The five most underrated songs by Jethro Tull
Prog rock is pretty hard to define, but if anyone can find the words, Frank Zappa can.
“I would presume 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.”
If there is ever a band who stays true to this definition, it’s Jethro Tull. Throughout the band’s long career, the one thing they’ve never been is predictable. There is no attempt to stick within the strict confines of rock, and instead, with each passing album, Ian Anderson and Co try to create something new and exciting. As a result of this varied approach to music, they have made some certified classics; however, they have also put out some songs that slipped through the cracks.
This article is dedicated to the Jethro Tull tunes that got lost in this storm of creativity and therefore haven’t received the kind of attention they deserve. These are five of the band’s most underrated tunes.
Jethro Tull’s five most underrated songs
‘Christmas Song’
Okay, I’m starting things off by bending the rules slightly. The majority of Jethro Tull fans will be aware of ‘Christmas Song’, and it’s certainly not underrated in the eyes of Ian Anderson who called it one of his favourite tracks by the band; however, it is underrated within the world of Christmas music as a whole. Make no mistake, this should be a classic, and yet it remains underground and left off of Christmas playlists across the world.
There is a wholesomeness embedded within this track as Anderson said he felt Christmas was a holiday open to everyone, regardless of their religion. “A Christmas in this modern world should, in my view, accommodate the leisure needs and affections of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists and agnostics, as well as Fido the family dog and Felix the cat,” he said, “Throw in a few lost cousins and that dreadful man from next door and you have it!”
‘Fallen On Hard Times’
It’s tough calling Jethro Tull a political band given how so much of their music is rooted in escapism and all things mystical. However, the members who make up Jethro Tull certainly are political, and as a result, socially aware driven numbers creep through the cracks every now and then. One of their most famous is ‘Aqualung’, but equally poignant yet nowhere near appreciated enough is ‘Fallen On Hard Times’.
This was one of Ian Anderson’s attempts to drive a modern narrative within his music, as he takes issue with the government throughout the track. He refers to the false promises made by those in power and declares that enough is enough. It still has that great Jethro Tull sound, but with lyrics that feel somewhat more accessible than some of their more ambiguous numbers.
‘Stuck In The August Rain’
It’s always nice to hear what a good creative mind is capable of, and when you dabble in the worlds of Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson, that’s exactly what you get. The various styles and sounds he has championed are a real treat; however, while these fluctuations in style are fun, there is something incredibly wholesome about hearing a band going back to their roots.
In the ‘90s, on an album called Roots to Branches, Jethro Tull set aside the new electronic sounds they had been experimenting with and leaned back into their original prog rock beginnings. The album doesn’t get enough attention, and one of the best offerings on it is the track ‘Stuck In The August Rain’, which is undeniably quintessential Jethro Tull.
‘Reasons For Waiting’
An underrated song can come about in a number of ways, but two of the most common are: An album is bad and therefore every song on said album is brushed aside as being bad, or, an album is so good that great songs get lost amongst a backdrop of equally great songs. ‘Reasons For Waiting’ is a good example of the latter.
The song was released on Jethro Tull’s second album, Stand Up, which wasn’t exactly a record lacking in quality. While a lot of their records have very different flavours, this feels like one that set the foundation for the band. Locked in the midst of this groundbreaking album was ‘Reasons For Waiting’, which certainly gets some recognition, but has a uniqueness which deserves more attention. The lyrics paired with the moving string section is pretty faultless.
‘Working John, Working Joe’
The song ‘Working John, Working Joe’ was released on Jethro Tull’s album, A. Ian Anderson originally wanted this record to be his debut solo offering, and you can understand why. There is a heavy reliance on synthesisers and the departure is far enough from Jethro Tull that it barely fits under the band’s monocular; however, there are a few glimpses of genius in the midst of all the (somewhat lacking) electronica.
One of those fragments of genius comes in the form of ‘Working John, Working Joe’, a track written by a 32-year-old Anderson that has wisdom embedded well beyond its years. He speaks about the issues that come with being a workaholic and gives the listener some insight into his creative process. Despite A not being one of the band’s best albums, gems like this get overlooked, and it’s time they were given the credit they deserve.
