Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: RandM Records
Release: 2005
Rating: 2/5
With the live album “Aqualung Live,” Jethro Tull have finally proven that in their fifth decade of existence they’ve become a textbook case of aging music legends living off the fruits of past glories, while the golden days of creative fire have long since faded into a pale memory. The main credit for this stagnation among the progressive rock legends goes to none other than the indestructible flutist and singer Ian Anderson, their chief saint and lately also their chief executioner, who in recent years has devoted far more time to his solo career and the various business ventures of his sprawling financial empire than to making new Jethro Tull music (as of this review, it will soon be ten years since their last studio album). He tries (unsuccessfully) to satisfy the appetites of the old Tull faithful with yearly concert tours, assorted compilation albums and official live recordings. One of those is “Aqualung Live,” seemingly the only live release in their history that would have been better off never coming out.
“Aqualung Live” was a totally botched attempt to recapture, live, the magic of their legendary album “Aqualung” (1971), one of the most important albums in the history of (progressive) rock, while also donating the proceeds from the recording to various charities dealing with homelessness, one of the central lyrical themes of that unforgettable masterpiece.
It’s no surprise that “Aqualung” remains the favorite among longtime Tull fans, since it contains the largest share of their evergreen classics, like the title track, “Crosseyed Mary,” “Mother Goose,” “My God” and “Locomotive Breath.” While those have been played live countless times, some of the album’s tracks (say, “Up To Me,” “Slipstream” and “Wind-Up”) haven’t gotten a live treatment for decades, or ever. So the idea of playing this classic in full after more than three decades was by no means a bad one, and under different circumstances this release could have made a really nice gift for all the loyal fans.
Sadly, though, both the context and the timing were completely off. For starters, this show took place in the small space of a theater in the middle of the American capital, Washington, in front of a mere 40 specially invited guests. The performance was broadcast live by the local radio station XM Radio, which was also the main sponsor of the event. The production, fitting for such a small room, isn’t exactly thrilling, and Ian didn’t bother to slap any studio makeup on it, which is commendable in a way, but on the flip side it shows just how threadbare they sounded during this gig. The far bigger criticism goes to the way most of the songs are played. I can’t remember hearing them sound this utterly uninspired and hollow on any official or unofficial Tull live recording. This recording is almost completely devoid of that mischievous spark so typical of Ian, who always used to drag his musical comrades along with him and pour a unique kind of energy into their shows.
Ian’s vocal performance is a story all its own, and this time, to put it mildly, it’s below criticism. Not only can the man no longer sing certain parts, he doesn’t even try, and often sounds totally casual (and that’s far from being only because of the vocal breakdown that hit him in the mid-80s). The rest of the band doesn’t fare much better. Contrary to tradition, they try far too faithfully to follow the studio originals, so they avoid improvisations and solo spots, which has never exactly been the best choice for an adventurous band like Tull. The original “Aqualung” was famous for its mostly heavy, hard rock sound, while these renditions are stripped, not to say castrated, of all that juiciness in favor of a bigger acoustic presence, and in a completely half-baked way at that. So they sound almost totally unrecognizable. You also miss a bigger role for Barre’s electric guitar, which rarely steps up front in the key moments, while the keyboards play a much bigger part there. Drummer Doane Perry is the real loser here, with a rather muddy and repetitive drum sound that barely sounds like himself, while Noyce on bass and Giddings on keyboards are at least solid, if nothing else.
The only real praise goes to Ian’s flute playing, which is still at an enviable level, even though he’s had much better moments in his career. Such a lifeless, bloodless performance is the last thing you’d expect from a band of this caliber. If I had to pick the best performance on this recording, it would be their best-known classic, and also the eternal live cliché, “Locomotive Breath,” which they’ve played so many times they could do it with their eyes closed.
It’s sad that the only thing on this release that might be at least somewhat interesting to the loyal fans is the short informative clips that originally sat between the individual performances but were moved to the end of the recording for logistical reasons. Ian and Martin Barre (with their usual clowning around) say a few words about how “Aqualung” came to be and about the individual songs. Even so, they’ll learn very little they don’t already know, except maybe that when the album came out, American religious fanatics burned copies of it on bonfires because of its anti-church slant.
No, “Aqualung Live” is definitely not what fans of these music legends would want in their collection, since it portrays their heroes as a worn-out band that can no longer even pull off convincing renditions of the classics from its rich legacy. Those of us who see them live every year luckily know that this isn’t always the case, and that they’re still capable of putting on tremendously energetic shows and heartfelt interpretations of their classics as well as their lesser-known work. It’s somewhat ironic that the proceeds from this recording went to charity work for the homeless, since hardly anyone beyond the most faithful diehards, who simply have to own everything they’ve ever released, will sniff this album out, which means it will raise very little money. In a way that’s only fair, since “Aqualung Live” makes it all too obvious that after so many years Ian finds it harder and harder to identify, in his live interpretations, with the central character of the album that brought him his greatest fame. Luckily he was at least honest enough to hand it out for free to audiences on their 2005 American tour, while in stores (and that goes for here too) it was supposedly selling at half price.
Lineup
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar
Martin Barre – electric guitar
Jonathan Noyce – bass guitar
Andrew Giddings – piano, organ, keyboards
Doane Perry – drums, percussion
Production
Ian Anderson
Tracklist
1. Aqualung (7:56)
2. Cross-Eyed Mary (4:34)
3. Cheap Day Return (1:43)
4. Mother Goose (5:39)
5. Wond’ring Aloud (2:00)
6. Up To Me (3:35)
7. My God (8:27)
8. Hymn 43 (4:22)
9. Slipstream (0:59)
10. Locomotive Breath (5:19)
11. Wind-Up (6:40)
Interviews:
12. Riffs – another monkey (1:27)
13. Recording the original (2:05)
14. Choosing my words with care (1:17)
15. Hummmmmm 43 (0:35)
16. A different kettle of very different fish (1:02)
17. But is it any good? (1:42)
Album length: 59:22
