It's A Boy", going electric, David Palmer is replacing our female string section 38:00 8. Requiem 41:41 9. Big Dipper 45:22 10. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (1:30 longer than the North American tour in July-August) 50:06 11. Minstrel In The Gallery (Martin's guitar instrumental not included here, but added in the encore) 55:43 12. Quizz Kid (cut) 58:33 Introduction 58:57 13. The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive) 1:04:36 Introduction 1:05:48 14. Crazed Institution 1:08:53 15. Instrumental (incl 15 sec drum solo) 1:13:07 16. Cross-Eyed Mary 1:16:32 17. Aqualung (with Baby crying intro) 1:24:45 Thank you, Applause 1:27:44 18. Guitar Solo 1:30:35 19. Wind Up 1:35:14 20. Back Door Angels 1:38:10 21. Minstrel In The Gallery instrumental 1:39:44 22. Locomotive Breath 1:44:51 23. Instrumental 1:47:40 24. Back Door Angels (reprise) 1:48:53 Applause
SHOW LESS


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGqsAb0BgUw&t=4291s   Boston Mar 28 77    Feb 2021  'A' quality

0:00 - Introduction 0:28 - Wondr'ing Aloud 3:28 - Skating Away 8:15 - Jack-In-The-Green 11:33 - Thick As A Brick 27:41 - Songs From The Wood 32:39 - Instrumental Jam / Drum Solo 37:08 - To Cry You A Song 39:40 - A New Day Yesterday 42.33 - Flute solo with God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Bourée (tape flip edit at 00:45:36:02) 50:09 - Living In The Past 51:46 - A New Day Yesterday(reprise) (tape pause edit at 00:52:46:22) SET 2 54:26 - Velvet Green 1.01:11 - Hunting Girl 1:07:11 - Too Old To Rock'N'Roll 1:11:07 - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony 1:14:22 - Minstrel In The Gallery 1:20:05 - Cross-Eyed Mary 1:23:39 - Aqualung (tape flip edit at 01:32:19:05) 1:32:45 - Guitar Solo 1:36:28 - Wind-Up 1:41:04 - Back Door Angels 1:46:04 - Wind-Up (repise) 1:48:25 - Locomotive Breath 1:54:03 - Land Of The Hope And Glory 1:56:27 - Back Door Angels (reprise)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qgobAhF770    vienna april 75  B+  June '21  Wind Up two times

0:00 The Beach (tape) 0:56 1. Minstrel in The Gallery (instrumental) 1:45 2. Wind-Up 3:59 3. A Passion Play Critique Oblique 7:13 Introduction 8:13 4. Thick As A Brick 21:46 Introduction 22:53 5. Wond'ring Aloud/Again 26:13 Introduction 27:06 6A. My God 30:18 7 Flute Solo (incl. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Bourée) 36:13 8. Living In The Past / Thick As A Brick instrumental 37:51 6B. My God (reprise) 38:42 9. SeaLion (with Pop Goes The Weasel intro) 41:09 Introduction to Barrie and Jeffrey 42:12 10. Skating Away... 46:05 Jeffrey Zebra Skit 48:25 11. Ladies 52:13 12. Drum Solo 57:05 13. WarChild 1:03:04 14. WarChild Suite (piano & strings, includes Reasons For Waiting) 1:09:05 15. Cross-Eyed Mary 1:12:46 Introduction 1:13:20 16. Bungle In The Jungle 1:15:33 Hare Who Lost His Spectacles Aqualung Intro 1:16:33 17. Aqualung 1:24:44 Applause 1:25:03 18. Guitar Solo 1:28:56 19. Back-Door Angels 1:33:50 20. Minstrel In The Gallery (instrumental) 1:36:20 21. Locomotive Breath 1:41:42 22. Hard-Headed English General 1:42:57 23. Instrumental 1:46:49 24. Back-Door Angels (reprise) "Hey, hey, see ya later" 1:48:01 Audience noise / applause 1:48:28 25. Wind Up (Complete) 1:55:27 Applause
SHOW LESS


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEgLNrX_Zos  Pasadena Jan 77 soundboard A++  upload july 21

Full soundboard from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium - January 14, 1977 (missing the intro) Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day Jack-In-The-Green Crazed Institution Fires At Midnight Instrumental Thick As A Brick Songs From The Wood To Cry You A Song A New Day Yesterday-Flute Solo-Kelpie-Bourée Living In The Past Thick As A Brick A New Day Reprise Velvet Green Too Old To Rock'N'Roll Bungle In The Jungle Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Minstrel In The Gallery Hunting Girl Cross-Eyed Mary Aqualung - Guitar Solo Wind Up Backdoor Angels Wind Up Reprise Locomotive Breath Land Of Hope And Glory Backdoor Angels Reprise



