Despite a certain 1969 single, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is not usually one to be living in the past. He’s more of a forward-looking artist, as evidenced by the three new Tull albums he’s released since early 2022, including the new Curious Ruminant that drops on March 7.
But the singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and band leader happily warms to the task of picking 10 albums that changed his life.
“I can always think of 10 albums like that,” the Scottish-born Anderson tells us via Zoom from across the pond. “Unfortunately the majority of them are from the ’60s, the ’70s, kind of into the ’80s, just.
“But generally speaking, the formative time when you’re in your teens and 20s, that’s when you get the real big fillip of hearing monumental music that shapes your early career, or before you’ve even embarked upon it. It’s always easy to talk about those.”
In fact, Anderson adds, “As I get older, I think they mean more to me, rather than less, so I can speak about them with enthusiasm rather than just historical recounting. It’s actually with enthusiasm I can talk about some of those great moments that meant a lot to me.”
It is, not surprisingly, a varied assemblage, with more than a few surprises in the mix. Then again, we hardly expected something predictable from the man behind Thick As a Brick, “Bungle in the Jungle,” Songs From the Wood and that list that goes on and on.
Swingin’ Machine — Mose Allison
“As an aspiring mid-teens singer/guitarist, I found the laconic style of Mose’s vocals very much to my liking and not too hard to imitate when we, in the early John Evan Blues Band, attempted some of his songs in our local youth club and the pubs in Blackpool. Of course, he was primarily a great be-bop and blues pianist and influenced many of the musicians in the U.K., like Van Morrison, the Who, the Clash and Elvis Costello, who went on to become much more famous than he was.”
The Sound of 65 — The Graham Bond Organisation
“Graham Bond was another of those relatively unsung heroes of the mid ’60s and —together with his bandmates Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Dick Heckstall-Smith — played the R&B circuit venues in the U.K. with original songs and reworked blues classics. I went to see them and subsequently met Graham a couple of times when he was going through a bad spell before committing suicide on the London Underground. His organ playing greatly influenced our own John Evan, and we covered some songs from this album in our early days.”
Alabama Blues — J.B. Lenoir
“I was lucky enough to see J.B. Lenoir at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in the mid ’60s on one of the touring American Folk-Blues concerts and later acquired this album from our German promoter, Fritz Rau. He had recorded all the Folk-Blues series of concerts with various iconic blues artists, together with his partner Horst Lippman. Lennoir was a social commentator of his day — unlike his fellow blues artists who tended to stick to the usual lyrical song material. Songs about being drafted to go to Vietnam or the freedom marches in Alabama were bold and potent in describing the anguish, rage and sorrow of Black America in those times. As an acoustic guitar player, he had a simple but mesmerizing style, which perfectly complemented his high, bell-like tenor vocals.”
Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton — John Mayall
“This album was literally instrumental in my early career since this exceptional new guitarist in Mayall’s band persuaded me — by example rather than in person — to give up playing electric guitar and seek an alternative vehicle with which to attempt to make my name. Happily, Eric did not play the flute, so it seemed I was in with a chance! I have never met E.C. but, if I ever do, I will thank him for my fruitful and lucrative change of direction. “
Piper at the Gates of Dawn — Pink Floyd
“Along with Sgt. Pepperthis album shone out in the summer of ’67 like a signpost at a road junction, saying, ‘Progressive rock, this way…’ The childlike vocal quality and lyric writing of guitarist Syd Barrett was a welcome departure from the slavish copying of American accents employed by so many U.K. singers. The utterly original but doomed Syd impacted me and others and moved us to find our own ways in original creative songwriting with lyrics about subjects other than love, passion and failed relationships.”
Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith — Roy Harper
“Roy hails from the Blackpool area where I also grew up in the ’60s, although he had left for a London-based career as a pioneer of new folk by the time I was a teenager. His guitar technique influenced me in my first attempts to write with the instrument in the summer of 1968, and several of my more acoustic pieces owe a great deal to him. We worked together a few times, and many of my contemporaries, such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, also held him in high esteem. My song ‘Wond’ring Aloud’ is a good example of Harper-esque lyrics and guitar-playing influence.”
Over-Nite Sensation — Frank Zappa (The Mothers)
“It was in late 1973 when I was starting the writing of the album Warchild and living in a little mews house near Baker Street that I came across this album. I had already bought and enjoyed Hot Ratswhich was an extended guitar extravaganza, but Frank had by 1973 really become a master of lyrical adventure, with sexually charged observations of persons known to or imagined by him. Zappa’s guitar solos and parts continue where Hot Rats left off, but perhaps in a more relevant context. Zappa’s legacy is to inspire musicians like me as to following their own paths in spite of commercial demands and the conventions of chart-orientated music.”
Friday night in San Francisco – Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia
“I had bought Al Di Meola’s album Elegant Gypsyand this special live performance showcases the talents of three of the world’s great acoustic and flamenco players. I had this as a cassette version in the Sony Walkman for days. All way beyond me as a humble folk guitarist, but you can dream, can’t you? I have played flute with Al Di a few times in concert and on record. We once did trade-off solos at the Munich Olympiastadion with Toto some years ago. How many notes can you fit in a bar of 4/4?”
Love Over Gold — Dire Straits
“The quirky but controlled and percussive fingerpicking style of Mark Knopfler intrigued me from the first moment I heard ‘Sultans of Swing’ on a car radio while on tour in the U.S.A. I bought this album and greatly admired his controlled and spacious solos on ‘Telegraph Road.’ A man with musical discipline combined with the fiery flurry of youthful exuberance. Top guy!”
Box of Gold — Bob Fox and Stu Luckley
“I first heard this northern duo courtesy of our then-bassist Dave Pegg. Music that spans the folk traditions of working-class Newcastle, Durham and the fishing ports of the north-east of England. Bob plays guitar and bouzouki, and Stu the acoustic bass guitar. Both sing with the purity of the dialect and the authority of those brought up in the area, well-versed in the banter and bravado of proud Geordies. Bob’s guitar phrasing and accompanying style is a lesson in perfection. Bob was my guest at a fundraising concert at Newcastle Cathedral a few years ago. Magic!”
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