Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull

I am an avid Tull fan, owning many of his albums, gone to his concerts, etc. Mr. Anderson surprised me with the depth, complexity and the musical variations created out of his well-known fan favorites. It was almost spiritual, for me at least. This is nothing like the Tull classical music cassette put out in the 1980's and I recommend it to round out any Tull collection.

Hey, I like Tull and Mr. Anderson. This is just a nice collection of songs with a hint of classic music sound supplied by the Orchestra. You may like it, you may not. I like it and the sound quality is very good. Played with all Vintage Sony CD Unit going to AU 717, and ending with a set of Meadowlark Ospreys.

Originally I only intended to order the book "Game of Shadows" about the various steroid abusers in sports, but when Amazon.com offered me "free shipping" for a little bit more, I selected this album and am glad I did.I like what I heard when Ian Anderson was joined with an orchestra on the song "A Raft Of Penguins" from Rupi's Dance, so I figured this album would be more of the same. I agree with previous reviews I have read by G-Dexter and Michael Wheeler "Stratocaster" on this site as well.There are only a few things I can add that they didn't say in their reviews. My favorite song on the album is the last one: "Locomotive Breath" which runs for 6:42. I've always felt that Anderson was never quite satisfied with the original version on the album "Aqualung" where about 3/4's of the way through, you hear that annoying buzzing sound of a loose wire or a short in the system.In this version, Ian gives it his all singing the vocal, but what I enjoy the most is his flute playing mixed with the orchestra. At about 5:09 of the song, where it would normally end, he adds this great flute solo that I've never heard before on any Tull album. I've played it over and over and like it more than the original which is a rarity. It's also nice to be able to hear the music played before a very polite audience. I can understand the words a lot better than I ever could before, and, I must say as an aside, Ian looks a lot better in that lighter colored headpiece than the black one he usually wears.Last but not least is the usual Tull fans lament, of which I am no exception. I wish he had done "Moths" from the "Heavy Horses" album which I think would have sounded great with a live orchestra and Ian singing it minus the hoarseness that he had in the early `80's. True to form, we no sooner finish listening to this latest offering and the words "More" come out of our greedy mouths. Therefore, I'd have to say I enjoyed it. Hope you do as well.

I've got a Jethro Tull problem. I've been an avid Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson fan since 1974 when I got my first record player and promptly went out and bought the "brand new" Warchild Album. Since then I've purchased copies of every single release I could, on both vinyl and later on CD, both authorized and unauthorized (i.e. bootlegs), I've seen the band perform live more than 25 times; I've met the band twice, and I even named my son Ian in tribute to you know who. After more than 30 years of more or less consistent listening, I thought I had just about heard it all - Ian just couldn't surprise me any more.So, when my copy of IAN ANDERSON PLAYS....arrived from Amazon.com yesterday and I dutifully loaded it in my CD player, expecting another typical concert recording supplemented with some strings - nothing I hadn't heard dozens of times before. For the first few songs it seemed that was exactly what I got. In fact, I could hardly hear the orchestra at all! Mostly, all I could hear guitar, flute and an accordion and I thought "uh-oh!" As the first disc proceeded, the familiar tunes became more lushly orchestrated, though there were few genuinely unique arrangements. So far I gave the release 3-1/2 stars - nice but not quite living up to my expectations.The second disc started out with PAVANE, a lovely Fauré tune from the CHRISTMAS ALBUM, beautifully performed. Next came the most ubiquitous tune in all of Tulldom: AQUALUNG. I really wasn't expecting anything amazing, but amazing is what I got! At nearly ten and a half minutes, this was a new and completely fresh take on a song that I had long ago written off as a stale - yet obligatory tune for any Tull concert. Starting off with a lovely little oboe and bassoon intro, Ian then comes in on flute with lush strings in an elegiac rendition. Finally the orchestra joins in, along with an amazing guitar solo performed by Florian Opahle, and wonderful drumming by Ian's son James Duncan to make this perhaps the most entertaining and moving version of the song ever performed - no kidding!Ever the consummate performer and arranger, Ian saved the best bits for last. The final three songs include a stunning version of MY GOD, a fantastic fourteen minute long BUDAPEST and the finale, LOCOMOTIVE BREATH. I can't say enough about how pleased I ended up being with this purchase. Just when I thought I had heard it all, Ian pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat to completely surprise and delight his fans!Final analysis - five stars plus!

