Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Anderson, Ian
Label: Chrysalis Records
Released: 1983
Length: 38:29
Rating: 2/5
The charismatic Jethro Tull chieftain Ian Anderson, rock’s most notorious flautist, was planning to put out his solo debut as early as 1980, but his then label Chrysalis Records scuppered the plan, so »A« came out as yet another Jethro Tull album, which, with longtime Tull guitarist Martin Barre on board, was ultimately the only logical move. Even »A« hinted sonically that Anderson was getting pulled more and more into the world of electronic keyboards and synthetic rock, and away from the traditional Tull sound, which in its own prog-rock way was rooted in jazz, classical music, folk and blues. That became even more obvious on the next Tull album, »The Broadsword And The Beast« (1982), on which Ian started working with Scottish keyboardist Peter-John Vettese, an expert in electronic textures and the sound trends of the day, and together the two thoroughly polarized the Jethro Tull fanbase of the time.
Ian’s utterly unnecessary scheme to make Jetro Tull, once a guarantee of musical innovation, sound like Depeche Mode and similar bands and to dive headfirst into electronic art rock later gave birth to »Under Wraps« (1984), the worst studio album in the band’s history. Before that, though, in 1983 Ian teamed up with Vettese to release his solo debut, titled »Walk Into Light«. That one was kind of, let’s say, a slightly less brutal electronic overture to »Under Wraps«, and it had generally precious few positive moments. Among those was the fact that Ian’s voice was at its peak back then, so the cult flautist could sing some vocal lines that these days, after his voice completely collapsed in 1985, he couldn’t hit even in his dreams.
There was of course no real drummer on »Walk Into Light«, so Ian, who played guitar and bass on top of the flute, simply used a programmed drum machine, while he and Vettese, who assisted as a co-writer on half the tracks, took care of all the keyboard synthetics, which time has thoroughly gnawed away at, though they weren’t exactly thrilling even on release. It goes without saying that Ian’s production of his solo debut sounds hollow and thin, while the prevailing rhythmic (non)dynamics are often wildly boring. There isn’t much positive to say about the individual »Walk Into Light« songs, since most of them sound uninspired and anachronistic, while on most of them, like »Different Germany«, Cold War themes dominate, the same ones that would later rule »Under Wraps« too.
Elsewhere, like on the opener »Fly By Night«, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Rush classic of the same name from 1975, Ian touches on his everyday, mostly trivial adventures, in this case an evening flight on a plane. Looked at purely from an arrangement standpoint, the individual »Walk Into Light« songs aren’t bad at all and could have turned out great with a real drummer, a bassist, more varied keyboards and a much more ‘live’ production, but because of the production and technological limitations mentioned above, they’ve aged badly. On top of that, Ian’s traditionally warm voice never found a comfortable spot against the predominantly cold, electronic-synthetic backdrop, which shows even on the best »Walk Into Light« moments, like »Fly By Night«, »Made in England«, »Toad in the Hole« and the aforementioned »Different Germany««.
Most of Ian’s followers would happily forget his creative period between 1983 and 1984, even though »Walk Into Light« was a somewhat more bearable effort than the electronic monster that came next, »Under Wraps«, which left a black stain on an otherwise mostly magnificent Jethro Tull discography. Still, compared with Ian’s later, far more focused and ambitious solo albums, »Walk Into Light« is by far the weakest. The bad experience with electronic experimenting taught Ian a thorough lesson by the second half of the eighties, when Jethro Tull received a controversial Grammy for ‘best heavy metal album’ for »Creast Of a Knave« (1987), which was really a lifetime achievement award, and he never repeated the mistake when he briefly tried to follow the musical trends of the day.
Lineup
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
Peter-John Vettese – keyboards
Production
Ian Anderson
Track list
1. Fly by Night (3:55)
2. Made in England (5:00)
3. Walk into Light (3:11)
4. Trains (3:21)
5. End Game (3:20)
6. Black and White Television (3:37)
7. Toad in the Hole (3:24)
8. Looking for Eden (3:43)
9. User-Friendly (4:03)
10. Different Germany (5:24)
