IAN ANDERSON: No Bad Blood In Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull mainman Ian Anderson insists he hasn’t fallen out with long-time guitarist Martin Barre and drummer Doane Perry, even though neither of them appear on Thick As A Brick 2.
His current solo project, the follow-up to Tull’s 1972 classic, features bassist David Goodier and keyboardist John O’Hara, but the rest of the band were not involved.
Barre recently suggested he hadn’t been consulted about the change of direction, telling Goldmine: “When Ian announced that he didn’t want to do any more Jethro Tull shows, Doane and I had no idea that he was planning to do Thick As A Brick 2. This was all stuff he had planned before he had told us anything.
“He told us nothing, yet, obviously, he had thought this through for a long time. It is what it is. Everybody has to draw their own conclusions.
“It’s very easy for others to be critical of decisions; it’s not for me to say. I’m more interested in me and going in the direction that I want to go. And it’s opened up a huge area for me.
“And vocally, Ian can’t really go there anymore. He’s looking at more flute playing. It’s not the heavy Jethro Tull that I want to represent. That’s all my territory – and I shall embrace it with open arms.”
Now Anderson, who in September said he’d made no decision to shut down Tull for good, tells The Aquarian: “Back in 2011 I met with Martin and Doane to talk about 2012. I explained I had been working on a project and that I did not want to pursue it under the Jethro Tull banner.
“We all a greed they would pursue other avenues that they had already been thinking of.
“We’re not guys who can go on for ever. It was time to do some other things on a personal basis, particularly for Martin.
“There is no conflict – it’s just people doing their own thing. Maybe Martin might have snubbed not to be asked to to Thick As A Brick 2, and if so I can understand that.
“Martin is out doing tours as we speak. Doane is recovering from a health issue.”
Anderson remains proud of the Tull lineup that featured both men – but suggests he wanted to concentrate harder on studio work, and that wasn’t the band’s strongest point.
“They were polished on stage,” he says. “I don’t think, though, they quite had the fire in the belly for recording. At least a couple of them were never at their best in the studio.”
He refuses to name names on the ground of loyalty but continues: “Some people enjoy the stage but tremble at the knees when they walk into a studio where it’s for real—a test, if you will—with the resultant pressure.
“I feel the pressure too as a producer, musician, composer and arranger. The buck stops with me. But the adrenaline rush of building momentum is one that overcomes the trepidation. So I can see it from both sides.”
Anderson says he remains proud of the fact that he’s still in near-constant touch with all surviving musicians who have been members of Tull. “I’d like to think I’m on pretty good terms with most of them,” he reflects. “I like the fact that we have this big extended family thing going on.”
Source: http://www.progrockmag.com/
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