Great way to re-introduce these great classics. Well arranged and good sounding CD. I definitely recommend. Well done!...

Ian is excellent on this CD. The Best musician in my opinion.

; )

My brother is a huge Ian Anderson fan. This was a great unexpected addition to his collection.

I have been an immense Jethro Tull fan since the late 1980s when a friend lent me some old vinyls so that I could check out Cross-eyed Mary, Locomotive Breath and some other hits when they were played by the original band and not by my favourite heavy rockers like Iron Maiden and WASP, whose JT covers I had known for a while.Since then I have managed to collect the whole discography including the brilliant Ian Anderson's solo albums as well. I have seen Jethro Tull gigs as well a few times and I am one of the fans who does not mind seeing them in a concert venue with chairs to sit down either. For it does not matter what they call themselves, Jethro Tull or Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, etc. it is always about that special magic that only this progressive rock, blues, jazz or folk rock band can do.Orchestral Jethro Tull is one of my favourite live albums or DVDs because of the same magic. It is quite true that some of the songs they performed on A Little Light Music and on the excellent Jethro Tull Christmas Album but here they are like a magnificent painting put into a different frame if you see what I mean.Some fans would be happy to see Ian with Martin Barre, Dave Pegg, or Jonathan Noyce, Doane Perry and Andy Giddings but to tell you the truth, I also like this new reincarnation of Ian's band with John O'Hara, Florian Opahle, David Goodier, and James Duncan or Scott Hammond. See? I like them whatever they do, they only should play Living In The Past, Aqualung, Cheap Day Return, My God, Up The Pool, Life Is A Long Song, J.S. Bach's Bourée, etc. (hey the list is endless indeed) and Budapest.Now on this album they play all of them and many more great songs with the Frankfurt Neue Philharmonic Orchestra (the 'heavy metal orchestra' because they are all wearing black as Ian says on the DVD...)Now I hope you see it is a must for you if you have ever called yourself a Jethro fan, so just sit back and enjoy!

This is simply my album package of the year !! a beautifully recorded, produced and executed album with stellar musicianship. Comparing this concert to a regular Tull outing is silly to say the least.Ian Anderson performs this music with orchestra from the heart and on a good sound system it cooks !! even the 14minutes of " Budapest" whizzes by. His new and fresh arrangements of old Tull chestnuts are brilliantly refreshing.For lover's of Tull and good , timeless music, buy this...don't download; you need the openness of the orchestra here, not compressed sound, plus the artwork and pics are cool !!

Usually when an artist starts going back over old work and fiddling about with it, it is a sign that they have started to run out of ideas. Not so with this effort from Ian Anderson!The Jethro Tull frontman/ creative driving force takes a set of tracks from Tull's back catalogue and a few of his more recent solo offerings and performs them live with the accompaniment of a full orchestra. The orchestra gives him a wide palette from which to draw, much wider than the traditional 4 piece band format. Using the rich colours and textures available, he recreates some of the tracks into more interesting and complex pieces. He is up front on the stage with trademark flute and vocals, there is a genuine interacton between him, the orchestra and the audience. It's an album well worth having for any Tull fan. Especially because as well as playing it safe with well known tracks a few lesser known Tull gems, such as `Up the Pool' are also given a welcome airing.At the time of writing Amazon has no track listng posted, so here it is:-Disc 1EurologyCaliandra ShadeSkating away on the thin ice of a new dayUp the poolWe five KingsLife is a long songIn the grip of stronger stuffWond'ring aloudGriminelli's lamentCheap day returnMother GooseBoureeBoris dancingLiving in the pastDisc 2PavaneAqualungGod rest ye merry, gentlemenMy GodBudapestLocomotive breath

If you like Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson's flute performances, this record is a must.On the upside you will find that the arrangements are simply superb and it's not him just putting some strings and calling it a day.On the downside, and this is for the Vinyl version, all the comments between songs - which appear on the CD version - have been cut from this press. I'm certain that it had to do with a restriction in length but it's definitely a worse option.

Fabulous. Something for everyone on this cd. Mix of classical and progressive. A must for lovers of good music. I suggest young people try this too.