The band who will be remembered in 100 years as nothing but copy cats, according to Ian Anderson
From the first time he started playing onstage, Ian Anderson wasn’t interested in playing traditional rock and roll.
There were certainly moments throughout Jethro Tull’s history where they created something that was beyond anything rock and roll had ever seen, but that was only a happy by-product of him trying out new sounds rather than making something that was going to compete with Led Zeppelin. Because as far as he was concerned, merely being a great rock and roll band was going to do nothing for a band’s longevity when people look back on them.
But Anderson did at least have a healthy respect for the more adventurous side of rock and roll. He had time for everyone from The Beatles to Bob Dylan to Pink Floyd in his catalogue, but when listening to his own work, it’s hard to really hear all of that in the music. Many of his greatest tunes were so esoteric to Jethro Tull that you’d never mistake them for anyone else, which probably explains why Tony Iommi only lasted a few shows before he ended up going back to Black Sabbath.
What they were doing was the epitome of progressive music, but Anderson never saw himself as belonging to a group. He was more interested in going with the flow and doing whatever the hell popped into his head, but if everyone insisted on his making progressive rock, Thick as a Brick was among the best records that they could have made. No one had the guts to make an album that was one song long throughout an entire album, but as far as Anderson could tell, that was an advantage.
Going through the biggest names in rock and roll, all of them had a distinct identity in Anderson’s books. The ones that would last were those that could leave an impression within a few notes, and while the flute did at least give them a distinctive touch, Anderson felt that the next generation was going to have a hard time branching out from what everyone else did. And even when bands like Guns N’ Roses came to the forefront, Anderson couldn’t help but think he had heard that sound before.
They were a breath of fresh air from the nonstop glam bands that were populating the Sunset Strip, but Anderson felt they were only copying The Stones half the time, saying, “I suppose at the end of it all I think I’d rather be in Jethro Tull than be in Guns N’ Roses. Because, you know, Guns N’ Roses, if they are remembered in 100 years from now in the sort of music books or the history books, they’re gonna be remembered as a band who kind of were a second recycle of a kind of Rolling Stones phenomenon.”
It’s not like Anderson is exactly wrong, either. Every member of the band would have said that The Stones played a massive influence on their sound, but their magic came from the energy they brought to it. The Stones had more than their fair share of fast songs in their arsenal, but what other band was going to be coming out with a song that was as chaotic as ‘Double Talkin’ Jive’ or make a tune as grandiose as ‘November Rain’?
If anything, there are a few albums in Anderson’s record collection that were definitely a lot more derivative than most. He had no problem calling Lou Gramm from Foreigner one of the best singers that he had ever heard, but when listening to some of their greatest hits, there are more than a few nods to classic rock and roll that are much more obvious than anything Guns N’ Roses would have been doing.
So while there is a certain sense of spectacle around Guns N’ Roses compared to every other rock and roll outfit, Anderson’s assessment of the music is only half the battle. Many people have tried to make the best music that they could without relying on gimmicks, but when looking at the great icons of rock and roll, seeing Slash play guitar is going to be as iconic as Mick Jagger’s tongue.
