“Planted a seed”: The artist Ian Anderson called a precursor to rock ‘n’ roll
If you don’t want to listen to a band that is one-note, one of the best places you could look would be Jethro Tull. What Ian Anderson and his band have managed to achieve, both in terms of success and reach, is truly astonishing, as they refuse to be put in any kind of box. They are persistently trying to make new music and have dabbled in various styles and sounds in doing so.
It feels like an exclusive club to be a Jethro Tull fan. While they are a band that has achieved global acclaim, it still feels like a rarity to meet a fellow fan out in the world. It’s an elite members club, and one that a lot of people are proud to be a part of; however, this exclusivity does feel somewhat strange.
When you go back through Jethro Tull’s discography, regardless of the kind of music you’re into, you can almost guarantee the band has touched upon it at some point. Granted, they may have yet to release anything close to hip-hop or R&B, but any other style of music has been at the very least glossed over.
Ian Anderson is one of the creative minds behind a lot of what Jethro Tull does. He’s a great example of somebody who can hear the similarities in various genres instead of the differences. It’s this ability that means the band have been able to dabble in multiple different styles of music but still produce records that feel somewhat cohesive. It’s a real talent that has ensured that Jethro Tull continues to be recognised as the same band by fans, even when their sound veers dramatically.
Anderson displayed these skills from a young age. Even when he was listening to music that did not reflect rock ‘n’ roll, he was still able to pick out rock ‘n’ roll elements. One of the best examples of this is his analytical approach to Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood’, a song which very few would associate with rock music, but that Anderson could draw similarities from. He went so far as to say that with this track, Glenn Miller helped set the foundation on which rock would eventually be built.
“I was seven when I heard some of father’s big band 78s. I particularly liked ‘In the Mood’ by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, which is a bright, syncopated swing piece,” said Anderson, “Something about the simplicity hit me – maybe because it’s essentially a three-chord blues. As a child, it got me energised in a way that church music and Scottish folk music didn’t really do.”
He continued, “In some ways, this was a precursor to rock‘n’roll. My dad wasn’t really a music fan. He didn’t sit around listening to this sort of thing, but I guess before I was born he did. I enjoyed this one – it was a fun piece of music. Perhaps it planted a seed of things to come.”
Whether Glenn Miller can be considered a precursor for rock ‘n’ roll remains up for debate; however, Anderson’s ability to identify similarities that support this point shows how versatile his taste truly is.
