Sitting on a park bench...
You are a closet Jethro Tull fan. Let us all sit down, breathe deeply and learn to accept that it will be okay.
Looking back on their stamp on rock music history, is there any real reason to be embarrassed? Honestly, Jethro Tull may be one of the least appreciated bands in rock music. Let us discuss this briefly.
Granted, Jethro Tull did not deserve to win the very first Grammy for “Best Hard Rock/Metal” album in 1989. In fact, it is completely ludicrous to even think that their album “Crest of Knave” should beat out Metallica’s “…And Justice for All” in a hard rock or metal contest. Ian Anderson, the founder of the band, plays a flute after all. Dress it up as “hard” as you want, the flute, fife or recorder will never be a “metal” instrument.
However, the fact Anderson plays such an instrument should not discount their credibility as a rock band. This is a group that has sold sixty million albums worldwide. You do not attain that kind of album sales by being a flash-in-the-pan band. Far from it, Jethro Tull is a band that has been redefining their sound from the early sixties to today. They have been filed under the categories of “hard rock,” “classic rock,” “progressive rock,” and they even had years where they experimented with the electronic sound as well. This is a band that deserves, in the very least, commendation for being innovative in their field. Jethro Tull is certainly not a stagnant, one-trick-pony of a band. After all, when is the last time James Hetfield of Metallica picked up a mandolin?
Granted, Jethro Tull has not released an album since 2003 (and it was “Christmas” album by the way), but a band with such a long history in the rock music scene should be respected for their contributions to the art form. It is okay to like them. Pick up a copy of their album “Aqualung” and you may fall in love with them.
Ladies and gentleman, Jethro Tull is not a pretty band. They are not a conventional band. But whatever they lack in aesthetic appeal and convention is made up for considerably with years of dedication, innovation, and volumes of gritty, “prog-rock” melodies.
