Jethro Tull has a new album.
During the nineties, even Jethro Tull’s most faithful followers had cause to worry that the giants of rock music were on their way to extinction. Band mastermind Ian Anderson began struggling with vocal maladies, and spent ever more time salmon fishing in Scotland. The singer concentrated less on new material, preferring to digitally remaster oldies such as Aqualung and Thick as a Brick. But that rut is over. The group’s recent release, J-Tull Dot Com — a reference to the band’s Web address — is the quintet’s best effort since the seventies. Anderson is back in perfect voice, his trademark flute dusted off. But don’t let the CD’s modern title fool you. There is little new or innovative here. “To be honest,” says Anderson, “my ears have heard nothing new in rock music for 25 years — everything is rehashed. At least we can say we belong to rock’s origins. We have earned the right to stick to one style and milk it for all its worth!” The Blackpool, England natives have always considered themselves “the people’s band” — worried more about the musical needs of their fans than their own. “We would never record music of which we are not truly convinced,” assures Anderson.” But our audience has expectations of our music, and because they are the ones who made us big and we earn our living from them, it is only fair that we give the people what they want.”