Ian Anderson on the secret to making the best prog rock: “That’s my preferred way”
Prog rock is an illustrious beast. It’s not a genre that one can define too easily, as the style of the music seems open to a number of different interpretations. Just look at Jethro Tull, for example, when you look through their discography, it’s clear how many different styles and sounds can be injected into a genre that seems to refuse to be defined.
Frank Zappa tried once, as he was also renowned for his contributions to prog rock, but he struggled to add specific parameters to the movement. “I would assume that people would accept this definition,” he said, “Progressive rock is anything that doesn’t sound like regular rock. Regular rock is everything that sounds like itself. All songs which sound the same, everything on MTV, everything on the radio, that’s rock. Progressive rock is stuff that doesn’t sound like that.”
While that’s certainly an ambiguous statement, it does also play into the excitement that people feel around the genre. When you tune into an album written by a good prog rock band, it’s difficult to know what exactly you are going to be tuning into, hence why so many people enjoy listening to it and making it. The possibilities are endless, and as a creative, isn’t that what you want?
It was watching Led Zeppelin that opened Ian Anderson’s eyes to how much could be expressed through music. He realised that there was no point in staying within a specific sound when making music and that embracing elements of different time periods, cultures and genres can be effective when trying to make rock music that steps outside the realm of what we recognise as conventional.
Ian Anderson has used this freedom in a bid to make some of the most versatile music available for fans of rock. When you look through his discography, you will be shocked at just how different some of his records are, whether he is working with an artist, as a solo act or with Jethro Tull, you have a range of different styles on show that are constantly exciting to listen to.
So, what is Anderson’s secret when it comes to making this kind of music and keeping fans excited with each release? If you were to ask Anderson, it’s all about spontaneity. He goes into new records in a live environment, rehearses some ideas and lets the album take its own course.
“The usual ways, I think, probably go back to the earliest days. To the idea that it’s good to rehearse music, then go into the studio and record it as much as possible as if you were just doing the whole thing live on stage,” said Anderson, “I think that’s my preferred way. I did that a lot on some early albums, and ‘Thick As A Brick’ was also rehearsed outside the recording studio.”
He continued, “The spirit of a live performance, that’s what I like best and that’s also the way we’ve recorded most often. But there are times when it just has to be overdubs. Especially when you’re doing projects where you’re playing a lot of instruments yourself, and of course, you can’t play them all live at the same time.”