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf2AFv0Xcx0&t=9s   Anaheim 70  B+  june 21

0:00 Introduction 0:44 1A. My God 3:30 2. Flute Solo (incl Bourée) 10:34 1B. My God 12:34 2B. Flute Solo / My God 14:57 Introduction to John 16:38 3. With You There To Help Me 20:45 4. By Kind Permission Of 29:09 Introduction 30:24 5A. Sossity; You're A Woman 32:39 6. Reasons For Waiting 34:36 5B. Sossity; You're A Woman 35:48 Introduction 36:42 7.To Cry You A Song 42:05 Introduction 43:10 8.Aqualung 49:32 Introduction to Jeffrey 51:05 9A. Cross-Eyed Mary 54:24 10. Drum solo 55:05 9B. Cross-Eyed Mary 57:00 Welcome Barrie 57:45 11. Nothing Is Easy 1:05:08 Thank you (cut) 1:05:25 Introduction 1:06:27 12. Wind Up 1:10:58 13. Guitar Instrumental 1:13:07 14. Guitar Solo 1:21:35 15. Locomotive Breath 1:26:41 16. Hard-Headed English General (cut) 1:27:35 17. Instrumental 1:28:53 18. Wind Up (reprise) 1:30:48 Applause

[Orbert]

I was at the library recently, browsing CDs to borrow, and a familiar face caught my attention.  I realized that I had the opportunity to update something I thought was complete at one time.  Indeed, I felt an obligation to do so.
 
The Zealot Gene (2022)
 

 
Ian Anderson - Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Whistle, Harmonica
Florian Opahle - Electric Guitar
David Goodier - Bass Guitar
John O'Hara - Piano, Keyboards, Accordion, Organ
Scott Hammond - Drums
Joe Parrish-James - Guitar
 
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Mrs. Tibbets 5:53
Jacob's Tales 2:12
Mine Is the Mountain 5:40
The Zealot Gene 3:54
Shoshana Sleeping 3:40
Sad City Sisters 3:41
Barren Beth, Wild Desert John 3:38
The Betrayal of Joshua Kynde 4:05
Where Did Saturday Go? 3:52
Three Loves, Three 3:29
In Brief Visitation 3:01
The Fisherman of Ephesus 3:40
 
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Well, he finally did it.  Ian put out a new Jethro Tull album because "it seemed appropriate to recognize the, on average, 15 years of long service that the members of the band have had playing with me over the years."
 
Basically, this is the same lineup he'd been working with for years, touring with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and probably a few other variations, but to many people it's all the same.  If you asked the average person what the difference was between a Jethro Tull album and an Ian Anderson solo album, they would not be able to say.  If you asked someone who knew a bit more about Tull and/or music in general, they would say that the difference is the presence or absence of Martin Barre.  And until this album, that was true.  This is the first Jethro Tull album without Martin Barre since the debut This Was all the way back in 1969.  But it is the same band that played on Ian's solo album Homo Erraticus (2014).
 
Here's the thing: A lot of it sounds like old-school Jethro Tull.  The blend of Scottish folk and straight-up rock and roll, always Jethro Tull's trademark, does lean more to the folk/acoustic side here, but it's hard to tell whether that's intentional or merely a consequence of Ian being older and not rocking as hard as he did when he was younger.  Much of the acoustic stuff reminds me of "Mother Goose" or "Jack-in-the-Green" or other folksy stuff from the Tull catalog.  And there isn't a lot of electric guitar, but there is some, and a few times it did indeed remind me of Martin Barre.
 
Speaking of Martin Barre, why isn't he on this album?  Why is he no longer in Jethro Tull?  Both Martin and Ian have mostly avoided directly answering this question.  Martin says that when Ian decided to reform Jethro Tull, he was not invited.  Ian, as quoted above, is more pragmatic about it.  This was the band he'd been working with for several years, several tours, and he felt that that should be recognized.  His way to recognize them was to officially name the band Jethro Tull.  And indeed it does sound like Tull to me.
 
No, it doesn't sound like Aqualung or Heavy Horses or any specific older Tull album.  But Ian's flute shows up often, and sounds better than ever thanks to Ian taking the time to learn proper technique.  TAC will be happy to hear that there's no more hyperventilating.  It's all proper flute playing.  No more overdriving or screaming into the instrument as he plays.  But I'm a flautist, and I think it sounds great.
 
