Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Anderson, Ian
Label: Eagle Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 108:06
Rating: 3.5/5
Ever since Ian Anderson took Jethro Tull apart in 2011 and decided to focus solely on his solo career, which, lo and behold, has been almost entirely subordinate to the legacy of that legendary prog rock outfit ever since, nothing has been the way it used to be, for better and for worse. In 2012, the living legend of progressive rock and mischievous flute-toting farmer, whose head fills with ever crazier notions in his old age, marked the fortieth anniversary of Jethro Tull’s conceptual masterpiece »Thick As A Brick« (1972) by recording a sequel titled »Thick As A Brick 2 – Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock«.
Contrary to all the ‘doubting Thomases’ who figured Ian would get badly burned by this odd and totally unexpected move, the second act of the Gerald Bostock concept saga turned out to be a pleasant surprise and even one of the better prog rock albums released in 2012. The celebration of the original »Thick As A Brick« and the release of its sequel also came with an extremely successful tour, during which Ian and his band stopped in Iceland too. The result of that show in the land of geysers is the live album »Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland«.
Every night of that tour, Ian’s band played both parts of »Thick A Brick« in full and in chronological order. On top of that, they sprinkled in a peculiar comedy show drawing inspiration from the cult British series ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. This recording is no different, though it lacks the encore in the form of the Jethro Tull evergreen »Locomotive Breath«, which Ian’s band closed every night’s show with. Probably nobody will miss it too much, even though it’s to Jethro Tull what »Smoke On The Water« is to Deep Purple.
Led by Ian’s vehement flute playing and vocals, his crew was in great spirits in Iceland too, and even dressed up a few of the arrangements on the original »Thick As A Brick« with some extra sonic frills. Special mention goes to German guitarist Florian Opahle, who has successfully filled in for Martin Barre since 2011, even if he doesn’t possess quite the same finesse as the legendary Tull guitar virtuoso. Starting with the original suite, Ian’s gang spiced up individual »Thick As A Brick« performances with comedy sketches, which sadly come across only half as witty and fun in audio form as they do when you watch live or catch the »Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland« DVD.
That fact is also behind most of the negative criticism of this live document, since the numerous comedy sketches quite spoil the listening experience of the original »Thick As A Brick« suite. Particularly out of place is Ian’s promotional, half-serious, half-joking message about prostate cancer treatment, which lands right in the middle of the »Thick As A Brick« suite and totally wrecks the whole atmosphere before the band carries on with the next section. There are simply too many gags on the CD version of »Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland« that look funny when you see them and start to wear thin after just two listens in a row, no matter that Ian is a true master of black humor and social jabs.
The second criticism isn’t so much a criticism as a fact Ian has been unable to dodge for (roughly) the last decade, which is why he got himself a stand-in singer in the form of actor Ryan O’Donnell. During the original »Thick As A Brick«, the ‘cracked’ quality of Ian’s voice is what you hear most, so O’Donnell often jumps in to help and does an especially good job covering the higher notes, which Mr. Anderson’s vocal cords simply can’t handle anymore.
Noticeably better than the performance of the whole original »Thick As A Brick«, where the atmosphere is spoiled by too many interruptions for Ian’s antics, is its sequel on this live recording, i.e. »Thick As A Brick 2«, which they also play in full. So the presentation of Gerald’s adult-life adventures comes off as more convincing than the reminiscing about his childhood. Ian’s vocal troubles are a touch less obvious here, while instrumentally everything is played at a brilliant level, as expected, so individual performances can hold their own against the studio versions. The theatrical sections and vocal exchanges between Ian and O’Donnell come off even more convincingly this time, and you can both feel and hear that Ian’s band had this album down ‘cold’ and enjoyed every minute of playing it all night long.
»Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland« is a solid live document, but it’s meant only for the biggest fans of the life and work of prog rock’s best-known ‘prancing little fella’. They’ll also be more understanding of his clowning, which this recording could easily have done without, even though it was an integral part of the »Thick As A Brick« show. The main draw of this live album is the fact that Ian played the original »Thick As A Brick« suite in its entirety for the first time since 1972. Almost as good a reason to buy it is the superb live version of »Thick As A Brick 2«, where the whole band shone to the max. Those less devoted fans of Ian’s musical legacy, who only listen now and then, would do themselves a much bigger favor by skipping »Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland« and putting on a classic Jethro Tull live album instead, headed up by »Bursting Out« (1978).
Lineup
Ian Anderson – flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
Florian Opahle – electric guitar
John O’Hara – keyboards, accordion
David Goodier – bass guitar, glockenspiel
Scott Hammond – drums and percussion
Ryan O’Donnell – additional vocals
Production
Ian Anderson
Track list
CD 1
1. Thick As A Brick (51:44)
CD 2 – Thick As A Brick 2: Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock?
1. From A Pebble Thrown (2:57)
2. Pebbles Instrumental (3:44)
3. Might Have Beens (0:56)
4. Upper Sixth Loan Shark (1:21)
5. Banker Bets, Banker Wins (4:34)
6. Swing It Far (3:33)
7. Adrift And Dumbfounded (4:25)
8. Old School Song (3:24)
9. Wootton Bassett Town (3:43)
10. Power And Spirit (2:00)
11. Give Til It Hurts (1:13)
12. Cosy Corner (1:24)
13. Shunt And Shuffle (2:13)
14. A Change Of Horses (8:03)
15. Confessional (3:08)
16. Kismet In Surburbia (4:19)
17. What-ifs, Maybes And Might-Have-Beens (5:25)
