Too Ordinary: the two classic rock bands Ian Anderson called “generic”
All prog-rock acts are looking to push themselves in every song they make. For them, it’s easy to knock out a typical classic rock track, but where’s the fun in that when you can make some episodic piece that takes the listener on a journey over ten minutes at a time? Jethro Tull may have been on the cusp of prog-rock brilliance throughout their career, but Ian Anderson believed what they did was an attempt to escape the monotony of groups like The Who and The Rolling Stones.
But were The Stones really all that generic? Sure, their works definitely fit within the world of classic rock that we know today, but outside of the occasional straightforward rock song, the band had more than their share of highlights where they went outside of their comfort zone.
Their Satanic Majesties Request certainly saw them mixing it up by bringing in new influences from the psychedelic movement, and even though it went over about as well someone breaking wind in church, tracks like ‘Might As Well Get Juiced’ are at least interesting experiments for what they are. If anything, the fact that those didn’t work may have been what scared Mick Jagger to stay on a similar path on their later albums.
The Who are a bit of the same story as well. There were definitely some periods in the late 1960s when their songs began to sound a little bit monotonous, but Townshend should be commended for helping break down the barriers for prog rock. No matter how many people cite acts like King Crimson as the first major prog act, Townshend’s way of expanding rock and roll on ‘A Quick One While He’s Away’ is also deserving of being one of the foundations of the genre.
But Jethro Tull was always meant to be a bit different from what rock and roll was supposed to be, with Anderson telling Louder, “Over all those years, Jethro Tull tried hard. Some people might say we tried too hard, but it’s better to do that and fall on your face once in a while rather than sit comfortably backpedalling in order to keep on an even keel. I’d get restless if I did generic music like The Stones or even The Who.”
Granted, Anderson makes a fair point about both The Who and The Stones. For as many times as people can come to them for something daring, the past few years have seen both acts either not release any new music or keep the status quo by rehashing their old sounds.
While Jethro Tull had more than a few moments where they began to disappear up their own ass, you can’t say that any of their albums were completely boring from start to finish. They started with the blues just like Jagger and Townshend, but their records offer everything from classical music to conceptual art pieces to the occasional misfire like J-Tull Dot Com. It’s every band’s decision whether they want to fall into a holding pattern, but for Anderson, it’s much more fun to paint a different picture every time you step up to that blank musical canvas.