Ah yes, the vocals.  Much has already been said about Ian's voice, and let's face it: the guy is in his 70's now.  He sings in the quiet voice that's more appropriate to the mostly acoustic music, but I always preferred that voice anyway.  His "rocking" voice always had that weird quality to it; not really nasal, but... something odd.  Anyway, he can't sing like that anymore, so he doesn't.
 
12 songs, all in the three-to-six-minute range with the longest track leading things off.  So no extended proggy instrumental breaks, but 47 minutes of pretty good music.  As mentioned upthread, I tend to consume albums these days the way many people consume songs.  I put them on and let them play.  I did that with this album before reading anything about it (other than what I already had, which was only that Martin Barre does not appear) in order to get an unbiased listen, then I did it again.  Then a third time.  The songs are short, and I don't want to say that they all blur together or are in any way unremarkable.  There are plenty of standout passages.  I just can't point them out specifically because I've played the album probably six or seven times now (one of the advantages I suppose of the short run time) and haven't really bothered focusing on individual tracks or lyrics or any of that.  You want to know about the album?  I'll tell you about the album.  You want to know about individual tracks?  Listen to the album.

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The Zealot Gene was several years in the making.  Ian and the band (Opahle, Goodier, O'Hara, and Hammond) had recorded seven tracks in 2017, then things were put on hold temporarily while they went on tour in 2018 and 2019.  Ian didn't like the idea of trying to finish recording during the brief openings in the touring schedule, then in 2020, Covid hit.  During lockdowns, Ian wrote and recorded basic tracks for an additional five songs, and the others added their parts remotely, but drummer Scott Hammond didn't have the means to contribute, so those tracks are all acoustic and skew the balance of the album to the acoustic side.
 
Late in the recording process, longtime guitarist Florian Opahle left to pursue other opportunities and Joe Parrish-James appears on one track, "In Brief Visitation".  He also played guitar on the ensuing tour and subsequent album and is currently the main guitarist in Jethro Tull.  Apologies to Martin Barre, but in a way it's similar to what happened with [A].  The lineup itself existed before it was decided to call it Jethro Tull.  Martin was on [A] because Ian wanted him on the Ian Anderson solo album which became a Jethro Tull album, which meant the other members were out.  Ian was working with this lineup, and he decided to stop mucking about with "Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull" and the like and just call the band Jethro Tull.  So here it is, the first Jethro Tull album in 20 years.

[Stadler]

I've been on a sort of Tull kick lately, ripping my boxes to my hard drive (just finished The Broadsword And The Beast), and I just bought A and A Passion Play but haven't listened to them yet.

They were so good live (the classic band).

[ErHaO]

I like the latest two albums. Vocals are very sketchy, but underneath it are in my opinion good vocal melodies and songs.

Also, they recently reprinted several of the Tull Wilson remix books. I just bought Stand Up on Amazon for 30(!) euros. That book was 300+ euros on discogs until very recently. It is pretty much identical to the one released in 2016.

[Orbert]

That's cool that you like both of the recent albums.  I do too, overall, although I think I'm gonna do some editing before adding them to my big Tull playlist.

I didn't expect much discussion of these last two, but I kinda felt like I had to include them, and there they both were, so WTF, right?  Anyway, thanks for the comments.

[Orbert]

Some final thoughts on The Zealot Gene.

The lyrics for each song contain chapters and verses from the Bible.  Not the actual text, just Genesis 19:24-28 for "Mrs. Tibbets" and Ezekiel 23:2-11 for "Sad City Sisters" and the like.  The front and back CD covers feature Ian's face, but the front cover has a word mosaic with more words from the Bible.  The front and back covers of the booklet have Christian imagery.

I read at least one interview where Ian says that this is not a concept album, and at least one where he says that it is a concept album of sorts.  Whether it is or not will depend upon your own definition.  In the CD booklet, he speaks of this particular collection of songs and some commonalities and unifying threads.  It's also well known that Ian tends to write about things he's been thinking about or going on in his life, so there will be thematic elements to songs written around the same time.  The songs, collectively, are an exploration of man's relationship to God, or to how he perceives God, or not.  So while this isn't a "story" concept album like Tommy or Snow, there is definitely an underlying concept to the album.

Reviews from various online sites range from somewhat negative to mostly positive, but reviews on Amazon are overwhelmingly positive.  Some people make a big deal about the vocals, which I barely even noticed.  It still sounds like Ian to me.  The flute sounds great, and the music is great if not particularly adventurous.  I don't know how "prog" this album is, and don't really care.  I'm adding it to my Tull playlist.