GUEST REVIEW
Seeing how my output has been somewhat restricted as of late
by the tragic death of my home machine (although it's currently
being reborn as at least a zombie) and by general laziness, I've
asked for and received permission to post a review of an
upcoming Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull fame) album written by
someone with whom I'm not unacquainted. The album will be
officially released on March 7, BTW.
The Secret Language of Birds
This is the Ian Anderson album I've been waiting to hear. The
difference between this and "Dot.com" is like the difference between
"This Was" and "Stand Up". If you want to see what became of the
songwriter who penned "Wond'ring Aloud", "Mother Goose", "Sossity",
"Life's a Long Song" and many more then buy and listen to this album.
The songs on TSLOB reveal both a deep side of Anderson as well as his
light-hearted nature. As he mentions himself, several of the songs
"...tended to be quite personal and emotive..." and this is certainly
apparent. His lyric writing is wonderfully evocative: "Pananma
freighter wearing rusty brown", "black hole winters and salad days",
"Matchbox cityscape below --- I watch Lowry matchstick figures
go". Who else could fit the word "admonishing" seamlessly into a
lyric, as well as the alliterative "salacious semaphore".
Most of us are by now familiar with title track (if you own "Dot.com"
and haven't foud it yet, let the disc play after the end of the last
track). It's Debussy-esque flute opening belies the pressing rhythmic
beat of the song. Anderson's flute playing in "Little Flower Girl" is
crisp and sharp - playing intervals like that without slurring takes
good technique. "Montserrat" reminds me of another Tull song which at
the moment escapes me (any suggestions?)...the march to start with
juxtaposed with the rhythms of the main song. There is a wonderful
interplay between the bass, flute and mandolin in "Postcard Day", with
the close of the song again providing some inventive flute
playing. This song and "Little Flower Girl" are rhythmically similar.
"Water Carrier" reminds me of Kashmir (ok - I've been stressed
lately!).
"Set Aside" is a little piece that invokes in me the image of a Sunday
walk in the countryside and coming across an abandoned farm. Since my
parents live in the North Dorset countryside in a
small(ish) village, this is something we're familiar with (the farm
next door has now sold out to the developers). Whilst on the subject
of this song, here's some comments Anderson made a couple of years
ago. The conversation concerns those times when the Muse strikes when
one is asleep, or in that state between sleep and being awake.
IA: "Well that's absolutely right and that sometimes does
happen. Strangely, sometimes you do find the next day that it wasn't
bad at all. There are lot's of little cases where I can remember
things in the middle of the night where I woke up with this lyrical
idea, title or some music and, well, thank God I woke up! Thank God I
didn't sleep through one of my best ideas!"
AB: "So could you give me an example?"
IA: "Well, there's actually a couple of pieces on the current album that
were exactly that. This is a solo album that I've just finished doing,
obvioulsy not a Jethro Tull piece, and there's a song called "The
Jasmine Corridor" which was a title that came out of waking up in the
middle of the night with a particular notion for a song based on
something ..... very much one of those sleepless moments when you're
tossing something around and suddenly it crystalizes into an idea. And
there's a piece of music for another song called "Set Aside" referring
to a peculiar anomaly of our agricultural policy here in Europe, and
the actual guitar line, the motif, in that on which the song is based
is again a little musical idea had in the middle of the night. And you
pray that you've scribbled it down and in the morning you can still
recall what it was about. Yes, now that you've got me on a roll,
there's another song called "Sanctuary" where the music for
that actually came out of...sort of...in the middle of the
night waking up with this thing goung round my head. It's not an
unusual thing.
Anyway, back to the album. "A Better Moon" is almost hypnotic with
it's pedal note droning in the bass.
"Sanctuary" is another rhythmically interesting song. The presence of
the violin in the mix is perfect. I get the feeling that the song is
about the capture and trade of animals (big cats in particular) and
their subsequent display in cages in zoos (such as the old Victoria
London Zoo in Regent's Park) and the uncaring attitude of many who
come to view the exhibits. Then again, maybe the stress is getting to
me. The end of the song features some excellent flute work,
reminiscent of some of the flute playing heard in the 60's from bands
like Focus.
"The Jasmine Corridor" is one of those reflective pieces. The simple
arrangement with shakers, Andy Gidding's squeeze-box and guitar is a
ideal backdrop for the lyrics. Hmmm...I wonder what that "something"
was that woke Anderson from his slumbers.
My feet have not stopped tapping to "Habanero Reel". The images of
dancing on the beach in a summer's evening come naturally in this
song - along with good spicy food (perhaps a mole from Pasquals in
Santa Fe).
"Panama Freighter" fits musically very nicely with "Habanero Reel". A
sea chanty with a tempered rock bridge passage.
"Secret Language of Birds II" is a nice second take on the themes in
the title track. Though I've yet to figure out the significance of
Berkeley Square and the Nightingale. Any suggestions?
The last of the lyrical tracks is "Circular Breathing". A very emotive
song, not necessarily telling a story, but more conveying
feelings. This is perhaps my favorite song on the album, by just a
tad. Anderson's voice on this track is superb.
With this album I think Anderson gives more of himself personally than
in many previous ones. As he says, some of the songs are quite
personal and this definitely comes through them.
Is there anything that's not so good on this album. Well, one
complaint I would have is that the mix occasionally pushes Anderson's
voice from the fore. This only happens two or three times. Apart from
that, I believe that this one of the best albums to come out of
Anderson's home studio in a long time.
If you wish to contact the reviewer to perhaps discuss a mutual
obsession with things Tull, then drop me a line. By the way,
after being talked into attending a couple of Tull shows by
the reviewer, I've come to appreciate them
a whole lot more than I used to.
In addition to being a fine studio band, they put on a hell of a good
live show, not at all like what you'd expect from a supposed
dinosaur band.
posted by Steven Baum
2/10/2000 03:16:43 PM |
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