I’ve always been a Tull fan – I mean, how many rock bands have a lead FLUTE? Their songs usually say a lot more than “hey, baby-baby” ad nauseum.
Jethro Tull – I am your gun for some Friday tunage.
For those not familiar with the group – The lead guy (singer / flutist) is Ian Anderson. Jethro Tull, for whom the group is named, was an agriculturalist from the early 1700s. The group was so bad early on they had to keep changing names in order to get a gig at the same place twice. Jethro Tull was they name they had when it finally all came together for them, so they were sort of stuck with it.
I never knew that was how they wound up with that name. “Horse-hoeing Husbandry”, to my knowledge was never on anyone’s 100 great books list, and as far as I know, not something the 60’s generation relied on as a source book while smoking dope, screwing, and demonstrating.
Englebert Humperdinck, on the other hand wanted a big name with as many lights on the marquee as possible once his name became big (The heirs of the original Engelbert Humperdinck, not wanting THEIR ancestor confused with some hoi polloi pop singer, sued, and lost).
Sadly, while many of their songs do have something to say, what they say is banal and witless. They toned down the anti-Catholicism, but sadly not the anti-Americanism.
Banal, as compared to …? 🙂 MOST popular groups have a lot of marginal songs for every hit, or songs that appeals to any one person. I’ve found a better ratio, and better talent, with Tull then many other. Not perfect, but better.
In any case, this is just one of many songs, and seemed appropriate for this particular blog. Another topical tune will show up each Friday for another month or so, just because it struck my fancy. Feel free to like them, or not, and express your honest opinion as desired.